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Consumer Prices Rose 0.2 Percent In July, Inflation Rate At 2.7 Percent; Trump Picks MAGA Favorite To Lead Economic Statistics Agency; Sources: Ex-Sen. Sherrod Brown To Run For Senate In Ohio; Sen. Thune Posts Instagram Videos Playing Guitar At Jazz Club, Doing Back Flips Off A Boat. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired August 12, 2025 - 12:30   ET

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

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[12:32:08]

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: New data out this morning, the Consumer Price Index shows prices rose 0.2 percent in July, keeping the annual inflation rate at 2.7 percent. Now, the context is that inflation did not rise as much as expected last month, but it is still slightly higher than economists would like to see. And it comes as investors and economists have a new reason to worry about whether these reports will continue to be accurate.

My excellent reporters, panel of reporters are back, and we're including a new face here on Inside Politics, Reade Pickert, the U.S. Economy Editor at Bloomberg News. Welcome. It's nice to have you here.

Can you explain to the rest of us why Wall Street is concerned about the fact that the president fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and also has nominated somebody who is very MAGA?

READE PICKERT, U.S. ECONOMY EDITOR, BLOOMBERG NEWS: So I think the context of this is really important. So when we think about BLS data, it is often thought of the gold standard in terms of being free from politics, being nonpartisan, and really being reflective of what's happening in the economy.

And so when we saw Trump fire the last BLS commissioner, you really saw a pushback from economists on the left and on the right, and really pushing back against this idea that this data was rigged in some way or, you know, changed for political gain. So that is the backdrop that Trump's new pick is coming into.

So we -- Trump has named a man named E.J. Antoni, who is the chief economist at the right-leaning Conservative Heritage Foundation. He is someone who has been a vocal critic of BLS jobs data and revisions. And in conversations that we had with him prior and what he said publicly, we've, you know, he wants to see a top-down, top-to-bottom, you know, review of the way that the BLS, you know, collects its data as well as analyzes it and produces it. BASH: And the way that -- connect the dots between this, I'm going to get in a second into more about him. But the way that this agency, which not a lot of people have heard about, matters to Wall Street.

PICKERT: So this data is the fundamental driver that often moves trillions of dollars in markets, as well as really is the base for what we see a lot from our policymakers like the Federal Reserve. So the Federal Reserve often will say it's data-dependent, and the data that it's frequently talking about is the data that statistical agencies like the Bureau of Labor Statistics that we're talking about, as well as other places like the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Census Bureau put out.

And so in terms of how important this data is, in terms of making good decisions for the economic future of this country, you need to be able to trust that data and know that it's nonpartisan and as accurate as possible when it's published.

[12:35:01]

BASH: OK. And so let me back -- thank you for explaining that. Let me put a little bit more meat on the bone of what you just said about the concerns, and just listen to what E.J. Antoni said to Fox Business. Now, this was before he was actually nominated, ahead of Monday's nomination, but he said, "Until it's corrected, the BLS should suspend issuing the monthly jobs reports but keep publishing the more accurate, though less timely, quarterly data. Major decision-makers from Wall Street to D.C.," as you were saying, "rely on these numbers, and a lack of confidence in the data has far-reaching consequences."

Let me just also play something that he said on Steve Bannon's podcast. This is on August 1st, and it happens to be earlier in the day, or I guess maybe the morning of the day that President Trump actually fired the civil servant who headed the BLS.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

STEVE BANNON, FORMER TRUMP STRATEGIST: What the hell's going on there? And have we put in our own person into BLS? Is it a MAGA Republican that President Trump knows and trusts? Are they running the Bureau of Labor Statistics yet, sir?

E.J. ANTONI, ECONOMIST, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: No, unfortunately, Steve, we still haven't gotten there, and I think that's part of the reason why we continue to have all of these different data problems. You know, the guy we had previously, Bill Beach, is actually a great guy, brilliant statistician, and he recognized some of the problems that we had in the data. He was taking steps to fix that, but unfortunately, he was removed by the Biden administration. He's not there anymore, and he's been replaced by someone who, frankly, I think is incompetent.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BASH: Now, I should say that Bill Beach was on State of the Union. He said there was no grounds to fire the now former head. And I should also just maybe state the obvious, which is the fact that E.J. Antoni went on Steve Bannon and that that is, you know, he's part of that ecosystem. He also was a contributor to Project 2025.

AARON BLAKE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, and I think we, you know, people who have been covering politics for a while hear the Heritage Foundation and think, oh, it's a conservative organization. This is a conservative organization that has really reinvented itself in Donald Trump's image in recent years.

And so this move, the announcement of this move yesterday, you know, Trump took a situation in which the markets were questioning whether they could trust this data, and then he goes and hires somebody from a very loyal institution. And it turns out somebody who has also talked about potentially delaying those jobs numbers until they can figure this out. This is not something that is going to reassure people who are counting on this kind of nonpartisan, you know, no thumb on the scale kind of data.

BASH: He has to get confirmed by Congress, so --

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: He has to get confirmed by the Senate. So the interview there with Steve Bannon is going to make his confirmation hearing perhaps a little bit more painful. But the reality is, I mean, it's a Republican-controlled Senate, so it's hard for us -- it's hard for me to imagine him not being confirmed when you look at all the other Cabinet officials who have been confirmed.

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: Yes, I just think it was interesting that Steve Bannon interview where they said, you know, have we put someone loyal in there, a MAGA loyalist who Trump trusts and likes? And it just goes to another data point that shows you it seems to be what is being prioritized beyond qualifications for the job, ability -- proven ability to do the requirements of these various positions is loyalty to Donald Trump. That might make a team that tells him what he wants to hear, but that might not be a team that is truly competent to run our nation.

BASH: And just to underscore, the Bannon podcast with E.J. Antoni happened on August 1st, and it was later that day that the President decided to fire the Biden appointee for that same organization.

All right, thanks so much. Don't go anywhere.

Coming up, are all Democrats in the Senate? Are their dreams about to come true? We have some new information about something. I don't know. I didn't expect it. Maybe you did. We'll explain after the break.

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[12:43:43]

BASH: This just in to CNN. Democrat Sherrod Brown is running to reclaim his Senate seat in Ohio, that's according to two people familiar with his plans. Brown served for three terms before losing his race last year to Republican Bernie Moreno. He lost by just under 4 percentage points. Now he's going to try to unseat Republican Senator Jon Husted, who was appointed to replace JD Vance.

My panel is back here. Jeff, you reported this story for CNN, and I'm wondering what your sources are telling you about this decision. I mean, obviously Sherrod Brown is one of those people who genuinely loved the United States Senate. He was one of the most endangered Democrats running last time around.

Ohio is a very Republican state. I mean, Donald Trump won the state by 11 percentage points. We were talking in the break about how we remember when Ohio was actually a swing state. But what's the thought process here?

ZELENY: Look, I mean, Sherrod Brown actually in 2024, he outran the Democratic brand. He did better than Vice President Kamala Harris in Ohio, but it wasn't enough. So Senator Brown has long had his own brand, his own image. But as time has moved along, Ohio has just become more and more red. But I'm told he has decided to jump back into the race.

[12:45:02]

And someone appointed me to one of his final speeches on the Senate floor, which was just in December, I mean, less than a year ago. He said, I promise you I'll be back. So now he is making plans to run again.

It's an uphill battle. There's no question about it. But clearly he's had conversations with Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and others, and clearly he thinks he can make this a competitive race. The question is, if the midterm is a referendum on the Trump administration, there's some, you know, question now what the economy is going to look like.

The tariff policies have always been one thing that they thought that was really going to hurt Trump in Ohio. We'll see.

BASH: Yes.

ZELENY: It's very much an open question because the tariffs haven't been as economically damaging. But there's no doubt that there's still a market for the Brown message --

BASH: Yes.

ZELENY: -- the worker message. But --

BASH: And just to broaden it out, Democrats see the writing on the wall with regard to what the map looks like for them in the midterms, even though traditionally the party out of power does better in the midterms. It's going to be very, very hard because they're not playing on ground. You see there that is very favorable to them.

And having Sherrod Brown, somebody who has won three times statewide in Ohio, is something Democrats are clearly happy about.

BLAKE: Yes, I mean, Democrats could have a very good 2026 midterm elections and still not take the Senate. That's how difficult the map is. What they need to do is be able to put states like Ohio in place, states like Texas in play. Those are very difficult states to put in play.

I would think that Sherrod Brown is probably the one person in Ohio. Maybe there's a couple other Democrats talking about Tim Ryan. But Sherrod Brown is certainly the one who most puts that in play for them. And also remember the 2026 midterm election midterm turnout looks a lot different than it does when President Trump is on the ballot.

This has been a problem for Republicans. This could be a problem for Republicans after he leaves office. But his supporters just don't turn out as much when he is not on the ballot. And so, Ohio is trending towards Trump. But in the midterm year, anything can happen. If Democrats get a really big wave, I think he could have a shot.

BASH: Real quick.

MITCHELL: I also think this is just about expanding the map in ways that help people like Jon Ossoff, for example, in Georgia. Because now Republicans are going to have to be competitive in Ohio when maybe they wouldn't have been so worried with a lesser known Democratic candidate. And we're talking about a half billion dollar race when Sherrod Brown was on the ballot in 2024.

BASH: Right, that's such a point.

MITCHELL: So that's just a lot of money to have to now spread around to states like Ohio, Texas, North Carolina --

BASH: Yes.

MITCHELL: -- that's just going to require more resources.

BASH: Such a good point. It was the most expensive, I think --

ZELENY: It was.

BASH: -- statewide in Ohio.

Coming up, Majority Leader John Thune may be polished and reserved in the U.S. Senate. But he's using his social media this summer to show a different side of him. That's next.

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[12:52:21]

BASH: Now to power chords and power plays. Some of Senate Majority Leader John Thune's summer Instagram posts caught our attention. It seems that when Thune isn't counting votes, you may find him performing at a jazz club.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

(SINGING)

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BASH: The Republican leader posted this video on stage with his daughter, Brittany. But apparently when Thune isn't singing the high notes, he's jumping higher, backwards, off a boat.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

THUNE: This is in celebration of passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill. This is one big, beautiful backflip into the big, beautiful Missouri River.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BASH: I mean, listen, if he can have fun this summer, we can too, right? Jeff Zeleny, I mean, it's not your father's majority leader, let's just say that.

ZELENY: It certainly is not, and he's not one to go viral, so he's clearly, or staff is creating some of those moments. But it also underscores that John Thune is one of the most athletic members of the Senate. I mean, he's long played basketball in the gym, so that's not all that surprising.

Because of the heavy rains in the Midwest and the Missouri River this summer, he's able to do that. Previous summers, that Missouri River by South Dakota is pretty dry.

BLAKE: I was going to say, maybe he wants the water level a little bit lower, because it looks like he under-rotated on that backflip a little bit.

BASH: Oh, really?

BLAKE: I'm not one to judge, you know, I'm not doing that, certainly, but, you know, could get around a little bit more, maybe do a retake on that one.

MITCHELL: And I know it seems a little bit unserious, especially, you know, when promoting the Big Beautiful Bill, but at the end of the day, I think it's just a reminder that, like, these are regular people, he's a grandfather, he's doing family time, he's doing, you know, he's doing weird backflips to slowmo, like every other uncle, you know? So he's just like us. John Thune's just like us.

BASH: I don't -- not like me, I can't do that.

Jeff Zeleny, you can probably do that. You're athletic.

ZELENY: I cannot, and I wouldn't do it in the Missouri River, but, you know, he clearly, like I said, again, it's a very full, all-summer. Heavy rains up there.

BASH: Are you going to continue to give the weather report?

ZELENY: I mean, have you not seen the flooding in the Midwest?

BASH: I know.

ZELENY: It's quite significant.

BASH: It's not funny, it's not funny, it's actually very serious. He said on the singing thing, he said, you know, that his daughter gets her musical talent from his wife, from her mother. He -- it's not bad.

BLAKE: I mean, yes, if I could sing like that, I would probably post it. I don't think I would ever post myself singing like that, so, you know, good for him.

BASH: Yes, I mean, listen, you said maybe unserious, but you know what? That's OK.

[12:55:02]

ZELENY: It's also the little name ID --

BASH: OK, I think they're having fun.

ZELENY: -- because not that many people know him, and maybe a new generation of people will know who John Thune is.

MITCHELL: And maybe he's trying to get his mojo back. I do feel like when he first took the majority leader job, he was known for being, like, this belt, active guy, but he seemed to, the job aged him a little bit. You know, it's a stressful job, it's heavy, and maybe this is him trying to get his groove back a little bit.

BASH: Yes. Well, again, backflips, not my thing. It's very impressive.

Thank you so much. Thanks for having a little fun on this August day.

Thank you for joining Inside Politics. CNN News Central starts after a quick break.

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