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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Trump, Carson Enter "Muslim President" Fray; Trump Tweets Blast Fiorina; Carson Would Oppose Electing A Muslim President; Volkswagen CEO Sorry For "Broken Trust"; Emotional Night At The Emmys; Day Two For Pope Francis In Cuba. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired September 21, 2015 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said you had no problem putting --
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via telephone): Some people have said it already happened, frankly. You won't agree with that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Now both Trump and Ben Carson find themselves in a dramatically reordered battle to become president. Carly Fiorina has vaulted into second place in a new CNN/ORC poll riding the wave from her CNN debate performance.
She received rock star treatment at the Republican conference in Michigan. She says she has every intention of milking the attention and focus on her campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: More people know who I am. We know based on what's happened before this debate that as people come to know me and understand who I am and what I have done and most importantly what I will do, they tend to support me.
So, the truth is we will stay out here working hard every single day so that people who may be or introduced to me for the first time at that debate now get to know a little bit more about me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Let's get the very latest from CNN's Sunlen Serfaty on Mackinac Island.
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine. This poll shows how much the debate has really shaken up the race. That is especially highlighted when you look at the state of the field one month ago.
These poll numbers show Donald Trump is still in the lead, but he is on a downward slope. He is sliding eight percentage points since early September. If you compare that to Carly Fiorina, she has leaped up 12 percentage points. That's a huge gain in really only about three weeks. This also shows a really stunning collapse in support for Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. He has seen a huge drop fast, now basically registering at less than one half of a percentage point.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump, as he has seen his support slide, he continues to get questions on the campaign trail about the controversy, which happened last week in New Hampshire. That exchange with a supporter not only failing to correct that supporter who claimed that President Obama is a Muslim and that President Obama is not an American.
But for not disputing the claim that the supporter made that Muslims are a problem in the U.S. On "STATE OF THE UNION," Jake Tapper asked Donald Trump if he has a responsibility to correct the record. Here is how he responded.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TRUMP (via telephone): We can be politically correct if you want. Are you trying to say we don't have a problem? I think everybody would agree. I have friends who are Muslims. They are great people, amazing people. These are fabulous people. We certainly do have a problem. You have a problem throughout the world.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": What's the problem?
TRUMP: You have radicals that are doing things. It wasn't people from Sweden that blew up the World Trade Center, Jake.
TAPPER: I get that. To say we have a problem and it's called Muslims because there are extremist Muslims is tarring all Muslims. You would agree that the vast --
TRUMP: I don't agree with that at all. You have extremist Muslims in a class by themselves. It is a problem in this country and throughout the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SERFATY: Trump was also confronted over the weekend by a student in an event who asked him if he would consider including a Muslim on his cabinet or ticket. Donald Trump said he would and adding that he does not have a problem with that -- John and Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Sunlen Serfaty, thank you for that. You know, this morning, it is clear Donald Trump is feeling the heat from Carly Fiorina at least on Twitter.
Overnight he tweeted this, "There is no way that Carly Fiorina can become the Republican nominee or win against the Democrats. Barbara Boxer killed her for Senate in the California. Carly Fiorina did such a horrible job at Lucent and HP virtually destroying both companies that she never got another CEO job offer."
How about this one, "I'm attracting the biggest crowds by far and the best poll numbers also by far. Much of the media is totally dishonest. So sad."
And on "STATE OF THE UNION," Trump accused debate moderator, Jake Tapper of going easy on Fiorina. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think Carly had a good night, but I think you gave her a lot of very easy questions. You read off a couple of questions which you say I agree with that. She had easy questions. You gave her some beautiful softballs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: That's Jake having a chuckle. Fiorina will have a national platform to fire back on "The Tonight Show" with Jimmy Fallon. I got to tell you as she rises in the polls, John, she is going to face more criticism and more questions about her time at Lucent Technologies, she was the president there, and at Hewlett-Packard.
There were job losses at that time. She has said it was a recession, almost depression in tech land at the time. What kind of a steward was she of those companies? You will hear a lot more about that.
BERMAN: And critics point out that other tech companies outperformed HP during that time.
ROMANS: There are a lot of layoffs there and every one of those people who were laid off are potential campaign.
ROMANS: New this morning, a Muslim-American group is calling on Ben Carson to drop out of the presidential race. That after Carson said the U.S. should not elect a Muslim president.
[05:35:08] Carson asked whether a president's faith should matter to voters. He responded I guess it depends on what that faith is. He added if it is consistent with the constitution, no problem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So do you believe that Islam is consistent with the constitution?
BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, I do not. I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you ever consider voting for a Muslim for Congress?
CARSON: Congress is a different story, but it depends on who that Muslim and what their policies are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: A spokesperson for the Carson campaign says the candidate did not mean a Muslim should be prevented from running for president. He doesn't believe the American people are ready for that.
ROMANS: All right, Republicans this morning attacking President Obama's nomination of a gay man to be secretary of the Army. Mike Huckabee is slamming Eric Fanning's nomination in a statement saying the president is, quote, "More interested in appeasing America's homosexuals than honoring America's heroes.
Ted Cruz called early White House talking points on the appointment not encouraging, but he says he will wait until fanning's confirmation hearings to weigh the nomination on its merits.
BERMAN: All right, new this morning, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden appears to be on board with a possible run for the White House. A spokesperson for Jill Biden is not disputing an NBC News report that she is, quote, "Not an obstacle to the bid of the Democratic nomination.
Her husband is now at least considering. There have been a lot of speculations that Jill Biden was reluctant to mount another White House run. In fact in Pennsylvania during a parade when people are urging Joe Biden to run, he said talk to my wife.
Nearly 50 top Democratic fundraisers and activists have signed a letter urging Biden to jump into race. They say he is sure to win if he does get in. Even so, Hillary Clinton tells CBS that she is not doing anything to prepare for a possible run. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, we are not because this is such a personal decision. The vice president has to sort this out. He has been so open and talking about how difficult this time is for him and his family.
And he is obviously considering what he wants to do including whether he wants to run. I think everybody should give him the space to decide what's best for him and his family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: October, we think he will have a decision by October?
BERMAN: There is some speculation he could wait even longer. The Democratic debate here on CNN is on October 13th. Will he get in?
ROMANS: What strategy will you have? You have to pick a few states and have a focused strategy.
BERMAN: If he were to wait for a long time, but if he gets in right now, he could run a more national --
ROMANS: It's 37 minutes past the hour. Time for an EARLY START on your money this morning, U.S. stock futures are up a bit coming off a rough end of the week. The Dow dropped 290 points on Friday, a massive fed-ache, if you will, in stocks.
The Fed left interest rates unchanged concerned about slowing global growth, low inflation in the U.S., all those concerns seeping into world stocks and currencies.
One stock plunging today, Volkswagen, the car company's CEO is apologizing to customers for broken trust. That's after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the company cheated on its emissions tests for 500,000 cars cheated by programming some diesel cars to turn on emission controls only when tested.
BERMAN: This is astounding level of deceit.
ROMANS: The CEO stopped short of admitting guilt, but apologized and promised to cooperate fully with the investigation. Now that company has stopped selling those cars at issue. Letting all of the dealerships know that those cars cannot be sold on U.S. roads. We will hear more about that later today.
BERMAN: Historic wins at the Emmys. We will break down all of the big moments and talk about Christine Romans' big win. That's coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:42:47]
BERMAN: It was an emotional end to television's biggest night. Tracy Morgan who is still recovering from a devastating highway accident, he appeared on stage at the Emmy Awards. He received this standing ovation.
ROMANS: It's also a night of firsts and television history was made. Brian Stelter, CNN senior media correspondent and the host of "RELIABLE SOURCES" joins us now. Let's talk about Viola Davis. She is amazing.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: And a wonderfully historic moment, the first black woman even to win in this category for her series, "How To Get Away With Murder" on ABC. It's about to come back for a second season.
It was one of the most emotional moments of the night when she took to the stage. Here's a clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIOLA DAVIS: You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there. Shonda Rimes, people who have redefined what it means to be beautiful, to be sexy, to be a leading woman, to be black and to the Tarij P. Hensons, Kerry Washington, Halle Barry, the Megan Goodes, thank you for taking us over that line.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STELTER: Her speech has a lot of people talking this morning. See Jeffery Tambor win for "Transparent" where he plays a man transitioning to a woman. The first transgender character we've seen in a big way leading the show. This show happens to be on Amazon. His win last night is also a big showing the diversity in television. Hollywood has a long way to go and that was acknowledged several times. We saw a number of milestones in the awards.
BERMAN: Yes, first year with Dragons.
STELTER: That's the other thing about the night. You know, this time last year we talked about Netflix and Amazon breaking their way into (inaudible). This year was all about HBO. It was all about "Game of Thrones," the big winner for drama beating --
ROMANS: Twelve, did they get 12 Emmys?
STELTER: I think that's right. We're kind of across the board, writing and other categories as well and also HBO's "Veep" winning best comedy beating "Modern Family." "Modern Family" had been winning for five years in a row.
As someone that covers this every year, it was getting boring. "Modern Family" winning every year for best comedy, well, "Veep" taking home that prize last night.
I'm trying to convince my wife to watch it. This is one of the values of the Emmys. These shows do sometimes gain momentum as a result of the awards. It's hard to measure. It's hard to prove, but sometimes you do see shows grow up thankfully. Thanks to these awards.
[05:45:09] ROMANS: Did you know it was 100 degrees on the red carpet. It was superhot. One of the things the stars were complaining about. They were excited to go in. They were wilting on the red carpet.
BERMAN: Does this mean there will be new trends in television? I mean, look, we actually have scripted shows, which seemed to be emerging anew, which is a nice thing, after the decade of reality.
STELTER: I think you're right about that. There is a resurgence for scripted. It has been a fading away of reality in the past couple of years. Right now, this sentiment is almost too much TV out there. We saw that joked about by Andy Samberg.
There is too TV, but that is good thing for consumers. If we are all watching different stuff, that is a good thing overall. That is what Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu have done for the TV world. It is about the 30-year-old network owned by the Time Warner and CNN. HBO has the top brand in TV.
ROMANS: There is so much good programming out there. You have to almost sit down and strategize how are you are going to invest your time.
STELTER: And "Game of Thrones," by the way, one of the biggest shows on TV. You see "Mad Men" take the Emmy awards, but actually last night, one of the biggest shows is one of the most celebrated.
BERMAN: Brian Stelter, great to have you here with us. Really appreciate it.
Speaking of "Game of Thrones," let's take a look at what is coming up on "NEW DAY." Alisyn Camerota joins us right now -- Alisyn.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Perfect segue way. Thank you, John. We will see what happens since presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Ben Carson, made those stunning comments about Muslims. Carson's spokesperson will be here live to try to explain it.
Also there is some new CNN polls that show both Trump and Carson in different positions than they were just a week ago so is Carly Fiorina. We will break down all of the numbers plus there are new numbers to show you on the Democratic side as well.
Also Pope Francis is getting ready for the historic trip to the United States. We will be joined by the archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, about what we can expect this week.
Also Chris will tell us about all of the incredible moments that he witnessed in Cuba this weekend. So stick around for all of that at the top of the hour.
BERMAN: Yes, 15 minutes, a new Democratic poll numbers, I think may surprise a lot of people. Alisyn, thanks so much.
CAMEROTA: Absolutely.
BERMAN: All right, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:51:05]
BERMAN: Pope Francis is about to begin his second full day of his historic trip to Cuba following a morning mass, he will fly to Santiago for a meeting with bishops. The pope has already breaking barriers. He met with Cuban president, Raul Castro and Raul's predecessor, Fidel Castro. The pope is not meeting with dissidents as far as we know.
Let's get more now from CNN's Ed Lavandera in Havana.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, Pope Francis ended his first full day in Cuba was significant because the Vatican brought in a Wi-Fi system and encouraged the young people in the crowd to send social media messages to the world. Important because Cuba is one of the most disconnected countries on the planet so access to this Wi-Fi connection is extremely rare for many people.
This was significant. The pope seemed to enjoy all of it. Now he moves on from Havana on Monday. He flies to the eastern province of the Cuba, holding a series of masses over the next couple days in Santiago before he flies to the United States and start his pilgrimage in Washington, New York and Philadelphia -- John and Christine.
ROMANS: All right, Ed Lavandera, thanks for that. Defectors from ISIS revealing their disillusionment with the terrorist group, a report being released today by a research group that studies radicalization includes interviews with dozens of defectors from ISIS.
Many say they disapprove of the indiscriminate killings of hostages and of civilians as well as the hostility toward other Sunni rebel groups fighting government forces in Syria.
It's 52 minutes past the hour. If you are a workaholic, you may want to consider moving to one of these cities where the work the hardest, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:56:48]
ROMANS: Good morning. I'm Christine Romans. Let's get an EARLY START on your money. A splitting Fedache in markets around the world after the Fed chickened out of raising interest rates last week.
BERMAN: They have a Fedache because of all that Yellen.
ROMANS: European and Asian shares mixed. Shanghai's index up is 2 percent. The U.S. stock futures are up right now following an ugly end really to last week. The Dow tumbled 290 points on Friday. The Fed leaves rates at zero and still the markets are unhappy it's because the focus is now on the Fed's concern about global growth.
All right, Johnny Depp had a big box office this weekend. "Black Mass" brought in $23 million in the U.S. over the weekend. It's the true crime story where Depp stars as Whitey Bulger. Depp has had a string of box office bombs making this the best since "The Lone Ranger" in 2013. This week's box office one winner is "The Maze Runner" made $30.3 million.
All right, what's the hardest working city in the country? Chi-town, Chicago, that's according to a new CNN Money analysis. In Chicago, they work an average of 39 hours a week with 14 paid vacation days.
Around the world, Chicago is not even close to the top. Hong Kong is number one. That's where workers have the longest hours in the world, more than 50 hours a week. Also topping the list, Mumbai, Mexico City and New Delhi and Chicago comes in 19th.
BERMAN: Donald Trump and Ben Carson facing scathing new criticism over what they are saying about Muslims. "NEW DAY" starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARSON: I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation.
TRUMP: You have extremists Muslims that are in class by themselves.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You judge candidates not on their religion, not on the color of their skin.
TAPPER: A brand new CNN poll, Carly Fiorina leaping to second place.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You wanted her to talk in every conversation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A 45-minute meeting with Fidel Castro that was described as informal and friendly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are hearing El Papa, the pope is coming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is someone who is saying we have to reform ourselves first.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to the 67th Emmy Awards.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I missed you guys so much.
DAVIS: The only thing that separates women of color is opportunity.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Emmy goes to.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It's Monday, September 21st, 6:00 in the east. Muslims should not be president. We may have a Muslim as president already, whacky words coming from the men that topped the GOP race for president.
Ben Carson saying he could not support a Muslim for president on Sunday. This morning, a National Muslim Civil Liberties group is calling for Carson to withdraw from the race because of those words.
The firestorm comes as Donald Trump said he wasn't obligated to correct a man who called President Obama a Muslim.
CAMEROTA: And what a difference a debate makes, Carly Fiorina catapulting to second place after the CNN debate while Trump loses some support. There are new Democratic polls showing Hillary Clinton bouncing back.
So let's begin our team coverage with Athena Jones. She is live in Washington. Good morning, Athena.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.
