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Fake Electors Tapped as RNC Delegates; Dem Senators to Meet with Biden Campaign Staff; Prices Fell in June for First Time; Lifestyle Changes That Could Help Prevent Cancer Risk. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired July 11, 2024 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

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JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Some of the Republican delegates going to the GOP convention next week are so-called fake electors. A few of them currently facing criminal prosecution for their efforts in trying to overturn the 2020 election. As you can see, many of these fake electors come from very key swing states. CNN's Zachary Cohen joins us.

Zach, I mean, I suppose this is not surprising. I mean, a lot of those fake electors are Republican operatives. So, not surprising that they would be at the convention, but they're going to be there.

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: They will be. And it's more evidence that Donald Trump's grip on the Republican Party has really never been stronger. And it shows that he's woven election denialism into the official GOP platform, right?

Seven battleground states we've identified are going to send representatives who were either election deniers, they pushed those baseless claims about widespread fraud after the 2020 election, or they actively tried to help Donald Trump overturn the 2020 election results, including several who served as those fake electors from places like Georgia, places like Michigan, places like Arizona.

And there's several of them who are currently facing criminal charges at the state level for their role as a fake elector. That includes Jake Hoffman who is a state senator in Arizona. He was picked to be the national committee man for Arizona. So, he's sort of the public facing Republican from Arizona. And he was indicted alongside all the rest of the fake electors in Arizona as part of an alleged conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election results.

Also, at the convention will be Meshawn Maddock. She similarly was a fake elector, but in Michigan where all the fake electors were also criminally charged. But at the same time, we've seen these criminal investigations sort of peter out recently and none look like they're going to be resolved before the 2024 election. And that's why you're seeing sort of this defiance from some of these individuals who will be at the convention in Milwaukee, and Hoffman is one of them. He says that his election is the RNC national committeeman for Arizona is proof positive that the Republicans are the party of everyday hardworking Americans. I think it's also proof that the Republican Party is Donald Trump. And I think everybody's expectation is that will remain true after the convention.

ACOSTA: Yes, it's been woven into just about everything when it comes to re-electing the former president. All right. Zach Cohen, thanks very much. Appreciate it.

In the meantime, up on Capitol Hill, in just a few hours from now, the Biden campaign will meet with Senate Democrats as pressure grows for the president to end his candidacy. But so far, there's no sign the president is ready or even willing to exit the race. We're joined now by presidential historian Douglas Brinkley.

Doug, great to see you as always. I do want to jump into this and what the president should do and your thoughts on all that. I do want to just take a moment, hit the pause button and just talk a little bit about what Zach Cohen was saying just a few moments ago. There are going to be delegates at the Republican Convention who are involved in the fake elector plot.

I mean, it is stunning from a historical standpoint to have the former president of the United States running for president again. He tried to overturn the election. We had January 6th. And some of the people who were a part of that effort will be at the convention next week.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: And those people probably will get their own podcast and be giving out autographs. They're like the plumbers during the Watergate era, the dirty tricksters of G. Gordon Liddy in some ways. You know, if you flash to Miami in 1972, Republican National Committee, you know, and the DNC, all the shenanigans that went on around the atmospherics of the convention, this may just be an opening salvo of it.

But it's showing you that Trump and the Republican Party wants to normalize giant January 6th, while somebody like myself is trying to say, no, this was a crossing point. We have to remember when democracy was put on the line and it was an insurrection occurred in our nation's capital and the people that were involved in it belong in jail.

ACOSTA: And, Doug, let's talk about President Biden and how big this news conference is today and in this moment that he finds himself in right now. I mean, I suppose if he changes his mind, decides to get out of the race, we will see something we have not seen in an over half a century when LBJ decided to do the same thing.

[10:35:00]

BRINKLEY: Yes, we're at a real hard ballpoint for the Democrats. I mean, everybody now is kind of chipping in throwing a little bit of how they feel that we're having very few profiles and courage. Mainly everybody's doing smoke signals that they either want Biden to go or leave, but it doesn't have this definitive drive yet to it. Beyond Lyndon Johnson in '68, I would think about Bill Clinton in the '90s. There was a drumbeat for Bill Clinton to leave the presidency due to Monica Lewinsky and the Ken Starr investigation. Clinton used to tell people, I'm going to stay in until the last dog dies. It was a famous Clinton statement. And that's the attitude of Biden, saying, I'm going to stay in no matter what, trying to send a very loud message that he's dug in.

But I think he was consequential of the way that Nancy Pelosi has shifted as of yesterday. I thought the George Clooney letter eyeballs popping open, but most importantly, when you get a group of U.S. senators, whether it's Sherrod Brown or Tester, you know, and others, you know, that's when you realize that if the Senate comes on you the way Goldwater came on Nixon, that's when Biden is in deep trouble.

ACOSTA: Right. I mean, that's -- the Senate -- that's his universe that he came from. And, Doug, I did want to ask you, you know, to go back in time with us a little bit, and I remember reporting on some of this, Biden might have been the heir to Barack Obama's presidency back in 2016, and it was assumed he might run until August 2015. We broke the story here at CNN when Biden was telling members of the DNC on a conference call that he didn't have the emotional fuel to run. This was after the death of his son, Beau Biden. Let's listen to a little bit of that. I want to have a conversation about this.

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JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: If I were asked to run, I have to be able to commit to all of you that I would be able to give it my whole heart and my whole soul, and right now, both are pretty well banged up and we're trying to figure out that issue. But believe me, I've given this a lot of thought and dealing internally with the family on how we do this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Yes. And, Doug, I was there in the White House Rose Garden when Biden later announced he would not be running. But he -- you know, as you remember, Dough, during that time period, Biden was at times sounding very much publicly like somebody who was going to be a candidate and then he bowed out.

And I'm just thinking about this because of what Nancy Pelosi was saying yesterday, that there are still some Democrats encouraging that he'll make a decision. Is it possible that, privately, behind the scenes, perhaps the president is not so sure he's going to run and we might see him make an announcement that he's going to bow out? What do you think about all that?

BRINKLEY: I think that's probably the case. I mean, unless he's completely insular and oblivious to American political culture, their drumbeat is for him to leave. I mean, I've never seen anything like it. A sitting president that was in good stead, a 90-minute horrific debate, and now, at least 50 percent of the Democratic Party, I say more than that, probably close to 65 percent are saying, please go, go, go. ACOSTA: Yes.

BRINKLEY: And like old Herman Melville story Biden is saying, I prefer not to, I prefer not to leave. And he keeps digging in. But I think he'll have to probably go in the end. And Biden has always been kind of not as much loved as he might think. It's always a problem. I mean, LBJ had to live up to John F. Kennedy and Joe Biden's had to live up to Barack Obama. And at this moment in time, that deep wellspring of love for Biden is only surface level.

ACOSTA: And just quickly, Doug, finally, I mean, folks are saying, well, if Biden jumps out, it's like 1968 all over again, and it's going to be a big mess for the party. And so, does that necessarily have to be the case? I mean, it was a long time ago.

BRINKLEY: Jim, there's no history repeating itself like that in '68. If we -- if Biden tomorrow said I'm stepping down and Kamala Harris is president, I'm going back to Delaware and I'll be giving her my advice. I'm the highest thing there is in the land of private citizen, that's the kind of thing Jefferson would say, that's the kind of thing, you know, Theodore Roosevelt would say, he would look good, Biden, and he would have put the first woman president of the U.S.

And then, Chicago would be about who's running with Kamala Harris. And Kamala Harris is the easiest person to inherit those delegates and to assume the donor money. That's the choice --

ACOSTA: Is that what you think you should do? I don't mean to interrupt, Doug.

BRINKLEY: I think he should.

ACOSTA: You think he should step down?

BRINKLEY: I think he needs -- yes, I do. Because you're -- how do you win when your entire party is pleading with you to step aside. Yes, there are groups quickly -- you know, certain, you know, AOC I know is sticking by him and some labor people are, but it's dividing the Democratic Party to splitting it like a coconut in half.

[10:40:00]

How do you go into Chicago that divided? And it's already going to be hurly-burly in Chicago because the anti-Gaza-Israel protests will be back. He needs to streamline the party. And by writing the letter that I'm stepping back due to health. And you know, do a cognitive test first. And if you do the cognitive test, if you pass, it may be different. But if you have trouble with it in any way, say, my time's up, I've served my country. But here you have an incredible person in Kamala Harris. America at long last the land of liberty and democracy and equal rights, we finally have a woman president. And she comes to you, Joe Biden.

ACOSTA: Fascinating. All right. Great discussion. Doug, great to see you. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. And I want to show some live pictures right now of the president. He's at the NATO Summit right now. There's the NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, next to him. The president greeting a variety of world leaders there. Of course, in a few hours from now, later on this afternoon -- this evening, we're going to see the president holding a news conference with the White House Press Corps. Of course, he'll be asked a lot of questions. But stay with us more on this and the other side of the break. We'll be right back.

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ACOSTA: This morning, another good sign in the country's fight against inflation. For the first time since the pandemic, prices actually fell in June, finally. Here's a look at how the stock market is responding. Stock market likes a little bit so far. The latest inflation report out today is boosting hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates. But the question remains, when exactly will that happen?

Joining me now to discuss this and more is Mark Zandi. He's the chief economist at Moody's Analytics. Mark, what'd you think of the numbers?

MARK ZANDI, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MOODY'S ANALYTICS: Great, Jim. I thought they were great. I mean, very close to scriptures. Inflation is cooling off nicely. The other thing I take the greatest solace in is that staples, necessities, things like food at home, gasoline, new lease rents, they haven't increased at all over the past year.

You know, they increased a lot a couple, three years ago. So, people are still struggling with that. But over the good news is over the past year they haven't gone anywhere. So, all the trend lines here look pretty good. I'd say look really good, and it feels like we're getting to a place where the Federal Reserve should start cutting interest rates.

ACOSTA: Yes, I was going to say, what are the chances for that now? Because it looks like the Fed chairman, Jerome Powell, was looking for this kind of data, this exact kind of data, and it came in.

ZANDI: Yes. I -- you know, I can't imagine the folks at the Fed aren't looking at this and thinking, hey, you know, it's about time to cut interest rates.

ACOSTA: Yes.

ZANDI: I suspect though they'll wait another couple of months. I mean, the consensus view at this point is they'll start cutting rates in September. They'll get a couple more inflation reports between now and then. And I think they want to see, you know, continued good numbers like the ones we got today. And I think they'll get them. So, I do expect that they'll start cutting rates in the not-too-distant future.

ACOSTA: Is there a possibility, Mark, that that the Fed has just waited too long? I mean, there's that line of thinking as well, that they've waited too long and perhaps inflation will cool so much that they won't be able to respond quickly enough.

ZANDI: Yes, I worry about that. I mean, even the chair -- Fed Chair Powell kind of called that out. You know, it is testimony in Congress the last couple of days. I mean, rates are high, interest rates are high. They are a weight on the economy and you can kind of feel it most clearly in the job market. You know -- so, you know, number of hours people are working, they're down. It's tougher to get hired. The quit rates are down. The number of temp jobs have fallen, that businesses tend to cut the temp jobs before they cut their own employment.

And even job growth is starting to slow and we're getting downward revisions. Unemployment is notching higher. You know, some of that is just, you know, more labor force growth, but nonetheless. So, you add that all up and it does paint a picture of a labor market that is, you know, under a lot of strain. And, you know, I would argue for -- to what end. I mean, the economies of full employment, 4.1 percent unemployment rate and inflation is right where we want to see it. So, I would be cutting rates now.

But again, I think they're going to be more cautious here, wait a couple more months before they cut rates. But the longer they wait, the greater the risk they take. And if they don't cut rates in September and wait even longer, then I think the risks to the economy will rise.

ACOSTA: Yes. And I mean, the unemployment picture, we were just showing that a few moments ago, it has gone up a little bit over the last several months, about half a percentage point. But still, I mean, when you look at the employment picture and, Mark, maybe it's because you and I are older guys and we remember how things were coming out of the great recession and so on, 4.1 percent is historically very good.

ZANDI: Oh, yes. You know, no doubt about it. You know, we're at full employment. This is a pretty good economy. And, Jim, it's not just the overall number, but if you kind of look under the hood, and you look at all the demographic groups, you know, by age, by race, by region of the country, you know, this labor market, this job market is in a great spot. I just want to keep it there.

And I think the Fed, you know, mission accomplished. They got what they wanted. Now it's time to kind of take the foot off the brake and, you know, normalize interest rates, because that would really help. You know, a lot of low-income households are paying a lot on their credit card debt and consumer finance loans. A lot of small business people are paying a lot on their business loans and they would all get some relief here. And I think much needed at this point, given the strains that the high rates are causing.

ACOSTA: Yes. And a lot of people waiting for this housing market to get going and people want to buy a house or so on. And they're looking at these interest rates and they're just saying, well, I guess we'll just keep renting or we'll keep waiting, you know, hon. That's what a lot of folks are saying around the kitchen table right now. [10:50:00]

Mark Zandi, thanks a lot for your time. Appreciate it.

ZANDI: Yes, anytime.

ACOSTA: All right. Thank you. Coming up, newly released data suggests that nearly half of all cancer deaths in the U.S. could have been prevented. Look at the lifestyle changes that you can make right now to help reduce your cancer risk later. That's next.

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ACOSTA: This morning, an astounding development in the fight against cancer. A new study from the American Cancer Society finds that nearly half of the cancer deaths in the U.S. could be prevented. CNN's Meg Tirrell joins us now. Meg, very important study. What does it show?

MET TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, we often feel like there's very little we can do to prevent something like cancer, but this study shows us that there actually are things we can do right now to reduce our risk of cancer.

The overall study found that about 40 percent of cases of cancer in adults over the age of 30 are attributable or linked to potentially modifiable risk factors. And 44 percent of deaths in 2019, so before the numbers started to go a bit wonky from the COVID pandemic can be linked to these modifiable risk factors.

[10:55:00]

The leading risk factors, the top one will surprise nobody. It's smoking cigarettes. That is linked to the most cases and deaths from cancer. The second one is excess body weight. The third is alcohol consumption. Up there also is exposure to UV light, which is associated with melanoma, skin cancer. The cancers that are most linked to these modifiable risk factors include lung cancer, female breast cancer, melanoma, and colorectal cancer. So, all linked to those risk factors we talked about.

Now, what are the things that folks can do? Well, experts actually told us that you can act pretty quickly to reduce your risk. Once you implement lifestyle changes, the risk reduction can kick in fairly quickly. So, things like avoiding a cigarette smoking, maintaining a healthy body weight, avoiding alcohol, avoiding excess sun exposure, and being physically active.

We know about all of those things on a personal level, but this study really focuses in on things that can be done from a policy level too. Take cigarette smoking for example, if you make those more expensive, they found that really can reduce smoking rates. Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. And I'm very guilty of one thing, not using sunscreen enough. I'm very bad at that. I could do a lot better on that front. Great advice. Meg Tirrell, thank you so much. And thanks to everybody out there for joining us this morning. I'm Jim Acosta. Our next hour of "Newsroom with Wolf Blitzer" starts after a short break. Have a good day.

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