September 15, 2024 - PBS News Weekend full episode

LISA DESJARDINS: Tonight on PBS News Weekend, what the largest grocery store merger in U.S. history might mean, and why one agency wants to block it.

Then, with Trump and Harris locked in a tight race, how undecided voters are feeling 50 days out from decision day.

MAN: In past election cycles, I have not been undecided.

This would probably be the first time I've been truly undecided, especially this late in the game.

LISA DESJARDINS: And pop star politics, how celebrity endorsements play a part or don't in presidential elections?

(BREAK) LISA DESJARDINS: Thank you.

Good evening.

I'm Lisa Desjardins.

John Yang is away.

The FBI says former President Donald Trump was the subject of an apparent assassination attempt today at his golf club in Palm Beach, Florida.

Secret Service agents opened fire on a person with a gun near the spot where Trump was playing golf.

His campaign says the former president is safe and back at Mar-a-Lago.

After speaking with the former president, Fox host Sean Hannity reported that an AK 47 rifle was found nearby, and that Secret Service acted quickly to protect Trump.

The agency is investigating.

A university in Springfield, Ohio today canceled all planned activities and events after it received an email threatening a potential shooting.

A Wittenberg University statement said the threat especially targeted Haitian members of the community.

Springfield has come under a microscope after the Trump campaign's claims without evidence, of Haitian immigrants eating local pets.

On Sunday morning political shows, Republican vice presidential candidate J.D.

Vance stood by those false claims here on CBS's Face the Nation.

J.D.

VANCE, U.S. Republican Vice Presidential Nominee: Whatever some local mayor said about this case, I am hearing from dozens of constituents who are concerned about these issues.

They are allowed to be concerned about these issues, and I think it's shameful how the American media ignores them.

LISA DESJARDINS: Vance also was asked about a small rally of right-wing extremist group, the Proud Boys in Springfield yesterday.

He disavowed white supremacy and said the media has the wrong focus.

J.D.

VANCE: I am much more concerned about the Vice President of the United States failing to do her job than I am that a dozen people carried the wrong flag when they were marching in Springfield, Ohio yesterday.

Let's focus on the real problem that's the Vice President of the United States not doing her job.

LISA DESJARDINS: We asked a spokesman for Vance to provide the stories and evidence he says constituents have presented him of animal abuse in and around Springfield.

They have not yet responded with those specifics.

Rebels in Yemen fired a long range missile into central Israel today, showing they can get past Israel's multi-tiered air defenses.

A spokesman for the Houthi military, who are backed by Iran, took credit for the strike.

BRIG.

GEN. YAHYA SAREE, Houthi Military Spokesperson (through translator): The missile force of the Yemeni armed forces, by the grace of God, carried out a special military operation targeting an Israeli military target in the area of Jaffa in occupied Palestine.

The operation was executed with a new hypersonic ballistic missile.

LISA DESJARDINS: The missile landed in a rural area with no injuries reported.

Israel said it made several attempts at intercepting the missile and believes it fragmented but did not destroy it.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded with strong words.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, Prime Minister, Israel (through translator): We are in a multi front campaign against Iran's Axis of Evil, which is striving for our destruction.

This morning, the Houthis launched a surface to surface missile from Yemen into our territory.

They should have known by now that we were exacting a heavy price for every attempt to harm us.

LISA DESJARDINS: Also today word that three of the Israeli hostages found dead months ago were likely killed in Gaza by an Israeli air strike.

The Israeli military made that conclusion in high probability after a months long investigation.

Overnight, at least eight people died trying to cross the English Channel from Northern France in an inflatable boat.

Today, French authorities stepped up beach patrols.

More than 50 migrants survived the attempted crossing and received medical attention.

Earlier this month, a dozen people died when their boat capsized in the channel on the way to Britain.

Venezuelan officials have arrested three Americans, accusing them of plotting with the CIA to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro.

State Television announced a total of six foreigners were arrested and showed a cache of rifles alleged to be involved.

Late yesterday, the U S State Department confirmed one American military member had been detained, but said any claims of a U.S. plot are categorically false.

Maduro was reelected last month in a disputed election still to come.

Still to come on PBS News Weekend, undecided voters tell us what matters as the presidential race heats up and do celebrities matter?

We look at their role in modern politics.

(BREAK) LISA DESJARDINS: What could be the largest grocery store merger in U.S. history is at a do or die point with closing arguments this week in a hearing over whether the deal could harm consumers and raise prices by blocking competition.

Kroger's nearly $25 billion purchase of Albertsons would bring together a number of well-known grocery chains under one company, chains like Safeway, Harris Teeter, Ralphs and Smiths.

Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit to stop the deal, arguing it would eliminate competition.

The companies say the merger would actually lower prices, allowing them to compete with industry titans like Walmart, Target, Amazon and Costco.

All this as both 2024 presidential campaigns focus their attention on finding ways to lower food prices that have shot up nearly 30 percent since 2019.

Jaclyn Peiser is the retail reporter at The Washington Post.

Jaclyn give us some context, where are Kroger and Albertsons, these companies, on the list of grocery chains in this country, and how much space do they occupy?

JACLYN PEISER, The Washington Post: Yeah, so Kroger is the number two in sales for groceries across the country, and Albertsons is about number four, tied with Amazon, which includes Whole Foods.

So there are two of the largest grocery chains throughout the entire country, and then combining together would make them still number two, and still a bit less than Walmart and sales, but they'd still be a pretty big behemoth when it comes to traditional supermarkets.

LISA DESJARDINS: These are already heavyweight companies.

Why do they say that they need to merge to stay profitable?

JACLYN PEISER: For them they see Walmart, they see a lot of other grocery chains that are coming throughout the country.

We have Aldi and Lidl, which are very specific kind of grocery shop, but they're certainly expanding.

There's online groceries, there's clubs like Costco and Sam's and so for them, they're saying, you know, we need to combine forces to better compete with these other grocery chains.

LISA DESJARDINS: Why is the FTC taking them on?

What's their argument?

JACLYN PEISER: They're saying that it would eliminate competition.

And their definition of a supermarket is very specific, and it only really includes these major chains.

They're not counting Costco.

They're not really counting Walmart or Amazon.

So in their perspective, they're saying by eliminating this competition, it will disincentivize them to lower prices.

LISA DESJARDINS: And I guess that's one of the questions here, like, how does the FTC define a supermarket.

JACLYN PEISER: Yeah, it's complicated, but for them, they look at it as a one stop shop kind of shopping experience.

So you go to a safe way, and you can go to get a cake for your son's birthday, you can get your medications, you can go to the deli counter, and you can do all in one but then, you know, you look at a Costco, and that's a club membership you have to pay to go in.

So they're saying that this is a very unique shopping experience that doesn't really compete in that sense, with, say, you know, $1 store, or, you know, a legal.

LISA DESJARDINS: As I said, that is in dispute from the companies.

But this also brings us to the big topic of grocery prices themselves.

What's your reporting on what this merger could mean for grocery prices?

JACLYN PEISER: It depends on who you ask.

So Kroger and Albertsons are saying, when we combine, we will be lowering grocery prices from day one they investing a billion dollars into lowering the price of food.

But the FTC is saying, well, not necessarily.

They're combining forces.

They don't have much competition, so why would they want to lower prices?

But Kroger and Albertsons are saying, well, we need to be able to compete with WalMart.

We need to be able to compete with Costco.

And so the only way we can do that is by coming together, having more leverage over our suppliers, being able to have more efficient, you know, production, supply chain, all of that.

LISA DESJARDINS: Some people who, reporters and others like yourself are asking, are the workers?

Because we certainly know that they would be affected.

I hear that idea of more efficient management, as they're saying often that means cutting jobs.

I want to play in the words of grocery store worker, mom of two, who is now thinking about a former merger that she participated in when she was with Albertsons.

GRACE GARCIA, Union Member, United Food and Commercial Worker 770: One minute you you have this job security that you've had for 24 years, and now you're needing to pivot to, what am I going to do next?

And how am I going to make money?

And how am I going to support my family?

How am I going to pay rent?

I mean, initially, when I started in the industry, there was multiple grocery stores.

There was Hughes, Vons, Albertsons, Ralphs, Safeway, all in Southern California.

Now we're down to two companies.

LISA DESJARDINS: And we received a statement from union representing grocery store workers, the UFCW, opposing the merger.

How did the companies respond when workers say we're nervous.

This means our jobs, our livelihoods and our community on the line.

JACLYN PEISER: Kroger likes to say they're one of the only union shops that are left in grocery and they said they've agreed to the collective bargaining agreements that they are really good for unions, that, you know, those agreements are going to continue after the merger happens.

But the workers are concerned.

They're saying, you know, having these two companies go up against each other is a really good way for them to get a better bargaining agreement so they can threaten strikes.

They can, you know, look at this, the opposites across the street and say, Hey, these guys got a great deal.

We're the Kroger over here.

We want an equally good deal and not having that leverage anymore.

Could, you know, negatively affect them getting a better a better deal, better wages.

But Kroger is saying, you know, we're investing $1.3 billion in better wages, better benefits.

So both sides have different have different views on it.

LISA DESJARDINS: The decision here will be made by a judge.

This is really a preliminary injunction.

But why is it the case that the companies say that this decision actually could seal their face.

JACLYN PEISER: Yeah.

So the Kroger attorney, during his opening argument said to the judge, if you allow this injunction, then we are done.

Merger is done.

They announced this merger in 2022 so it's been a long time.

So for them, you know, time is running out.

LISA DESJARDINS: They're not going to spend more time.

JACLYN PEISER: No, no, yeah.

LISA DESJARDINS: Jaclyn Peiser from the Washington Post, thank you so much.

JACLYN PEISER: Thank you.

LISA DESJARDINS: Less than two months until the election, and we can hear the candidates' voices nearly every day.

But what about voters?

Since June, the NewsHour has followed a group of undecided voters from across the country and across the political spectrum.

In our latest installment of The Deciders series, we found some movement and a lot of thoughts.

STEVEN BECK:, Madison, Alabama: My name is Stephen Beck, and I'm from Madison, Alabama.

In past election cycles, I have not been undecided.

This would probably be the first time I've been truly undecided, especially this late in the game.

JESSICA DALTON, Salt Lake City, Utah: My name is Jessica Dalton.

I'm from Salt Lake City, Utah.

Undecided I think is too vague of a term.

I've always been open to listen to what each candidate has to offer, and making my decision based on who the candidate is, rather than what the party is offering.

ZACH HORN, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania: I'm Zach Horn, and I'm 35 years old, based in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

I'm one of those voters that does wait to the last second.

I remember my even back to like 2008 and 2012 and '16.

I always wake up on election day and make that choice, because there's a lot of things that can happen between now and November.

STEPHEN STONE, New York: My name is Steven Stone.

I'm in Brooklyn.

I have to choose between Kamala, which is now voting for the President in this election.

ROBERT LILLY, Wickenburg, Arizona: I'm Robert Lilly.

I'm from Wickenburg, Arizona.

I typically don't decide, and for sure, I'm not 100 percent until election time.

ANNA FLORES, Phoenix, Arizona: My name is Anna, and I live in the suburb of Phoenix, Arizona,.

Before the debate, I was already against Trump.

That's not happening.

I don't trust either them as commander in chief or even as necessarily head of government.

STEVEN BECK: I would say that neither lived up to my expectations.

One of the things that I had difficulty with throughout the entire debate was the lack of specifics.

STEPHEN STONE: It seems like a race to the bottom.

More than anything, it's not about anybody having any sort of real ideology and the concerns of the majority of American people at heart, it's all very much about just being better than your competitor.

ZACH HORN: She went in for the handshake, actually meant something to me.

I think civility is going to be the number one thing.

We have to get back to that before we can get back to anything else.

JESSICA DALTON: What was interesting and not surprising from Donald Trump as to how easily he was baited into getting his ego hurt.

ROBERT LILLY: There's just too many lies told by Kamala Harris in the debate, and I expect that to go on.

ZACH HORN: She did a fantastic job during that debate.

I thought there was some policy depth that was offered.

I did feel, when I was watching it, that they did question him more than they questioned her on some things.

ANNA FLORES: I expected them to say.

What they said there, what I would have appreciated additional specifics.

I'm sure that in the coming months I'll be able to do some more additional research.

I'll take some time to look and examine that more closely.

JESSICA DALTON: After watching Harris come into the debate and how she handled herself, there's no question in my mind that I will be voting for Harris and Walz.

STEPHEN STONE: I'm holding out hope and believing that potentially, some of these other movements, these leftist movements, again, the Green Party to move for more left as opposed to the right.

It does not feel good.

At best, I would be holding my notes to vote for Kamala.

STEVEN BECK: Not knowing enough about her is part of the indecisiveness as far as who I'm going to vote for at this point.

ROBERT LILLY: Donald Trump, I see as just a much lesser of two evils, and -- so that's the man I had to vote for.

STEPHEN STONE: These are not easy decisions to make.

They touch on so many aspects of our lives, and they don't just affect us individually.

They affect us globally.

JESSICA DALTON: Leading up to election day, I'm looking forward to Vice President Harris and Governor Walz speaking more to their economic policies, specifically their small business initiatives.

I think those are very important, as well as childcare.

I think those go hand in hand and their stance on women's healthcare.

STEPHEN STONE: I wish I could vote for my values in this election.

I'll still be voting, because there's a lot of down ballot votes that are important to me, as there should be to everyone.

JESSICA DALTON: Not voting is never an option.

That is my privilege as an American citizen.

People have laid down their lives for that, and I will vote in every election that I'm asked to vote in.

ZACH HORN: As divisive as it is, I still think that I still have, like this belief that we're going to be okay and that we're going to do the right thing and that things are going to be all right.

LISA DESJARDINS: Pop culture and politics have a history of crossover, and these intersections take on new significance during an election year when campaigns jockey for endorsements from the entertainment industry's biggest stars, hoping their candidate will latch onto mainstream pop momentum.

LISA DESJARDINS (voice-over): This summer, it was the fluorescent Kamala is brat phenomenon, a meme started by British singer Charli XCX on social media, and then echoed by the Harris campaign and voters across platforms.

100 years earlier, when viral was not a good thing, a different kind of celebrity endorsed the country's 29th president, Warren G. Harding, vaudeville movie star and singer Al Jolson wrote a song especially for him.

Harding, you're the man for us.

MAN: And Mr. Harding, we've selected you.

So it's Harding lead the GOP.

LISA DESJARDINS (voice-over): The idea hit and by 1960 another superstar, Frank Sinatra sang of his High Hopes for a John F. Kennedy presidency.

FRANK SINATRA, American Singer: Everyone is voting for Jack, because he's got what all the rest lack.

LISA DESJARDINS (voice-over): Sinatra's Rat Pack mate Sammy Davis, Jr. threw his weight behind Richard Nixon, and the celebrity role was locked in.

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali endorsed Ronald Reagan, a celebrity actor in his own right.

In 2008 it was Oprah, a beloved multimedia icon making her first political endorsement for Barack Obama.

Eight years later, pop stars Katy Perry and Demi Lovato backed Hillary Clinton.

The 2024 presidential race is no different.

On the last night of the Republican convention in Milwaukee, singer Kid Rock kicked off a big name lineup.

A few minutes later, retired wrestler Hulk Hogan ripped off his shirt to reveal a Trump-Vance logo.

Just a few weeks later, rapper Lil John strode into the Democrats convention in Chicago, one of a bevy of celebrity endorsements.

Actress Eva Longoria and singers Pink and Stevie Wonder lent their voices to the Harris-Walz ticket, the latest in generations of stars giving shine to politicians.

LISA DESJARDINS: But how important are these celebrity endorsements, and do they actually make a difference in changing voters' minds?

Earlier this week, I spoke with Mark Harvey, author of "Celebrity Influence: Politics, Persuasion and Issue Based Advocacy" to help answer that question.

Mark, we're going to talk about whether celebrity, their factor in a race, makes any difference at all.

But first, I want to switch this around.

Why do celebrities do this?

What's in it for them to get involved in politics?

MARK HARVEY, Author, "Celebrity Influence: Politics, Persuasion and Issue Based Advocacy": That's a really complicated question.

First of all, I think you could say that, you know, many of them just have the same impetus as any of us would be.

That is, maybe they feel very strongly about an issue and they just want to share.

Taylor Swift, for example, for a long time wasn't involved in politics, but then she claimed that she got involved because she wanted to be on the right side of history, and so there's that individual aspect.

However, there's always a risk, when they get involved in that, that taking one side or another may also alienate some of their core fan base.

LISA DESJARDINS: We mentioned a major celebrity in the story, Oprah.

Major celebrity, of course, what do we know about exactly how her endorsement mattered for Barack Obama, and is she the rule, or is she the exception?

MARK HARVEY: As far as our what we know she's the exception to the rule.

That's not to say the celebrities don't make a difference at all.

It's difficult to measure.

However, in the specific case, we can demonstrate that Oprah Winfrey probably made the difference in maybe a million votes or so in the Democratic primary, back in 2007 to 2008 that brought Barack Obama to become the candidate.

LISA DESJARDINS: And we know that was a very close primary that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama went back and forth in the early days.

How did she make a difference?

What is -- what was it that she did that?

Was it just the fact that people admired her?

MARK HARVEY: Yes, I honestly, I think that's a lot to do with it.

She has a certain amount of gravitas.

She already had the so called Oprah effect, where she could endorse a book and suddenly everybody's reading it.

And so, she really had that kind of unique -- that unique credibility at that particular moment.

LISA DESJARDINS: You have said that celebrity endorsements really work when the endorsement kind of matches some aspect of their profile, that there could potentially be a mismatch.

What exactly does that mean?

When does this work?

When does it fail?

MARK HARVEY: Well, let me just give you an example, maybe to put things in context right.

There was a study done a number of years ago with Jessica Simpson.

Well, about Jessica Simpson anyway, and the question is, what is she able to sell, and what the study indicated is that she was quite good at selling perfume, not good at all at selling pocket knives.

And so a lot of this really has to do with image, you know, like what kind of and it's sort of a -- an evasive and elusive thing, but what makes this particular person match up with this product?

That's true for sales of product, but I also would argue it's probably true in terms of selling an issue or selling a candidate.

LISA DESJARDINS: Well, how does that apply to politics?

MARK HARVEY: Here's a good example.

We talked about how Taylor Swift recently endorsed Kamala Harris.

What would happen if she had instead endorsed Donald Trump?

I know that seems a little bit far-fetched, given her predisposition, the way that she stands on certain issues, and we know how she feels about -- LISA DESJARDINS: I'm sure Donald Trump thought about this very question.

MARK HARVEY: Exactly.

And in fact, you know, he created an AI image to try to make it look like, or at least rebroadcast an AI image that suggested that maybe she did support him.

But that's the thing.

All you have to do is watch the Era Tours movie or follow Taylor Swift in the smallest amount, and you realize that she's not a Donald Trump person.

And so there's a little lack there's a break in credibility when somebody does something that just seems against character for that person.

LISA DESJARDINS: Now in your book, you specifically look at issues advocacy, is there a set of issues that really seem to get more traction from a celebrity assist, and some that don't?

MARK HARVEY: Absolutely.

So the ones that are most where celebrities most likely to be persuasive are those ones that are sort of in the Middle that people aren't 100 percent committed to yet.

So maybe certain foreign policy issues, at times, there's a whole host of issues where maybe, if they're not too solid, there's some room.

But if you look at other issues like, say, gun control, the death penalty, abortion, people are really set in on those issues, and Taylor Swift is not going to be able to persuade you that it's time to give up your guns.

LISA DESJARDINS: I know you mentioned a study where people were talked about foreign policy and said, What if a celebrity could influence you on that?

And the answer in that study was yes.

I want to ask you, in terms of the voting groups we're talking about, though, are there different age groups that are more influenced by celebrities, and are these the same groups that vote in large numbers?

MARK HARVEY: Yes.

Well, a lot of research suggests that maybe young people are more influenced by celebrity.

In my research, there was no correlation that it really didn't matter what the age group was.

There wasn't any sort of connection that I could find anyway in terms of age group.

There's some recent research, in fact, some stuff that I've done.

We just did a survey a month ago with 1,000 respondents that suggest that maybe fandom has a lot to do with it.

That is, you have to not only know about the celebrity, but care about the celebrity in order for that celebrity be influential.

LISA DESJARDINS: Mark Harvey, thank you so much.

MARK HARVEY: You are welcome.

LISA DESJARDINS: And an update, a potential suspect has been taken into custody in what the FBI is calling an apparent assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Officials say Secret Service spotted a gunman and engaged him while Trump was 400 to 500 yards away.

Authorities seized a backpack with an AK-47 rifle with a scope.

The FBI is now in the lead in the investigation.

The former president is safe and unharmed.

And that is it for our program tonight.

I'm Lisa Desjardins, for all my colleagues, thank you for joining us.

We'll see you tomorrow.