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Walmart Rolls Back DEI Initiatives After Trump Win; Changing Shopping Habits Define New Holiday Trends; Lions Edge Bears 23-20 After Head-Scratching Finish. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired November 29, 2024 - 05:30   ET

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

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[05:31:42]

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: It is 5:31 here on the East Coast, and here's a live look at Philadelphia. Good morning, Philly, and good morning, everyone else. I'm Audie Cornish in for Kasie Hunt and it is wonderful to have you with us.

Now, in with Trump, out with DEI. Many of America's top retailers rolling back diversity equity inclusion initiatives in the weeks after the November election and ushering in a new anti-woke era.

More now from CNN's Brian Todd.

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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): America's largest retailer and largest private employer takes a major step on a huge social issue. Walmart says it's rolling back some of its diversity equity and inclusion programs, also known as DEI. The company says it's ending racial equity training programs for employees, reevaluating programs that assist minority-owned suppliers, and is winding down its Center for Racial Equity, a nonprofit Walmart had set up to address racism in society.

ERIC DEZENHALL, STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST, CRISIS MANAGEMENT EXPERT: This is a big deal because corporations seem to be going in this direction.

TODD (voiceover): In addition to Walmart, major Americans companies like Lowe's, Ford, Harley-Davidson, and John Deere are scaling back their DEI programs and their support for pride marches and LGBTQ events.

Many companies had embraced DEI following the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.

ALLAN SCHWEYER, PRINCIPAL RESEARCHER, THE CONFERENCE BOARD: I think the pendulum might have spun a fair -- a fair bit towards DEI after the George Floyd situation, and I think it's started to swing back.

TODD (voiceover): One possible reason for that, President-elect Donald Trump repeatedly blasting DEO on the campaign trail -- DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT-ELECT: We're not going to be woke.

TODD (voiceover): -- and Trump nominating cabinet members like Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth who has said woke culture needs to be removed from the U.S. military.

ANNA PALMER, FOUNDER AND CEO, PUNCHBOWL NEWS: I think they're going to be having a lot of scrutiny when it comes to DEI in the federal government but also with companies that do work and do contracting with the government as well.

TODD (voiceover): And some of the pushback to DEI programs is the work of Robby Starbuck, a former Hollywood music video director who is now a conservative activist.

ROBBY STARBUCK, ACTIVIST, FORMER MUSIC VIDEO DIRECTOR: We have to fight back.

TODD (voiceover): Starbuck has engaged in a popular online campaign against companies' diversity programs. On X, Starbuck posted that the Walmart DEI rollback is "the biggest win yet for our movement."

SCHWEYER: There's no denying that Robby Starbuck has a following. That he's able to apply pressure on organizations through social media and otherwise.

DEZENHALL: You are seeing something that we haven't seen before, which is the capacity of conservatives to pull off a boycott because they now have a media base.

TODD (voiceover): One conservative boycott that really took didn't have anything to do with DEI program but did affect a major American corporation. Last year, after Bud Light featured a transgender actress and influencer in a promotion, conservatives called for a boycott of the brand. And musician Kid Rock posted a video of himself shooting at a stack of Bud Light cases.

DEZENHALL: I thought that the Bud Light effort was really very problematic because it was seen as a deep insult to their base even though it was not intended that way.

TODD: By most accounts the activist Robby Starbuck is nowhere near finished with his campaign against DEI initiatives. According to USA Today, Starbuck says he's preparing a new list of companies to target for the holiday season, declaring that his side is now winning the battle of public opinion on this issue.

[05:35:12]

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

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CORNISH: OK, we're going to talk a little bit more about this with Cheyanne Daniels, race and politics reporter for The Hill. So, Cheyanne, I want to talk to you first about this rollback. Yes, we're looking at Walmart. Brian was talking about several other companies.

Are they pulling back from what was called ESG, right -- environmental social and governance kind of umbrella of values that corporations were leaning into? Are they done with all of that or just the stuff being boycotted?

CHEYANNE MARIE DANIELS, RACE AND POLITICS REPORTER, THE HILL: You know, it's really interesting. What we're seeing is them saying we're no longer going to engage in phrasing of things such as LGBTQ wording.

We're no longer going to engage in -- as you see with Walmart saying we want to try to find ways to give not necessarily preference but ensure that we're opening the doors to those who maybe have been historically left out, such as predominantly Black and brown. And whether that's employees or their suppliers.

So we're not hearing just yet anything else but really that focus on what you would consider people of color and perhaps the LGBTQ community.

CORNISH: Now as they were talking about earlier, obviously, corporations leaned super hard into issues of diversity after the death of George Floyd probably more than anyone even asked for with the black squares and all of these things with their H.R. departments.

So is there a sense that they're responding to politics or are they also just, as corporations, getting frustrated with the management of these issues? We heard a lot about being mad at employees and things like that who were bringing this up.

DANIELS: Yeah. It's interesting because as you pointed out I think some of it -- folks were, like, we didn't ask for that, right? And then there was some concerns is this all performative? What are you actually going to do to indicate that you want to see changes in our society, in our culture? And now that seems to be stepping back, right?

CORNISH: Right.

DANIELS: And a lot of it, folks are saying, has to do with particularly after we saw the Supreme Court's decision on affirmative action with concerns over what does that mean for corporate America? How do we then get to be able to say things like we want to make sure we are prioritizing candidates of different diverse backgrounds without somehow overstepping now what the Supreme Court has decided?

So there's a lot of confusion that I'm hearing from sources that I've talked to where they're saying corporations just don't know what is and isn't allowed anymore and they don't want to risk potential lawsuits, frankly.

CORNISH: So it's a perfect storm of things. We mentioned Starbuck. There's also Christopher Rufo in Florida. And, of course, Ron DeSantis spent all of his primary trying to be the anti-woke candidate.

But it sounds like you have this conservative movement happening at the same time that corporations are skittish.

DANIELS: Yes, exactly. And I think especially some of the corporations that we've seen. And when you think about something -- a corporation like Harley-Davidson, you think about Lowe's, and they're saying we're trying to give our consumer base what they want. We're trying to make sure -- they don't want to lose their customers at the end of the day, right?

And so when you're seeing so much backlash or pushback from conservative consumers who are saying I won't shop here anymore that's a fine line to walk I think as a corporation to say do we risk losing those customers or do we try to move forward and see what happens?

CORNISH: Well, Cheyanne Daniels, I know we're going to hear about this more as Elon Musk is involved with the government and Vivek Ramaswamy. They've talked a lot about this. But I appreciate your time. Thank you.

DANIELS: Thank you so much.

CORNISH: All right. Straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING the evolution of Black Friday. It's still a critical time for retailers without, frankly, all the chaos for consumers.

Plus, how poor clock management cost the Bears a chance to knock off the high-flying Lions. The Bleacher Report is next.

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[05:43:20]

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPER: There is obviously a fight between a guy and a girl over a Barbie doll, and the girl socked the guy in the face just to get the Barbie.

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CORNISH: OK, that is a look back at some Black Friday chaos from about a decade ago, Thanksgiving 2014, and it's the sort of image that traditionally we think of when it comes to Black Friday. Shoppers busting through the doors, fighting crowds and sometimes each other basically to get a deal at the start of the holiday shopping season. Now, of course, today things are very different.

The New York Times recently asked shoppers about what they thought of this day now and "Many lamented that it no longer felt like a unique shopping event and that sales often continued into the new year. Others suggested supporting small businesses rather than big-box retailers whether they offered sales or not or avoiding shopping altogether by participating in 'Buy Nothing Day.'" Now, this day and weekend is still huge for retailers. According to the National Retail Federation more than 183 million people are basically expected to start their shopping during this five-day weekend. Now, of course, a bunch of them will start today.

[05:45:00]

You know, another sign of the changing habits, only about 65 percent of Black Friday shoppers are even planning to go in person.

Joining me now to talk about the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season is Claire Tassin, retail and e-commerce analyst -- retail and e-commerce analyst at Morning Consult. Claire, good morning.

CLAIRE TASSIN, RETAIL AND E-COMMERCE ANALYST, MORNING CONSULT (via Webex by Cisco): Good morning.

CORNISH: So obviously, we alluded to this towards the end. There's Cyber Monday, there's Small Business Saturday, there's Buy Nothing Day. Obviously, people got burnt out over time.

So what does this spending actually look like now?

TASSIN: We still see an enormous amount of consumer spending over the next few days. Overall, this holiday season we're predicting to see about a 3.5 percent spending increase over last year, and a lot of that spending will be concentrated around what we call the 'Big Five' so that -- starting today and over the next five days from Black Friday to Cyber Monday.

And you made a good point. Retailers have sort of been stretching the boundaries of what Black Friday really means. I've seen Black Friday promotional language as early as October. So what -- it's really a signal to consumers that these are some of the best deals that will be on offer but it's no longer just one day.

CORNISH: Is it also partly because -- I mean, we've been talking about affordability, right, during the election year. You have retailers engaging in what they call dynamic pricing.

I mean, what does a sale even mean, and do people actually feel like they're getting a deal?

TASSIN: Sure. So we have seen across the air retailers trying to pull customers back into their doors by reducing prices on their merchandise storewide. That's been really important to consumers this year for obvious reasons. So these big offers and discounts should be some of the deepest discounts that we see this year and that is still really attracted to consumers.

But what I think is really interesting and important to remember is that when I look at who is actually shopping on Black Friday and who is making some of these impulse purchases it does tend to be wealthier people who are able to sort of let the retailers tell them what to buy rather than those who have to watch their budgets more closely who are actually less likely to shop -- say, to be able to take advantage of these deals.

CORNISH: What about debt? What are people willing to go into debt for when it comes to holiday season?

TASSIN: Yeah. So in a recent survey at Morning Consult we saw that 20 percent of consumers said they planned to take on debt. That's -- most of that is -- they said would be able to be paid off within one or two billing cycles. A few did say that they would plan to stretch it out longer than that. So debt is part of how people will stretch their cash flow over the next couple of months to pay back the credit card bills that they'll incur.

We also, of course, see the increasing importance of buy now-pay later loans that are so common in the retail industry now to help people stretch their dollars further. And those often don't have interest associated with the payments. And with where credit card interest rates are right now that can be a really attractive option as long as consumers are sure that they can pay them off on time.

CORNISH: Do you have any other sense of what kind of trends -- or basically people are responding to when it comes to their budget or where they -- when it comes to this kind of spending?

TASSIN: Sure. So we generally see that people want to preserve their holiday spending, especially when it comes to gifts and celebrations -- having friends and family over. You know, making all of your favorite holiday food and beverages. So that tends to be where people are really prioritizing their spending. And that doesn't have to be particularly expensive. That's where consumers also rated those items as pretty high on the affordability scale in some of our survey work.

So what we find is that people still want to spend money this holiday season because they want to preserve those traditions. They want to be generous with their friends and family, and they just -- they want to enjoy the special feeling this time of year.

CORNISH: I can understand that.

Claire Tassin, thank you so much.

TASSIN: Thank you.

CORNISH: We're going to turn now to sports. Of course, on a Thanksgiving filled with football, the night ended with a dominant performance by the Green Bay Packers in a win over the Miami Dolphins.

CNN sports anchor Amanda Davies joins me now with this morning's Bleacher Report.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Good morning, Audie.

I mean, is it fair to say Dolphins don't really do very well in the cold? The temperature at kickoff in Green Bay was 27 degrees and Miami looked like fish out of water all night. I know we're talking about mammals and dolphins. Anyway, Packers' wide receiver Jayden Reed was red-hot, scoring two

touchdowns in the first half as Green Bay jumped out to a 24-3 lead whilst their defense got after Miami quarter Tua Tagovailoa, sacking him five times. Tua finished with over 350 yards passing and two touchdowns but most of that came too little too late as Green Bay takes it 30 points to 17.

[05:50:00]

Meanwhile, for the first time since last December, the Dallas Cowboys have won a game at home. Check out the play DeMarvion Overshown in the second quarter, tipping the ball to himself and taking it back the other way for his first career touchdown. A happy Thanksgiving for him.

And running back Rico Dowdle had a stellar day rushing for a career- best 112 yards and a touchdown in the third to put the Cowboys up by 17. They went on to win 27 points to 20.

The Detroit Lions hadn't won a Thanksgiving game since 2016. What a way for them to do it after something of a mind-boggling end to their game against the Chicago Bears.

Chicago was trailing by three points with 36 seconds to go when Caleb Williams gets sacked on the second down on Detroit's 41 yard line putting them out of range for a field goal. Thirty-two seconds left and ticking, the Bears have a time out, but Coach Matt Eberflus doesn't use it. Then rolling ahead when the goal is finally snapped there were just six seconds on the clock. Williams throws up a prayer and it falls harmlessly to the ground with zeros on the clock.

Detroit escaped 23-20 to improve to a league best 11-1.

For Chicago, more head-scratching and heartbreak. Six straight losses now; four of those by three points or less.

Afterwards the coach defended his decisions.

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MATT EBERFLUS, HEAD COACH, CHICAGO BEARS: So to me it's -- I think we handled it the right way. I do believe that we just re-rack the play, get it in bounds, and call time out, and that's why we held it. And it didn't work out the way we wanted it to.

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DAVIES: Finally, an ongoing player gender controversy in college volleyball. Boise State says it will forfeit its conference tournament match against San Jose State later today amid unconfirmed reports of a transgender player on the Spartans roster. It's important to note that Boise State haven't actually given a reason for forfeiting but they did boycott their two matches against San Jose State earlier this season.

In a statement Boise State say the decision wasn't any easy one, saying "Our team should not have to forgo this opportunity while waiting for a more thoughtful and better system that serves all athletes."

According to documents filed in federal court, the controversy began last spring amid the rumors about a Spartans player. San Jose State had received a total of six forfeit victories this season. Four other teams canceling their games against SJSU. On Monday, a federal judge in Colorado ruled that the player was allowed to compete -- a decision upheld by an appeals court the next day.

Neither the player in question nor San Jose State have commented publicly on the player's gender. And we here at CNN aren't naming the player since she's declined to comment through a university official.

That is it though from me for now. A reminder to everyone to get their shopping done early today. The Black Friday game in the NFL -- big rivals. The Kansas City Chiefs up against the Las Vegas Raiders, Audie.

CORNISH: Thank you so much.

Up ahead on CNN THIS MORNING we have some darker news -- a slew of violent threats. Democratic lawmakers report Thanksgiving bomb threats against their homes just one day after several of Trump's top picks for his second administration were similarly targeted.

Plus, the tariff tussle. Could Trump be on the doorstep of making good on a 14-year-old idea?

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TRUMP: When you say cheating, they are cheating because they're manipulating their currency. It's very hard for this country to compete. Watch what happens. I hope you can rebroadcast again this in five years.

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[05:58:15]

CORNISH: It's Friday, November 29. Right now on CNN THIS MORNING he said-she said. Mexico's president refuting Donald Trump's claim that she agreed to close the border.

Then, holiday threats. More lawmakers becoming the targets of bomb threats and swatting incidents. The latest in the investigations.

And beg your pardon? Could some surprising names soon be up for pardons as Trump returns to office?

Plus, holiday season -- the holiday shopping season arrives. Black Friday is now here. How the day once defined by stampedes and fist fights is taking on a new role for retailers. It's 6:00 a.m. here on the East Coast, and here is a live look at the Washington Monument here in our nation's capital. Good morning, everybody. Thank you so much for being with us this day after Thanksgiving. I'm Audie Cornish in for Kasie Hunt.

Now, there are just 52 days until Inauguration Day. Less than two months until Donald Trump once again swears to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.

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TRUMP: Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies, and destroying our jobs.

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CORNISH: Eight years ago as Trump stood on the steps of the Capitol and spoke of American carnage, he also railed against trade deals that he said were harming American workers.