Trump, Biden and 2024 campaign aides await hush money verdict | The Excerpt
On Thursday’s episode of The Excerpt podcast: Paste BN National Political Correspondent David Jackson reports on how campaigns for former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden are preparing post-verdict strategies. Bird flu outbreaks continue nationwide. The nation's top hurricane forecaster has five warnings as hurricane season begins. Paste BN Personal Finance Reporter Daniel de Visé talks about how many Americans are viewing fast food as a luxury. Negro Leagues' statistics will be incorporated into Major League Baseball’s historical records.
Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
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Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson. And today is Thursday, May 30th, 2024. This is The Excerpt. Today how Biden and Trump's campaigns are preparing for a verdict in Trump's hush money trial. Plus, we have the latest on bird flu outbreaks. And, is fast food becoming a luxury?
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As a New York jury deliberates in former President Donald Trump's hush money trial, the Trump and Biden campaigns are preparing post verdict strategies. I caught up with Paste BN national political correspondent David Jackson for more.
David, thanks for coming on.
David Jackson:
Hey, thanks for having me.
Taylor Wilson:
So David, the Republican and Democratic presidential campaigns are preparing strategy plans amid this uncertainty over the verdict here. First up, how is the Trump campaign planning for these different possible outcomes and how has Trump himself spending this waiting period?
David Jackson:
Well, in meetings, basically in terms of Trump, basically he meets with his staff and goes before the cameras at the courthouse to complain about the entire system. But they've been planning this for quite some time, and now we're right down the brass tacks in terms of how they're going to handle the situation. Depending whether it's a guilty verdict or a hung jury, I don't think anybody in the Trump campaign really thinks he's got to be acquitted of all of these charges. If he's convicted on something, they'll basically design the campaign as a campaign against the legal system. Trump's been complaining about these charges ever since they were lodged against him saying they're all politically motivated. The judge is out to get him, the prosecutors are out to get him, and the Biden administration is out to get him. So expect him to amplify those arguments if he is convicted.
And he'll be doing that in a stepped up series of campaign events. They're already trying to schedule more rallies, more fundraisers, and just more events because they've been restrained from doing that because of this trial. Trump's had to sit in this courthouse since April 15th, and it's really cut into his campaign time. So they're going to try to make up some of that in the weeks ahead. Now, if there's a hung jury, if the jury is unable to come to any verdict, expect Trump to take a big victory lap and they feel like that will really help him in his campaign if the jury is unable to reach a verdict. So that's what they're hoping to do.
Taylor Wilson:
And as for the other side, how is the Biden camp preparing here?
David Jackson:
Also, a lot of meetings. Their big question is how much President Biden himself talks about the verdict. Even if Trump is convicted, there's some school of thought that Biden should let Trump stew in his own juices, and he shouldn't say too much publicly. There are other Biden aides who are urging him to go out forcefully against Trump if he's a convicted felon because this will be up first. We've never had anything like this before in political history, a convicted felon actually running for president. And so President Biden is tempted to make a lot of this if that's what happens.
Taylor Wilson:
And you know, David, the other group of folks anxiously awaiting the outcome here, the American voters. How has this trial played out for them in recent weeks and what impact might the verdict have on where they land this fall?
David Jackson:
Well, the evidence suggests that it really hasn't played out that much. The polls are very similar to what they were back early April before the trial started. Trump has a slight lead, although most of his leads both nationally and in battleground states are within the margin of error. So at the very least, the race is pretty much tied. If anything, Trump has a slight lead. And that's, despite all this testimony about hush money and porn stars and cover-ups and all this stuff that's come out of the trial, it doesn't seem to have changed too many voters minds. Now, the concern for the Trump people is that if he's actually convicted of this, if unfair and impartial jury actually renders a guilty verdict, that's going to hurt him with independent voters and undecided voters and that's their real concern. But as of now, no one really knows how an electorate is going to react to any of this.
Taylor Wilson:
All right, we're all on verdict watch. David Jackson covers national politics for Paste BN. Thank you, David.
David Jackson:
Thank you, sir.
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Taylor Wilson:
Bird flu outbreaks continue across the U.S. While things likely began among chicken flocks and spread to dairy cows, there have been reports of the virus infecting other animals in several states, and two cases appearing in people have been reported according to the CDC. Their symptoms were relieved by simple over-The-counter flu medication. Commercial farming facilities have taken to destroying infected flocks in an attempt to quell the ongoing spread. In Iowa on Tuesday, a bird flu outbreak was detected in a commercial flock of 4.2 million chickens according to the state's Department of Agriculture. That flock will be colds or killed off to prevent further spread. Since 2022, nearly 23 million birds from backyard flocks and commercial facilities have been destroyed to keep the virus at bay in Iowa alone, the nation's top egg producer according to USDA data. Besides the unusual spread to dairy cows in recent months, bird flu has been detected in other animals, including barn cats that were found dead at infected facilities. And now it's been found in Alpacas in Idaho.
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As we said on the show last week, forecasters are predicting an extraordinarily strong Atlantic hurricane season this year. And the nation's top hurricane forecaster is giving some warnings ahead of the season, which begins Saturday. National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan gave Paste BN five warnings. First, know your risks depending on where you live. Next, understand that evacuations are also meant to help residents flee conditions that happen after a storm. He also reminds folks that water is the deadliest threat. Finally, Brennan said to trust federal forecasters above all and get to know your neighbors. He can read more from his tips with a link in today's show notes.
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Is fast food becoming a luxury? As prices surge, many Americans think so. I spoke with Paste BN personal finance reporter Daniel de Visé to find out more. Hello, Daniel. Thanks for making the time.
Daniel de Visé:
And thank you, sir.
Taylor Wilson:
So Daniel, let's just start with this. How are fast food prices right now and where do things stand?
Daniel de Visé:
Well, according to my colleagues at Paste BN who've been researching this, fast food prices are up about 5% since last year and 47% since 2014 according to the Bureau of labor statistics, that's a pretty big jump.
Taylor Wilson:
Yeah. So Daniel, why are these prices rising so steeply? Is this just a matter of inflation?
Daniel de Visé:
Well, yeah, part of it is inflation. I think also economists say that to some extent, these companies might be taking advantage of inflation. I mean, I think some people who sell things, goods and services, will sort of tack on additional prices. And then there's also this stuff like getting deliveries, tipflation we've heard about that. So if you're ordering something and looking at a tip screen and then having it delivered to your house, I mean, then it looks like an even much larger increase in the price than it actually is.
Taylor Wilson:
Yeah. So I know fast food has for so long been considered really an affordable way to eat for many folks. So how are Americans responding to these prices? What are we seeing, especially in polling?
Daniel de Visé:
We've always thought of fast food as being something affordable. It might not be the healthiest thing, but it's cheap. And people are not feeling that so much anymore. There's a new survey from Lending Tree, the personal finance site, and it found that about 80% of consumers say they now look at fast food as a luxury simply because of the rising cost. And a lot of people say they're eating less fast food because of prices going up and that they've had sticker shock at some point in the last several months.
Taylor Wilson:
So they say they're eating less fast food. Do we know what they're turning to instead? Is this just a matter of cooking more at home?
Daniel de Visé:
Well, that's right. I think if you go back 10, 20 years ago, probably you could either go get a fast food meal or make something at your home for about the same price. I feel like that was kind of the rule. But now I'm not sure it's true so much. We saw this viral Five Guys receipt for $24 for one meal that was on the internet a few months ago. So now more people are saying in this survey that they think it's cheaper to prepare a meal at home, and a smaller group think that it's still a safe bet to go get something that's fast food and that you can spend less doing that.
Taylor Wilson:
And so are any of the fast food businesses actually feeling the effect of what Americans are saying in polling about these prices?
Daniel de Visé:
Yeah, I looked at a couple of the business journals and they are saying that yes, indeed the fast food retailers are seeing less traffic in the last corner, specifically because of lower income customers pulling back and a whole bunch of fast food retailers are rolling out deals and discounts right now. It was nominally tied to National Hamburger Day, which was this week, but it's also because they're all keenly aware that people are mad right now. They think that the fast food industry charges too much. And so you've got the 1 cent cheeseburger at Wendy's and supposedly a series of $5 value meals coming out at McDonald's. And yeah, they're aware that people are upset because they feel like this was something they could count on being cheap, and it's just not that way anymore.
Taylor Wilson:
All right. Daniel de Visé covers personal finance for Paste BN. Thank you, Daniel.
Daniel de Visé:
Thank you, sir.
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Taylor Wilson:
Statistics from the former Negro Leagues are now part of Major League Baseball's historical records as of yesterday. And catcher Josh Gibson is now MLB's all time career leader in batting average and slugging percentage moving ahead of Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth respectively, long considered two of the game's greatest hitters ever. Major League Baseball was not integrated until 1947 when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers. But now for the first time, the Negro League stats from 1920 to 1948 are incorporated into the official Major League baseball stats. Check out some of the other major stats adjustments with a link in today's show notes.
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And a Scripps National Spelling Bee champion or champions will be crowned tonight. You can tune in beginning at 8:00 P.M. Eastern time and follow along with usatoday.com.
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National landmarks hold a special place in American history in their celebration of the unique locations that tell our story. Listen to The Excerpt later today beginning at 4:00 P.M. Eastern time when my co-host Dana Taylor is joined by Paste BN national news reporter Lauren Villagran to discuss how this election year historic landmarks show a dividing line between competing visions of America's past.
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And thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your pods. And if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt from Paste BN.