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U.S. Economy Added 143,000 Jobs, Fewer Than Expected, To Start 2025; "Boy Scouts of America" Changes Name to "Scouting America" Tomorrow; Kansas City Chiefs Looking for Historic Three-Peat Super Bowl Win. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired February 07, 2025 - 09:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KEVIN HASSETT, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: From what we just heard from your excellent team. I think they kind of had rosy scenario glasses on.

[09:30:05]

When I look at these numbers, the thing that jumps out at me, Kate, is that they're -- you know, every now and then they do this big benchmark revision where they say, well, we do an advance estimate and then we have to revise them. And the benchmark came out today and we'll get another one a year from now. And the benchmark told us that the downward revisions for the Biden job record were about cumulatively a whole million people. And so we had a million fewer workers in the U.S. then the BLS told us right before the election that we actually have.

And so what it means is that the jobs market is way weaker than we thought. And you saw a weak number this month. And so somehow coming into like a couple of months of data, ignoring a downward revision of a million jobs and then say we've inherited the strongest jobs market ever. I think that's kind of like an upside scenario through rosy glasses.

The bottom line is the jobs market is way worse than we thought. And the revisions prove that. We've lost a million jobs. The, you know, voters before the election were told were there.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So with that, as you know, you've, you know, worked in -- you've worked in government before. This economy is now the trump economy that you're looking at and we'll have now for the next four years for better or -- for better or worse. That's how the president gets it.

Let's talk about tariffs because that could have an impact on all of it. The tariffs that are now on pause against Mexico and Canada. What is the metric, Kevin, that the president is using to measure progress enough to say that that 25% won't be kicking in in 30 days?

HASSETT: Right. Well, the president has said all along that this first move is about the drug war, not a trade war or anything. And so he feels like a lot of news outlets miscovered what he was doing. Like he wrote an email that said, it's just about a drug war. 90,000 people died from fentanyl, you know, in the last year that we have data. And that's not acceptable. It's worse than the Vietnam War. And it's in part because our neighbors are allowing fentanyl to come across. And maybe they're not in cahoots with the gangs, the drug gangs, but they're not rounding them up either.

And so we had a 25% tariff on them and enormous amount of positive action from Canada and from Mexico. And I think there's a great progress being made. I think that thousands of people will see their lives saved because of the actions the Mexicans and Canadians have started to take.

And if the progress continues at the rate we're seeing, I would guess that the president will be very pleased by it. But if they, you know, if they backtrack and a month later, you know, it turns out that the things that they stopped spring holes elsewhere, then the president will have to talk to them again.

BOLDUAN: Because I will say I just -- I had the premier of Ontario on yesterday and he seemed to be speaking the exact same language you are saying that we want to take on the fentanyl crisis. We want to do -- we want to work together. He said both sides of the border need to work together because he was reporting guns are heading into Canada from the U.S. side of the border. But he literally said yesterday that they're ready to work together.

So if progress is being made, can you say that the president is going to -- is going to say, you know, at another 30 days? How does this work?

HASSETT: The president will decide that, you know, he'll decide that as he watches the progress. And, you know, that's above my pay grade. The president will decide that.

BOLDUAN: I understand. I get it. The White House Trade Advisor, Peter Navarro. He was on with me this week, and I asked him about what I have heard from business leaders. Specifically, I asked him about what it means, these tariffs from China mean for the footwear industry that the China tariffs -- the tariffs on China are going to raise prices for consumers.

I want to play for you what Peter said to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER NAVARRO, TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SENIOR COUNSELOR FOR TRADE AND MANUFACTURING: China will absorb most or all of the tariff. That was our experience in the first term. That will be our experience here. The reality is, when the negotiations are made with China to export things here, what happens when the tariffs go in place is that the Chinese companies are forced to lower their prices.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Businesses say that data -- that the data does not show that, that tariff rates and inflation tend to trend with one another. How do you explain to people already struggling against inflation why it is worth it to now pay more for products like shoes?

HASSETT: Well -- well, the record is that they didn't. And let's just talk about the economics of this, because it's pretty intuitive. The fact is that if you put a tariff or a tax on something that has very elastic supply, so the suppliers can change their production a lot, then it could have an effect on how they supply.

But if you have inelastic supply, then if you put a tariff on it or not, then it's the supplier that bears the tariff or tax. And the fact is, the most inelastic thing in the whole wide world is Chinese production. They're producing as much as they can to create as big of a trade surplus as they can and selling it to whoever will buy it.

[09:35:11]

And so they don't have elastic supply. They're the most inelastic supply on earth. And so if there's a tax or a tariff, it's going to be borne by the inelastic factor. It's Econ 101. Sorry to have to go back to the economic talk, but yes, Peter was 100% right. Peter has a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard, and he understands the risks.

BOLDUAN: I'm not -- and Kevin, I'm not questioning anyone's resume or going back to Economics 101. I guess if you --

HASSETT: I know.

BOLDUAN: -- then you can assure American consumers they will not see higher prices because related after these Chinese tariffs.

HASSETT: Prices will not -- China is not going to jack up prices because of a 10% tariff in a way that's going to be probably even identifiable in the CPI.

BOLDUAN: It's not about China jacking up prices. It's American businesses having to pay the duty and having to bear the cost of the tariff. Then they have -- then they pass it on to consumers. That seem -- that's what I'm talking about.

HASSETT: Yeah. Yeah, no, I'm talking about -- I'll say my point another way. Suppose that you're buying something for a dollar, and then we say, hey, you got to pay a 10-cent tax. And then if the store charges a dollar ten, then the person who's buying the stuff from the store pays the ten cents tax.

And if the store charges a dollar, then the store is only getting 90 cents now. And so the question is, what's going to happen? And the conversation we had before was explaining how we think about those things. And how we think about this thing is that the Chinese are not going to have a much tariff inclusive higher price. That's what we believe. And that's what we've seen before.

BOLDUAN: And thus, customers won't be paying a dollar ten?

HASSETT: Right, they'll be paying a dollar, then the Chinese will be getting 90 cents.

BOLDUAN: And --

HASSETT: Obviously, you know -- yes.

BOLDUAN: OK, I just think there seems to be such squishy language around this, that -- that's why I keep pressing on it. If you can be confident and ensure --

(CROSSTALK)

HASSETT: But I want it squishy, right? That was pretty direct.

BOLDUAN: But is the company -- is the company going to only make $0.90, then?

HASSETT: Excuse me?

BOLDUAN: You said --

HASSETT: The person who buys the thing from China, whoever that might be, is going -- is going to have a tariff inclusive price that's very close to the price before the tariff. That's what economic theory predicts. Yes.

BOLDUAN: Kevin, it's great to see you. Thanks for coming in.

HASSETT: Thank you.

John?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, today is the last day for Boy Scouts of America in a way. Starting tomorrow, they have a new name minus one key word. And this just in, there is a football game Sunday night you might have heard and Kansas City is playing. So what does it feel like if you're the mayor of a city when a lot of the country has turned on you? We'll find out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:42:28]

BERMAN: So tomorrow, a huge change for the Boy Scouts of America. On the day it celebrates its 115th Anniversary, it will officially change its name to Scouting America. Girls have been part of the Boy Scouts since 2018 and since it began including them in 2018, more than 8,000 have earned the most coveted rank of Eagle Scout.

One of them is Sydney Ireland, who is with us right now. Sydney, thanks so much for being with us. What does the official name change mean to you?

SYDNEY IRELAND, EAGLE SCOUT & INCLUSION ADVOCATE: Thank you so much for having me, John. So seven years ago, Scouting America opened their doors to girls, which sent a powerful message that girls really do deserve equal opportunities. So by changing the name to Scouting America, they're signaling that they recognize that everyone can and should join the organization and be part of such a wonderful program.

BERMAN: Now, this is happening in an interesting political and cultural environment. In a lot of ways, things seem to be moving in the opposite direction. So what do you think of the timing?

IRELAND: Yeah, the timing is interesting. So the name change is a really strong follow-through on Scouting America's commitment to inclusion. And this is particularly at a time when inclusionary practices are under a threat at the national level. So it's a really clear statement from Scouting America in the face of quite a lot of national pushback against these values.

BERMAN: People would call it wokeism. I mean, that's the name that gets thrown around for all kinds of different things. Is this an example of what you would call wokeism?

IRELAND: I would say that this is an example of providing choice for women, for young women, girls. And for over 6,000 young women, they have been able to achieve the rank of Eagle, which opens up so many opportunities. So many leaders in the country are Eagle Scouts and have been in the Boy Scouts at the time.

And so now it's incredible that young women have the same opportunity to join Scouting America and can finally feel fully included in a program that once only allowed in boys.

BERMAN: What did it mean for you and -- to be, an Eagle Scout, first of all, and how does it impact your life now on a daily basis?

IRELAND: Yeah, I mean, I am able to talk to Scout troops all the time, and now young women are in those Scout troops. I'm able to talk to girls, and they can really see someone that went through the program and so many other girls. And it's just incredible to be able to see a new generation of young women who don't even have to question that they'll be included in the organization.

[09:45:12]

And so Scouting America now is really about everyone. For me, I had to -- I was asked why I was on camping trips. I was denied merit badges. I had to do two Eagle Scout projects. And now young women won't be asked why they're on camping trips. They won't be denied the merit badges that they earned, and they will only have to complete one Eagle project.

BERMAN: One is a lot, as someone who sort of flunked out of the Cub Scouts, I can tell you.

Listen, thank you for being with us. Congratulations on all the work that you've done and everything that you've achieved. Appreciate your time.

Kate?

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, they face off on Sunday at the Super Bowl in New Orleans. And Kansas City's Mayor is joining us to talk about his team's quest for a historic three-peat. He's supporting the Chiefs this evening.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:50:38]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS JONES, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: Every good story has to have a villain, man. Every good story has to have a villain. You know, and people hate success. You know, over time, people like to see something different. If I was on the outside looking in, I'd be saying the same thing. I'm sick of the Chiefs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, there he is. Sunday's Super Bowl showdown pits superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes of Kansas City Chiefs against -- why is --

BERMAN: The music starts playing.

SIDNER: -- you know, against Jalen Hurts. It looks like, go back to Jalen Hurts. He's nice to look at, at the Philadelphia Eagles. There we go.

The Chiefs are looking to be the first time in NFL history to go back, to back, to gap -- back, a three-peat.

Our next guest knows what it's like to celebrate three Super Bowl wins already, but not -- not in a row. You're taking a look at all three of those with that crazy wild looking mascot who I sort of love.

Let's bring in Kansas City, Missouri Mayor Quinton Lucas. Oh, wow. You are really ready for the moment. I see you're dressed in all your spectacular Chiefs memorabilia.

It's great to see you. I hate to do this to you, but our Harry Enten, who's our data reporter, he did a little number crunching and he found that the majority of Americans do not want Kansas City to win again. So what do you say to all the haters?

MAYOR QUINTON LUCAS, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI: I say, I love this moment, right? So I'm from Kansas City, middle of America. Some of you may have never been. We have never been the detested team with a cool player who's dating a global music star and all of that. So we just say, bring it on. This is fun for KC and we have been the team of the decade. Look forward to cementing it this Sunday.

SIDNER: Well, I was going to say, one of our lovely friends and coworkers here knows what it's like to win and win and win and win and win. Patriots guy here.

BERMAN: I'm a Patriots fan, so I know what it's like to be as hated as you apparently are right now. Since you brought up -- since you brought up Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, do you have any inside information? Because -- no, seriously, because there are a lot of people speculating that if the Chiefs win, that he will propose, or maybe she will after the Super Bowl.

SIDNER: I haven't heard that girl. It's all over the interweb.

BERMAN: Yeah. So -- so I don't know, might you officiate a wedding? I mean, what's going on?

LUCAS: You know, I am excited to officiate the wedding. That would be the biggest job I could ever have. People would be like, forget being mayor, you're the officiant for Travis and Taylor. It would be a bigger wedding than Princess Diana and Prince Charles, it would be huge.

But, you know, I have no special intel other than the fact that after the AFC Championship game here in Kansas City, I was on the field and I was just like standing around like some guy, and then like a swarm of 100 press, Travis and Taylor come by, I get bowled out of the way. I know they are the huge story after the game. During the game, I think we'll get some good attention and a good W this week too.

BOLDUAN: Leading into the game, can we talk about the wagers? That's always so fun between the mayors and you've won a bunch of sometimes wacky stuff in the last -- from your last -- from your last wagers during the playoffs. I think we have like a graphic of some of them. Cigars and whatnot, Buffalo wings, obviously.

SIDNER: Ooh, Mexican food, yum.

BOLDUAN: What are you and Philly's mayor waging?

LUCAS: So I have actually wagered with Philly before, although a different mayor. I consider Mayor Cherelle Parker a friend. In Philadelphia, I think she is putting up cheese steaks. I look forward to learn a little more about everything they'll throw up for us. It's Kansas City barbecue. But my career record over the last five years or so is about 17 and two in playoff games. We lost one Superbowl to Tampa. We lost one game to Cincinnati, I already forgot. But otherwise, we just win a lot with them.

But for us, it'll be barbecue. And I will probably send her a Chiefs jersey to rock through Philadelphia, which I know will be very popular knowing Philadelphians.

SIDNER: Are you trying to get her hurt, injured? That's not happening. I'm just letting you know right now. The birds don't play like that.

BOLDUAN: Like I'm sending you a security risk.

SIDNER: Yeah, that's not very nice, Mayor.

I do want to lastly ask you, what is the most Kansas City thing that you can do if this is indeed a historic three-peat? Because you've already got -- I mean, we've seen the parades. OK, all right, what are you going to do different?

[09:55:00] LUCAS: You know, what we will probably do differently, I think the most Kansas City special thing to be could be the on-field proposal that you discussed before, Travis and Taylor, and then a wedding at Arrowhead Stadium. It's like a Hallmark movie on steroids. Hallmark, by the way, based in Kansas City.

So it would be like everything we've worked on for 150 years, all coming together in KC. So hopefully we get to come back and do that in a few weeks.

BOLDUAN: Clearly the mayor has not considered that at all. He doesn't have any plans already.

BERMAN: It's already fully permitted at Arrowhead for everything.

SIDNER: To our two big fans of Hallmark --

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

SIDNER: -- that appeals to them.

BOLDUAN: From one Hallmark fan to another.

SIDNER: Yeah.

BOLDUAN: Can't wait for that special.

It's good to see you, Mayor. Good luck.

LUCAS: Yeah, it's good to see you guys.

BERMAN: All right, big weekend ahead. Make sure you rest up, hydrate, do all those important things. Thank you so much for joining us.

BOLDUAN: Stretch those hamstrings.

BERMAN: That's right, exactly.

This is CNN News Central. CNN Newsroom is up next.

SIDNER: Have a good weekend.

BOLDUAN: That was great.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)