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Rep. Bill Keating (D-MA) On Trump Saying U.S. Is "Low-Keying" Negotiations With Iran; Hunter Biden Says His Dad's Cancer Has Spread, Is Causing Pain; Deadly Flesh-Eating Bacteria Infections Surge Along Gulf Coast. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired August 10, 2026 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:30:40]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump is signaling a shift in strategy with Iran favoring economic pressure over new military attacks, at least for now. In an interview with Axios the president said, "We are low-keying it with Tehran," adding "We are only semi- negotiating with them."

It comes as the Pentagon is pushing defense contractors to ramp up weapons productions as concerns grow over a dwindling stockpile. And oil prices, of course, up again after Iran toughened its demands for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Joining me now is Democratic Congressman Bill Keating from Massachusetts. He is on the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees. Thank you so much for getting up early for us -- being here with us.

Let me start with this. What the president said to Axios that "We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are low-keying it." What does that mean to you?

REP. BILL KEATING (D-MA) (via Webex by Cisco): It means the president is finally shifting and I think dealing with reality. He also said on the reports that he's asking his general -- Gen. Caine, his top general -- for an off-ramp, interestingly enough. That should be a diplomatic ask, not a military one. But we're seeing it happen.

The reality has set in. I hate to say it as an American but, you know, he has to retreat from where he is. What you're seeing is the beginning of a capitulation that is reality here.

Number one, he has moved from the nuclear issue. He has now said in the last few days that he's not going to negotiate that. He'll, rather, just use the military alternative in the future.

You've seen in terms of the regime change issue. I've talked to Gulf partner leaders, and they have told me that there has been a hardline shift there with the Revolutionary Guard. The strong military force is now calling the shots in Iran. They weren't calling it to that extent before.

And you're seeing things occur in the region around him where defense pacts between Pakistan and Turkey and Saudi Arabia leaving the U.S. out of this have been occurring.

So this is -- this is reality. It's shifting in its -- I suspect politically he'll declare victory and at the same time be in a retreat from that position.

SIDNER: I want to ask you about what -- if, indeed, Democrats, for example, retake the House in just a few months from now what will Democrats do if this is still ongoing? What is the best plan do you think as advice to the president to get out of what is being called a quagmire by quite a few people?

KEATING: First, we should be doing what he did -- should have been doing in the beginning. We should be having public hearings so that now only members of Congress will be advised about what the strategy is but the American people. They were left out along with our allies in the region. This was a -- with Israel this was a go-it-alone project and Trump bears that responsibility himself because he didn't clue in the American people.

So there will be hearings in this regard and there will be oversight. You know, we can't get answers, honestly, even in classified settings. We can't get answers about how much money is being expended, what the strategy is, what the next step is. And there's a great deal of frustration in those classified settings even among Republican members.

So you're going to see accountability start in this regard and it's going to be backed up because there will be a power of the purse strings that will happen as well.

SIDNER: You mentioned Israel and I do want to bring that up because Israel has rejected President Trump's plan when it comes to Gaza. You know, Israel is saying look, the -- Hamas as to completely disarm before they pull out. Hamas is saying you have to pull out before we disarm. And he is stuck with these two factions still going at it.

What in this scenario do you think is the best way to end this, and what is your concern about how the president has been dealing with what has been going on in Gaza between Israel and Gaza?

KEATING: Well, you're correct -- you're correct, Sara, and he's doing it with an October election in the offing so that -- I think this is going to be a real difficult situation.

[07:35:00]

I think the 15-point plan the president offered was really dead on arrival from the start. There wasn't buy-in from Israel. There wasn't buy-in from Hamas. And ultimately, what these things have to do to be resolved is what he didn't do in the beginning. We've got to bring in partners in the region. We've got to bring in people internationally to come and force anything that's going to be, you know, agreed upon. But right now there's no expectation that Hamas will really give up all their weapons. There's no expectation that Israel will unilaterally cede that territory they've had, particularly with the elections coming.

SIDNER: Can I lastly ask you about something that you have commented on that I know you have been concerned about, and that is what's happening in Haiti -- in particular, what is also happening here in the U.S.? Already there have been some moves to try and push out those with temporary protective status here who are Haitian in places like Springfield, Ohio. It will happen around the country.

What is your concern here when it comes to the end of TPS and the sending back of Haitians to a country that is in dire straits right now?

KEATING: This is all based on Trump's fixation on numbers and for some reason he wants to create -- and Stephen Miller's plan I think is to create self-deportation by coercing and putting people in fear because you can't possibly deport the millions of people that are here. So they're trying to create that scenario and they're doing it by taking people that are here legally, in a legal status, that have no criminal background and, indeed, create a very important need, you know, being fulfilled by the American people.

The Haitian people that are here -- so many of the, particularly in Massachusetts, are involved in long-term care issues. They're the attendants that are there helping people. Helping our grandparents, our parents, our seniors. They're there in the hospitals working hard making sure that people's health care needs are being met. They're in the hospitality industry here doing needed jobs.

So they're doing this here, creating a great economic -- fulfilling a great economic need. They're paying money here to -- you know, they're paying their share. They're here peacefully and they're here legally.

The hearing you referenced that I had, at the end of the hearing the Trump administration official made a mistake and he said, "Well, they're not here legally." And I had to correct him. I said, indeed, they are here legally. You pulled the rug out from under them. You created that status. In fact, you are sending them home to a more dangerous situation than they left to escape in the first place.

And in the meantime, you're hurting the American economy when you've got so many dedicated people fulfilling needs that so many Americans aren't fulfilling themselves in the job market.

SIDNER: Congressman Bill Keating, thank you so much for walking us through all that this morning -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. We're waiting for a new report on inflation this week. As we wait the White House top economic adviser insists the economy is booming despite tough news on wages and a very disappointing jobs report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KEVIN HASSETT, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: The bottom line is that if you look at the overall economy then things are really, really booming. As an example, there are 83,000 construction workers building factories right now. That's a number that we've never seen before. Initial claims for unemployment insurance are the lowest they've been since World War II. There are more job openings than there are unemployed workers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: What he left out, the economy lost 23,000 jobs last month, much worse than expected. It fell way short of expectations. June and May were also revised lower.

Let's get to CNN senior reporter Matt Egan for the latest on this. I should also note manufacturing jobs are down since President Trump took office the second time. I mean, there are warning signs all across the board here.

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yeah, John. It's pretty hard to square this description from the White House economists of a booming economy with the economic data, especially the surprisingly weak July jobs report. I mean, when the economy is booming it's adding tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of jobs a month. Not happening right now. We're actually losing jobs, right?

So May was revised down by 66,000 versus the prior estimate. June by 37,000. July was 118,000 weaker than the consensus. You put it together and you're talking about an economy that has about a quarter of a million fewer jobs than we thought just a few days ago.

And not just that. When the job market is firing on all cylinders, workers -- they're kind of lured off the sidelines. Labor supply goes up. That's not happening right now. It's going down.

And then you noted wages. When the job market is on fire and the economy is truly booming the bosses have to pay up to attract and retain talent, and that's not happening. Wage growth is at a 5-year low.

[07:40:00]

Now, all of this does raise the stakes for this inflation report on Wednesday. The consensus -- this is actually an estimate from the Cleveland fed -- is that the monthly rate will be very low at just .1 percent. That's the kind of number if you extrapolate over the course of a year that's subdued inflation. However, the annual inflation rate is only expected to come down a touch to 3.4 percent. That is elevated.

But look, if this ends up being viewed as a tame inflation report this could take some pressure off the Federal Reserve from feeling like it has to act soon. It could buy them some more time and it could also bolster the argument from chairman Kevin Warsh of the fed, where he wants some patience here. And he -- him and his colleagues, they don't want to rush interest rate hikes that could further damage the job market.

Now, the odds of an interest rate hike at the next meeting in September -- right now it kind of looks like a coin flip, John -- 46 percent. That's down pretty significantly from 67 percent just a week ago, in part because of that soft July jobs report.

Just one other point for you is what's going on with the war in Iran, right, because we do have a situation where the diplomatic progress seems to have kind of stalled out here. The Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed. And so you do have oil prices still elevated -- diesel, jet fuel and gasoline -- and they could stay high if there's no resolution with Iran anytime soon.

BERMAN: Yeah. Again, just the stream of numbers that have been coming out that are underwhelming is growing and growing and growing, which is why it's so discordant to hear Kevin Hassett say the economy is booming because it's really the stock market that's booming. The rest of the economy not as much.

EGAN: Very true.

BERMAN: All right, Matt Egan.

EGAN: Thank you, John.

BERMAN: Thank you very much.

All right. With us now, CNN political analyst Zolan Kanno-Youngs of The New York Times, and Washington bureau chief for the Atlanta -- excuse me, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Tia Mitchell.

And I want to put up a chart that was in The Wall Street Journal this morning. This is based on Fox News polling. And you can put this up and see that people favor Democrats on the economy really for the first time in, like, 13 years. You can see the red line there who Americans favor on the economy -- that's Republicans. That was on top from, like, 2011 to about a month and a half ago, and then it flipped, Zolan, and now Democrats are favored there.

The question is, you know, Kevin Hassett talking about how the economy is booming. Can he keep on shouting that in the face of these poll numbers?

ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: We've seen federal administrations do that and face political peril. By do that I mean point to specific metrics in the economy that fit for a good, positive spin, right, only to ignore what the American public is feeling -- and that's the risk. You come off as seeming out of touch here.

Yes, you can spotlight that unemployment hasn't really budged but that then would come at the risk of ignoring the increasing consumer prices and how they're eating into wage gains right now. And we know that right there -- that's what translates into the economic frustration that poll after poll is showing. You combine Kevin Hassett's message with saying well, wait -- the economy is doing really well with also, President Trump's messaging which frankly prioritizes the reflecting pool and the ballroom a bit more than talking about any sort of economic policy or how Americans are feeling. You combine those two together and you're not really getting the empathic messaging or the attempt to reach people where they're at, which is what political experts would say is pretty pivotal as we get closer to November.

BERMAN: Yeah. And Tia, it's August. That's the thing. It's August. November is soon.

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION (via Webex by Cisco): Yeah. I mean, I think that is what we know privately and even a little bit publicly. More and more it's starting to trickle out that Republicans are getting frustrated with the president because they wish he would be talking about the economy, affordability. Helping them address the issues.

We know the frustration when the president did not support the bipartisan housing bill that was like the signature piece of legislation tackling housing affordability.

He's not talking about the same things that helped him get elected in 2024. So he has kind of abandoned his own messaging. Like Zolan said, he's talking about the ballroom and building arches, and the reflecting pool and foreign policy. Those seem to be his top priorities right now and that really is counter to his messaging in 2024.

I think -- I just cannot stress how much the president has pivoted away from the core message that helped him get elected. Republicans now know. So it's not just that they're not speaking to the number one issue voters have, which is true, but on top of that it's appearing that President Trump is not following through --

[07:45:05]

BERMAN: Um-hum.

MITCHELL: -- on what he campaigned on and what he was elected on.

BERMAN: Let's talk more presidential politics but this time 2028 if you will.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the congresswoman from New York, did I think her first Sunday show interview. I think I read it was, like, in two years so it's significant that she chose to do it. And, of course, she was asked, Tia, directly: Is she planning on running for president. Listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): I haven't -- well, I haven't ruled out the possibility and I'm very humbled to the tremendous amount of support out there. I think that we have a responsibility to remain focused on the midterms and not on our individual aspirations or plans.

JONATHAN KARL, ABC NEWS CO-ANCHOR, "THIS WEEK WITH GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS": And running for Senate against Chuck Schumer -- is that also something that's possible?

OCASIO-CORTEZ: I mean, I think that anything is possible at this juncture.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Tia, that's as close as you get to an elected official saying I'm running, basically, at this point.

What did you think of that?

MITCHELL: Absolutely. Yeah, it's absolutely what you say when you're keeping your options open. When you're privately trying to figure out your next steps. When you're wanting to make sure that people know that you're out there looking but don't want to seem too eager. It's like a classic -- well not -- I won't say a classic but it's a good way to answer the question that doesn't box you in but shows that you're keeping your options open.

She's a smart politician. She also knows she has the internal polling. She has the research. She knows that voters are looking at her and that she's a prime candidate in 2028. And so now it's up to her to decide what she wants to do.

BERMAN: On the smart politician line of thinking there, Zolan, there's been a lot of articles over the last few days, and it came out in the really nice interview Jonathan Karl, my friend, did with her. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has maybe nudged a little bit off the far- left of the Democratic Party where she had been seen as residing, I think, for the last several years. It's not like she's, you know, a radical conservative or even dead center, but a little bit right of the most, you know, fringe members of the party there.

What do you think she's doing on that front?

KANNO-YOUNGS: I think she's had more years on the Hill, right? I think she's had more time in the job at this point. And it seems like she's -- you're seeing here sort of navigate this electoral game and the political system.

One example that sort of gets to your point, I don't think it's just sort of the various policies and where she is on that pendulum. She still is in the progressive flank, right? She was touring with Bernie Sanders across the country.

But a good example of what you're talking about is her hesitancy on endorsements, right? Like, you did not see AOC just endorsing any candidate thus far in this primary season. She was very particular with that endorsement as well, sort of knowing the political capital that she has. That's something that speaks to now having some years under her belt in Washington and on the Hill, and navigating this electoral system -- particularly, by the way, as the Democratic Party in general sort of figures out how they're going to take advantage of the opportunity that we were just articulating before with the economic vulnerability that President Trump is in.

The Democratic Party still needs to figure out exactly what direction they're going to go as far as how to respond to the voters' concerns for a better economic solution at this point.

BERMAN: Yeah, exactly what you're saying there. And she was slow to endorse Abdul El-Sayed, although she ultimately did. And she has yet to endorse in Wisconsin. The primary is there tomorrow. Francesca Hong seen as the democratic socialist candidate. She hasn't endorsed -- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has not endorsed her notably.

Zolan Kanno-Young, Tia Mitchell, thank you very much for being with us -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Thank you so much, John.

Former President Joe Biden's prostate cancer has spread, and it is getting worse. His son, Hunter, revealed that in an interview with the BBC on Friday. He said despite that, President Biden is still speaking out on issues that are important to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTER BIDEN, FORMER PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN'S SON: And the only thing that I say about my dad about his health right now is I wish he would complain more because it's not good. The cancer has spread. It has metastasized into his bones and further. It's very painful. Um, and, uh, it's very debilitating in may respects. But he's still out there. He's still doing his thing as he so believes in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: No matter your politics it is amazing that he's still doing things because it is painful.

President Biden shared his diagnosis of an aggressive form of cancer in May of last year just a few months after he left the White House.

Hunter says his father's condition has been really hard for the family but that his dad is staying active.

[07:50:00]

All right. Ahead, a warning from health officials. Watch out for symptoms after visiting the beach. What we are learning about a deadly bacterial infection surging on the Gulf Coast.

And hungry, hungry hippo comes to life. It's real. We'll take you there. Good grief.

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BERMAN: A record book night in the WNBA. Let's get right to CNN's Coy Wire. Coy, raining threes. [07:55:00]

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Raining threes. The Minnesota Lynx are on a dominant run, John. They entered yesterday's game against the Wings looking to become the first team to clinch a playoff spot. They did that.

And Kayla McBride set the arena on fire drilling a WNBA record 10 3- pointers in a single game. And she is one of the best shooters on the planet. She goes 10 for 14 from beyond the arch, John. The net might still be smoking. Career high 43 as Minnesota wins 103-90. They have now won 12 of their last 13. The previous record of nine made threes in a game has been done by six different players.

Chris Sale found a way to get ejected Sunday before the game even started. After getting caught for a controversial balk Saturday, Sale was still barking at umpire Dan Merzel who called him for the balk. Merzel said see you later, Sale. You're not going to talk to me like that.

As for the actual game, the Yankees' Trent Grisham launched a homer into another zip code to tie the game in the eighth. And so we go to extras. That's where Michael Harris II delivers the knockout blow. The Braves win 2-1, snapping a four-game skid against the Yankees. Sale got tossed; Atlanta got bounced back.

Now somebody check Milwaukee's Luis Lara's cleats for rocket boosters. Watch this. Look at him go. Extra innings. A potential go-ahead run for Minnesota but he tracks that thing down. That keeps it tied at three. And then in the bottom of the 10th, Jake Bauers, already with a homer, says I got you. Game-winning knock. Brewers take it 4-3. Lara saved the game with the glove; Bauers ended it with the bat.

One day after throwing 109 pitches, John, with 11 strikeouts in a shutout, Clayton, North Carolina star Anna-Lynn Clark comes right back and throws 93 more pitches and six strikeouts as Clayton beats Owensboro, Kentucky 2-0 nothing to win the Little League Softball World Series. Back-to-back shutouts. More than 200 pitches in two days. Anna-Lynn more like Anna-Win.

Finally, what do soccer players and magicians have in common? Both can pull off disappearing acts leaving crowds speechless. Cortiba captain Jacy scores. He starts celebrating and then oh, he's gone straight into an open player's tunnel, John. Thankfully, he popped back up. He kept playing for a bit. He did leave then later with a minor ankle injury. But the cruelest trick of all, John, the goal was disallowed --

BERMAN: (INAUDIBLE).

WIRE: -- for off side.

Man disappeared and so did his goal. Now you see him and now you don't.

BERMAN: Oh my God. I hadn't seen that. That is -- I mean, he's lucky to be alive. I mean, seriously. That could have gone anywhere.

WIRE: It could have. He did play for a bit longer. Thank goodness. I mean, but this is like doing a mic drop, right? You think you scored a goal and then you just jump in the court. That's your walking off.

BERMAN: All right. We're going to have that built here for Kate when she gets back.

SIDNER: Oh my God.

WIRE: A trap door.

BERMAN: Coy Wire, a trap door. Thank you very much for that.

SIDNER: OK. I know this is an unpopular opinion --

WIRE: Going for a ride.

SIDNER: -- but that looks fun. I'm sorry.

BERMAN: Oh, really? What is -- there's, like --

SIDNER: I know. It could have been horrible.

BERMAN: Boiling water underneath or alligators. You don't know it's there.

SIDNER: I'm from Florida. The alligators would be -- I wouldn't be worried about the alligators. What I'd be worried about is my ankles which, you know -- I can't believe he went and played after that. That is incredible.

All right. It is not lions, tigers or bears that animal park tour guides fear most. No -- it is those guys -- yeah, hippos -- and this is why. If you annoy them, they are not only huge, but they are fast and they are fierce. And that is what these vacationers found out in Botswana.

The woman who shot the video says it was one of the most terrifying moments that she has ever experienced. She was on the boat with her three children and a close friend.

Hippos are, by the way, responsible for around 500 deaths a year in Africa. You have to know to be afraid of those guys. All right, John.

BERMAN: I was on camera that whole time you were talking about hippos --

SIDNER: Oh, wow.

BERMAN: -- they were showing me.

SIDNER: Ooh.

BERMAN: I don't know what you're saying there but that's OK.

SIDNER: What are you trying to say?

BERMAN: I don't know.

SIDNER: Carla --

BERMAN: -- it's unclear to me.

SIDNER: -- you're going to be in trouble.

BERMAN: All right. New this morning health officials are warning people along the Gulf Coast to be careful in the water. Louisiana has reported nine cases this year of a rare flesh-eating bacteria found in coastal waters. All nine people were hospitalized. Five of them died. Florida has also reported 14 cases and two deaths this year.

Let's get right to CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard for the latest on this. Jacqueline, what are we seeing here?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Yeah, John. So this infection is called vibrio vulnificus.

And those nine people in Louisiana who did get sick, they were exposed to seawater and bacteria in the seawater entered open wounds on their skin and that's how the infections happened. And all of those nine people also had underlying health conditions.

And we are seeing more and more cases of this. So to really reduce your risk, if you have open wounds, even if it's a small scratch, stay out of brackish or saltwater. That's how we're seeing people getting infected here.

Signs and symptoms of this can include fever or redness around an open wound, or red streaks.