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Inside Politics

Higher Inflation Makes a Rate Hike More Likely Than a Rate Cut; Today: South Carolina Legislative Considers New GOP Gerrymander; Republican Redistricting Wins Pile Up As Courts Rule In Their Favor; Nebraska's "Blue Dot" At The Center Of Red-Hot Dem Primary; ADL Report: Assaults Against U.S. Jews Reach 46-Year High; L.A. Schools Recognize Jewish American Heritage Month After Tishby Push. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired May 12, 2026 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:00]

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: -- rates, that is what he was hired to do and that's what Warsh has said that he favors doing, but we're in a different world right now. When you have inflation at 3.8 percent, you cannot reasonably start cutting rates without the expectation that inflation could start taking off.

In fact, the market says just the opposite. They are predicting, and you can do some fancy calculations to get there, that there's a 33 percent chance of a rate hike by the end of the year --

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Oh gosh.

GOLDMAN: -- only a 3 percent chance of cutting rates, and that means that there's concern that inflation might go to 4 percent the next month and then beyond, and the Fed might need to act on that in the way that it did in 2022. We are not back to 2022, let's be clear. The economy overall is healthy, but inflation is starting to become a problem again.

BASH: Do you imagine if the President goes through all of this, gets a new guy at the head of the Fed, and he comes in and raises interest rates?

GOLDMAN: Raises rates, can you imagine?

BASH: I mean --

GOLDMAN: I don't think he's going to be too happy. The last guy he hired did the same thing.

BASH: Yes. Well let's just hope that we have rainbows and unicorns and all of this doesn't doesn't wear out.

GOLDMAN: We're always hoping for rainbows and unicorns.

BASH: Always, always. Thank you so much for being here, Dave, always good to see you.

GOLDMAN: Thanks, Dana. Thank you.

BASH: Up next, Republican redistricting wins are piling up. Right now, lawmakers in another southern state are debating a new map that could end the career of one of the most prominent black lawmakers in the history of Congress.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:36:16]

BASH: South Carolina is wading into the redistricting wars today. Right now, actually, state lawmakers are pushing ahead on a new map intended to guarantee a 7 to 0 GOP delegation. That means eliminating the solid Democratic seat held by Congressman Jim Clyburn.

Nationally, this would be the 16th seat Republicans have redrawn in their favor. They got a 15th yesterday when the Supreme Court cleared the way for Alabama to eliminate one of its two majority black districts. Although, just because a district is redrawn in the GOP's favor, it does not mean it's an automatic Republican win.

Luckily, we have South Carolina native favorite son, Josh Dawsey with us. So, Josh, let me just put up what the President said about South Carolina in a Truth Social post. I believe it was this morning. "South Carolina State Senate has a" -- excuse me, yesterday -- "big vote tomorrow on redistricting. I'm watching it closely." And then he went on to say, "South Carolina Republicans, be bold and courageous."

Talk about what's going on there, but also against the backdrop, which I think is important, of the retaliation that he was pretty successful at in Indiana because the Indiana Republicans said last year, nope, we're not going to go along with your map. And he was able to oust most of those Republicans in the state Senate. So now, he has this not-so-subtle threat against South Carolina as they vote on this new map.

JOSH DAWSEY, POLITICAL INVESTIGATIONS REPORTER, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: So a lot of folks in South Carolina were not clamoring to do this, right? Governor McMaster, longtime Republican, ally of Trump, has been privately skeptical of this, has a good relationship with Jim Clyburn.

Lindsey Graham has raised questions about this. Shane Massey, the leader of the state Senate, has gotten several calls from the President and his allies. Shane Massey said he's not dying to do this.

And the President and one of his top aides, James Blair, have made clear, you know, we really don't care that much. We want you to do this and we expect that you will do this. And so you have White House officials calling state senators in South Carolina, calling local officials, calling folks up and down the line, basically saying, we're not asking that nicely.

We are asking nicely --

BASH: We're telling -- DAWSEY: -- but if we don't do this, it may end up for you like it ends

up in Indiana. And I was asking some officials in the White House, have you guys made any threats to these people? And the answer that I got back was we don't really need to at this point. People can sort of see it on their own eyes.

They saw what happened in Indiana when they went against him. So you have a lot of Republicans in South Carolina who are being sort of dragged to the finish line on this to do this by the President. You know, there was not much support in the state initially to do this before the President, James Blair, and others called.

And I mean, they make dozens and dozens of phone calls into South Carolina calling all sorts of people from low-level activists, senior people. I mean, this was a full-throttle effort to say, we're hearing a little resistance here. We want to make clear the White House wants this done.

BASH: Absolutely fascinating. And we'll see how this vote turns out. But based on that excellent reporting, I don't know that it's going to be a surprise, perhaps. And if it is, then that's a whole other fantastic political story.

Let's just turn to another southern state, Alabama. I mentioned this, that we can put up the new map versus the old map. The old map had two majority black districts. Now there will only be one. You see the seventh there. That will Terri Sewell, who represents a big part of the state there, including the iconic historic Selma, Alabama. That is going to stay in place.

[12:40:00]

In fact, the governor there just said it wasn't clear whether or not there would be zero or one. And the governor there just made clear that they are going to keep that number seven. So there will still be one majority black district, which will almost certainly continue to be represented by Democrats.

AYESHA RASCOE, NPR HOST, "WEEKEND EDITION SUNDAY" AND "UP FIRST": Well, you know, I mean, this is -- I mean, having that one district, it is something. But at the same time, I mean, you know, we've done reporting, talking to, you know, voters in Alabama, and what they're saying is that they feel like black voting power is being diluted, because it is.

And that the black -- the gains that were made from the civil rights are being overturned. And this is a representative democracy, or it's supposed to be, right? And so when you have a case like maybe in South Carolina, where you have a significant black population, and that their votes will be diluted in this way, I mean, it raises larger questions about democracy.

BASH: Can I just add to that and just put some numbers on the screen so our viewers really get a sense of what you're talking about? This is the percentage of black voters in these states, starting with South Carolina, 26 percent. Black voters make up 26 percent of the voting population in South Carolina.

And if the Republicans in the legislature vote the way the White House wants them to, they're going to have zero representation in Congress. Tennessee, 16 percent, also zero. Alabama, as we were talking about, 27 percent. Looks like they're going to have one.

And Louisiana, 33 percent, so a third of the population. It's the highest of all of them in the South. We're not sure yet how it's going to play out. They could have one seat, or they could have zero seats.

RASCOE: And, I mean, I think that that represents just a larger issue for us as a democracy. Like, you know, there's the, you know, what's going to happen in the midterms, what's going to happen in, you know, 2028, but then there's the question of, well, what do we stand for as a country.

And could we end up in a place where the House is not representative of the actual votes, where you had more people vote in a certain way, but the numbers are such that the other party is still in power. That is a larger issue that I think we as a country will have to deal with.

BASH: All right, thank you so much. Really appreciate it. Thank you for explaining South Carolina to the rest of us, especially Northerners.

Coming up, speaking of somebody who can explain a home state, it's primary day in the Cornhusker state. One Democrat is promising that if she wins, she's going to drop out. Jeff Zeleny, our very own Oracle of Omaha, will be here to explain.

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[12:47:07]

BASH: Today is primary day in Nebraska, and voters are choosing Democratic nominees in two critical races. A congressional race poised to become one of the midterm's most competitive. Democrats hope to flip retiring Republican Congressman Don Bacon's seat in the 2nd District.

And there is a Senate race with a twist. Democrats will choose a nominee to take on Republican Senator Pete Ricketts. But, one Democrat is promising that if she wins, she's going to drop out. Huh?

CNN Cornhusker, Jeff Zeleny, joins us now. Just can't get enough of my Jeff Zeleny Nebraska references.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: We love it.

BASH: OK, let's start in the Senate. What is happening?

ZELENY: Look, it is one of the most unusual Senate races, largely revolving around the Democratic brand. As we know, the Democratic brand is not strong in some parts of the country. So, Nebraska has an independent candidate. Dan Osborn there, you can see. And Democrats would prefer him because they think that he has the best chance against Pete Ricketts, who is the incumbent Republican Senator, former governor. It's a long shot in the first place. However, what's happening is Cindy Burbank and William Forbes, as you can see right there, are on the ballot.

But William Forbes is a pastor. He says he's voted for Donald Trump three times. Democrats say he's a GOP plant to get someone on the ballot there. So Cindy Burbank is a retired pharmacy technician. She says, look, I'm going to run. And if I win, I'm going to lose because I'm going to say I don't want the position.

So, what that would mean is that Dan Osborn would be on the ballot in the fall and there would not be a Democrat sort of on the column there. So it's very unusual. There's no doubt. But it's all about the Democratic brand.

We're seeing some Independents run in some other states. And this is one example of that.

BASH: Yes, and he's one that definitely excites a lot of Independents --

ZELENY: For sure.

BASH: -- and Democrats. Let's talk about the congressional race. People who watch the show and are sort of familiar with Don Bacon. He is one of the few moderate Republicans left, and it's because he represents what's known as the blue dot in your home state of Nebraska. So what is going to happen with that race to replace him?

ZELENY: Look, Don Bacon is one of three Republicans in the House, only three across the country who represented districts that Kamala Harris won. So that makes his base more moderate. It makes his voters more moderate.

He's retiring, one of the record-setting number of Republicans who are retiring. So Democrats see it as a pickup opportunity. We shall see. There's a very messy Democratic primary playing out right now. A ton of outside money is being spent.

But if you look at the history of the voting in that district, Nebraska and Maine split their electoral votes. Look at this. Barack Obama won it in 2008. The Republicans, Mitt Romney and Donald Trump, won in 12 and 16. But Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the district. So this means that it is in play.

The rules of Nebraska and Maine are very unique. They divide the electoral college, not winner take all. So the underlying argument of this debate and this primary has been, if you elect John Kavanagh, who's a state senator, the blue dot could go away.

[12:50:09]

Why is that? Because he serves in the state legislature and has been fighting to protect it. And so, a lot of in-fighting there, but the bottom line is, this race is going to be one of the most important competitive races in the fall because of what makes up that blue dot.

BASH: Yes, and there are so few competitive swing districts. This is one of them that is left. So --

ZELENY: Fewer and fewer.

BASH: So goes this, could go the whole House of Representatives.

Thank you, Jeff.

ZELENY: You bet. Thank you.

BASH: Always good to see you.

And coming up, at a time when anti-Semitism feels inescapable, I'm going to speak with someone pushing Jewish education as an antidote to hate. Our Have a Little Faith series is next.

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[12:55:19]

BASH: Fear is intensifying across the Jewish community in America. The Anti-Defamation League reports anti-Semitic physical assaults in the U.S. reached a 46-year high in 2025. For many Jews, the unease goes far beyond violent attacks.

I spoke with Noa Tishby, Israel's former special envoy for combating anti-Semitism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Nice to see you, Noa.

NOA TISHBY, FORMER ISRAEL SPECIAL ENVOY FOR COMBATING ANTISEMITISM & DELEGITIMIZATION: Thank you, Dana.

BASH: Thank you so much for being here. I do want to start on just what we have seen in not just America, but around the world with regard to anti-Semitism. But just even speaking about the U.S., we have seen the stats from the ADL just showing the absolute spike in Jew hate and the fact that it's not just words, it's also deeds and violence.

TISHBY: Yes.

BASH: And that was just 2025.

TISHBY: Yes.

BASH: It's not even talking about what we're experiencing in 2026.

TISHBY: Yes, that's true. This recent report is very alarming, specifically because it talks not just about harassment of Jews, but actually about assault, and assault of Jews has been up 39 percent. So the Jewish community around the world, around America and the world, is afraid.

91 percent of Jews around America are saying that they are afraid to be publicly Jewish. If you are visibly Jewish in New York City, for example, it's a scary thing to literally sit on the subway. And this is something that is happening across the world, not just in the U.S.

You know, they often say that the anti-Semitism Jew hatred is the canary in the coal mine, meaning it's a -- an indication that something is off with society. Because if you start believing this conspiracy theory about Jews, that Jews have outsized power and control, you start distrusting institutions, you start believing a lot of other conspiracy theories, and it's often this one thing that indicates that something is off.

And sadly, we see this. We see this on the far left. We see this on the far right. We see this with radical Islam. We see this pretty much everywhere. And it's one of the things that I'm trying to educate and change.

BASH: I want to play a little bit of something that you are doing in public schools in Los Angeles and hopefully I know you --

TISHBY: Throughout the country.

BASH: -- hope around the country as well.

TISHBY: Yes.

BASH: It's a video series. You call it, "What Is." Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TISHBY: What is Judaism? Judaism is one of the world's oldest faiths. It can also be called an ethno religion, a combination of shared ethnicity, beliefs and traditions that have evolved over thousands of years. Simply put, Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people and it's also one of a kind identity.

Judaism began around 4,000 years ago in the land of Israel, where is now the state of Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TISHBY: Yes, so we're trying to make it easy to understand. I think at the bottom line is this -- people hate what they don't know. And people don't know most people never met a Jew. We are 0.2 percent of the world population.

People are often shocked about this when you ask them how many Jews there are in the world. It's usually 50 billion, thousand, million, right? They have no idea. When you say, oh, it's actually less than 16 million Jews around the world.

And the thing about Judaism is that it's not just a religion, it's a culture, it's a heritage, it's an identity, it's an ethnicity. It's a lot of stories, and you can be completely secular. You can literally be an atheist and you're still Jewish, which was when I wrote my second book, which is called "Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew" with Emanuel Acho. He is a very devout Christian.

And when we were having these conversations, I said, yes, you can be an atheist and be Jewish. And he went, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, what do you mean? So I had to explain what that is.

The reason that we created this series, "What Is," is in order to explain basic facts to people, people to know who we are, to understand who we actually are. You know, Episode 2 of the series is what is anti-Semitism. And we were -- we showed this episode at a public school in California.

And one of the girls watched this -- the episode and she raised her hand afterwards and she goes, I didn't know that anti-Semitism is so old. She had no idea that anti-Semitism is the oldest form of hate and discrimination that is still being practiced today.

She had no idea that it's thousands of years old. And it was very -- I'm getting goosebumps just remembering this -- it was very inspiring to see.

BASH: It is May. It is Jewish American History Month.

TISHBY: Yes.

BASH: And I mentioned this, but you successfully lobbied the Los Angeles public schools to recognize it.

TISHBY: Yes.

BASH: Was that hard to do?

TISHBY: It was surprisingly not hard because I worked with Nick Melvoin, who's a board member, who's fantastic and was very helpful to begin with. We just found out when we started working on the series, "What Is," we figured this would be an incredible curriculum. At least four of the eight episodes are very appropriate for a school curriculum.

And we looked at the LAUSD, the school board, and we said, wow, it never recognized Jewish American Heritage Month, which is something that has been proclaimed by every American president since George W. Bush. We reached out to the LAUSD, and they worked with us and created this resolution together, and they passed it unanimously, which was incredible.

And I encourage every other school board around the country to acknowledge Jewish American Heritage Month and to teach about Jewish American history and heritage. And you can go to 18.education and get a lot of material there.

BASH: Your videos are so good.

TISHBY: Thank you.

BASH: This is so important that you're doing it, and I really appreciate you coming on and explaining it.

TISHBY: Thank you so much for having me. Thank you.

BASH: Thank you, Noa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Thank you for joining Inside Politics. CNN News Central starts right now.