Trump defends debate performance | The Excerpt
On Saturday’s episode of The Excerpt podcast: Paste BN National Political Correspondent David Jackson discusses how former President Donald Trump has approached the days since Tuesday's debate. Russia pulls the credentials of six British diplomats in Moscow. Boeing workers go on strike. Paste BN Reporter Andrea Riquier discusses dropping mortage rates, and what might be around the corner for the housing market. Astronauts left behind by Starliner share updates from the International Space Station.
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 Saturday, September 14th, 2024. This is The Excerpt.
Today, how Trump has approached the day since Tuesday's debate, plus Boeing workers go on strike and what's next for dropping mortgage rates?
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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump capped off a rough week yesterday with a West Coast press conference where he went after Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and defended his debate performance from earlier this week. I caught up with USA Today, national political correspondent, David Jackson for more. Hello, David.
David Jackson:
Hey, thanks for having me.
Taylor Wilson:
Thanks for hopping on. So Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail after last week's debate. Where did he speak yesterday and how has he been framing his performance on debate night?
David Jackson:
He had a rally Thursday night in Tucson, Arizona, and he had a news conference Friday, and the messages at both were the same. He claims he really won the debate on Tuesday. Never mind all the evidence of the contrary. It's kind of like what he did after the 2020 election, which he lost. He's saying he really won and that everyone else was unfair to him.
Taylor Wilson:
Yeah. So David, how do his comments on this really compare to what polling has told us about how the debate landed with voters?
David Jackson:
Well, the scientific polls that were taken by the networks like CNN and Reuters and other people, so a clear win for Vice President Harris. I mean, in the mid-50s, people feel like she had the better night. Well, only 30% or so of other respondents said that Trump had the better of the debate. So if you go by the real polls, it's a clear win. Now, there are internet polls out there that are self-selected and Trump did prevail in some of those, but those are really meaningless. Basically, it's a bunch of Trump backers who phoned into a particular poll to say that he won the debate regardless of what happened.
Taylor Wilson:
And David, we heard this week that Trump will not debate Harris again. Were you surprised by that? And what might that decision mean for his chances with voters? How did that resonate with voters?
David Jackson:
I wasn't surprised by it, although some of his aides were, because they've already been talking about what Trump planned to do at a second debate. But shortly after the debate, he said he wasn't sure he wanted to do it again. And he's made this decision not to debate Harris again as part of his argument that he won the debate because he says that only losers are the ones who ask for another debate. That's why Harris wants a second shot at him. He says he won the debate, so he doesn't need another one. Now, I should also add that there are several people in Trump world who believe that he may change his mind on this, so we could well see a second encounter between these two before November 5th.
Taylor Wilson:
So we know how the Trump camp is framing this debate. What are we hearing from the Harris team in the days after debate night?
David Jackson:
They're basking in the glory of what looked like a really solid win. They're checking the polls to see how much of a bump she might get from it. They're demanding a second debate and accusing Trump of being a chicken if he doesn't accept.
Taylor Wilson:
All right, we're heating up now in the calendar, David, mid-September. What's coming up next? We know we have a VP debate around the corner. What are you eyeing over the next few weeks as this election heats up?
David Jackson:
First of all, we're going to look for the polls that should come out on Sunday and Monday to determine the real impact, if any of this particular debate. Both campaigns, what I understand have heavy campaign schedules in the weeks ahead. So we'll be watching to see what they say on the stump and how they say it. This is going to be a tug of war. And to me, the big battle between now and November 5th is going to be behind the respective party's turnout machines. Seven battleground states are going to be super close and it's going to be determined by which party is able to get their voters to the polls. And so that's a battle that's happening behind the scenes. But that's something I'm going to be looking at and a lot of other people are going to be looking at.
Taylor Wilson:
Great insight as always. David Jackson covers national politics for USA Today. Thank you, David.
David Jackson:
Thank you.
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Taylor Wilson:
Russia's FSB security service said yesterday it had pulled the credentials of six British diplomats in Moscow after accusing them of spying and sabotage work. Putin called the accusations completely baseless, saying it was a move after the UK expelled the Russian defense attache and removed diplomatic status from several Russian properties in May. Russia announced the expulsions hours before talks in Washington between British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer and President Joe Biden. They met as a possible step toward Ukraine using long-range missiles against targets in Russia. President Vladimir Putin said this week that the West could be directly fighting with Russia if it allowed Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western-made long-range missiles. The U.S. and Britain see Iran's delivery of ballistic missiles to Russia to use against Ukraine, which the U.S. announced this week as a dramatic escalation. And they've sped up talks on Ukraine's long-range missile use.
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Workers at Boeing have gone on strike. They walked off the job to begin picketing yesterday after voting to strike for the first time since 2008. The overwhelming vote to reject a contract deal is expected to halt operations in the Seattle area, the hub of Boeing's commercial plane manufacturing, and to disrupt the company's supply chain according to a Reuters report. The decision also comes as Boeing faces intense scrutiny from regulators and customers amid a series of crises and incidents. In recent years, including deadly crashes. Tens of thousands of machinists voted Thursday to reject a proposed deal between the company and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace workers. Of the roughly 30,000 union members, 96% voted in favor of the strike. According to reports, Boeing's proposed deal included a pay rise of 25% over four years, which was far lower than the 40% workers had demanded.
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Mortgage rates have dropped significantly. I spoke with USA Today reporter Andrea Riquier about what that means for the housing market and how a Fed meeting next week might affect things. Andrea, thanks for hopping back on The Excerpt today.
Andrea Riquier:
Sure. Thanks for having me.
Taylor Wilson:
So would you just start by telling us about this wife and husband, Jora Gleason and Zach Carman and their experience in this really unique housing market right now?
Andrea Riquier:
Sure. So they were first time buyers. They're very young. They're in their early twenties. She's a nurse and he works for the city. They both grew up in Spokane, Washington, still live there now and have spent several months looking for a home, five or six months they said, which sounds like a lot, but I've talked to people who've been looking even longer. They actually found a home, made an offer, and she told me that the home inspector walked in, took him 10 minutes, he turned around, walked right back and said, I would not spend one single dollar on this home.
Taylor Wilson:
Wow.
Andrea Riquier:
So they kept looking and then they found something that they absolutely fell in love with and they went to their realtor and said, "We love this place." And he said, "This is a tough market. You're going to have to get really serious if you want to make an offer and have it be accepted." And these two happened to get lucky because there was a little blip in the financial markets back in August and it caused mortgage rates to come down. They'd been working with a good lender who was on top of things. They managed to lock in a really low rate and they got the house.
Taylor Wilson:
So you mentioned those rates dropped about a month ago. Where do mortgage rates stand right now?
Andrea Riquier:
The national average in the most recent week for the 30-year fixed rate mortgage, which is by far the most popular mortgage was 6.2. This couple happened to get a 5% rate, which is unheard of. Rates have been coming down all year, but 6.2 is the lowest in 18 months.
Taylor Wilson:
Wow. So what's the expectation coming up next, Andrea? Will mortgage rates continue to drop kind of on the same trend?
Andrea Riquier:
So the expectation is that mortgage rates will continue to trend lower, which means that there could be some choppiness. And a lot of people expect that actually over the balance of the year, basically. The Federal Reserve meets next week and there's a lot of disagreement over whether they will cut rates 25 basis points or 50. I mean, a lot of people think that that won't have an immediate impact on the mortgage market because as I said, mortgage rates have been coming down for a while. And so people think that the Fed decision, whatever it is already sort of baked to what rates are right now.
Taylor Wilson:
Well, as you say, we have this big Fed announcement coming up. What does all this mean really for the housing market writ large? And you mentioned in the piece something called the lock-in effect. Would you just break that down and might we see this get unlocked in the coming months and years?
Andrea Riquier:
Exactly. So the lock-in effect refers to the fact that something like three quarters of people have a rate under 5%, maybe even under 4%. Certainly people have been selling and moving, but really what we've seen is only if you absolutely need to relocate or something like that. And so the question becomes what rate do mortgage rates have to fall to such that people who are just thinking of moving on decide to do it. And general consensus seems to be low. 5% range is where that dam sort of bursts. What the thinking is that hopefully that's next spring.
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Taylor Wilson:
NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams admitted yesterday that their year did not turn out as they'd expected. When they headed to the International Space Station on board Starliner on a test flight in June, they thought they'd be returning home just eight days later. Instead, they've adapted to what will now be an eight-month mission. The Boeing Starliner spacecraft that brought them to the station returned to Earth without them after NASA was unable to determine its reliability to bring them home safely. Both astronauts said they knew there was always a chance of something going wrong since they went to the station on a test flight, but they admitted it's tough leaving loved ones back home as part of responses to reporters during a conference call yesterday. Suni Williams is a space veteran, but that doesn't necessarily make it easier.
Suni Williams:
There's folks on the ground who had some plans, right, like my family. And so to spend some time with my mom. I think I was fretting more about that.
Taylor Wilson:
And Butch Wilmore said he'll miss much of his daughter's senior year of high school but hopes the experience will help everyone grow.
Butch Wilmore:
It is different and they're going to learn from this and they're going to grow from this like they never could have in any other situation. And for that, I am grateful.
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Taylor Wilson:
Amid bitter partisan divides, USA Today, went searching for hope in America, visiting six small communities. What they all had in common, they're all named Hope. Listen to The Excerpt tomorrow morning, beginning at 5 A.M. Eastern Time, to hear stories from across the country as my colleague Dana Taylor shares how voters are feeling as we enter the home stretch of this presidential election. Tomorrow marks the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, a celebration honoring the contributions and histories of millions of Americans.
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And thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your podcast. And if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. Dana Taylor will be in tomorrow, and I'll be back Monday with more of The Excerpt from USA Today.