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Trump: No Nikki Haley Or Mike Pompeo In New Administration; Biden Prepares To Hand Over Power To President-Elect Trump; Biden Moves To Limit Oil Drilling In Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Aired 9-10p ET
Aired November 09, 2024 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[21:01:15]
PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Pamela Brown in Washington. And we begin tonight with a CNN projection. CNN now projects that Donald Trump will win the state of Arizona. This is the last race of the presidential race for CNN to call and gives him a final total of 312 electoral votes. CNN's Alayna Treene joins us live from Palm Beach, Florida with more on this.
And you know, you might hear that say, well, we already know that Trump is president-elect, but Arizona, it's interesting because he lost, of course, to Biden, right? In 2020 by less than 11,000 votes. I believe it was the thinnest margin between the two. And I think it is a reflection of how he was able to gain ground this time around. And he's already plotting his next administration and who's going to be in it and not Alayna.
ALAYNA TREEN, CNN REPORTER: No, that's absolutely right, Pamela. And I think, look, obviously Donald Trump had won the race, and waiting for Arizona wasn't going to make a difference in the overall scheme of who was going to be in the Oval Office come the end of January. But it does really show, I mean, the way that Donald Trump has flipped so many of the battlegrounds that Biden had won and even some that Hillary had won back in 2016.
And it also, I will say, has really contributed to this feeling that I'm being described about that Donald Trump is feeling right now, which is a sense that him winning the popular vote, his success in this election, picking up battleground states that they were unsure of whether they would be successful in or not. That is all contributing to Donald Trump, of course, reveling in his win, but also to this idea that he feels like he's going to have a mandate once he is in office and really feels more confident that he will be able to deliver and should be able to deliver on some of the key priorities.
Now, as for what to expect in this upcoming administration, I think there's no secret that on that island behind me where Donald Trump is, where his allies are, where a lot of people have been meeting and trying to get a table on the patio at Mar-a-Lago to get an audience with Donald Trump, a lot of jockeying is going on behind the scenes, people who want to have some sort of role in a second term. But two people we know that will not have a role in a second term are
Nikki Haley and Mike Pompeo. Donald Trump announced tonight on Truth Social that he doesn't want either of them to serve in another administration. And I will tell you behind the scenes, it's interesting. Mike Pompeo has been floated by many of the people close to Donald Trump, some people involved in the transition for potentially being considered as secretary of defense.
I will say there are some people in Donald Trump's orbit who have really soured on Pompeo, believe that he really did not earn or doesn't earn any loyalty or shouldn't earn any loyalty from Donald Trump given his late endorsement of the former president. But there are people who think that he did a great job as secretary of state and that he earned another chance to sit at the table.
I will say as well that Donald Trump privately has been asking people close to him in recent days whether or not he thinks he could trust Pompeo. So that's part of where this came from, I'm told, this decision to say that Pompeo will have no role in another administration.
As for Haley, I think there's no secret that, yes, while she has come out and said that she supported Donald Trump, that she would vote for him, that she wanted the country or, excuse me, the party really to unify around Donald Trump. He still harbors a lot of animosity toward her for the attacks that she lobbed at him during that Republican primary, was a very bitter primary, but also he believes that she stayed in it for too long. And that is something that Donald Trump still remarks about behind closed doors. So I think that's where you're seeing some of this coming from.
Now as we look ahead to the next couple of days, I'm told we could expect some announcements about who will be in his Cabinet, more of those cabinet positions announced, as well as top White House positions very soon. Donald Trump wants to get this wave, this first wave that they are describing it as of hires done as soon as possible. Pamela.
[21:05:13]
BROWN: All right, Alayna Treene, thanks so much. And as President- elect Trump prepares for his second administration, President Biden and his team are moving quickly to protect his legacy and the laws he passed from the incoming Trump administration. CNN's Arlette Saenz has more. So, Arlette, one focus is on the environment, right? And the Biden administration is already working to protect a key wildlife refuge. Tell us more about that.
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So the day after the election, the Biden administration actually moves to limit drilling in Alaska's Arctic Wildlife Refuge. This is a very pristine area in Alaska that is home to many endangered animals. They're trying to prevent expansive drilling in that area. It's just like one of the steps that the administration is trying to take when it relates to protecting climate and energy and environmental initiatives. After President-elect Trump appears ready to issue executive orders and proclamations trying to undo some of the policies of the Biden administration, really the focus in the coming 10 weeks will be for Biden trying to shore up and strengthen the existing initiatives to try to prevent Trump from undoing that.
One area where they really want to focus on is trying to get more money and weaponry directly to Ukraine at a time when U.S. Support for Ukraine remains in question under Trump and Republicans in control potentially of both chambers. You also have plans for them to try to dole out and implement the legislation they've passed, like the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes climate initiatives, also semiconductor chips, manufacturing. They want to get as much money out the door possible there. And then there's the issue of judicial nominations. Biden Yesterday actually nominated two additional federal judges.
There are close to 20 now who are still being considered up on Capitol Hill. That's something Senate Democrats are eager to do, trying to get more judges confirmed. But what remains unclear there is whether Republicans will try to cooperate with them in any way.
So those that's just a sample of what the Biden administration is trying to do to shore up their work, their legacy. But they also are well aware that there is a lot of stuff that Trump could undo. And he's made it quite clear that there's many portions of the Biden administration that he potentially wants to take executive action on that he just didn't agree with.
BROWN: Yes, it's sort of this race against the clock that you see when a different party is coming to take over the White House. Arlette Saenz, thank you so much.
Well, CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein joins us now with more. Ron, I want to talk about the Atlantic, this Atlantic article where you write, quote, "It is virtually impossible for the incumbent president's party to hold the White House when Americans are discontented with that president's performance." Do you think any Democrat could have won Tuesday's election?
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: In the end, I think the answer was no. Some might have done a little better, Some might have done a little worse. Biden certainly himself would have done worse. But as you note from my story, Pam, I mean, you know, we know people are familiar with the idea that when an incumbent president is unpopular and runs for reelection, they've always lost. George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Trump himself in 2020. What's less remarked upon is that even when an incumbent president, who is facing a high level of disapproval, chooses or has to not run for reelection, his party has also lost the White House. Truman in 1952, it went to Republican Dwight Eisenhower. Lyndon Johnson in 1968, it went to Republican Richard Nixon. George W. Bush In 2008, it went to Barack Obama.
I mean, the discontent with Biden's performance not the only factor in this election. Obviously, in any election, there are many things that matter, but by and large, by far the most important factor. You know, 60 percent of voters in the exit poll said they disapproved of Biden's performance, and over 80 percent of them voted for Trump. 70 percent of voters said they were dissatisfied with the economy, and over 70 percent of them voted for Trump. That was a headwind that, in the end was probably impossible for any Democratic candidate to overcome. And in many ways, 2022 sent a false signal to the party, kind of a false positive about the degree to which it would be possible to run away from the discontent with Biden in a way that I think ultimately had very profound consequences.
BROWN: Yes. And as you know, Trump's base has been remarkably loyal, but his election this year was fueled by this broader coalition. You know, can Republicans count on their support if he can't make good on some of his sweeping economic promises or sweeping immigration promises?
BROWNSTEIN: Right. I mean, that really is the question. I mean, you know, if you look across the board, as I said, there was broad discontent with Biden's outcomes. You know, the White House may say that was unfair given the strong job market and the strong stock market, but, you know, discontent about the big run-up in prices in his first two years really just overshadowed this race all the way to the end. And that became a dispositive factor, I think, for many of the swing voters in the electorate. But that doesn't mean they have erased all of their concerns about Donald Trump.
[21:10:22]
I mean, you know, we have our two major sources that tell us what voters were thinking in the election, the exit polls and the vote gas study by the National Opinion Research Center, and between them. You know, they tell us that a majority of voters said they view Trump as too extreme. A majority said they worry that he would steer the country toward autocracy. A majority said they oppose mass deportation.
A majority said that they believe abortion should be legal. The critical factor in this election was that a significant slice of each of those groups voted for him anyway because, in effect, continuing down the path seemed riskier them than taking this leap into the unknown with Trump. Despite all of those concerns. For example, one quarter of women who said they were pro choice voted for Trump anyway. And that, I think, is the core dynamic that tells you how powerful discontent was over where we are as a country and how much that overrode the continuing, you know, unease or concerns or hesitations about Trump. He was hired to do a couple things, you know, get the cost of living under control, get the border under control. Voters want him to do that.
Do they want sweeping tariffs? Do they want mass deportation? How will they react when they get that? Those are very different questions.
BROWN: They are. But, you know, look, we just reported moments ago that CNN is now projecting that President Trump will win the state of Arizona. And it is. You just take a step back, you look at 2020 to now, you know, four years later, he is now projected to win all seven battleground states. What does that say to you?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Well, like as I said before, you know, 2020, there's a really important point here about how 2022 sent a false signal to Democrats. You know, what we saw in 2022 was that in the states where the parties weren't competing, whether they were blue states or red states, in the states where not a lot of money was being spent, Republicans improved everywhere because they were lifted by this rising tide of discontent about Biden and the economy. But Democrats, of course, did much better in 2022, in the battleground states where both sides were competing, places like Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Arizona, which we just mentioned. And what many people, myself included took from that, was that while the broad discontent was likely to reduce the Democratic position and the popular vote. The Republicans were likely to run better in both Texas and New York in this election.
The 2022 precedent suggested they could build kind of a moat around the swing states and in the places where they were knocking on doors and making campaign appearances and buying ads, they could shift enough voters away from their discontent over Biden and the economy toward other issues, democracy, abortion, you know, views of Trump himself. And to some extent, they did, in the sense that she ran better in the swing states, lost less ground than she did in the states that weren't, you know, competitive. But not nearly as well as 2022.
It turns out that I think, you know, when people are voting for governor or senator, it is one step removed from voting for president, who they do attribute the authority and the ability to affect those national economic outcomes. And in many ways, this was the key dynamic that the discontent with Biden, the discontent with the economy, the discontent over the border really radiated everywhere. I mean, Trump improved in 90 percent of the counties in the country between 20 and 24. And something that uniform says to me that it wasn't tactics, it wasn't messaging, it wasn't which ad ran in which state. It was a shared national verdict of discontent that really affected voters in all 50 states.
BROWN: Ron Brownstein, as always, thank you so much for breaking it down for us.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks, Pam. Thanks for having me.
BROWN: Ahead in the CNN Newsroom, the urgent efforts happening right now by Democratic governors to protect their states from President- elect Trump's expected conservative agenda, plus tough talk on the economy helped Donald Trump win the White House. But what will his promises, we were just talking about that on pricing and tariffs actually mean for millions of struggling Americans? And how Trump could potentially handle conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine as he returns to a world stage that looks very different from the last time he was in the Oval Office.
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[21:19:38]
BROWN: We're following breaking news tonight. CNN now able to project that former President Trump will win the state of Arizona and the state's 11 electoral votes. Arizona is the final state to be projected in the 2024 Presidential election. Mr. Trump now has 312 electoral votes. Vice President Kamala Harris has 226. And we also have another CNN projection for you right now.
[21:20:04]
In Arizona, Democrat Greg Stanton has won reelection. He beats Republican Kelly Cooper in Arizona's 4th district, a critical hold for Democrats as they try to win the House after losing the White House and Senate to Republicans.
And while Democrats wait to learn whether they can win the House, Democratic governors are hoping to insulate their states from the conservative policies expected under the next Trump administration. CNN's Eric Bradner is keeping a close eye on this and joins us now. Eric, so what is the threat that they see from a new Trump White House?
ERIC BRADNER, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, they're certainly worried about abortion rights, especially states that consider themselves safe havens for those traveling from red states with abortion bans. They're worried about climate change rules. Some states have passed their own vehicle emission standards. But one of the biggest concerns that we're hear so far is over what the President- elect's mass deportation plan will ultimately look like. Several Democratic governors are vowing that their state police will not be involved no matter what that plan looks like. And some others have expressed fear that if they do fight the incoming administration, President Trump may target Federal funding for things like infrastructure projects, disaster relief, and other federal dollars that flow into their states. That, by the way, is why some governors were a little less eager than others to really go after the President- elect immediately.
In a state like Maryland, the biggest employer is the Federal government. So their governor, Wes Moore had this to say at a Cabinet meeting on Friday. He said, "We're ready to push back on this new White House when necessary. But where we can find common ground, we will." That was a tone that several Democratic governors in states that aren't dominated by Democrats sort of took.
BROWN: Illinois governor for his part, J.B. Pritzker had some fighting words earlier this week. I want to listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GOV. JB PRITZKER, (D) ILLINOIS: To anyone who intends to come take away the freedom and opportunity, and dignity of Illinoisans, I would remind you that a happy warrior is still a warrior. You come for my people, you come through me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: So what legal battles are these governors bracing for?
BRADNER: To some extent, they have to wait and see exactly what President-elect Trump does when he takes office, particularly executive orders that he signs early on. But for now, some states are drafting briefs that they anticipate they're going to be filing. They're debating where to file their lawsuits. And they have options, of course. Democratic governors and Democratic attorneys general are communicating with each other about this. And by the way, of course, they've done it before. This is a strategy we saw them enact in after the 2016 election when they filed a record-breaking number of lawsuits against the first Trump administration. So they're preparing without knowing exactly what every fight is going to look like, but they do anticipate several big ones.
BROWN: All right, Eric Bradner, thank you so much. A Federal Emergency Management Agency worker has been fired after telling a disaster relief team to skip homes with signs supporting Donald Trump for President while the team was in Florida last month after Hurricane Milton. A FEMA administrator called those actions, "reprehensible and a clear violation of FEMA's core values and principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation." The agency says it believes it was an isolated incident and it is not naming that person. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has invited Administrator Deanne Criswell to testify at a hearing later this month to discuss the incident.
And just ahead, what we know about President-elect Trump's plans to morph the country's long-held role as an international leader and what that could mean for U.S. Allies. You're in the CNN Newsroom.
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[21:28:43]
BROWN: Around the world, leaders are preparing for the return of Donald Trump. The political landscape and global conflicts are in a dramatically different place than they were four years ago. New conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East both be challenges for the president-elect, no doubt. CNN political and national security analyst David Sanger joins us now.
Hi, David. So you have this article in the New York Times. It's titled Trump's win ends a post-World War II era of U.S leadership. What does that mean for the world?
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Pam, good evening. And what it means is this in the post-Cold War world, the United States, through both parties, when both parties were in power, would make the case that the U.S. was going to be the leader in promoting democracy, in promoting free trade, in promoting Western values. When President Biden came in, he said to the world, we're back. And basically tried to make the case that the four years of Donald Trump '19 and 2017-2021 were an aberration. And that basically the United States was back to its traditional role.
[21:30:00]
Well, now it looks after the result of this election much more like the Biden administration was sort of the last gasp of this era. And the question now around the world is, will President Trump in his second term do some of the things he walked up to the edge of in the first term, withdrawal or lower the importance of NATO. Will he pull out of Ukraine, a conflict that was not underway yet when he left? How will he deal with the growing partnership between Russia and China?
BROWN: And you also write in the New York Times that the first test of U.S. Foreign policy changes under Trump will come in Ukraine. Earlier this year, as you know, Trump claimed he would end the conflict in a day. I think that was on CNN in our town hall.
SANGER: That's right.
BROWN: You expect to see happen on that front?
SANGER: Well, it's a little hard to predict with any great certainty. There's only one way I can think of to end the conflict in a day. That is to call Vladimir Putin, say, what do you need? He'll say, well, how about the 20 percent of the country that Russia currently controls with its troops. And then call President Zelensky of Ukraine and say, boy, do we have a deal for you. If you give him 20 percent of the country, we'll keep up our funding. Now, Zelensky had a long phone call with President Trump or President-elect Trump a few days ago. That's the one that Elon Musk joined in on and didn't walk away from it sounding desperate. So it's possible that he believes there is some form of support coming.
But certainly Zelensky has got to begin to think that this is the end of the era of large U.S. military and intelligence support for the war with Russia, and he's going to have to find another way out.
BROWN: So much has changed in the world in the last four years since Trump has been out of the office. You know, you have this growing relationship between Russia and China. Today, CNN learned that Russia has ratified a mutual defense treaty with North Korea. How does all of this change the calculus in that region, especially with American troops stationed in South Korea?
SANGER: It's a really fascinating question. And while we saw that this agreement was coming, it is nonetheless a big shift, Pam, because you'll remember that the Russians were by and large relatively helpful in the U.S. efforts to try to convince North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program. Of course, that didn't work. And in the efforts to restrain Iran and its nuclear program, Russia was on the U.S-European side of the bargaining table. Now it's pretty clear that they have switched sides. They need something from the North Koreans, and they're getting it in the form of ammunition, artillery, and now upwards of 10,000 troops. It's not clear what the North Koreans are getting in return. But the expectation in Washington is that they will get help on their missile program and maybe on the nuclear program.
So, you know, it's very possible that Putin has concluded that it's in his interest to have a Kim Jong Un with the capability of being able to threaten to hit the United States. It extends his power to some good degree.
BROWN: Do you think Trump is in for a rude awakening when he comes back into office? You talk about how often he will simplify things with Russia, with China and so forth. What do you think?
SANGER: I think he is. He won't admit it as much. He will say that the reason that Russia invaded Ukraine was that Joe Biden was in office and had pulled back from Afghanistan and that Putin didn't respect it. And, you know, there are elements of that argument that I think are sustainable, including the effects that the Afghan withdrawal had on Putin's own calculus. But I think the hardest thing for the new Trump administration to sort of get their heads around and figure out how to play is the new relationship between China and Russia, because clearly they are creating an alternative to the U.S. area of influence. I suspect that the President Trump, once he gets into office, will think that his relationship with Putin will be enough to work his way around that.
But it's clear that Putin is going to play the Russia-China relationship off against the United States to some degree, and that relationship is big and deep. Remember that President Xi Jinping and President Putin have met something between 50 and 60 times and deepened their relationship a lot in the past 8 or 10 years.
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BROWN: David Sanger, thank you for your just always smart analysis on world affairs. We appreciate it.
SANGER: Great to be with you.
BROWN: Still to come, an Indiana jury will need at least one more day to decide the fate of a man accused of killing two teen girls in a case that's gripped a community for more than seven years. You're in the CNN Newsroom.
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BROWN: Jurors in the Delphi, Indiana double murder trial will resume deliberations on Monday at 9 a.m. after another day of discussing the fate of Richard Allen. He is accused of killing 14-year-old Liberty Libby German and 13-year-old Abigail Abbey Williams and leaving their bodies near a hiking path more than seven years ago.
Now, the case has drawn a huge amount of attention since then and questions remain about whether prosecutors can secure a conviction due to a lack of physical evidence tying Allen to the crimes. Susan Hendricks has followed this case closely from the very beginning. And she wrote Down The Hill: My Descent Into The Double Murder In Delphi.
Hi, Susan, and great to see you. So tell us more about this and where the deliberations stand right now.
SUSAN HENDRICKS, AUTHOR, "DOWN THE HILL: MY DESCENT INTO THE DOUBLE MURDER IN DELPHI": Yeah, Pam, great to see you. It's been so long. If you think about it, those girls would be 21 and 22 years old right now. The family has been waiting so long. Law enforcement has kept very little detail out in the press and most of it to them. And finally, I've been in the trial every single day. We're hearing details and what we have learned is that Richard Allen, while in prison has been confessing to this. We also hear what was on Libby German's phone. For so many years, it was known as the Bridge Guy and what he said dies down the hill. But when you saw what was on her phone, 42 seconds, I was looking over at the family and you heard their voices and they sounded so young.
And what we heard on it, were all leaning forward. It was Libby saying, there's no path here. And then Abby saying, do we go this way? Is he behind me? And then dies. And then someone says like scared, and then down the hill. So we've heard that, we saw crime scene photos, Pam. Libby was completely naked. Abby was dressed in Libby's clothes. So for years authorities knew this. But they do have an unspent bullet in between the bodies that the authorities say is Richard Allen's gun. But nothing, as you said, you can explain that away, the battle of the experts, as it goes. So we'll see. And you never really know, Pam, as you know how the jury's thinking or what they're thinking.
BROWN: Yeah, I mean, just you describing that video just gives me chills. Oh, just so awful, right? You know, people at home might be wondering, look, he's already confessed to the murder, why is a conviction not such a sure thing?
HENDRICKS: Exactly, excellent question, and the defense paints a picture of, hey, botched investigation. You got the wrong guy. The ballistic expert, it doesn't match. They didn't arrest this guy. He was hiding in plain sight, as the authorities said. He worked at CVS, married to his high school sweetheart, had a daughter who recently got married. He walked her down the aisle. But I believe it's him and those confessions. But the Defense explains that away and says this. Look, he was in a maximum-security prison. No other inmates had been in there that weren't convicted, innocent until proven guilty. He should have been in jail. Well, the authorities say, look, we couldn't hold him in Carroll County. He would have been hurt because all the talk about killing two young girls. So we put him there and then he was a suicide risk to himself.
So he was in a special area. But the Defense is saying that's not true. He's in solitary confinement. He was losing his mind, and therefore he confessed. But, Pam, I heard about seven confessions that they played. I'm not saying that where he was didn't affect his mind, but he sounded very calm, saying to his mom, I did it. I killed Abby and Libby. Oh, no, you didn't. That place is messing you up. No, I did. Why would I say I didn't if I did, as calm as that. But you never know. So it really -- the family's on kind of high alert, pins and needles, wondering. It could just be a holdout. But today, this is key. They asked for the evidence of what's on Libby's phone and an interview he did in 2022 to say, hey, we're looking at you again. We found that tip and they're comparing the voices, so we're kind of guessing what it means.
BROWN: So if Allen were to be found not guilty or if there was a hung jury, what then? I mean, could this case be tried again?
HENDRICKS: Yes, that's what the talk was today and I talked about it with five different people. And I always said, you know, I'm not going to predict because you never really know. And interviewing so many lawyers through the years, but I'm doing that. I'm predicting and saying, so if it does, absolutely, it will go and they'll do it once again. But these jurors I trust, I've been looking over at them and they are paying close attention. And Indiana is one of the few states where you can ask questions to each witness. So the Judge says, any questions? They raise their hand, they write it down. They go to a sidebar. Then they come back and the judge asks the witness the question, and then he answered it. So it gives you an idea kind of how they're thinking and they're intelligent questions, especially when it comes to ballistics and they're engaged. They're paying attention and they take this seriously.
[21:45:16]
BROWN: Susan Hendricks, its so great to see you. Thank you so much for bringing us on this important case.
HENDRICKS: You too. Thank you.
BROWN: And when we come back, tax breaks, cheaper prices for gas and groceries, and of course, tariffs. When we come back, we're talking with personal finance expert George Kamel about some of Trump's economic promises that actually -- what they'd actually mean for your money if they come to pass, lots of questions here in The CNN Newsroom.
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[21:50:19]
BROWN: With Bidenomics in the rearview mirror, the American economy is going to reflect the priorities now of Donald Trump. So what does that mean for you and your wallet? Let's discuss with George Kamel. He is a personal finance expert, host of the George Kamel show and co-host of the Ramsey Show.
George, great to see you. So let's start with taxes, why don't we? Donald Trump's tax cuts were due to expire, but with him in the White House, presumably those are extended. So what does that mean for us, potentially?
GEORGE KAMEL, PERSONAL FINANCE EXPERT: Well, back in 2017, the tax cuts and Jobs act happened, and we're probably going to see more of that. He's going to look to expand and probably renew that, which means we're going to see the standard deduction stay raised almost doubled for most Americans. We're going to see lower tax rates and we're going to see the corporate tax rate potentially go down as well. And he's looking to also remove Federal taxes from Social Security tips and overtime pay. So this could have a net positive effect for a lot of Americans to the tune of about 1200 bucks annually.
BROWN: But then what about the deficit, the ballooning deficit?
KAMEL: That's the tradeoff here. So anytime, you know, you take money away from the government through tax cuts, it's going to increase the national deficit if you don't create revenue from somewhere else. And that's where the tariffs come into play. He's saying he's going to increase the government revenue through tariffs and make up for the tax cut lost revenue.
BROWN: Yes. On tariffs, he said, "the most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff." Now, the National Retail Federation last week in this analysis found that the price of a 50 pair of sneakers would rise to $59 to $64 under Trump's tariffs. So, I mean, so if we get maybe a break from, you know, for example, the taxes, would we be paying more for a pair of shoes, potentially, if he really follows through on this promise with tariffs,
KAMEL: Absolutely, so with your tax savings, you're just going to be paying more for those goods that have the tariffs on them. And so this is a net negative for consumers out there, especially in the short term, because tariffs just tax the U.S. importers. And guess what they pass the cost on to the consumers, just like we see with credit card fees. The businesses are not going to pay that fee. They're just going to raise their prices in order to cover that. And so that could increase the cost for consumers upwards of 2600 bucks a year. So, you know, there's going to be some good and bad in all of these policies.
BROWN: What about inflation? Because Trump blamed the surge in immigrants for the housing crisis. Most economists disagreed with that. Will Americans see any relief there on inflation and also on things like, you know, grocery prices? I mean, those are the things that really drove voters in this election and to vote for Trump, frankly.
KAMEL: Absolutely. Well, the housing market is not controlled by immigration. It's all about supply and demand. And so his hopeful message here is, hey, if we can cut back some of the red tape and some of the regulation and open up some of this Federal land will increase the housing supply. And therefore, we could see houses, you know, house prices reduced by about 5 to 10 percent, which would be a net positive. But again, the President doesn't control interest rates for mortgages. They don't control the housing market. And so I think this is going to be a long game for us to get to place where home affordability is back on the docket.
BROWN: All right, got to ask you about energy because as we know, how many times have we heard Trump say he wants to "drill, baby, drill." What does this mean for Americans? Should we look forward to lower gas and energy prices?
KAMEL: Well, this is really more of a jobs play and, you know, part of his America first narrative. And what we're going to see is with increased, you know, U.S. oil production, we're not going to see, you know, the prices of the pump skyrocket down because the U.S. oil, you know, what we pay at the pump is largely controlled by the global oil. And so I don't think we're going to see a huge effect at the pump, unfortunately, but we could see some jobs out of this. And so I wouldn't expect huge changes when you're pumping your car up.
BROWN: All right, George Camel, thank you so much.
KAMEL: Absolutely. BROWN: Catherine, Princess of Wales, back in the public eye today.
We'll explain next right here in the CNN Newsroom.
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BROWN: The Princess of Wales is back to public duties after completing treatment for cancer. Catherine attended a Remembrance Day event in London alongside King Charles III and her husband, Prince William. The 42-year-old princess was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year just a month after the king was also diagnosed with cancer. She finished chemotherapy in September. But said her road to recovery was going to be long. The senior royal is expected to attend another public event tomorrow.
And, of course, we're all wishing her the best on her road to recovery. But she looks great. Well, a quick programming Note for you. Dr. Sanjay Gupta ventures across the globe to see how new popular weight loss medications are transforming lives. You can watch Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports. Is Ozempic right for you on Sunday, November 17th at 8:00 p.m. on CNN.
Well, thank you so much for joining me this evening. I'm Pamela Brown. You can follow me on Instagram TikTok.