Return to Transcripts main page

Connect the World

Revised Numbers for June Show Jobs Market Shrank by 13,000 in June, it's First Decline Since December 2020; Hospital: Israeli Strike Kills 7 Children in Gaza City; Official: Trump to Sign Executive Order Friday Changing Defense Department to Department of War; U.S. Job Growth Slows Sharply in August; New Tesla Pay Package Could Make Elon Musk a Trillionaire. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired September 05, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: You're looking at the White House as we watch for President Trump's reaction to the latest U.S.

jobs report. The historic expansion in the labor market has just ended after the numbers for June were revised negative.

It's 09:00 a.m. in Washington and in New York, where stock markets will open in just about 30 minutes and 02:00 p.m. here in London, with me

Christina Macfarlane, this is "Connect the World". Also coming up, a hospital in Gaza City says an Israeli strike on residential buildings and

tent camps has killed several children.

And European leaders taking heat from the U.S. President to stop buying Russian oil and up pressure on China in their efforts to end the war in

Ukraine. Wall Street futures reacting keenly to that anticipated U.S. jobs report that came out just a short time ago, all three indices still up in

the green there.

The U.S. economy adding just 22,000 jobs in August, far fewer than analysts expected. On average, they were forecasting around 76,000. It was also down

sharply from July, when there was a gain. You'll remember, of 73,000 the unemployment rate rose from 4.2 percent to 4.3 in August, the highest for

nearly four years.

Our Matt Egan is here to break down the latest numbers for us and what they mean going forward. And it is not a pretty picture. Matt, just walk us

through that jobs report and what it is saying to us about the state of the U.S. economy.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yeah, Christina, it's saying that after years of resilience, the U.S. job market does look like it is in trouble here. We've

had hiring basically slow to a halt, and a number of different indicators are all moving in the wrong direction. So, 22,000 jobs added, as you

mentioned, that's just a fraction of the roughly 77,000 that was expected.

4.3 percent is the unemployment rate that is up from 4.2 percent, in fact, this is now the highest unemployment rate since October of 2021.Now zooming

in a little bit on the unemployment rate. We just got new numbers on the black unemployment rate, and just as recently as May, it was 6 percent.

The black unemployment rate has now surged to 7.5 percent, a startling move, one that economists have said is often a canary in the coal mine when

it comes to trouble in the job market. Now, when we look at the pace of jobs added and subtracted over the past few months, you can see a clear

slowdown.

In fact, even more of a slowdown that's actually the unemployment rate. You can see how it has moved higher over the past two years, from historically

low levels to higher levels, still relatively low, but moving in the wrong direction, but now turning to jobs added each month, there were some

notable revisions here.

So, July was just revised slightly higher, still low level, but was revised higher, but more significantly was June. June was revised to a negative

number. It had been 14,000 jobs added, but now it's negative 13,000 and that is notable because this is the first time that the U.S. economy has

lost jobs since December of 2020, right?

This snaps a nearly five-year streak of uninterrupted job growth, the second longest streak in American history. And this does appear to be a

sign that businesses are holding off on hiring because there's just so much uncertainty right now. No digging into some of the sectors here, we saw

that health care continues to add jobs, a lot of jobs, right of 47,000 that's more than the U.S. economy actually added in total.

Leisure and Hospitality also added almost 30,000 jobs. The problem is, economists say that the job growth has just become so concentrated in just

a few different sectors. And on the other hand, some of the goods producing sectors, they're actually shedding jobs, right?

We saw the construction lost 7000 jobs in August. Manufacturing lost jobs for the fourth month in a row, losing 12,000 during the month of August,

which I do think kind of underscores one of the ironies here, right? One of the problems in the U.S. economy and really the world economy, is all the

uncertainty over trade policy and tariffs.

And trade policy from the Trump Administration is supposed to be propping up the manufacturing industry, but that's not happening, at least not yet,

right? Instead, we're getting the exact opposite, with manufacturing losing jobs again four months in a row, just turning to the U.S. market reaction

not seeing a significant one.

[09:05:00]

U.S. stock futures were down a bit before this report came out, you see they're down. They're up a little bit right now, I do think that investors

are increasingly confident that the Federal Reserve is going to be cutting interest rates later this month.

MACFARLANE: Yeah.

EGAN: But Christina, it's not really happening for the reason that the White House would want, right? They were hoping they'd get rate cuts

because of low inflation. Instead, it looks like we might be getting rate cuts because of low hiring.

MACFARLANE: Yeah, and I was wondering whether the green we're seeing across the board here is a reflection of the fact that the Federal Reserve may

move to cut rates. I mean, it's something Jerome Powell has always said, the unemployment number is the main number he's watching when it comes to

making a decision about that.

I believe they're set to meet in a couple of weeks, I think September 17th. So is this, all of this making those interest rate cuts more likely.

EGAN: It is. It is. I mean, Wall Street was pricing in basically a slam dunk up with 100 percent chance of an interest rate cut in that meeting

that's coming up in just about two weeks. So, this would appear to basically seal the deal on that cut. But perhaps investors are actually

starting to price in not just the September cut, but further interest rate cuts later this year.

And to your point, Jerome Powell, at the most recent press conference in late July, he said that of all the figures he's looking at, it's the

unemployment rate. Because he noted that we are in a situation where it's not just the demand for workers has come down. The supply of workers has

come down as well, in part because of the immigration crackdown from the Trump Administration.

So that's why he said that the unemployment rate is the bigger tell. But what's notable is that when he said that the unemployment rate in June was

4.1 percent which he described as very low, but now it's moved up noticeably to 4.3 percent which again is the highest level in almost four

years.

MACFARLANE: Well, we are watching, of course, for reaction from President Trump himself. Nothing just yet, but we'll be following up looking at the

broader picture of the politics of this later in the show. Matt, for now, we appreciate your analysis. Thank you.

EGAN: Thanks, Christina.

MACFARLANE: Now, the two-week deadline that President Trump gave Russian President Vladimir Putin to make a peace deal with Ukraine expires this

Friday, with no apparent signs of progress. Mr. Trump says he plans to speak with the Russian leader in the near future, but he acknowledged again

on Thursday that he thought ending the war would be easier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We're having a very good dialog. I settled seven wars. The one that I thought would be

maybe one of the easiest. You know, that feeling you think one thing is going to be easier, turns out to be a little bit tougher.

But the one that I thought would be an easier one because of my relationship with President Putin and with Ukraine and everything else. I

thought it would be the Russia, Ukraine disaster. We'll get it done, but that's turned out to be the most difficult of the group.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well CNN's Ben Wedeman is following the story for us. And Ben, President Trump also telling a meeting of world leaders on Thursday that

Europe must stop purchasing Russian oil and put economic pressure on China to try and bring an end to the war in Ukraine. What, are Ukraine? How are

Ukraine responding to that?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ukrainian leaders, particularly President Zelenskyy, have to do what most European

leaders and other world leaders have to do when it comes to President Trump. Whatever you do, don't criticize him.

Say positive things, and that's what we heard from President Zelenskyy and the other leaders who attended the Coalition of the Willing meeting

yesterday in Paris. They're all hoping that President Trump will come around to their view that pressure needs to be put on Russia to end the

war.

And President Zelenskyy said today that the quickest way to bring Russia to the negotiating table is by going after Russia's wallet.

MACFARLANE: And also, I mean as we --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: -- seriously cut Russia's income from energy exports, and this is the right path. The less money put in max

from oil, the less he can spend on war and on destabilization other countries. Please keep this in mind. Energy Independence from Russia is

also key to strong relations with the United States.

Now in Ukraine, I have meetings with Antonio Costa, the President of the European Council, and with the prime minister, by the way, with the Prime

Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, and we will talk about this as well. And it's important that Prime Minister Orban also hears these signals from the

United States, directly from President Trump, the signal about Russian oil.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEDEMAN: And of course, what we're hearing from President Trump is it's up to the Europeans. They need to stop buying Russian oil, which they do in

fact.

[09:10:00]

They need to pressure China, to pressure Russia to bring the war to an end. You know, Christina, I was in Kyiv three weeks ago today, covering from

there the meeting between Presidents Trump and Putin in Alaska. And we saw much talk about, for instance, the possibility that within a week,

President Putin would meet one on one with President Zelenskyy.

People were skeptical in Ukraine at the time, and that skepticism was well founded. What we heard today is President Putin saying that he's offering,

he's inviting President Zelenskyy to Moscow, and he says that Russia will guarantee Zelenskyy's security. Take that as you will, Christina.

MACFARLANE: And as that offer is put forward, Ben, the European coalition, the winning are also pushing forward, trying to provide security guarantees

for Ukraine. I just want to show our viewers how Belgium's Foreign Minister described their goals on that to our Becky Anderson. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAXIME PREVOT, BELGIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: It's really important if we achieve a ceasefire, if we send an international force for keeping the

peace, on the ground that we also have strong commitment coming from the U.S., as well as a backstop in order to be sure that we will be able, in

the future, to avoid any restarting of the war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Ben, how much does any of this European operation about security guarantees hinge on U.S. support?

WEDEMAN: Well, it says to a great extent. I mean, really, the Europeans are hoping that the United States, even though President Trump has made it

clear there will be no U.S. troops, boots on the ground, they're hoping for backstopping.

They're hoping for provision of intelligence from the Americans, logistical support and other means to sort of bolster and guarantee that in the event

that war reignites again, in some theoretical, hypothetical day when there is no longer a war between Russia and Ukraine, that the United States will

step in.

But of course, we're dealing with a U.S. Administration that's unpredictable, fickle and erratic. And so, I think the fact of the matter

is, the Europeans are really spending a lot of time talking about security guarantees post ceasefire and a U.S. role in it. But until this ceasefire

is achieved, it's all sort of just talk.

And at this point, we are no closer, despite the meeting in Alaska, despite the following Monday, the meeting between Trump and European leaders and

President Zelenskyy and the White House, we are no closer today to an end to this war than we were three weeks ago, Christina.

MACFARLANE: Ben Wedeman, appreciate it. Thank you. At least 12 people, including 7 children, are reported to have been killed in an Israeli

military assault on Gaza City overnight. Video obtained by CNN shows some of the victims being rushed to the hospital.

And we have to warn you the images are disturbing. The casualty figures coming in to us from the spokesperson for the Al Shifa Hospital, who says

the strikes targeted residential buildings and tented houses for displaced people. CNN's Jeremy Diamond is reporting for us from Tel Aviv this hour.

Jeremy, just tell us what more you're learning about what happened overnight? And what stage of the assault on Gaza City we are now in?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well people in Gaza City described a terrifying night with intense aerial bombardment of residential

buildings and tents housing displaced people in Gaza City as the Israeli military is not only intensifying its bombardment, but also beginning to

move in on the ground, capturing about 40 percent of Gaza City, according to the Israeli military.

More than a dozen people were killed in those overnight strikes in Gaza City, and what is especially shocking about these strikes is the number of

children among the dead. At least seven children were among those people who were killed in Gaza City alone.

And you can see in video from emergency response workers overnight, children who are being pulled out of buildings their small bodies lying on

stretchers, many of them were also severely burned in some of these strikes, we heard from one Gaza Civil Defense firefighter, who described a

mother who was crawling on the floor of a charred building, her hands burning as she was searching for her children.

[09:15:00]

We also saw a video of a child, a toddler, it would seem, wearing Christmas pajamas, effectively, who was dead as a result of some of these strikes,

just horrific scenes that we are seeing. And across Gaza altogether, 69 people have now been killed over the past day, according to the Palestinian

Health Ministry.

And indeed, Israeli officials are warning that this will intensify. The Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Katz vowing that the gates of hell, he

says, are now being opened on Gaza City, and that they will remain open unless Hamas agrees to Israel's conditions for ending the war in Gaza,

which includes Hamas agreeing to not only release all of the hostages, but also agreeing to disarm itself as well.

Now in addition to that, we are also getting news about the hostages who are still held in Gaza. One man in particular, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, who has

now been held in Gaza for 700 days. He was seen in a Hamas video in which he's filmed actually in a car above ground, driving through Gaza City, past

several locations in that city that we have been able to geolocate, confirming that he is indeed in Gaza City.

He interestingly, in the video, talks about this Israeli military assault that is impending on Gaza City. He says it gives him nightmares. And he

says he believes that it means that he and the other hostages, more than eight other hostages who he says are being held in Gaza City will die in

Gaza City. Now we cannot independently confirm that number of hostages being held in Gaza City.

Also important to note that, by virtue of being a hostage and being filmed in this video, he is speaking under duress, but nonetheless, it does echo

the fears of so many of the hostage families that we have been hearing over the last few days about what this military operation offensive in Gaza City

will mean for not only the Palestinians, nearly a million of whom are living in Gaza City, but also, of course, for the hostages who are being

held there.

MACFARLANE: And in the face of these devastating images coming out of Gaza City. More pressure is coming from the EU. We've been hearing a top EU

official accusing Israel now of genocide. Talk to us more about that, and to be honest, whether any of this is likely to move the needle at this

point.

DIAMOND: Well, the comments came from Teresa Ribera, who is the European Commission's Executive Vice President. And it is the first time that we

have heard a such a senior EU official, describe what is happening in Gaza as a genocide, and it came in the context of her lamenting the European

Union's inability to speak with one voice and to stop what she described as a genocide in Gaza.

Important to note, of course, that the Israeli government firmly rejects any notion that it is carrying out a genocide in Gaza, insisting that its

campaign is its military campaign in Gaza is directed at Hamas, but Teresa Ribera, this senior EU official is just the latest voice to be added to a

growing chorus of voices who are saying that they believe that what is happening in Gaza is a genocide.

Last week, we saw the association of genocide scholars declare as much. We've heard many Human Rights Organizations from Amnesty International to

Human Rights Watch and most recently, two prominent Israeli Human Rights Organizations also saying that what is happening in Gaza is a genocide.

Now, whether or not it actually moves the needle and impacts the Israeli military and the Israeli government's thinking about the way to proceed, so

far, it has not difficult to see that it will in the future.

MACFARLANE: Yeah, Jeremy Diamond, appreciate your reporting, thank you. Now Belgium has said it will recognize Palestinian statehood this month that

the United Nations General Assembly. We heard earlier from Belgium's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.

Take a listen now to what he told Becky Anderson yesterday about Israel's accusation that recognition for Palestine is a reward to Hamas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PREVOT: We have decided to formally recognize with judicial affect and legal affect the state of Palestine only when hold hostages will be

released and with no more Hamas in the governance of Palestinian especially in order to avoid any kind of reward to terrorists.

So, it's clearly the opposite, of course, when we take this decision in favor of international law first of all. And also, in favor of human and

humanitarian law and in favor of the Palestinian people. I know that Israel government will not applaud us, but it is really important to make

sanction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:20:00]

MACFARLANE: All right. Still to come, America's Health Secretary is being praised by the president and accused of lying to Congress by a former CDC

official will have the details from that fiery Senate hearing. Plus, tensions escalate between the U.S. and Venezuela over the deadly American

military strike on a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: Welcome back. U.S. Senators grilled Health Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., on Capitol Hill on Thursday, and hearing that was at times

fiery and bad tempered.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., U.S. HEALTH AND JUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: You're just making stuff --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- talking -- gibberish --

KENNEDY JR.: -- question. You're so wrong on your facts.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Kennedy faced criticism over moves that have restricted access to vaccines and over his management of the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, even some Republican lawmakers expressed concern.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN BARRASSO (R-WY): In your confirmation hearings, you promised to uphold the highest standards for vaccines. Since then, I've grown deeply

concerned. The public has seen measles outbreaks leadership in the National Institute of Health questioning the use of mRNA vaccines, the recently

confirmed Director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fired. Americans don't know who to rely on.

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): I do also believe that some of your statements seem to contradict what you said in the prior hearing.

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): I would say, effectively, we're denying people vaccine. I --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Cantwell.

CASSIDY: And you're wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well, the White House is standing behind Kennedy and praised his combative testimony. Take a listen to the president yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I guarantee a lot of the people at this table, like RFK Jr. and I do, but he's got a different take, and we want to listen to all of those

things, but I heard he did very well today, but it's not your standard talk. I like the fact that he's different.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: But here's what a former CDC official told CNN about the clip you're about to see.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you give the committee a name of who you're getting briefed by?

KENNEDY JR.: I'm getting briefed by all the time, by CDC.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just name.

KENNEDY JR.: Dr. William Thompson is one name.

DR. DEMETRE DASKALAKIS, FORMER CDC CHIEF OF VACCINES AND RESPIRATORY DISEASES: I just want to be clear that he's not been briefed by anyone from

the immunization center. The person that he mentioned does not work at the immunization center.

It is not possible that that person briefed him on measles or on flu or on polio or on vaccines, since that individual does not work anywhere in that

environment, we can't believe the state of our country that the Head of the Health Agency for the United States is actually standing before Congress

just continually making things up. He did not tell the truth.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: So, you're saying he lied to Congress.

DASKALAKIS: He lied to Congress.

COLLINS: Wow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Meantime, a White House official tells CNN that President Trump is expected to sign an executive order today changing the Defense

Department's name to the Department of War.

[09:25:00]

The president told reporters last week that his administration was considering a rebranding as it follows the changing of names of bases and

ships. The man leading the soon to be renamed Defense Department refuses to share details on the legal authority the U.S. used for this week's deadly

strike on suspected Venezuelan drug boat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Foreign Terrorist Organizations have been designated. We have those authorities, and it's about keeping the

American people safe. There's no reason for me to give the public or adversaries any more information than that.

But if you're trafficking drugs, and you're a known cartel entity, a designated terror organization, and they're headed for the United States,

or part of a process that would head to the United States that will have lethal consequences. The poisoning of the American people is over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well, the strike that killed 11 people in international waters earlier this week as part of the Trump Administration's war on drug

cartels, has gotten the attention of Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, who accuses the administration of trying to topple his regime.

CNN's Stefano Pozzebon joins us now live from Caracas. Good to see you, Stefano. So, what has been the view from the Venezuela capital on what's

been unfolding here in the Caribbean Sea?

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, Christina. Well, I think it's interesting to analyze that there are two dimensions in this crisis. On one

side, you have the United States taking decisive action against Venezuela. I think we're past the point of the inflammatory rhetoric.

We are talking here about a targeted strike that killed 11 Venezuelan citizens on the allegation of being drug traffickers, but still, 11 people

have been killed, and of course, Nicolas Maduro is pumping up the rhetoric and calling for the militia to be prepared for whatever comes from the

North.

However, if you come here to Caracas, I think that those sanctions and that escalation is yet to percolate here on the ground yesterday, we were able

to speak with several fishermen, for example, who are the ones that take off from the Venezuelan coast for civilian reasons. They just go out to

fish maybe 20, maybe 50 miles into the sea.

And of course, they say that they're not really, they're worried about encountering these U.S. fatigue or these patrols. But at the same time,

they don't have any alternative, and as long as the government won't issue an order to keep the boats at bay, they will stay out at the sea.

Because let's remember, this is a country in deep economic trouble every day of the week, and so nobody can really afford an idle day, and most of

the people we've spoken with are just too busy or too disenchanted to believe that these new U.S. intervention, new U.S. pressure, can actually

topple the government.

So, there are these two dimensions, Christina, of course, it's something unprecedented, the U.S. taking such a decent action against the Maduro's

government. At the same time, not many people here in Venezuela are making any concrete action about it. They just think about it.

It's on everyone's lips, but nobody is actually thinking of taking on to the streets, for example, to add some pressure from inside.

MACFARLANE: And yet U.S. action continues. I mean, what more can you tell us from overnight of two Venezuela military aircraft that were reported

flying near a U.S. Navy vessel?

POZZEBON: Yes, exactly. There are the signs that this escalation is indeed continued, like you said the Department of Defense sent us a statement

saying that to Venezuelans F-16, which, by the way, is an American jet to have insulted injury, overflowed -- overflew these U.S. fatigued overnight.

And we have asked the Venezuelan government, they didn't address our concerns. For now, they said that Nicolas Maduro will take the stage and

speak once again in the afternoon here in Caracas. Nicolas Maduro, by the way, has called for a mobilization day for the militia.

The militia is a civilian body that is associated with the Venezuelan armed forces, but it's not military and it's in the rhetoric of the government.

It's a body that should defend Venezuela in the case of an invasion from the United States, which, by the way, for now, it seems still very much

unlikely.

However, it's yet another sign that the tension is growing, that there is an escalation in the Caribbean Sea. And like I said, I think we're past the

point of the rhetoric with we're seeing people dying here, unfortunately, and so we really need to pay very close attention to whatever comes next,

inside or outside Venezuela, around the story, which is, of course, ongoing and often dramatic, Christina.

MACFARLANE: Indeed. Stefano Pozzebon, live from Caracas there. Appreciate it. Stefano, thank you.

[09:30:00]

Ahead on "Connect the World" more on the latest monthly job numbers in the U.S. showing a sharply downward trend and their political implications.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: Welcome back. You're watching "Connect the World". And we are focused on that highly anticipated U.S. jobs report that is now out. Only

22,000 jobs added in August, with a revision to show 13,000 job losses in June. There's been widespread speculation ahead of the report about how

President Donald Trump would react to the results.

Remember, he fired the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after the July report showed a gain of 73,000 jobs, revised upwards today to

79,000. He accused her, without evidence, of manipulating those tepid numbers for, quote, political purposes.

Let's bring in Alayna Treene for some perspective. Alayna, I'm not sure yet if we have heard any reaction from President Trump following that jobs

reporter, tell us about that. And also, how this is going to fit into his broader efforts to change the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, we have not yet heard from the president on this, but clearly, these are not the numbers that this

administration was hoping for, really showing a slowing of the economy, less jobs added this or last month, and also slowing unemployment.

Unemployment higher now, excuse me, unemployment higher now than it was previously anticipated.

And look, I think the president and of course, his economic advisers here at the White House always closely watch these job numbers and these job

reports, specifically this one from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, because it is one of the best indicators about where the economy is, where it is

going, what adjustments are needed to make Sure it's continuing to thrive.

And I think there's even more attention, increased attention, Christina, around this jobs report, because, as you mentioned, it is the first report

we are now seeing since the president had kind of launched his war on the agency that handles all of this data. We know earlier in the summer, last

month, he had fired Dr. Erika McEntarfer.

She is the commissioner, or was the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And he did that, claiming that she was cooking the books, that

she was manipulating data to, you know, negatively impact the Trump Administration's economy, try to positively impact he claimed the Biden --

the Former Biden Administration's economy.

[09:35:00]

All to say there is absolutely no evidence that that is true. There's no evidence that they were manipulating the data. And it's also, you know,

from our conversations with Former BLS Commissioners, economists, experts, all of them say that she wouldn't have even had a chance to even go into

the data before these jobs reports are out and actually tried to manipulate it.

So, there's no evidence of that, but it is a way for, you know, the president, to kind of argue that this is something that an individual is

doing and not really a reflection of the economy. Now, we did hear the president talk about this last night when he was hosting tech CEOs at a

dinner. I want to take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The real numbers that I'm talking about are going to be whatever it is, but will be in a year from now, with these monstrous, huge, beautiful

places, the palaces of genius. And when they start opening up, you're seeing, I think you'll see job numbers that are going to be absolutely

incredible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So, what's interesting there, Christina, is that he said he thinks the job numbers from a year from now will be incredible. I think a lot of

people were left kind of scratching their heads about, why a year from now and why not in the near immediate future? But all to say, still waiting for

the president's direct reaction on this.

MACFARLANE: Yeah, waiting for the president's reaction. But the interesting thing is, is that obviously he's not going to like what he sees with this

jobs report, but it could actually be, you know, to his political benefit, right? Because a weaker labor market could push the Federal Reserve to

lower interest rates, which is something that he's been pushing for all along.

TREENE: No, absolutely. I actually think this could have a, you know, unintended effect that a bad jobs report, not good news for the Trump

Administration, but good news in the sense that this almost likely, almost certainly will seal the fate that the fed is going to actually cut interest

rates.

Something we know the president has been calling on the chairman to do for several months now. And part of that is because exactly what you said,

these numbers are what Powell actually referenced earlier in the summer in July, when he said that this is exactly the type of data, the unemployment

data, that he would need to see to have the fed lower interest rates.

But again, I'm sure we will hear the president reference that reference Powell, argue that his lack of and his, you know, his inability to lower

interest rates thus far. His decision not to do so, is part of the reason these numbers are bad. We have to just wait and see what he says.

MACFARLANE: Yeah.

TREENE: But all in all, not great news for the White House this morning with these numbers.

MACFARLANE: All right. Alayna, appreciate it. We will wait on that Truth Social post, perhaps. We will be right back after this quick break. Stay

with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:00]

MACFARLANE: Tesla's board is proposing a new pay package for Elon Musk that could make him the world's first trillionaire. If shareholders agree, it

would hand Musk more than 420 shares of additional stock. But his payday depends on Tesla reaching some ambitious targets.

CNN's Hadas Gold is joining us now live with more. And Hadas, this is interesting, isn't it, because Tesla aren't exactly in a great financial

place right now. So, what are the details of this proposal?

HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Tesla has struggled a bit this past year, its sales and its stock prices have struggled a bit, especially

as Elon Musk got more and more involved in politics. But if this pay package is approved, it would be the largest corporate pay package in

history, and as you noted, would make Elon Musk the first trillionaire.

So how it would work is this pay package would be about all -- it would be all in Tesla shares the 423.7 million shares. And the possible value of

those shares, if he meets all of the conditions that will lay out in just a second, is nearly not.

Is around $900 billion add that to his current net worth of about 400 billion and there you go.

You've got the world's first trillionaire. But the conditions are quite -- they're quite broad, OK. So, Tesla value under these conditions has to

reach $8.5 trillion that's a massive eight-fold increase, because the current value of Tesla is about $1.1 trillion.

And as you noted, Tesla has struggled over this past year. He would also have to stay with Tesla for 7.5 years to cash any shares, and he would have

to stay for 10 years for to cash the full amount. He would also have to help achieve certain goals, like deliver 20 million Teslas.

Deliver 1 million of those Robo taxis. Deliver 1 million of those autonomous optimist robots. This would all have to be done for him to be

able to achieve different steps that could get him to that 900, potential $900 billion payout.

What was most notable to me, though, in this suggested pay package that there are absolutely no restrictions on any outside activity. He could

still be involved in his other businesses. Of course, he's involved in SpaceX and xAI, but most notably, there's no restrictions on politics.

He could still be involved in politics. A lot of investors had been begging the Tesla board to restrict Elon Musk's activities in politics, because

they saw the direct effect of what his activities, what is involvement with President Donald Trump, the election going into the White House, what that

had done to Tesla's value and to Tesla sales, but there's no restrictions on that.

And Tesla's Board Chair Robyn Denholm, she defended this package. Take a listen to what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBYN DENHOLM, CHAIR, TESLA BOARD OF DIRECTORS: We've constructed this plan so that shareholders get outsized returns. For us, it is all about

shareholder value creation, and that plan reflects that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLD: What's most notable, from what she has said throughout the morning, is that they essentially felt as though they needed to incentivize Elon

Musk to stay and that they saw that as most important to growing Tesla's value, and that's why they wanted to just throw this package at him.

I also thought that it was also notable in the letter that they sent to shareholders about this pay package that they noted that Musk had raised

the possibility that he may pursue other interests that may afford him greater influence if they he did not achieve the assurances that are laid

out in this package.

So clearly, there was some push from Elon Musk himself, but shareholders will get a chance to vote on this pay package. That vote will come on

November 6th, Christina.

MACFARLANE: We will look ahead to that. I mean, he's already the world's richest man, isn't he? So, let's see how Musk responds. Hadas Gold, thank

you. And that is it for this hour. Stay with us. "World Sport" is back after this quick break. And I'll be back with more "Connect the World" at

the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

END