Truth Social’s Advantage & AI Anxiety 8/13/26

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**Michael Santoli** (0:58)
Bring in show music, please.

**Katie Kramer** (1:02)
Hi, I'm CNBC producer Katie Kramer, today on Squawk Pod. Is there advantage in early access to the president's truths?

**Jonathan Kanter** (1:10)
Those fractions of a second can be quite meaningful in terms of trading. And it's not just a theoretical problem, it's a public problem.

**Katie Kramer** (1:19)
The lawsuit claiming President Trump's Truth Social is giving a leg up to subscribers who pay to read social media posts seconds or fractions of a second early. Jonathan Kanter, former Assistant Attorney General, joins us.

**Jonathan Kanter** (1:31)
The Truth Social is going to argue that they're a public company and that the benefit to the president is attenuated because it only comes back to him as a shareholder.

**Katie Kramer** (1:41)
Senator Bill Cassidy on the newly recommended vaccine schedule for kids.

**Bill Cassidy** (1:45)
So, instead of two jabs, because you get one and two, we now have six jabs.

**Katie Kramer** (1:50)
That changes the guidance for parents. The committee chairman who advanced vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to his job as the top health official in the country joins us with his take.

**Bill Cassidy** (2:01)
I think from the perspective of the mama, she is going to be very upset.

**Katie Kramer** (2:05)
Plus, does all this AI make you anxious? How young adults are feeling about today's fast-moving economy in an exclusive survey. It is Thursday, August 13th, 2026 Squawk Pod begins right now.
We start the podcast today with two stories on messaging in the Trump White House. Who speaks for the president and who gets to hear from him first. We have special guests sitting in today on Squawk Box.

**Brian Sullivan** (2:39)
And good Thursday morning, everybody. Welcome to Squawk Box right here on CNBC. We are live at the NASDAQ market site. Do not adjust your dial.
I am Brian Sullivan. He is Michael Santoli. And she is Leslie Picker. Joe, Becky and Andrew are all off today.

**Katie Kramer** (2:54)
And we start with a headline right from the press briefing room.

**Michael Santoli** (2:59)
White House press secretary Caroline Levitt will leave her post at the end of the month. She wrote on X that she's leaving because she felt she cannot be the best mom to her two young children that her two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy and attention required of the White House press secretary. On Truth Social, President Trump said he understands and respects her decision. He said Levitt will become one of his top outside advisors and will work with the Republican Party to win the upcoming midterm elections in November. No word yet on who will replace Levitt as press secretary. Now, Kalshi has five potential candidates with odds, I guess, between 20 and 25%. We're showing four of those right there.
Those candidates on Kalshi include the president's daughter in law, Laura Trump, White House aide Natalie Harp, and attorney and political advisor Alina Habab.

**Brian Sullivan** (3:48)
And I know a lot of people, I get this question a lot, I know we've got a commercial partnership with Kalshi and they do a great job, but you know, a lot of people look at those numbers, they think, well, that doesn't add up to 100%.
That's not how it works. Put the odds back up, I get that question a lot. They're like, well, I look at the Kalshi odds and you have what, 83% and 15% and 35%? They're not adding up to 100%. This is not, you pick one of these four, right, Mike? This is, you're betting on specific chances of each person.

**Michael Santoli** (4:16)
Well, and you're also, you're kind of having to pay a little bit for the bet, right? There's a bid ask in there, so you might be overpaying.