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Federal Reserve Expected to Announce Third Straight Interest Rate Cut; Democrat Eileen Higgins Projected to Win Miami Mayor's Race; Interview with Rep. Gabe Amo (D-RI): Trump Touts Economy After Calling Affordability a Hoax; Police Investigate Rep. Nancy Mace For Airport Spectacle; Almost a Third of U.S. Teens Say They Use AI Chatbots Daily. Aired 8:30-9:00a ET

Aired December 10, 2025 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, this morning, standing by on the Federal Reserve, expected to cut interest rates today for the third time this year. That would bring the Fed's lending rate to its lowest level since October 2022. What happens next, though?

With us now, Axios senior markets reporter Madison Mills. Madison, always great to see you. The entire world expects a rate cut today.

That's really not the big question. What are you looking for in terms of what comes next?

MADISON MILLS, SENIOR MARKETS REPORTER, AXIOS: Well, we get those summary of economic projections today. What does that mean? That's when you get a dot plot, and you have to guess which person is tied to which dot that indicates where the members of the committee are thinking about the path forward for interest rates.

So this is the clearest signal that we are going to get about where the Fed's head is at going forward, because yes, today's interest rate cut has been very widely priced in and anticipated, but we really don't know where they're going from here. And there's a lot of disagreement amongst the committee members about whether or not they want rate cuts to come.

You obviously have Governor Stephen Miran, who has been very vocally in support of rate cuts. He's worked very closely with the Trump administration as an economic advisor.

But then you have other committee members like Austan Goolsbee who have said, hey, inflation is still really sticky. We don't want to cut rates too fast and then have an even bigger affordability crisis on our hands.

So a lot of division amongst the Fed, and that's what market participants are really eager to hopefully get some clarity on as this meeting comes forward today and we get the press conference at 2 p.m. as well.

BERMAN: They want some sign whether this is the last cut for a while. What would it mean if this is the last cut for a while?

MILLS: And it seems like it's trending in that direction. Obviously, it can always be a surprise. But based on, you know, the math of who we've heard from so far, it seems like this could be the last cut for a while. And what does that mean?

Well, it means that the Trump administration may not be getting what they want from the Federal Reserve. That could lead to more infighting, though we do have a new Fed chair announcement coming soon as Powell's term nears its end. Globally, though, we may continue to see interest rates stay sticky and stay higher, and that's not always entirely the responsibility of the Federal Reserve.

If the Trump administration wants something like mortgage rates to go down, that's a little bit harder when the Fed has interest rates higher, but the interest rate level set by the Federal Reserve, contrary to popular belief, does not control every single lending rate in the world. So the administration's affordability goals may be more attainable through other kinds of policy provisions that make things more affordable versus trying to control the interest rates.

BERMAN: We talk a lot about interest rates, and there's a lot of debate about interest rates, kind of at an up here level, but I think a lot of people are thinking down here, which is to say, you know, what does this mean for me and when?

MILLS: Absolutely. Well, when interest rates come down, that lowers the overnight lending rate that banks use to send money to each other overnight while we're all sleeping. That can lower the broader interest rate that people think about when you think about, you know, the rate you've got on your credit card, the rate you've got on your mortgage.

But we have this thing called the bond market, and they are kind of the nerds that run everything. They run Wall Street. They run interest rates at the end of the day.

And this morning, it's fascinating. We're seeing bond yields globally spiking, which could be a sign that bond investors are pushing back against interest rate cuts, going too far too fast because they don't want sticky inflation either because that can be tough for the economy. So it's this constant debate between what the Federal Reserve's interest rate setting does and what the bond market forces the market to do when it comes to rates.

BERMAN: Madison Mills from Axios. It's going to be a busy day for you. Thanks so much for taking some time for us. Appreciate it -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So for the first time this century, a Democrat will run the city of Miami. CNN projects that Eileen Higgins will win the Miami mayor's race, defeating the Trump-backed Republican candidate she was up against.

[08:35:00]

A Republican has held that office for nearly 30 years. The latest election outcome, really, in the first year of President Trump's second term that Dems are leaning into, for sure, but how much of a warning is this for Republicans ahead of the midterm? CNN's Harry Enten is here running the numbers for us.

First and foremost, how surprising was this win?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: It's surprising because the last time a Democrat held the office of mayor of Miami was back during the era of the Birdcage, which was a great film in the late 1990s, one of my favorites. But more than that, Kate Bolduan, it feels like deja vu all over again. Sara Sidner is laughing in the back there -- I want to note.

And I'm coming in from Buffalo, where I was watching the Bills, therefore, my voice is now --

BOLDUAN: Is that what's going on?

ENTEN: That is what's going on right here.

BOLDUAN: Because you can't blame me being Typhoid Mary on this one.

ENTEN: No, no, I was just really rooting for the Bills, but this was just such a big shift to the Democrats. I mean, Kamala Harris won Miami, but just by a point. There was a huge shift towards Donald Trump.

This was a -- in Miami, Joe Biden carried Miami by nearly 20 points, and Harris only won it by one. And all of a sudden, look at this.

It's a 19-point win for Higgins. That is an 18-point shift in over -- in just a year's time.

And, of course, it is just the latest shift that we're seeing. That is what I think is so important going on here. We've seen it in special elections.

We saw it in Virginia Gov. We saw it in New Jersey Gov. We have seen it across the political map, whereby over and over and over again the baseline from 2024, Democrats are consistently outperforming it 10, 15, nearly 20 points in this case.

BOLDUAN: Well, put this into more context of what you're talking about, into kind of the broader trend that we're seeing across the country in races.

ENTEN: Yes, OK. So I think what -- If you know anything about Miami, you know it's heavily Hispanic, heavily Latino.

And what we have seen is that Democrats -- excuse me -- Latinos have absolutely gone up and said, you know what? I don't like what Donald Trump is doing. I mean, just look at Donald Trump's net approval among Latinos. In February, it was minus two points.

Not too hot to trot, but not that bad either. Look at where it is now. Minus 38 points.

That is a shift of 36 points in the wrong direction, the completely wrong direction for Donald Trump. And what the race in Miami illustrates -- I was looking at the localities, locality by locality by locality.

What you see is these huge shifts, these heavily Hispanic neighborhoods of Miami against the Republican nominee from the Donald Trump baseline. And so to me, this is an encapsulation of what we've seen. We saw it in Arizona's 7th congressional district, right, that special election earlier this year.

Again, a heavily Hispanic district. What we see is Democrats outperforming that 2024 baseline, which to me is so important because we see these national polls. You're going, how is this actually going to impact things?

And what we see is exactly what we saw last night. The first Democratic mayor of the great city of Miami since the Birdcage era.

BOLDUAN: Since the Birdcage era. Put that in a headline. So you have now Miami is going to be run by a Democrat. How many Republicans run big cities in America anymore?

ENTEN: Yes, this to me is part of a longer, larger arc. And, you know, you just look at this. GOP mayors in the 50 largest cities.

In 2017, it was about 14. Now with Higgins coming in, it's seven. It's seven.

Donald Trump has been absolute kryptonite to Republicans who want to run major cities in the United States. There are very few. They're an endangered, endangered species.

BOLDUAN: That is fascinating, just since 2017.

ENTEN: Just that shift. Literally Donald Trump kryptonite in big cities. That's what I got to say, Kate Bolduan.

BOLDUAN: Thank you, Harry Enten.

ENTEN: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: I appreciate it -- Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, joining us now, Democratic Congressman Gabe Amo of Rhode Island. He is the vice ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Thank you so much for being here.

You just heard sort of what happened in Miami, and I'm sure that Democrats are happy to see that. Democrats have won several states by making affordability their top issue. So I'm curious what you think of President Trump's response to the Democrats' message.

Here's what he said in Pennsylvania.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have no higher priority than making America affordable again. That's what we're going to do. And again, they caused the high prices, and we're bringing them down. It's a simple message.

Democrats talking about affordability is like Bonnie and Clyde preaching about public safety.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: He's blaming Democrats. Are you to blame?

REP. GABE AMO (D-RI), FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: Look, the president should call his tour the affordability hoax tour because it seems like he's fixated on this narrative of saying that affordability is a made- up concern for Americans. When I talk to small businesses in my district, when I talk to families, they hear the rhetoric of the president, things he said last night, like, you know, kids will have to buy fewer pencils and get fewer toys this year, and that the tariffs are a good thing. He is jacking up prices on everybody across the spectrum.

[08:40:03]

He's absolutely wrong. It's hurting our families, and that's why Democrats are fixated on lowering costs for the American people, and Donald Trump can only prove that he has a record of raising prices, seeing the stubborn inflation that he is driving up every single day.

SIDNER: I do want to ask you, because of the committee you're on, I want to ask you about what we're hearing from the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Mike Rogers, telling reporters yesterday that he had all of the information that he needed about the controversial boat strikes and that The Washington Post is reporting he plans to end the inquiry into that double-tap strike that some in Congress were concerned about may have been a war crime. Do you have all the answers you need when it comes to what happened in that double-tap strike in September?

AMO: I certainly don't have all the answers. I have not seen the footage myself. Some members of Congress have seen it.

But the fact of the matter is we need a full public airing of the facts. That includes the video footage. That includes public testimony from the secretary of defense.

Look, it is very clear, based on what we've heard to date, is there is real concern about the legal basis that they have for these actions. And as we learn facts about an hour of difference between the strikes, this raises great concern. And the administration has an obligation to show up in a public setting to get this footage released and to have the questions answered from members of Congress.

SIDNER: Let's move on to Russia's war in Ukraine. When you hear the president say that Zelenskyy is losing and needs to get on board with the American plan and then Trump Jr. saying his father may walk away from Ukraine. I mean, you're the vice ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Is there a consensus on your committee on whether the United States should continue aiding Ukraine?

AMO: Well, look, Donald Trump continues to be played by Vladimir Putin. And the fact of the matter is we have focused on our support for Ukraine here, and frankly, in a bipartisan basis in Congress. Yet Donald Trump is willing to cut deals, make territorial concessions, and bend to Putin's will while simultaneously undercutting President Zelenskyy, not working with our European allies, hampering the efforts to fund and support Ukraine.

So the question here is who is Donald Trump working for? Will he stand with champions of democracy or will he stand with and for Vladimir Putin? That is a question that he seems to be unwilling to answer in a way that aligns with our values here in this country.

SIDNER: There is, of course, a lot of discussions about immigration and the way that that immigration crackdown is being meted down. I do want to ask you about what the president said when he went on the attack against a member of Congress. He whipped up the crowd against Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.

Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I love this Ilhan Omar, whatever the hell her name is, with the little shoe, the little turban. I love her. She comes in, does nothing but (BLEEP).

She's always complaining. She should get the hell out, throw her the hell out. She does nothing but complain.

(CROWD CHANTING, GET HER OUT)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: You saw the reaction of the crowd there. They were screaming, get her out. I'm curious if you think this puts her in danger, just considering what we heard from hard MAGA, you know, supporting Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who says she's been facing death threats since the president called her a traitor.

AMO: Look, it's absolutely shameful, and to your query, it's dangerous. He is inciting crowds, something that he's known to do from January 6th, before then and after that, and dividing our country in ways that should never be seen out of the Oval Office. I don't know how any person in America, Republican, Democrat, Independent, anywhere, could be supportive of the rhetoric that we've seen.

And that's why I'm so concerned for what this means for my colleague, who is doing her job, serving her constituents, and I'm also troubled that I have not heard from my colleagues in Congress, Republicans across the country, with the broad condemnation of the president's remarks. This is not American. This is something that is vile, that we continue to hear out of the president's mouth, and it sets a terrible example for our children.

[08:45:00]

And so I am terribly, you know, disturbed by this, and we'll continue to say that this is wrong, but we need allies across the political spectrum to speak up and get some backbone.

SIDNER: Congressman Gabe Amo, thank you so much for joining us this morning. We appreciate you -- John.

BERMAN: Right, an entire country bans social media for kids. What would it take for the United States to be next?

And elves rappelling down the side of a building? So why, and who then, is making the toys?

[08:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: So this morning you're getting a look for the first time at security camera footage showing Republican Congresswoman and now gubernatorial candidate Nancy Mace in a heated interaction with a TSA agent. This happened back in October. CNN obtained records around this incident Tuesday through a public records request and the internal investigation conducted by the Charleston airport police it finds in its conclusion that Mace berated and demeaned airport police and TSA officers during the chaotic airport encounter leaving airport employees, according to the report, visibly upset.

Nancy Mace responded last night on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Are you saying that you never said any of these quotes? That every single one is a lie?

REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): You have to read it to me again.

COLLINS: Effing idiots, effing incompetent, and you're an effing representative.

MACE: I did not say that. I did not call --

COLLINS: And you didn't say, I'm sick of your shit --

MACE: I'm tired of having to wait, I should not have to wait, you guys are always effing late, this is effing ridiculous.

No, I mean, no. I have never called a cop an idiot. That is a remarkably false statement.

COLLINS: But you're saying these police officers are lying, then, who spoke to the investigators?

MACE: I am absolutely saying that that report was falsified. 100 percent fictitious, falsified.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: CNN's Tom Foreman has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): "I'm sick of your shit. I'm tired of having to wait. You guys are always f***ing late. This is f***ing ridiculous."

The newly obtained Charleston airport investigation report says Republican Congressmember Nancy Mace repeatedly insulted security officers when her car was not met, and she was not immediately escorted to her plane in late October.

REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): Did I drop an f-bomb? I hope I did. Did I call them incompetent? If I didn't, they absolutely earned it.

FOREMAN (voiceover): Mace's office called the report a "full exoneration" even though it says she blew a minor miscommunication into a spectacle.

MACE: You're giving other cops a bad name. And I'm coming for you, so you need to know that.

FOREMAN (voiceover): But Mace is grabbing headlines for more than that. In a New York Times opinion piece this week she ripped her own party for avoiding votes on popular ideas such as term limits and banning stock trades by lawmakers.

She insisted Democrat Nancy Pelosi was a more effective House Speaker than any Republican this century, including current Speaker Mike Johnson.

And she added a warning to her party. "If we fail to pass legislation that permanently secures the border, addresses the affordability crisis, improves health care, and restores law and order, we will lose this majority. And we will deserve it."

MACE: How many more decades are going to go on where we elect people to do a job and they become corrupt?

FOREMAN: Mace, who is running for governor of South Carolina, is among a small cadre of Republican congresswomen who have strongly supported the MAGA movement.

MACE: I support President Trump.

FOREMAN (voiceover): But who have also pushed back on some of Trump's apparent wishes. For example, calling for full release of the files around sexual predator and one-time Trump friend, the late Jeffrey Epstein.

It's all been enough to make at least one of her staffers quit and accuse her of turning her back on Trump, while another associate suggested she is having a breakdown. Mace rejects it all.

MACE: Being anti-corruption, anti-rape, anti-murder, anti-illegal -- if that makes me crazy, sign me up.

FOREMAN (voiceover): Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Our thanks to Tom for that.

So a new study shows just how far AI has seeped into our lives. Nearly a third of U.S. teens say they use chatbots daily, and of those who do use it daily, the Pew Research Center found that 16 percent use the chatbots several times a day or almost constantly.

CNN's Clare Duffy is here with us. Now, you cover this extensively. That's a lot of kids using a lot of AI.

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: Yes, and just to put into context why this is so important, this really shines a light on teen usage of this technology that's raised really serious mental health concerns. This is the first time that Pew has surveyed teens on their general chatbot use. They talked to 1,500 just about teens across the United States from 13 to 17, and what they found is that more than half, around 64 percent, have used AI chatbots at least once.

[08:55:00]

And as you said, a third are using them daily, and 16 percent are using them several times a day to almost constantly. The most popular chatbots among teens probably won't totally surprise you. ChatGPT is at the top of the list, followed by Google's Gemini, Meta AI, Microsoft Copilot, Character AI, which we've also talked a lot about this year because the company has faced a number of lawsuits from parents who claim that their teens were driven to self-harm or suicide because they build relationships with these chatbots. Character AI has now made a number of changes to its platforms.

But I think all of this does continue to point to the need for parents to be paying really close attention because these tools are pitched as ways for kids to get help with homework or tutoring, but in many cases, we're seeing teens form these habits and often form relationships with these chatbots. And I think this is really illuminating to show people just how much teens are engaging with these tools, regardless of how new they are.

BERMAN: Yes, I mean, it's a lot. I mean, it is here as a presence, so people, including parents, legislators, everyone, need to figure out a way how to deal with it. Ignoring it just won't work.

Clare Duffy, great to see you. Thank you very much.

DUFFY: Thank you.

BERMAN: Sara. SIDNER: All right, thank you, John. On our radar for you this morning, video shows the moment a plane made an emergency landing on a Florida interstate. The plane landing on the roof of a vehicle.

You hear the person saying, oh, my goodness. The driver was sent to the hospital but survived and is doing OK. Folks inside the plane weren't hurt.

A Florida man rescued after accidentally driving his car into a retention pond. Footage showing deputies pulling the man out of the vehicle after breaking his windows. Authorities say the man's doing all right.

He was treated for minor cuts and bruises. And here's a little bit of Christmas cheer for you. Meet the tactical elves. Members of some of Florida first responders' crews dressed up as Santa's elves to rappel down the side of this hospital. Their aim is to just put smiles on people's faces, and it worked.

BERMAN: This Sunday, the host of "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU," Roy Wood Jr., is spreading holiday cheer. Comedy, music, and the help of some famous friends. It's CNN's live special event, "ROY WOOD JR.'S VERY, VERY, VERY MERRY HOLIDAY SPECIAL."

SIDNER: He did it on purpose to mess us up.

BERMAN: Joining us now is Roy, Roy, Roy Wood Jr.

SIDNER: You're not the only comedian in the room.

BOLDUAN: Why not add a fourth merry? I mean, for goodness' sake.

BERMAN: So what's the difference between a very, very -- yes, why is it very, very, very?

ROY WOOD JR., CNN HOST HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU: We want to make sure that the American people maximize their merriness. You guys, this has been a year of skinny and reduction and cutbacks. And if nothing else, we owe y'all a fourth very for your merry holiday special.

Good to see y'all.

BERMAN: This is like the anti-DOGE holiday special.

BOLDUAN: The anti-DOGE, anti-Ozempic.

SIDNER: Roy, as you can see, we have a lot of comedians here that would easily join on your show. I think they do quite well. Or if you need writers, they're available.

BOLDUAN: He's like, definitely not you guys.

SIDNER: No, no. The Air Force Band has an annual holiday concert in D.C. This year they've invited you, and I was wondering if you're going to be playing like the piccolo or you're just going to be doing something different? WOOD: Now, see, what you're not going to do is disrespect the two weeks I played the flute at 10th Street Middle School in Birmingham, Alabama. So I'm going to crank that thing up. I took piano lessons, I'll have you know, for a year in the second grade.

SIDNER: That's good.

WOOD: So we'll see. But, you know, this is an opportunity to not just celebrate the holidays but also do it with our armed forces.

They're going to be there. They're going to be part of the audience. And it's just going to be a good time to just show some of the lighter and fun side of what our troops, you know, they're not just always stalking to protect freedom.

Sometimes they play a French horn. So we're going to do that a little bit as well. It'll be a good time.

Now, are you asking me if I'm talented? No. That's the answer to the question.

BOLDUAN: And you can see how far we've come, because we're not calling it a freedom horn anymore. We are calling it a French horn now. We've come so far.

WOOD: In a circle.

BOLDUAN: Roy, John Berman only cares about famous people. Who are the famous people who will be joining you?

WOOD: We are still getting everything lined up. I know for sure we can confirm that my friend Craig Robinson will be in attendance as well as the homie Dulce Sloan, who I worked with for some time on The Daily Show. And let me clarify.

Yes, that Craig Robinson from the office. Not Michelle Obama's talented brother. Because there's two Craig Robinsons from Chicago now.

I guess every black dude with talent in Chicago has got to be named Craig Robinson. But no, Craig's great. I've had an opportunity to work with him a number of times in the past.

And we're putting together, you know, some medleys. I think the thing that's most interesting and the challenge I'm most excited for with the "VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY MERRY HOLIDAY SPECIAL" is how do we keep politics ...

[09:00:00]