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Burger King President Tom Curtis is Interviewed about a New Launch; Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell is Interviewed about Dolly Parton; Trump Effect on Primaries. Aired 9:30-10a ET
Aired August 26, 2026 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[09:30:53]
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, new this morning, beef prices are nearing record highs, surging more than 20 percent in the last two years alone as we've been tracking it. And now President Trump says that he's got a proposal to try to bring those prices down. He wants to import more than 300,000 metric tons of beef. And he says that will bring those prices down. But that plan, as we have seen over and over again, his back -- is facing backlash from his own party and cattle ranchers. I just spoke to a cattle farmer and president of the National Black Farmers Association this last hour.
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JOHN BOYD, JR., FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, NATIONAL BLACK FARMERS ASSOCIATION: This is not what America's farmers need right now when we are -- having struggling. We're struggling with the president's tariffs. We're struggling with the high input costs from fuel and diesel and fertilizer from the war in Iran. So, it's a rippling effect. And then to have the president says, OK, you cattlemen, take 25 percent reduction -- a reduction across the board is a national insult to America's producers and cattlemen like myself.
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BOLDUAN: Adding to the pressure, consumer confidence fell to a seven month low yesterday, with expectations down for the next six months. One analytics firm says, when you take a look at -- kind of add it all up, the number of people visiting fast food restaurants fell 3.4 percent year over year in July. So, what's a fast food company to do about it? Someone seeing some success, joining me right now is Burger King's U.S.-Canada president, Tom Curtis.
It's good to have you here.
TOM CURTIS, U.S.-CANADA PRESIDENT, BURGER KING: Thanks for having me, Kate.
BOLDUAN: And here with part of the strategy. Thanks for bringing gifts.
CURTIS: Yes. BOLDUAN: We always welcome that. We always welcome goodies at this hour.
But chicken nuggets, this is part of the strategy.
CURTIS: Yes, it is part of the strategy. Actually, the third step in the strategy. So, our first step was to elevate the Whopper, make that --
BOLDUAN: Yes, because I was going to say, in the name, one would -- one would think that burger is still king in this company.
CURTIS: That's our thing.
BOLDUAN: Yes.
CURTIS: That's kind of our thing.
BOLDUAN: Yes. So, why nuggets? Why now? Why is this part of it?
CURTIS: It's also core to the menu. It's not as important as the Whopper. The Whopper was the right first step for us in a turnaround. But this is something the kids and parents love. And we had to -- we had to make a move there too.
BOLDUAN: McDonald's remains the leader in -- when it comes to burgers, but I just saw that you have now -- Burger King has now moved past Wendy's to become the second largest burger chain in the United States. What do -- what do you really attribute to that, this big -- especially this last big quarter? What's behind it?
CURTIS: It really all started about four years ago, in 2022, we relaunched our entire brand and we called it the "reclaim the flame plan" and really started pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the restaurants, into the operations of the restaurants, the equipment and the culture. And that's all been changing, and it's just now starting to come to light with the consumer.
BOLDUAN: How much of this boost and this growth do you attribute to, I don't know, some of your viral moments, like maybe you won't think it is, but some might have seen it as a bit of a jab at McDonald's CEO and how one should or shouldn't eat a burger, or maybe even handing out your phone number to customers. How much do you attribute this to what you're seeing?
CURTIS: I'm sure it's all part of the -- part of the success story. But really, we did not do that to try to, you know, to lash back or what --
BOLDUAN: Right.
CURTIS: However you call it, to the -- to the competition. And it was -- the reality of it was, when I took a bite of the burger, I got just a huge bunch of mayonnaise on my face. And that's exactly the way I eat. So, that's just what came out. And on the listening, I think this is an age where people are becoming
less personalized and brands are not as human as they might have once been. Some people are actually taking human action out of the restaurant equation. We're trying to add it back in. And I think we're zigging when others are zagging, and that's working.
BOLDUAN: Let's talk about some of the big news that we've been tracking. Beef prices, as I was mentioning, you've got -- beef prices are high. The president has this new plan they just announced. He wants to bring in 300,000 metric tons of beef from foreign beef to try to bring prices down. As I've just played, it is not making ranchers happy. It is not -- and Republicans say it's hurting some of -- some Republican states. It's a bipartisan issue here.
What do you think the right move is?
[09:35:01]
CURTIS: Well, for us, I mean, we are, I don't want to say the victims, but we also have to bear the costs of higher beef.
BOLDUAN: Yes. Yes.
CURTIS: And so, it's tough on our owners and it's tough on consumers. We're trying to make it not tough on consumers by not passing on price. But it means our -- the only way for us to combat this is through traffic and growing the business, which we've been doing nicely because you mentioned it in your segment before, but it's a tough time for the consumer. And we've just got to be there with consistent pricing and better products throughout.
BOLDUAN: Can you -- can you, in the long term, if prices, if beef prices really don't really start coming down, can you, in the long term, continue to not pass it on to the -- to the customer?
CURTIS: Our price is basically a function of CPI and inflation. And our objective is to always keep our prices below the general inflation rate. And to the extent that we can do that, once again by growing traffic, then we can keep our prices lower than the prices -- the price increases that consumers are seeing elsewhere.
BOLDUAN: What if foot traffic, though, continues to slow?
CURTIS: Well, foot traffic does continue to slow in the industry, but we're grabbing share. And I think, once again, that's a -- that's a zigging versus zagging. We're talking about beef when everybody else -- I know we're talking about chicken today --
BOLDUAN: Yes, we're talking about it all.
CURTIS: But generally we talk about beef. And beef is where, you know, where we make our hay.
BOLDUAN: You're the head of U.S.-Canada.
CURTIS: Yes. BOLDUAN: The renewed trade war with Canada now, what does this -- how
is this going to impact Burger King in -- I mean in addition to what we're talking about with specifically beef?
CURTIS: Yes, once again, I think it could potentially put pressure on input costs. And so we're going to have to gird our loins and stay firm on pricing.
BOLDUAN: What's your ask to the administration? Look, I mean, you're a huge company and you're --
CURTIS: Yes.
BOLDUAN: I mean, you -- not that they are maybe not asking for advice here, but what is your advice when you're looking at what is now a renewed trade war?
CURTIS: Yes. Well, you're right, the administration isn't listening to us. And if I had one ask of the administration, it would be that stop having photo ops in the competitor's restaurants and come to ours more often.
BOLDUAN: Yes, so what does -- what does it feel like when RFK Jr. says he gets onto Air Force One and he sees boxes and boxes of McDonald's?
CURTIS: Yes, darn it. If he only knew.
BOLDUAN: If he -- there you go.
CURTIS: That's --
BOLDUAN: There's your next move, my friend.
CURTIS: Yes.
BOLDUAN: It's really good to have you here.
CURTIS: Thanks.
BOLDUAN: Congratulations. Thanks for bringing us a little bit of what's now a new addition to the menu, or a renewed --
CURTIS: A new, elevated nugget.
BOLDUAN: The new, elevated nugget.
CURTIS: Yes.
BOLDUAN: It's nice to meet you.
CURTIS: Thank you. Nice to meet you.
BOLDUAN: Thanks for coming in.
All right, we're going to follow this breaking news and a real big shift over here. Meta has just reached a major $7.1 billion settlement -- sorry, $17.1
billion settlement over claims that their social media platforms harm children. We've got this breaking news just rolling in. We're going to bring that to you ahead.
Plus, hearing from Dolly Parton, in her own words.
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DOLLY PARTON: Well, I think she'd be very proud. She -- I'm who she dreamed of being all those many years ago. And thank God for America, that dreams can come true. And I always love those rags to riches stories because it is -- it shows you that dreams can come true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[09:42:37]
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, breaking news. We're just getting word that Meta has reached a major settlement over claims brought by 29 states alleging that an intentionally designed addictive platforms that harmed young people's mental health. We're talking up to $17.1 billion. The settlement ends a landmark legal battle and comes just a week after a trial began in California in which four of the states were seeking up to $1.4 trillion in damages. So, $17 billion is a lot. It's not $1.4 trillion. The states were also seeking major changes to the company's platforms. Now, as part of the settlement, Meta has agreed to make some changes, like limiting the time teenage users can spend on the platform.
We're still going through some of the language in this settlement, trying to understand exactly what it entails. We will have much more on that shortly.
Sara.
SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, I am here outside the most famous version of the Grand Old Opry at Ryman. And this is where some of us are to celebrate the life of Dolly Parton. She died at 80.
Joining me now is Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell, who is here.
You heard the news as you were doing your job as mayor. What struck you the moment you heard about it?
MAYOR FREDDIE O'CONNELL, NASHVILLE: Just, one, how can this be real today, because we had been engaged with her and her team. She's got a hotel just around the corner here, Songteller, that is just about to open. And, I mean, she is very engaged in all aspects of her business, foundation, et cetera. And so, it was just like, wait a second, what we have been actively working with her, how can this be possible?
And then second, just the enormity of the impact because here in Music City, I mean, sort of her adopted home, she is beloved. She has a huge, larger than life impact. And so it's just like having to take a breath almost.
SIDNER: Right. She performed here at the Grand Ole Opry at 13. She moved here the day after she graduated high school at 18.
O'CONNELL: Yes. Yes.
SIDNER: I mean, she has a huge footprint here.
O'CONNELL: Yes.
SIDNER: What does that mean to Nashville? What does she mean to Nashville? And what did Nashville mean to her? Because it was a symbiotic relationship.
O'CONNELL: Very much so. I mean she moved here, fell in love, you know, got married almost immediately after coming here.
[09:45:00]
And here's what I love most about working on this latest project, the Songteller hotel borrows this phrase that she had had at Dollywood, her east Tennessee amusement park, but it's a simple thing, it's love every moment. And I think that's what she infused, a spirit of joy, of celebration.
She is one of the world's greatest entertainers. And so, beyond just her music, she got, as you know, involved in acting, but also very deeply involved in fashion. She would touch students here. She did this wonderful exhibition behind the scenes at Lipscomb University, where students there got to do it. She just premiered a musical that's about to head to Broadway, that's her story at Belmont University. So, she was very intertwined in Nashville, and she called her just about to open hotel, a love letter to Nashville.
SIDNER: Oh, I'm sure that people I know are showing up there to put flowers down and just to share their condolences.
Give me a sense of what your interactions were with Dolly Parton.
O'CONNELL: So, she was pretty extraordinary. I'll tell you one of the things, again, in ways that she will leave a permanent impact on the city and the fabric of what we do, she helped launch this program called Begin Right, where every childcare center in Nashville is going to have a little library stocked with books from her Imagination Library. So, we were very involved with her foundation, with, you know, her business team on things like the hotel. But at that fashion event, she showed up in person to engage with students, like kind of help people understand what it was about. And our daughters, who were raised on her Imagination Library, it's pretty extraordinary. Free books every month from birth to five. So, our bookshelves were full of 120 books from her Imagination Library. Our daughters had had the chance to go to Dollywood at that point, been raised on her Imagination Library, and I got to introduce them to Dolly. And she was everything you would imagine. She was sweet, funny. just welcoming, showcase, southern hospitality. Just a delightful person.
SIDNER: She -- that is a great way to talk about her, a delightful person. And she did so much for the community.
O'CONNELL: Yes.
SIDNER: Beyond what she did for us with her music and her personality and the way that she loved all of us. We loved her back.
O'CONNELL: Yes.
SIDNER: Thank you so much, Mayor. I do appreciate you taking the time with us this morning.
O'CONNELL: Thank you.
SIDNER: All right, that was Mayor Freddie O'Connell here in Nashville.
And we'll be right back.
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[09:51:52]
BERMAN: All right, developing overnight, Darline Graham has become the Republican nominee for Senate in the state of South Carolina. It wasn't easy. There needed to be this special runoff last night. She will now run for a full six-year term. That was the seat held by her brother, the late Senator Lindsey Graham.
How did she win? Well, this guy was a big, if not the main, the primary factor in her victory. He swooped into South Carolina, held an event sort of at the last minute, and every reason to believe that put her over the top.
With us now, chief data analyst Harry Enten.
Good to see you.
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Nice to see you, my friend.
BERMAN: When we're talking about the relative success of the president's endorsement, he had seen some trouble in House races and governors races. In the Senate, he's done pretty well.
ENTEN: Yes, in the Senate he has done very well. This is a reality check for you. That is, Donald Trump is still the sun on which the planets of the GOP revolve around. You could see it quite well here. Look at this, Trump endorses won Senate primaries. If the person that he endorsed is not an elected incumbent, like Darline Graham was. You know, since 2022, or 2022, it was about 95 percent of the time. Has that weakened at all this cycle? No, it has not. It has actually gotten stronger. Look at this, 100 percent of the time, if Trump endorsed a non-elected incumbent, like Darline Graham, they, in fact, won the Republican primary for United States Senate. Trump's name is still the one that GOP voters buy when it comes to Senate endorsements.
BERMAN: He went there. He spent money. He made a difference. And according to some measurements here, may have turned it around for her.
ENTEN: Yes, I would say that this is probably the endorsement of Darline Graham and getting her across the finish line in the Republican Party is probably the strongest sign of Donald Trump's name being gold in Republican primaries to date. It's by far his most impressive performance. Because just take a look here. This is according to the Kalshi prediction market. Chance to win the South Carolina special GOP Senate primary. Before the Trump endorsement it was just 14 percent. Just 14 percent. The reason why Darline Graham won that primary, won that nomination, is because of one name and one name only, Donald John Trump. This was his most impressive endorsement to date in terms of getting someone actually nominated, because she basically stood no chance. Once that endorsement came in, her chances rocketed well north of 50 percent. And last night she won that nomination.
BERMAN: And it's largely because Republican primary voters are hugely supportive of the president.
ENTEN: You know, sometimes we have these polls and, you know, they're favorable polls, or approval polls, and they're in the moment. But I just love this one. OK, the president Republicans most admire, it's Donald Trump. This is a historic comparison. A majority of Republicans say, 53 percent say he's the Republican president they most admire. Ronald Reagan, who traditionally has won that -- Donald Trump nearly triples up on this. Reagan at just 18 percent. And then Abraham Lincoln, who by most historic accounts is the greatest president of all time, but Republicans say that the president that they most admire by, what is this, this is six, seven times as many, Donald John Trump at 53 percent, easily crushing Abe Lincoln at eight percent.
[09:55:09]
And the Elon poll showed that he was the greatest president as well, Donald Trump.
BERMAN: I feel like this slide might end up on a printout on his desk sometime soon, if he hasn't seen it already.
ENTEN: Yes.
BERMAN: Harry, in terms of who the president is endorsing, what we have going forward, what races are still out there?
ENTEN: Yes. OK. You know, how about in North Carolina, right? North -- New Hampshire, not North Carolina. New Hampshire.
BERMAN: It's the North Carolina of New England.
ENTEN: That's right, it's the North Carolina of New England. Chance to be in New Hampshire Republican Senate nominee. John Sununu, who Trump has endorsed, a 97 percent chance. Scott Brown, three percent. That matches the polls, according to the Kalshi prediction market, these odds are.
BERMAN: Harry Enten, thank you very much for that. ENTEN: Thank you, my friend.
BERMAN: There is a lot of news this morning.
We'll be right back.
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