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One World with Zain Asher
United States Recession Fears Rattle Market Investors; Bangladesh PM Resigns Amid Deadly Anti-Government Rallies; Israel On High Alert As Iran, Hezbollah Vow To Retaliate; Harris Expected To Make VP Pick By Tuesday; Fear Of A Recession Drags Down Markets; Tornado Watch In Effect As Debby Moves Inland; The Growing Cachet Of Comedians Impersonating Kamala Harris; Aired 12:00-1:00p ET
Aired August 05, 2024 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:39]
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga. Zain is off today. You are watching ONE WORLD.
What has been anything but a typical day in the market? Sphere of a recession is spreading among investors who are already skittish about the
U.S. economy.
The Dow is down about two percentage points as this moment. In addition, the Fed isn't expected to cut interest rates until their September meeting.
Those are the current expectations for a family, incidentally trying to pay off a credit card or a car loan. That's a long time.
Meanwhile, both the tech-heavy, NASDAQ, and the S&P 500 are taking a beating as well as technology stocks like Tesla, Apple, and Nvidia are
sinking.
Julia Chatterley joins us from New York with the latest on the markets. A lot of panic in the markets globally, Julia. We should say this was really
triggered by a massive sell-off overnight in Japan.
Listen, we didn't have a very strong jobs report on Friday. That having been said, though, the fundamentals appear to be rather strong right now.
What's to explain for this massive sell-off right now?
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN ANCHOR, FIRST MOVE: There's a lot going on. You're making that very clear and you're absolutely right.
I think the first thing I'll say is, this is not panic, but this is a palpable fear. And there's a lot going on and you can see that globally.
So, first and foremost, we are and already were last week having a shakeout in some of the stocks, the tech stocks that have been one of the strongest
pillars of these markets. So that's the first thing.
The second thing then, overnight, is that you saw this dramatic 12 percent drop in the Japanese markets. And you don't get that kind of thing without
seeing some knock-on effect to U.S. financial markets, and we're seeing that, too.
Then, of course, as you mentioned, we got that weaker jobs number on Friday, which has raised all sorts of concerns about the degree to which
the U.S. economy is slowing.
And you're right, the U.S. economy is slowing, but we do need to take a step back and remember that the economy is still adding jobs. The growth
rate is still OK. And while there are many Americans out there that are struggling, we're not talking about imminent recession risk.
So I think everybody just needs to take a deep breath and pause and recognize that there is a lot going on.
The other thing that I should add in here, it's some of markets. We've had some issues with some brokerage where people buy and sell stocks having
issues, too, so it sort of feeds into the concern that everybody's looking at globally.
If you look at that chart, it's important to see that we're actually off the lows. Europe stock markets also ended significantly off the lows. So
it's an ugly day, but there is some degree of calm returning and rationality.
If it were just about that data point on Friday, Bianna, I would be telling you that this kind of sell-off in the stock market is irrational and
doesn't make sense, but when you add all of these things in together, it does.
The key question, I think, now is what next, and that's also a question for the Federal Reserve.
The silver lining here is that I think we've gone from a conversation in that September meeting of, will the Federal Reserve cut rates to how much
are they going to cut rates? And that's good news for borrowers out there.
And, actually, we're already seeing things like mortgage rates coming back as a result, so that will ease some of the burden that people are feeling,
but we're not using the word panic today. We'll talk about fear, but I do think we have to take a breath and be calm, despite some of the challenges.
GOLODRYGA: Some really smart advice there. And important to know that the Fed still has tools, many tools --
CHATTERLEY: Many.
GOLODRYGA: -- in its arsenal to use at this point. Some even suggesting perhaps that if this selloff continues dramatically, they could intervene
even before that September meeting.
CHATTERLEY: But we're not there yet.
GOLODRYGA: No.
CHATTERLEY: And I think that's the important point.
GOLODRYGA: Exactly.
Julia Chatterley, thank you so much for coming. Really concerned nerves around the world at this point. As you say, it's not a panic right now.
CHATTERLEY: Right.
GOLODRYGA: Let's turn to other news overseas, incredibly dramatic scenes in Bangladesh today, and after the country's Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina
stepped down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHANTING AND CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: These protesters cheering and celebrating what they've called the end of autocracy. Large crowds swarm the prime minister's official
residence on Monday. And can be seen, in this video, climbing and beating a statue of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's father.
[12:05:04]
Hasina resigned following weeks of deadly protests over a quota system for civil service jobs. And she has now reportedly fled the country.
Bangladesh's army chief announced her resignation earlier, saying that the military will form an interim government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WAKER-UZ-ZAMAN, BANGLADESH ARMY CHIEF (through translator): Please keep faith and trust in the army. I take responsibility and promise to protect
the lives and property of the people. Don't lose faith in the army.
And God willing, we will fulfill the demands and bring peace and harmony back to the country.
(CHANTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: The news of Hasina's departure, as you can see here, has been met with jubilation far beyond Bangladesh's borders.
CNN's Sophia's Saifi is following developments from Islamabad.
Sophia, so we should note Sheikh Hasina has been in power for 15 straight years now. A lot of concern about both corruption, authoritarianism.
In her rule of the country, the question is what happens now? The military saying that they are working with other parties within the country. Are
they to be trusted?
SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN PRODUCER: Oh, Bianna, that is the question that a lot of analysts are asking internationally, as well as within Bangladesh, of
course, as well.
Now, Sheikh Hasina, like you said, was in power since 2009. And there have been consecutive elections since then that have been heavily criticized.
The latest one being in Feb earlier this year.
Now what's happened, since then, is that there was a series of protests. There is a very young population and a very young country that saw
thousands of people take to the streets across various regions of Bangladesh across the, you know, in the past month in July, leading into
August.
The military itself has had an uneasy relationship and foray into politics in Bangladesh's history.
Back in 2008 is right before Hasina came into power after an election under a caretaker government is when the military itself was also in power.
Sheikh Hasina's own father, who was the founder of Bangladesh, he was assassinated in a coup after which she had to flee out of Bangladesh back
then as well. And there have been a series of coups in Bangladesh's history as well. So there is a lot of trepidation about what lies ahead.
There is revelation on the streets of Dhaka, the capital. However, the international airport of Dhaka has now closed all operations for at least
another couple of hours.
The United States Embassy in Dhaka has called its staff to stay safe. The United Kingdom has also issued a warning preventing -- advising its
citizens not to travel to Bangladesh.
This has been the deadliest, one of the deadliest protests in Bangladesh's history. This is a very jubilant moment. It's a moment in which the
students of the country, Gen Z, has come out and really taken the whole country by storm and what they're calling is a revolution.
They said in (INAUDIBLE) which means revolution, long-lived revolution. So we're going to have to wait and see how things unfold.
The internet was shut down over the weekend. There was a party that was banned now. The army is going to actually be talking to that party.
The things are changing very quickly and we're going to have to wait and see how things unfold in this eight most populous country in the world.
Bianna?
GOLODRYGA: Yes. So important to note, 170 million people in a country the size of the state of Illinois in the United States, as you mentioned with
the rioting that we've seen, the protests that we've seen over the last few weeks, over 300 Bangladeshi has been reported to have been killed. These
are very important pivotal days to come. Of course, we'll be following it very closely.
Sophia Saifi, thank you so much.
Well, in the UK, hundreds of people have been arrested after a weekend of far-right riots across the country.
It's some of the worst social unrest the U.K. has seen in years and was sparked by the stabbing of three young girls last week.
Far-right groups have been spreading false claims about the background of the suspected killer resulting in a spate of violent attacks targeting
immigrants and asylum seekers.
Prime Minister -- British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has condemned what he's calling far-right thuggery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEIR STARMER, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: People in this country have a right to be safe. And yet, we've seen Muslim communities targeted attacks on
mosques, other minority communities singled out, Nazi salutes in the street, attacks on the police, wanton violence alongside racist rhetoric.
So, no, I won't shy away from calling it what it is, far-right thuggery.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[12:10:03]
GOLODRYGA: Mr. Starmer has promised additional police resources across the country and British courts will be allowed to extend their hours to ensure
individuals involved in the rioting are processed quickly.
Well, Iran says that it cannot remain indifferent to its national security and is vowing to punish Israel, as a growing number of countries tell their
citizens to leave Lebanon amid fears of a wider war.
This follows a night of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. The Iran- backed group says drones hit a military target in northern Israel, while Israel says it struck multiple Hezbollah targets in Lebanon overnight.
Iran and Hezbollah have been promising retaliation over a series of high- profile assassinations blamed on Israel.
And as Israel vows to defend itself, U.S. President Joe Biden is convening his national security team, the White House says the U.S. and Israel are
preparing for every possibility.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KIRBY, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER: Now, I don't know what they're going to do or when they're going to do it, but
we've got to make darn sure that we're ready. And that we have the capabilities in the region to be able to help Israel defend itself and
frankly defend our own people, our own facilities, our own national security interests.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Let's bring in CNN's Clarissa Ward, who joins us from Tel Aviv.
Clarissa, of course, this harkens back to what we saw in April, where an unprecedented 300 projectiles, missiles, drones sent from Iran towards
Israel were successfully shot down.
There are concerns that this could be a much larger response, and not just from Iran itself, but from multiple proxies.
Talk about what the Israeli reaction is now as it anticipates this response from Iran.
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianna, remarkably, it's very calm here and that may be because the home front
command has not changed its state of alert.
And only for those in northern communities are there really measures that they're urging people to take the Jerusalem municipality, had told people
to make sure that their shelters were working.
But when you scratch the surface and talk to people, there's definitely a sense of anxiety. There's definitely a sense that people are more reluctant
than they might have been to go to certain parts of town or gather in large numbers in certain areas.
And there's a growing conviction that it's not a question of if, but rather than what -- but rather when this retaliation will take place.
Now, from what we understand, this retaliation could take many different shapes as you just alluded to. Would it be just a straightforward or
relatively straightforward direct attack like the one we saw in April? Would it involve different Iranian proxies, Hezbollah and Lebanon, the
Houthis and Yemen potentially? And could it be staggered out for a period of several days?
It's interesting in some of the warnings that the Israeli various municipalities have given to their people. They've said, prepare yourself
for the potential of a power outage for several days.
Now, the director of CENTCOM, General Erik Kurilla, arrived here in Israel today, obviously coordinating Israel's defenses.
We've obviously seen as well a huge flurry of diplomatic activity as, you know, Secretary of State, Antony Blinken and others in the region have been
desperately trying to contain what this retaliation might look like and also what Israel's response to that retaliation might be.
Now we did see, overnight, as you mentioned, as well, that back and forth between Israel and Hezbollah. Hezbollah saying that they attacked an
Israeli army base with attack drones.
Israel saying that they intercepted those drones, that it only caused some very light injuries. And that they also had attacked some Hezbollah targets
inside of Lebanon.
But from what we understand, that's not part of the sort of main event that everybody is waiting for and worrying could lead to an all-out regional
conflagration, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Clarissa, we will stay in touch with you. As you noted, this response could come imminently in the next day or several days
ahead. Thank you so much for joining us from Tel Aviv.
Let's take a closer look at the implications with CNN Global Affairs Analyst Mark Esper. He is the former Defense Secretary under the Trump
administration.
Mr. Esper, can you hear me?
MARK ESPER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I can hear you.
GOLODRYGA: OK. We are having technical difficulties on my end, so I can barely hear you. So bear with me. I have a faint audio right now, but let's
see if we can get through this.
This is now the third time that the U.S. itself has mobilized to defend Israel since this war began. As we know, President Biden will be convening
later this afternoon with his national security team.
What if anything from the U.S. perspective, when the U.S. side now can be done? Now, we know that General Michael Kurilla, the commander of the U.S.
military Central Command is there in Israel, too.
Aside from that, what can the U.S. do itself to offer more of a deterrence here from a large -- larger than anticipated, we should say, Iranian
response?
[12:15:07]
ESPER: Well, first of all, I think we're doing the basics with regard to deploying additional assets into the region. We know we -- there are Navy
destroyers and cruisers which have anti-missile systems called the standard missile system, that can be used to defeat Iranian missiles and Hezbollah
rockets.
We know that a fighter squadron, additional fighter squadron has been moved to the region as well to help with air defenses.
And I'm sure we continue to provide the Israelis' intelligence, advice, and other things that would help them in the defense.
I think one thing I would like to see more from the White House is a more public stance warning Iran not to respond, not to escalate this, and to
make sure that they understand that we will support our ally Israel.
Because -- but once Iran attacks, and I'm assuming they will, because they sent the signals, all the signals that they would, Israel's going to have
to respond as well. And the fear, of course, is that we would move up this escalation ladder and eventually end up into a major, mid-east regional
war.
GOLODRYGA: That's interesting, because right after October 7, you'll recall President Biden forcefully saying any of Israel's adversaries that would
want to take advantage of this opportunity, don't.
That, obviously, 10 months later now hasn't stopped. We've seen Iran attack Israel with 300 projectiles in April. That was successfully -- those were
all successfully shot down. No Israelis were killed. There's concerns that that may not be the case today, this time around, because if for no other
reason, Iran is expected to rely on its other proxies as well.
So going back to what you said you would like to see more of, in particular, from this administration, from President Biden, is that just
public forceful threats to Iran? Akin to those early days where he said don't?
ESPER: Yes. I think what we're trying to achieve, you mentioned it earlier, is deterrence. And we need to be forceful in terms of making sure Iran
knows where we stand on this.
And by the way, I say the White House, but there are other capitals as well that I'd like to hear from, you know, the allies that support us the first
time around in April, when Israel and all of us successfully defended against Iran's 300-plus ballistic missile attack then.
So I think the more that capitals in the region, preferably, but certainly those outside who are helping out, can speak out, that will help the
situation as well.
But look, the bigger issue is, again, Iran is going to have to respond for what happened in Tehran last week with the killing of Ismail Haniyeh. And
my view is that they likely will respond in a way, which will see a larger volume of missiles and rockets, probably more synchronized, and that would
come from multiple directions, so as to overwhelm Israeli air defenses.
As you know that the -- when this happened in April, it was really a feckless attack by the Iranians. The best they could do was to injure maybe
kill a young girl. And then, of course, the Israelis responded.
But this time, they're going to want to show more of an impact, which means doing what they can to try and overwhelm Israeli air defenses.
Especially given what a humiliation it was to Iranian national security there, the fact that Ismail Haniyeh was killed as a guest in their own
country.
We have heard the Hezbollah General Secretary -- Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, say that Israel, that given the attack, that they have the right
to strike Tel Aviv directly.
If, in fact, we do see a strike that are not just aimed at military outposts and facilities, but civilian areas, what type of response do you
think we could then see from Israel?
ESPER: Yes. Look, I think it could be a much more aggressive response from Israel that we saw last time in April. And certainly if civilians are
killed or civilian targets are destroyed.
Now, of course, Hezbollah is saying this not just because Haniyeh was killed, but lost one of their top military commanders a week or two prior
to that, Fuad Shukr in Beirut, the Israelis attacked down into Beirut.
But the interesting thing is really at the end of the day, nobody wants a wider Middle East war. Certainly Hezbollah does not because the Lebanese
people are tired of war. They suffered badly after the 2006 invasion by Israel.
We know the Iranians don't want to take on Israel directly, or they don't want to escalate conflict. Certainly don't want to involve the United
States.
And I think the Israelis, at the end of the day, want to make sure that they address these problems peace known. In other words, finish up the
conflict in Gaza, then look at Hezbollah. And eventually, I think it's going to take more of a multilateral approach to deal with Iran.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And, of course, it's becoming more and more difficult to reestablish the deterrence as we've seen so many unprecedented events occur
in this region over the course of the last 10 months.
[12:20:03]
Former U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, always great to have you on. Thank you so much for joining us with your analysis.
ESPER: Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: And still to come for us, the final stretch. The U.S. Democratic race for Vice President is now allegedly down to these three contenders.
And in a matter of hours, that shortlist is about to get a lot shorter.
Then the wife of the Republican vice presidential nominee is trying to clean up a remark her husband made about childless cat ladies. Why Usha
Vance is telling voters to stop focusing so much on words.
And this next story may actually leave you at a loss for words that involves a U.S. presidential candidate, a dead bear, and Roseanne Barr, how
they're connected. We'll tell you after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: The wife of U.S. Republican vice presidential nominee, J.D. Vance, is defending his controversial childless cat ladies comment.
In an interview with Fox News, Usha Vance claimed that the remark was equipped, used to make the point that it can be really hard to be a parent
in America. She also said she wishes people would talk more about the issues and less about the specific language used to address them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
USHA VANCE, WIFE OF U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE J.D. VANCE: The reality is, he made a quip in service of making a point that he wanted to make that
was substantive, and it had actual meaning.
And I just wish sometimes that people would talk about those things, and that we would spend a lot less time just sort of going through this three-
word phrase.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: CNN K-File review, meanwhile, found Vance's comment was part of a broader pattern where he has singled out democratic leaders for not
having children.
Well, in just a matter of hours, J.D. Vance will learn who his competition is as the U.S. presidential race enters a crucial new phase.
We're expecting Kamala Harris to announce her choice for running mate at any time.
The full Democratic ticket will then embark on a seven-state battleground blitz starting with a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday.
Sources say Harris has narrowed her selection to three final contenders, Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and
Arizona Senator Mark Kelly.
CNN's Eva McKend joins me now in Washington.
And, Eva, I think that the rule of thumb says do no harm, right? So in essence, that is her goal. That is Kamala Harris' goal, ultimately when she
decides who her VP will be.
[12:25:08]
What are you hearing in terms of who has the upper hand or better standing amongst those three names?
EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Bianna, absolutely. First and foremost, you don't want to select someone that is going to drag down
the ticket.
You know, we believe we spotted Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's motorcade passing by the vice president's residence yesterday. It's
unclear, though, at this stage after a day of interviews with finalists.
So Governor Shapiro, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, if she's made her final decision, as she's really weighing her
choices out of public view.
Bianna, let me give you a sense of who all these three folks are. Shapiro is an extremely popular governor of a vital swing state the Democrats
really need to win. Nineteen electoral votes in Pennsylvania.
His supporters, in recent days, have affectionately described him as Baruch (ph) Obama. That's a nod, of course, to his Jewish faith and a demeanor and
tone they say mirrors former President Barack Obama.
But progressives have raised concerns about his support for school vouchers, which they argue undermines public education, but he could appeal
to moderate Democrats.
Former NASA astronaut, Mark Kelly. He's a senator in the battleground state of Arizona. He brings military experience to the ticket. He's taken
positions to the right of the administration. His wife, Gabrielle Giffords, was shot in a horrible incident in 2011. And they both have been really
vocal about this issue of gun violence in America. So that would be his asset to the ticket.
And then you've got Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Sort of become a dark horse in this contest. He's extremely funny. If you see him in action, he's
a great speaker, a happy warrior, a strong surrogate for Harris.
Many have described him as the Midwestern dad that America needs. He's good at making progressive policies like universal free meals in schools, which
he advanced in Minnesota, sort of a no-brainer for even conservatives that might be resistant to government spending.
So, Bianna, that is who she is choosing between.
GOLODRYGA: Eva, I'm not going to lie, it is striking to hear the similarity and the voices of Josh Shapiro and President Obama. Everything from the
cadence. You go on social media and you see all of the quips about it. It is quite comical.
Eva McKend, thank you so much.
Well, independent presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is coming clean about a bizarre incident that took place 10 years ago.
In a social media post, Kennedy confesses to actress Roseanne Barr, of all people, that he was the one who left a dead bear cub in New York City's
Central Park in 2014.
Here's how Kennedy described what happened as he was on his way upstate to meet a group of people to go hockey.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., UNITED STATES PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Woman in a van in front of me hit a bear and killed it. A young bear.
So, I pulled over and I picked up the bear and put him in the back of my van because I was going to skin the bear and it was very good condition.
And I was just going to and put the meat in my refrigerator. And you can do that in New York State. You can get a bear tag for a roadkill bear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Wow. Well, Kennedy says he's revealing the truth now before the New Yorker allegedly releases a story detailing the incident.
OK. We're going to turn now to look at the markets once again. What's behind today's selloff and what it means for investors and consumers.
That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:30:20]
GOLODRYGA: All right. Welcome back to ONE WORLD. I'm Bianna Golodryga.
U.S. markets have come off the lows from earlier this morning, but they're still down following a global market slump.
Mid-day trading, the Dow is down now about 700 points, a little under two percent. The tech heavy, NASDAQ, is down as well. And the S&P 500, also
down.
So what's got investors so jittery? Well, three things. First, growing worries about a recession, specifically, that the Fed did not act fast
enough to avoid a hard landing where everything falls at once.
And there's also worry big bets on artificial intelligence just aren't paying off. Well, our Richard Quest has seen many, many ups and downs on
Wall Street. And there's a lot about AI and also about spooked investors.
Richard, first, your views on the markets coming off of their lows. Is that reassuring? And I think from experts we've all talked to concerns of a
recession appear to be a bit premature at this point.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST: Oh, they're totally premature. This is kneejerk. Classic reflex action. We are down on Friday. Asia responded very heavily
on the Monday session. New York has followed very heavily thereafter.
So let's get that out the way first, the reflex, if you will, the kneejerk. And that's what we saw.
Now, there are some really serious issues in the U.S. economy about whether or not the medicine of higher interest rates that the Fed has been giving
to crush inflation is also crushing economic growth and employment.
To some extent, Bianna, that was inevitable. That's how higher interest rates work. It cuts into it, it slows down the economy, it cuts inflation,
and eventually it takes its toll on unemployment. It's known as the non- accelerating rate of inflation rate of unemployment.
But have they got there fast enough to cut rates? We don't know. We just don't know because it takes six to nine months for any cuts to take
through. So this cake is baked, basically.
What we are seeing now, even if they cut in September by one, by 25, and then in October and then in December, won't make any difference to what
happens in the short-term.
I would expect -- the market is expecting a 30 percent chance of a recession. No higher than that.
GOLODRYGA: OK, 30 percent chance is better than 50 percent or 60 percent, Richard.
QUEST: Right.
GOLODRYGA: So we'll take it. We'll take it. As we've been noting all day here with our reporters, no one is envisioning a panic at this point.
Kneejerk, as you described it.
And it's important to note, we had a weaker than expected jobs report on Friday at that.
Richard Quest, thank you so much.
[12:35:06]
Well, time now for The Exchange and some perspective on today's rough days in the markets.
Joining me now is Justin Wolfers, economics and public policy professor at the University of Michigan.
I've been following you online, my friend, and it seems you're not very panicked about the selloff as well. And concerns about a recession are not
top of mind for you.
JUSTIN WOLFERS, ECONOMICS AND PUBLIC POLICY PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Yes. There's basically two kinds of talking heads you could see
on T.V. today.
If you -- if you flip over to any of the financial channels, it'll be someone who works in markets. Their annual bonus, their wellbeing, their
quality of life, their everything is the S&P 500 and it's been in for a rocky road.
But flip on over to this conversation, Bianna, and I'm an economist, which means I'm looking at the numbers about that affect your viewers' lives,
things like their wages, their employment, their incomes, spending in the economy.
And all of the actual data about the economy tell us that this is an economy that is currently doing pretty well.
So there's two ways to square that circle. It could be the financial market guys are looking ahead and they see danger in the future that the rest of
us can't quite see. Or it could be that for about the 400 millionth time, they're having a freak out and it's a big freak out, it's a messy freak
out, but it's not one that fundamentally affects yours and my lives.
GOLODRYGA: Well, going back to somebody who was an economist who I also did see on one of those financial channels you mentioned and someone you know
very well is Austan Goolsbee, who's the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President, served previously in the Obama administration.
And here's what he said. He said, the U.S. unemployment data on Friday, as we noted, was weaker than expected, but it does not look like a recession.
The Fed officials need to be cognizant of changes in the environment to avoid being too restrictive with interest rates.
He goes on to say with regards to interest rates, you only want to be that restrictive if you think there's fear of overheating.
These data to me does not look like overheating. Do you agree?
WOLFERS: Yes. And it's a subtle story. So you really do have to pay attention, which is, look, the economy was -- we got used to the last three
years of an absolutely skyrocketing economy.
Now, it wasn't all skyrocketing, it was a lot of bounce back from a very deep pandemic recession.
And the last few years have just been incredibly unusual and incredibly difficult for a lot of families, but it also led to some eye-popping
economic statistics as we had that bounce back.
Now that bounce back is over and it's behind us. We're now at the point where the economy is gloriously splendidly dull.
Now during dull times, we economists fight over whether the unemployment rate is risen by half a percent or a quarter of a percent in what we should
do.
And Austan's right to say, there are some reasons that we really do want to make sure that we're not holding back on the economy right now.
And I think the Fed understands that. And while it didn't move at its last meeting, we're going to see a bit more action over the next few meetings.
And so all of this is just what happens when an economy returns to normal.
The thing I want your viewers to understand is this is actually a relatively normal, boring economics debate. It's not quite the headlines
you'd get from watching financial markets today.
GOLODRYGA: I think boring is underrated, especially when it comes to the markets and the economy. We have so much other exciting and alarming news
that we're covering. A boring economy is not the worst of things.
Where on the issue of inflation are we, Justin? Because it does, going back to what you've just raised about the pandemic and the impact that that had
on society and the continued recovery, there was a lot of concern and finger pointing as to the origins of inflation.
Is inflation under check, in check in your view? Do you think that we'll continue to see it stubbornly stay where it is? Or could it start to go
down even more?
WOLFERS: Let's set the stage for the viewers because there's a big picture and a smaller picture and both are important.
The big picture is things really were problematic with inflation. It got as high as nine percent a couple of years ago. And the big picture story -- so
that's abnormal.
And inflation is now all the way back down to maybe three percent -- maybe 2.5, maybe 3.5. That's close to normal. So the big picture is where most of
the way there.
So a lot of Washington talking points that it all been about inflation are going to go stale very quickly because inflation now is down under the
sorts of rates where it's not a big deal for your life or my life. And high prices are here to stay, but they're not continuing to rise.
Now, that doesn't mean debates are over because the question is if inflation is at three percent, we really wanted it two percent. How do we
get that last percentage point?
I'm kind of optimistic we're most of the way there. Some people are kind of pessimistic, but I think it's important to understand the stakes. The
difference there is like one percent which is not very much.
GOLODRYGA: So how closely should people be paying attention to the markets in your view when they're trying to specifically gauge where things stand
for them, economically, whether they have job security, whether prices will be somewhat stable at the grocery store?
[12:40:11]
WOLFERS: Right. So the single best indicator for the future of the economy is actually how it's going right now. And how it's going right now is that
employment's rising, unemployment's roughly stable, people are getting jobs, wages are rising, and things are, I think, doing pretty well --
pretty much OK for most people. And there are exceptions, of course.
So if you're in the future, it's going to look like the past, that's actually a pretty good news story.
Now, there is one thing I want to add. The one thing that financial markets -- well, there's two things financial markets do.
One, they look into the future. And that's really important because if the future's going to be different than the past, they'll often see it first.
The second thing they do, financial markets are kind of like toddlers. They scream and holler and have tantrums all the time.
So sometimes you've got to ignore them, but sometimes the toddler actually sees something coming that you really should pay attention to.
GOLODRYGA: And what is it that you're paying attention to? I know, overall, you feel that the environment is relatively boring, and that's a good
thing. But if there are things that are somewhat more concerning than others, perhaps not as much as the stock market selloff, are there sectors
of the economy, whether it's housing, whether it's tech bubble, whether it's consumer household debt?
WOLFERS: The thing I'm most worried about now actually is the rest of the world. So the U.S. is doing OK, but Europe is really struggling. And some
parts of Europe are in a recession.
Japan's doing OK for Japan, but that's not really particularly good news.
GOLODRYGA: Saying much.
WOLFERS: Yes. And China is really not looking as robust as China normally does.
And so normally, we've got a lot of demand from the rest of the world that helps support the U.S. economy if anything bad happens. And we're not
getting that right now.
That's one big thing I worry about. And the other is commercial real estate.
I'm coming to you now, not from a studio, but from my spare room. And that's part of this general shift out of offices and into homes. I wouldn't
want to own an office right now. I've been waiting and wondering and worrying whether office buildings are going to see their values collapse
and what sorts of consequences that could have.
Nothing's happened so far, but I'm not going to relax for many years to come on that.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And it's a big concern facing you specifically the city where I am in New York. And this has been a talk amongst developers and
analysts for months now.
Professor Justin Wolfers, always good to see you. It's been a while. Please come back. Please keep things boring for us. Appreciate the time.
WOLFERS: That's my job. Thanks. Thanks, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: And we will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:45:17]
GOLODRYGA: We're looking at flood waters from Tropical Storm Debby. The tornado watch is in effect for more than 11 million people in parts of
Florida and Georgia as the storm moves inland.
Forecasters say it could also bring catastrophic flooding along parts of the U.S. East Coast, dumping a month's worth of rain in the coming days.
Debby packed winds of 80 miles an hour. That's 128 kilometers per hour as it made landfall earlier today along Florida's Gulf Coast as a hurricane.
CNN meteorologist Elisa Raffa has more on the storm for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The wind is whipping, the rain has picked up and we got off of that dock because high tide is coming up and that
water is rising.
And you can see, this is the Steinhatchee River. Look at the onshore flow of the water coming in, which is this intense wind right now.
We've got high tide, the intense wind and all of that onshore flow that's picking up some of this surge in the tide. I mean, you can see just how
quickly this water is coming in, inch by inch, incredibly fast getting that flooding that will eventually wind up crossing the street here.
And this is the big concern. Water is always the biggest concern in a hurricane. We are finding that some of the storm surge levels are up over
six feet over parts of the Big Bend here up near Cedar Key.
We've already found that this morning. Plus, eight inches of rain or more. So water is the biggest concern here right along the coast of Florida.
And then as we go inland, the next couple of days, we're talking about a crawl for this storm. We'll walk three to four miles per hour and that can
dump feet of rain.
Catastrophic impacts are really a concern along parts of the coast of Georgia and South Carolina as we get those rain totals. Again, 20 to 30
inches.
So just watching this very closely as the wind and the storm surge continue to pick up here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: So let's bring in CNN meteorologist, Derek Van Dam. He's closely monitoring the storm from Atlanta.
Derek, what more can you tell us about the storm's impact, obviously coming in as a Cat One. But I know there's a lot of concern about the storm just
hovering and the concern about flooding and rainfall.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, the steering currents that drive these systems across our planet is ultimately going to collapse over this
part of the southeastern United States. And that means that this will slow upon the next 24 hours or so.
We've already noticed it. In fact, with the latest update from the National Hurricane Center, that dropped from 10 miles per hour to eight miles per
hour. So that process is really beginning now.
And my concern is that as it sets up over the coastal areas of Georgia and South Carolina, that it will draw and moisture once again from the Atlantic
Ocean and bring just copious amounts of rain to this area. So Charleston to Savannah, Georgia. These are the areas we're very concerned about.
Also, the inland low line areas, this coastal plain is what we refer to this as tropical storm warning. So no more hurricane warnings at the
moment.
But nonetheless, this storm could reemerge into the Atlantic like we're forecasting it to and then make another beeline towards the secondary
landfall. And, of course, that would cause more problems with wind.
The immediate threat right now is not only the flooding, but also the potential for spin up tornadoes. So that's something we're going to monitor
very closely. But there's just a lot of heavy rainfall across the southeast.
And you heard, at least, I talk about it in a couple of feet possible across the coastal areas, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: And the trajectory, Derek, where should we be watching this storm move? I know that the concern is that it will sit idle for a while
there. But in terms of a day or two or three from now, where are things looking?
VAN DAM: Yes. OK. So that's -- those details, the devils in the details, right? We expect that kind of slow stall across the southeast. Eventually,
it's got to get picked up and kicked out somehow. And we do see that in the models.
But what that could mean is more rainfall along the entire eastern seaboard, but that's still to be determined. We're really focusing our
attention on where the greatest impacts of flash flooding could be. And that is across southeast Georgia and southern coastal areas of South
Carolina.
GOLODRYGA: We'll be watching that area very closely.
Derek Van Dam, thank you.
And still to come for us --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALLISON REESE, COMEDIAN: You got to get the cadence. OK. And let me be clear. Let me be clear. The cadence? OK? So important.
(LAUGH)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: We'll introduce you to the impersonators. A handful of comedians are lining up to mimic the vice president. We'll introduce you to some of
them after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:50:35]
GOLODRYGA: A major Olympic milestone to tell you about earlier in Paris. Brazil's Rebecca Andrade, American gymnast Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles,
made up the first all-Black gymnastics podium in Olympic's history.
All three won medals in the women's floor exercise final with Andrade winning the gold and getting Biles from the other two in the podium in a
unique tribute.
Congratulations to them. Wow.
And finally, her voice, her style, and her signature laugh while a handful of comedians could see their career skyrocket as they impersonate Vice
President Kamala Harris.
CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister introduces us to one who has already gone viral.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Vice President Kamala Harris.
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Are you ready to get to work?
WAGMEISTER: Walking to the top of the democratic presidential ticket.
HARRIS: Yes, you may clap.
(LAUGH)
WAGMEISTER: Not necessarily a laughing matter.
REESE: It's a Kamala nomenon.
(LAUGH)
WAGMEISTER: Unless you're a comedian, like Alison Reese.
REESE: First off, I'm hilarious.
(LAUGH)
WAGMEISTER: Her impressions of Harris have lit up social media, a few getting millions of views.
REESE: We did it, Joe.
(LAUGH)
I am the perfect nominee.
WAGMEISTER: Reese started impersonating Harris back in 2019.
REESE: It's story time.
WAGMEISTER: President Joe Biden's sudden end of his campaign and handoff to Harris has boosted the LA-based comedian's platform.
REESE: It was like a cartoon with my jaw on the floor for a good like three minutes and just like in shock. It's go time. Let's do this. Let's make
content.
WAGMEISTER: Give us the breakdown of what makes a good Kamala impression.
REESE: With the laugh, you got to start off like it's a big energy and then you really said, it's like.
(LAUGH)
But then also you got to get the cadence. OK. And let me be clear. Let me be clear. The cadence? OK. So important.
(LAUGH)
WAGMEISTER: Harris, herself, has said she likes impressions of her.
MAYA RUDOLPH, AMERICAN ACTRESS: Mr. Vice President, I'm speaking. Speaking.
WAGMEISTER: Namely, from SNL's Maya Rudolph.
HARRIS: I grew up watching Saturday Night Live.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
HARRIS: So the thought that anyone would be, in any way depicting me on Saturday Night Live was just -- I was a bit overwhelmed.
WAGMEISTER: Harris' pop culture relevance has exploded in the last week. Largely thanks to viral memes.
Pop star Charlie XCX gave the vice president the ultimate effortless cool girl stamp of approval by posting just three words on X, "Kamala is brat."
[12:55:09]
A play on the singer's latest album which propelled Harris into the Gen Z conversation.
JORDAN BROWN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: If the pop culture stuff gets a little silly, like, could that have some downside? Sure. But that's also what
movements are about.
There are creators, there are artists, there are people who write songs. So that is all left to them and she'll do what she does best, which is just
say, if you like me, here's what I'm going to do.
HARRIS: Well, let me just tell you something. I have my mother's laugh.
WAGMEISTER: Harris making no apologies for her style.
HARRIS: Don't be confined to other people's perception.
WAGMEISTER: Strategist point to past pop culture success in pushing Harris to lean into the moment.
What's your message for her?
REESE: Kamala, if you're watching, please let me introduce you at the DNC.
(LAUGH)
WAGMEISTER: Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Allison is pretty good, but I do have to say it's a win for all of us when we get more Maya Rudolph on Saturday Night Live.
Well, that does it for this hour of ONE WORLD. Thanks so much for watching. I'm Bianna Golodryga. Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back in just a few
moments with "AMANPOUR."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
