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Rep. Gabe Amo (D-RI) is Interviewed about Trump's National Security Comments; History Made by Black Gubernatorial Candidates; Wholesale Inflation Slowed in July; Lawsuit over Truth Social Subscriptions; Earthquake Rescue Efforts Continue in Colombia. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired August 13, 2026 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WAYNE ALLYN ROOT: If they never get the SAVE America Act done, you have the right to declare a national security emergency for elections. They can't challenge it. It can only be overturned by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress. So, if you do this in the next month, we will get photo I.D., proof of citizenship and a limit to mail-in ballots, and you don't even need the Senate's vote.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let me just say that stranger things have happened. OK, I'll leave it at that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Joining me now is Democratic congressman from Rhode Island, Gabe Amo. He sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Budget Committee.

What do you make of that when you hear the president's response? Obviously, that was an outlet that is pushing for this, not doing journalism, but pushing for this to happen. What do you make of the president's response to it?

REP. GABE AMO (D-RI): Well, we all know that Donald Trump is the most famous sore loser in our history. And he is already seeing that the writing is on the wall, that Americans are frustrated and fed up with the chaos, the corruption, and the high cost of his administration. So, he is all -- preemptively looking to meddle in our elections, to sow doubt in a result for a contest that has not even taken place.

So, one, we should take this for what it is, an attempt to suppress and to harm the integrity of our elections. We should also take him very seriously. And that's why House Democrats have been working, working very aggressively on efforts to keep our elections safe. These should be state level contests that occur with our local elected officials carrying out a fundamental mission in the Constitution, not the president's violation of what is something that is so cherished in our democracy, the power of our vote.

SIDNER: I do want to ask you about something that has come up, some great reporting by the "Stars and Stripes" and "The Navy Times," that has come up in the last days. Families of some of the sailors that are on the USS Abraham Lincoln have told those two publications that there have been multiple attempts by crew members to jump overboard. There are reports on that ship of shortages of basic supplies, water contamination, plumbing problems, disruptions to mail and deteriorating mental health. The ship, it's been out to sea for more than 250 days. What are your questions that you have when you hear that these families have come forward saying they are genuinely concerned for the health and safety of their loved ones who are serving the United States on this ship?

AMO: Well, first and foremost, my heart goes out to the sailors who are providing an essential service to our nation. I feel for their families. I've read the stories. It's heartbreaking. And they deserve better. These are people sacrificing for our nation.

But because of Donald Trump's chaos, his decision to launch an illegal war of choice in Iran, providing a justification for these folks to be out at sea longer than they should be, this just shows how the errors of this administration are demonstrating a lack of concern for the lives of people across this country.

And so, we need answers. We need to hear from the secretary of defense. We need to hear from senior administration officials. How are they going to resolve this as soon as possible and deal with the disruption in the mental health and the physical health and the well- being of people serving our nation? That's an essential responsibility that they are flunking yet again.

SIDNER: I want to ask you about where Democrats are right now. We have seen the results of several primaries in some, like in Michigan and a few other places, the progressive, more left wing side of the party has come out victorious. And in others, like we saw in Wisconsin, the race has gone to a more moderate candidate. Is the Democratic Party going through a bit of an identity crisis right now, you think?

AMO: I'd say quite the contrary. I think what we see, and if you look at the voter turnout in those contests where primary turnout has exceeded what it has traditionally been, you are seeing a lot of enthusiasm. People want to get involved, get engaged and change the status quo.

The fact of the matter is, Donald Trump is causing chaos across our country. The high costs, the people's fears about their health care and the abundance of corruption that we have seen from this administration are calling people to action. And showing up at the polls is a very big part of that. And that's why you see, it doesn't cut one way ideologically, but it does cut one way for change and for leadership that can help move our country forward so that people across this country can enjoy a life, to have a good life and have an affordable life that they deserve.

[08:35;15]

And that I'll keep fighting for that. And I know you'll see that in contests all the way through November to when you see big Democratic gains as we make this case to the American people, as we fight for an affordable America.

SIDNER: I do want to ask you lastly about another big shift in the White House and the staff there. Karoline Leavitt, who has been a very -- a very strong supporter of the president. She has lashed out at reporters who question the direction that he's going. She has decided that she's going to be stepping down, wants to spend more time, she says, with family. What do you make of this move here as the president is facing some tough polling numbers and a difficulty as the midterms come closer and closer and closer?

AMO: Well, look, it's a tough job. She served the president, I guess, to the extent of her limits.

Look, I don't agree with many of the words that she put forward in the press briefing room, advocating for things that have made the lives of the American people worse off. Seeing the chaos and the corruption of, both in our country and around the world, being telegraphed from that room and, of course, with respect to the press, her essential constituency, an abundance of lies.

And so, the fact of the matter is, I haven't agreed with the way that she's done the job, but it's an important job. And, you know, I would hope that she is well as she rides off into the sunset, but that we get more transparency, more light, an administration that feels the accountability that the American people deserve because we need to lead with truth. And the fact of the matter is, the president has led with many lies.

SIDNER: Congressman Gabe Amo, thank you so much. I do appreciate you coming on early this morning for us.

Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, David Crowley's upset win in Wisconsin's Democratic primary for governor is part of another major storyline in these midterms, a potentially historic year for black candidates running for governor.

CNN's Harry Enten is here to run the numbers for us.

Nice of you to join us, Harry.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Hello. I came in from the far, the far right. The far right.

HILL: You made a grand entrance as only one Harry Enten can.

ENTEN: Yes.

HILL: So, walk us through what we're potentially seeing here.

ENTEN: Yes, I think this could very well be a historic year for black gubernatorial candidates. And it starts off in the south. Just take a look here. OK. Hello. OK, gov races, general election polls. Byron Donalds, who was a heavy favorite to be the Republican nominee in Florida, he's up by five points over his likely Democratic opponent. You come to Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms, get this, she's up by five points. So, it's happening across the aisle at this point. You've got a Republican in Florida, a Democrat in the great state of Georgia, the peach state, both at this point leading in the polls, favored to be the next governors of two former confederate states. That would be historic making. Neither state has ever had a black governor before.

HILL: So, that would be key.

There are also other races you're keeping an eye on that are perhaps not as well known, if you will, across the country. And there's not as much polling in these races. But you're -- but you're seeing some movement there.

ENTEN: Yes, you know, you mentioned Wisconsin. You mentioned David Crowley. I mean, just look at these. OK, how about two other states. Current gov race forecast ratings. In Wisconsin, Crowley is the favorite. That race is definitely leaning Dem at this point. Wisconsin has never had a black governor. Then in the great state of Maryland, Wes Moore is running for re-election. He is a very heavy favorite to win there. So, you're seeing it. You're seeing it in the south. You're seeing it in the border states, like Maryland. And you're seeing it in the Midwest as well. You're talking about four candidates who, at this point, look more likely than not to be the next governors of their state, in the case of Wes Moore, win re-election. You're seeing it across the political map.

HILL: Seeing it across the -- this is -- I mean you mentioned some of the potential history that could be made, but writ large, this would be quite a year.

ENTEN: Yes, this would be quite a year. So, you add up Wes Moore, you add up Crowley, you add up Byron Donalds, you add up Keisha Lance Bottoms. Just look at this. I mean, this really says it. Elected black governors. In the former column, there is only two. There's one. There's two, right? You have one from Virginia. You have one from Massachusetts in Deval Patrick, right? And then, in 2026, there are four. Four. You are literally getting double the number of former elected black governors who could be elected this year. And then there are two more in Nevada and Michigan who are underdogs but have a legitimate shot of winning.

So, what we're talking about is, you know, we're always talking about getting more diversity in our political system, allowing African Americans to be a full part of this country. And now, in the gubernatorial column, we might actually start trying to reach towards that goal. So, you got Aaron Ford, you got John James, who are the two underdogs.

[08:40:00]

And in the favorites here, again, you have Keisha Lance Bottoms. You have David Crowley. You have Wes Moore. And you have Byron Donalds. So, it's just something that is happening across the political map. A year in which we could finally see history actually being made.

HILL: Yes, absolutely, a big year indeed. Harry, thank you. Appreciate it.

ENTEN: Thank you, my friend.

HILL: Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Good to see you guys.

Breaking moments ago, new data shows the Producer Price Index, the measure of wholesale inflation, slowed in July. CNN's senior reporter, Matt Egan, joining us now to break down the report that just came in.

What are you learning, Matt?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Sara, this inflation gauge, it was on fire a few months ago. It's cooling, but it's still really hot. So, we're talking about wholesale inflation. This is producer prices. This is pricing pressure that's building up in the system before it gets to all of us as consumers.

So, this report shows that prices between June and July for producers were unchanged. Now this is slightly better than expected. And this comes after a dip in prices the month before.

On an annual basis, producer prices increasing by 4.7 percent. Now that is a little bit better than expected. That is also an improvement from 5.5 percent the month before. This is the lowest rate since March.

This is a look at the annual inflation rate for producer prices. You can see that four years ago there was this historic spike. That was after Russia invaded Ukraine. That was after Covid. Then there was a major improvement.

But you can also see the trend is going in the wrong direction. And it really spiked after the war with Iran started. Now it is starting to come back down.

But let's be clear, almost five percent here, right? This is still way too hot for anything that's considered normal inflation. And so, these numbers are going to keep shifting around based on the swings in the war.

We've seen energy prices move up and down. A lot of demand for electronics caused by the A.I. boom, that's been a factor as well.

When we look at some of the drivers here, goods prices, they were actually down by almost one percent on a monthly basis. Services, however, were slightly higher. And so, now investors, economists, Fed watchers, they're all putting this together to try to think about what the Federal Reserve is going to do next.

We know the Fed has been under pressure to do something about inflation, to potentially raise interest rates. But now we have back- to-back inflation reports the last two days that mostly came in either in line with expectations, that was yesterday's report, or even a little bit better than expected. And so that could take some of the pressure off the Fed.

This is a look at the Consumer Price Index. That's the red line. And the blue line is the Producer Price Index, the one we just got.

And the reason why we pay attention to these numbers is because there is a pretty close relationship here. Usually producer prices, it tends to be about two, three months ahead of the consumer prices. But again, what you do see here is that inflation is just too high. And that really underscores the pressure that consumers are feeling because, Sara, at the end of the day, their wages are going up, but they're often not going up by as much as the prices.

SIDNER: Yes. And you're clear, these are wholesale inflation prices. That's what they're paying, the businesses are paying. But when it gets to you, they had -- those prices have to go somewhere. And usually we end up paying for them.

EGAN: Exactly.

SIDNER: Businesses can't just eat it.

All right, Matt Egan, thank you so much. Appreciate your reporting on that this morning.

Erica.

HILL: All right, Sara, thanks.

Also with us this hour, Madison Mills, she's a senior reporter for "Axios."

So, what is your main takeaway when you look at these numbers? Slightly better than expected, as Matt noted here, when it comes to this wholesale pricing.

MADISON MILLS, SENIOR A.I. REPORTER, "AXIOS": Yes. And we've got this second inflation indicator of the week here indicating that the numbers are perhaps softening a touch.

Now, obviously, as we always know, these numbers are still going in a positive direction, right? So, inflation, the rate of it is still upwards of four percent as of this latest PPI reading, but the rate of growth to the upside is at least slowing. So, that's what you want to see.

One of the challenges, though, when it comes to how consumers are feeling that is that we still have wage growth trailing inflation. So, what does that mean? Everything is getting more expensive faster than your salary is going up. So, if you're not getting an increased raise, you're not feeling like you're getting ahead, you're feeling like you're getting a pay cut. And as Matt so clearly laid out, a lot of the challenges right now with the war in Iran, continued confusion over tariff policy, and, of course, the Federal Reserve having to weigh this inflation data against the challenging labor market, that we got a tough report on recently, all that coming together to create a lot of confusion about the state of the economy right now. HILL: A lot of confusion about the state of the economy. I want to go

back to the wage point that that you brought up, that Matt brought up as well, right? We have been talking about this for so long, the fact that wages are not keeping pace with prices. And that uncertainty, as you point out, with the war, I mean, gas -- I know we keep coming back to gas, but that's because it is this really important indicator for families, right, for people as they are trying to stretch that paycheck more and more.

[08:45:05]

I mean how do you -- how do you get an accurate picture of where things stand, to your point, if we have so many conflicting data points right now?

MILLS: Yes, I mean, my sources joke to me all the time that like economics, it's the study of the past. And so, it's really difficult to get our hands around the state of the economy when so much of the data we look at is inherently backward looking. We're looking at prices over the last month. It's difficult to suss out what's going to happen in the future.

Some of the leading indicators that we can look at, and one that's one of my personal favorites is called U6 (ph). It's the underemployment rate. So, what does that mean? It's something that tells us whether or not people are getting the number of hours that they were looking for at work. Are they getting shifts that they wanted? If they're looking to add on, to be able to adjust to the economic backdrop and inflation picture that were seeing? And those numbers have not been looking as strong lately either. So, that could potentially be a leading indicator.

I also frankly think that some of the best data we have is talking to people, talking to sources --

HILL: Yes.

MILLS: Not just who are economists, but who are everyday Americans, who are feeling the pressure right now. And they have certainly shown us again and again over the last several years with this inflation fight that they are still feeling the pain of this economy.

HILL: Absolutely.

Madison, good to talk to you. Thank you.

Still to come here, officers rushing in to save a driver from a burning car after that driver lost control and crashed into a wooded area.

Plus, a close call for two troopers who were on a manhunt for a suspect. Lightning striking while they were out there. That's also ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:50:36]

SIDNER: President Trump's bid to sell instant access to his own social media posts might backfire in court. He's selling subscriptions worth upwards of $100,000 a month in order to get first access to his Truth Social posts. It's not clear how long the president's posts would take to then hit the general public, but he's being sued over it, as you might imagine. And those who are suing him say, look, this violates the First and Fifth Amendment. So, the courts will have to decide if access for everyone is functionally identical or if it's a violation of American's constitutional rights to vital information.

Joining me now, former U.S. attorney Michael Moore here to discuss it.

I mean, I guess the big first question is, is this legal for a president to say, hey, you know, I've got this thing online and I will give you a first look at what I'm thinking, what I'm saying, what's going on, but you got to pay for it?

MICHAEL MOORE, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: Yes, I'm glad to be with you.

I think, no. I think that the lawsuit may have some issues, what I'd call technical issues, to survive. But I think this is one of the most outrageous things that I've seen him do. And that is to essentially sell access to something that we own, we being the American people, and then put it in, put it in his pocket.

I mean this reminds me of sort of he were to go to the Oval Office and sell the Resolute Desk, and then stick the cash in his back pocket. That's really what he's doing because, at the outset, he works for us. I mean he is a public employee. He works for us. And he owns a plurality of this media group that has Truth Social. He's decided he's going to use that as the megaphone to the world for anything he thinks. And we've stood by and let him do it. And so, we kind of let the fox into the henhouse. And now the fox is trying to, you know, sell us our own chickens back. And I think that's a -- that's a problem. That -- this really pushes the limits to me of what I think most rational people in Congress would be able to stomach. Whether they can, we will see.

SIDNER: It is interesting when you sit back and look at this, because some people might go, oh, well, I guess he can do that because, I mean, it's his social media and his -- but because he is the president of the United States, that changes the dynamic. How would it violate, for example, the First and Fifth Amendments? What would the court be looking at here --

MOORE: Right.

SIDNER: To say, hold on a second, we've got some -- we've got some laws in place about this sort of thing.

MOORE: What the lawsuit really is about is the media company saying, we're at a disadvantage if we don't pay to play, right? If we don't pay this subscription price so that we get access, our competitors will get it, and that gives them an unfair advantage in the marketplace.

The way -- the problem is, it also, in my mind, sets up a real opportunity for insider trading. And let's say, for instance, that you're somebody who pays for this subscription service. And Trump says, well, I'm going to decide that we're going to give tax credits if -- for anybody that buys widgets. Well, guess what you do. You run out and you buy stock in a widget company. Well, guess who might be buying stock? It could be family, friends, other investment people that are connected to him. And so basically he's driving his value up and the value of -- the monetary value of people who he has some relationship with because they're willing to pay to listen to him talk.

But his opinions, the things he says, the things that are due to the American people, those are things that belong to us. And these companies are saying, look, we have a right to hear that. We have a right to make these broadcasts. And, by the way, the Fifth Amendment challenge is that you're charging -- this is exorbitant. This is ridiculous. This is -- this is something that already should be in the public domain.

SIDNER: Because it already has been in the public domain for free, or you have to sign up for the service that doesn't cost you anything.

MOORE: Right. Right.

SIDNER: I do want to ask you about this. The Supreme Court ruled that the president has sweeping immunity for anything that he does in the course of his official duties. Is there any argument that he could plausibly make to say, well this -- I'm immune from this. I'm doing my official duties and I can -- I can do what I want here.

MOORE: Yes, he will make the argument, I assure you. But the issue to me is that this gets outside of official when he starts putting personal money in his own pocket. And I think that's going to be the change. And so, it may be the sort of the currency exchange or the monetary exchange that we watch happen because of his value in the stock and what he has in the company that's now charging access to the White House.

SIDNER: Yes.

MOORE: I mean, really, he -- it's no different than him standing at the door with a -- his hand out saying I'll -- you can pay to come in and find out what's going on. That's what's happening. And so, I just find it so absolutely in your face repugnant that it's hard for me to imagine that some judge won't be interested in it.

[08:55:09]

The question will be whether or not these particular plaintiffs can show a really identifiable harm, something that's imminent to them.

SIDNER: Right.

MOORE: That's not speculative. Can they actually say, this is how -- why we need the court to step in? That's going to be the issue about getting around standing and whether or not they have the right to be the people to bring this lawsuit.

SIDNER: Right. It -- that also matters in the court of law as well.

MOORE: To the court (ph). Right.

SIDNER: Michael Moore, it is good to have you to break all of this down. There are just things after laws, after laws, after laws that we are having to talk about here because of some of the movement of the president.

MOORE: We've let the norms go. We've let -- we've let the things that have kind of held us together, we've been willing to let that crack apart. And I think that's why these things are -- we're seeing it and hopefully, hopefully we can get that back. I think it will be a job though.

SIDNER: Yes. The ethics of it all we haven't even talked about because the legal -- there are legal ramifications.

MOORE: Right.

SIDNER: So, we will see what happens in this case. And I know you'll be back to talk about it, Michael. I appreciate you.

MOORE: I'd be glad to be back. It's great being with you.

SIDNER: All right.

All right, Erica.

HILL: Well, also on our radar this morning, in Texas, dramatic police body cam video shows deputies rescuing a man from a burning car.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out, dude! Come on!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The car's on fire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to die if you don't get out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: You hear that there, you're going to die if you don't get out. Officials say the vehicle had been seen driving erratically, ended up in a steep embankment. Police actually used a drone then to find the vehicle in this wooded terrain off the road. When they arrived, it was engulfed in flames as you saw there. The officers were able to pull the man to safety, and he was then taken by helicopter to the hospital. Perhaps, not surprisingly, suffering from extensive burns.

A fourth straight day of catastrophic flooding is expected in parts of the Midwest today. In some areas, so much rain has already fallen, specifically in Indiana, that this is now considered a once in a millennia flood and a number of rivers there have not yet crested, still rising. Those flood waters, swallowing roads, cars. In Ohio, meantime, hundreds of thousands are without power this morning, and the state's likely not to see much relief before tomorrow.

Sara.

SIDNER: It is a mess out there.

All right, thank you so much, Erica.

This morning, Colombia's president says the death toll from Monday's devastating earthquake has now risen to 265 people. And it could go higher. Hundreds of people are still missing. And time is, of course, of the essence, as we are now at the end of that critical 72 hour window for rescuing survivors trapped in the rubble.

Our CNN's David Culver and his team are in Colombia watching the rescues as they happen and have more on what is happening there at this hour.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're headed now to a southern part of Cali, where we're told there are active rescues underway, including just a few hours ago where someone was pulled out alive.

You can hear people still right now? OK, he said you can still hear people. So, let's go see. Just handed us masks. They said, please put these on because they're worried about asbestos and anything else that's in the air that we're also seeing some of this dust.

We've been told what we're looking at here was an apartment building that was about four stories high. You can see the rooftop pool, the blue tiles over there. Now about a story and a half up in the air. So, it has totally pancaked down, collapsing into the basement of this apartment complex.

CULVER (voice over): Looking into the collapsed rubble, Harold Valencia (ph) recognizes something.

CULVER: You can see your dad's -- your dad's mattress.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right, which is the one there. He's showing right now.

CULVER: Have you -- have you heard anything? Is there any movement or anything?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been here for two days and we don't hear anything.

CULVER (voice over): Harold flew in Tuesday from his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. And he isn't the only one here doubling as a first responder.

CULVER: And how old are the two people still missing, roughly? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Late teens.

CULVER: Teenagers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

CULVER: And a brother and sister.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

CULVER: How do you even process this moment? Like --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no way to process it. Like, you don't process it. You're just here dealing. Like if you're at home, maybe you may have to find some way to cope with it. Like there's no time to process this type of stuff. Like you have to be here helping, otherwise there's nothing else to do.

CULVER (voice over): Here in Cali, Colombia's third largest city, with a population roughly the size of Houston, Texas, even folks working at hotels or taxi drivers even are splitting their day between their actual work and helping with rescues. Motivated by scenes like this, a man handing off a baby boy from within the rubble, dust covered and struggling to breathe, but he's alive.

BRIAN OSORIO, HELPED RESCUE BABY FROM RUBBLE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

CULVER: You saw the baby's little head.

He's not a first responder. He works in a bank. And he was just around the corner and rushed down the street where the collapse and rescue is still underway for several others.

[08:59:59]

And he says he goes there and he hears a -- (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE). What did the voice say?

OSORIO: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

CULVER: He