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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Donald Trump's Foreign Policy Speech: New Reaction; Cruz Names Fiorina As His Running Mate; Sanders Lays Off Hundreds of Staffers; DEA Investigates Prince's Death; Not Steph Curry, No Problem for Warriors. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired April 28, 2016 - 05:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: A new look at feel to the race for president this morning following Donald Trump's sweep of Super Tuesday number four as candidates target the next battleground state, Indiana.

[05:00:01] A more polished presidential style Trump has reemerged, delivering a foreign policy speech. This as Ted Cruz starts begins his first day campaigning with a brand new vice presidential pick, Carly Fiorina.

Last night, Trump mocked Cruz's decision to name a running mate so early.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He has set a record, though. He is the first presidential candidate in the history of this country who's mathematically eliminated from becoming president who chose a vice presidential candidate, OK? It's a record.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has the very latest from the Cruz campaign in Indiana.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine.

Well, Senator Cruz making another Hail Mary pass, making the very unusual move to name his vice presidential pick before he is even the nominee -- a move very widely seen as one that was intended to refocus attention on his campaign after a string of bruising losses. Now, the move was meet with immediate criticism from frontrunner Donald Trump who said that this is just a sign of desperation on the part of the Cruz campaign and said that Senator Cruz should not even be wasting his time choosing a VP given that he has no mathematical path forward towards the nomination without a contested convention.

Well, Senator Cruz addressed that criticism head on in his announcement speech. Here's what he had to say. SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is tradition that

the nominee is announced at convention. It is unusual to make the announcement as early as we are doing so now. Well, I think all would acknowledge this race, if anything, it is unusual.

SERFATY: Meantime, Carly Fiorina also addressed Donald Trump's criticism. The fact that Donald Trump was bringing up her past criticism when she was rivals with Ted Cruz, statements that she made in the past saying that Ted Cruz will do anything and say anything to get elected.

Well, I asked her about that. Here's how she responded.

CARLY FIORINA (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, of course, Donald Trump would do that. The guy who practices saying anything to get elected is actually Donald J. Trump, because all of the stuff he's talking about now -- you know, I'm going to fight the system, he's not going to fight the system.

He is the system. He has benefitted from the system all of his life. So, you know, see you out on the campaign trail, Donald.

SERFATY: And Senator Cruz and Carly Fiorina will hit the campaign trail together. Today, they'll be barnstorming the state of Indiana together. The state certainly holds an oversized importance for their campaign. Now, the stakes have been significantly raised -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Sunlen.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Sunlen, in a rainy Minneapolis.

ROMANS: I know.

BERMAN: A lot going on in this presidential race. A lot we have never seen before.

Joining us to talk about it all, CNN politics managing editor, Zach Wolf.

Zach, good morning to you.

You know, it's unusual to see someone not leading in a race pick a vice president. It is unprecedented for anyone to do it months before a convention. Why?

ZACH WOLF, CNN POLITICS MANAGING EDITOR: Well, you know, usually these campaigns wait until close to the convention. It is supposed to be a big moment for them. You know, as they are sealing the support for the nominee, to use the momentum and shoot into the general election.

For Ted Cruz, I think there is a very real possibility, maybe potentially -- you know, a majority of possibility that he's not going to have a general election. So, why is he picking a vice presidential candidate?

He is probably trying to make people not think so much about his five losses on Tuesday night. He needs to reset the table. He needs to get things going for himself. So, this is a way to change the conversation a little bit. So, this is what we are talking about now instead of delegate math.

ROMANS: Right, trying to get some juice in there and look like a winner, you know? To use a Donald Trump phrase.

It was interesting. I found both speeches long. They both talked for a long time. Both Carly Fiorina and Ted Cruz. Carly Fiorina had the moment where she is saying to Ted Cruz's daughters that got a lot of buzz. I think overshadowed some of the substance a little bit.

Let's watch that moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLY FIORINA (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We've been traveling around the country. I've come to know Ted and Heidi and Caroline and Catherine.

(singing): I know two girls that I just adore, I'm so happy I can see them more --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Zach, what do you make of that?

WOLF: You know, honestly, I don't know what to make of that. I guess they are trying to show they are working together. She can't sing quite as well as Barack Obama, who is our other singing politician in this country.

[05:05:05] But, yes, it was a strange moment.

BERMAN: But she has bragged about her ability to come up with songs on the stump and in the moment. She was with Stephen Colbert when she could prove she could make up songs as she goes. And, look, Ted Cruz is clearly comfortable with Carly Fiorina.

She has been a very effective surrogate for him on the trail. No question having her by his side has been helpful up to that point. The question is, does the vice presidential pick change anything leading in to Indiana which is a few days away? A must win for him.

The other major thing that happened in the presidential race in the last 24 hours, is Donald Trump gave a foreign policy speech with teleprompters at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. supporters loved it, maybe predictable criticism from all sorts of people. Lindsey Graham is not a friend.

Lindsey Graham would endorse a brick wall before he would endorse Donald Trump. He said, "Not sure who's advising Donald Trump on foreign policy, but I can understand why he's not revealing their names."

Madeleine Albright, who supports Hillary Clinton, wrote, "Trump demonstrates no real understanding of complex international issues and has no serious proposals for how to address them."

So the speech criticized from people you may think would be critical of it. Do you think t Trump campaign is happy with the idea of pre- sending the more serious front?

WOLF: I think this is exactly what they want to do. I mean, they are looking, just as Ted Cruz is trying to shake things up in the primary, Donald Trump is looking to move to the general election. He's trying to look presidential here. He's more subdued in his foreign policy speech. He has other policy speeches planned.

He was introduced by Zalmay Khalilzad, a former Bush administration official. He is trying to make that pivot. I think look more presidential. You know, it's one way to do it. He's going to need to do that if he's going to square off against Hillary Clinton.

ROMANS: I think what they are trying to do is put meat on the policy of a series of sound bites on foreign policy over the past months. What is that policy? Besides America first. What did we learn yesterday about what the world would look like with the Donald Trump presidency?

WOLF: Well, you know, he talked about summits he would have in Europe and Asia to reanalyze how the U.S. deals with those countries. How with the Middle Eastern world, he would want to reanalyze the agreements there between how the U.S. provides security. So, he's looking of America first. It sounds like a sound bite, but he's looking for ways to totally rethink American foreign policy. It's a pretty remarkable thing.

ROMANS: America first is a decades old, way back to the '30s with Charles Lindbergh, references to American isolationism. Not sure it is intentional reference he's using there or not.

On the Democratic side, the big news is Bernie Sanders cutting staff. Hundreds of campaign workers laid off. They say it is the natural progression in the campaign.

Zach, it comes at a time when he is losing ground to Hillary Clinton in the delegate race.

WOLF: It is. You know, they can call it a natural progression. I'm not sure it is for a campaign looking toward November. He obviously had a difficult night on Tuesday. He could have some more luck I think later in the calendar. They're focusing there. They don't need as many people or different people out in California and some of the West Coast states they hope to do better. You know, the layoffs and getting rid of field operation I don't think speaks of people looking forward that far.

ROMANS: All right. Zach, nice to see you this morning, bright and early on a Thursday morning. We'll talk to you again very, very soon. Thanks.

BERMAN: All right. Carly Fiorina will be on "NEW DAY" for a live interview. That happens a couple hours from 7:00 hour. You're not going to want to miss that.

ROMANS: All right. Time for an early start on your money.

Economic activity appears to have slowed. That's what the Fed Reserve said following the two-day policy meeting. The fed did not raise rates. The key target is between 0.25 percent and 0.50 percent. The chances of a rate hike next month are shrinking.

Before yesterday's announcement, about 31 percent investors forecast a rate increase in June. After, it dropped to 19 percent.

A yawn from the stock market. The Dow finished up 51 points. NASDAQ fell. The S&P 500, slight gain.

Right now, Dow futures are pointing lower. Oil has turned higher. Losses in European stock markets are getting worse. Huge loss in Tokyo overnight after its Central Bank decided against more stimulus.

Good earnings though from Facebook. Watch Facebook shares today.

BERMAN: I like those numbers. It looks like it's going to be a comfortable day coming forward.

ROMANS: Comfortable, that's a nice way to put it.

BERMAN: All right. Breaking news overnight: the death of Prince. New information on the investigation.

[05:10:01] The DEA now involved. Was he addicted to prescription painkillers?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Breaking overnight. A source tells CNN that Prince had opioid medication on him at the time of his death. A law enforcement official says the prescription pills were also found inside his Minnesota home. The source tells us prince was treated for a potential overdose for pain medication a week before he died.

Investigators have brought in the Drug Enforcement Agency to help with their probe. An official cause of death has not yet been released.

[05:15:02] Investigators are still waiting on the autopsy and toxicology reports.

ROMANS: New calls this morning to eliminate the statute of limitations on child sex crimes. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan making the case, comes a day after former House Speaker Dennis Hastert was sentenced to 15 years in prison in a federal hush money case. He pleaded guilty Wednesday to violating banking laws while trying to pay a man millions of dollars to conceal sex abuse. Prosecutors say the abuse happened decades ago when Hastert was a teacher and a wrestling coach. They say too much time had passed to bring charges for the abuse itself.

BERMAN: A Baltimore teenager recovering after a police officer shot him as he ran with a replica handgun. Authorities say the 13-year-old took off when he was spotted with what look to officers like a semiautomatic pistol. Police said he held on to the gun as they chased him on foot, rounding a quarter. That's when the officer opened fire, hitting the teen. Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis says he does not believe the officer who fired acted inappropriately.

ROMANS: The accused killer of a former New Orleans Saints football player will appear in court this morning. Cardell Hayes faces a preliminary hearing in the death of Will Smith. A former New Orleans police captain and former Saints running back have been subpoenaed to testify. Authorities say Hayes gunned down Smith in an apparent road rage incident earlier this month.

BERMAN: The man who admits to opening fire inside a Colorado Planned Parenthood killing three people has a date in court today. The hearing will focus on Robert Dear's mental health. A doctor who conducted the 57-year-old's competency exam and a police detective may testify. During outburst in court, Dear has declared himself a warrior for the babies and he said he was guilty.

ROMANS: Tennessee now has a new law on the books that critics slam as anti-LGBT. The legislation allows counselors refusing to treat patients based on their religious or personal beliefs, the counselor's religious or personal beliefs. The state's governor says he supports the measure, and requires therapist to help people who are in eminent danger to themselves and also patients' referrals to other counselors. Critics say it would be make it harder for gay and transgender patients to get help.

BERMAN: Steph, who? The Golden State Warriors playing without the world's best basketball player. They rolled past the Rockets into the second round in the NBA playoffs. Andy Scholes has it in the bleacher report, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:21:43] BERMAN: No Steph Curry, no problem for the Warriors. They trounced the Houston Rockets to move on to round two of the playoffs.

I know, Andy Scholes, this is difficult for you.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it definitely is, guys.

You know, the Warriors made it look easy. You know what? The Rockets helped them make it look easy. Houston with the worst team chemistry you're ever going to see for a playoffs team.

Just look at the first quarter. James Harden scored 18 points. No one else in the Rockets even made a shot. That's right, the rest of team went 0 for 15 in the first quarter.

Klay Thompson, meanwhile for the Warriors, he was on fire on the entire game. Hitting threes from everywhere. He had 27 points. Check out Steph Curry on the bench. Sure he should pick up green.

Warriors win this one by 33 points. They face the winner between the Clippers and Blazers. Portland up 3-2 after a win last night.

Hornets and Heat with game five last night. Under a minute to go, Charlotte down one. Courtney Lee knocked down the three. The Heat had one last chance, but Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade both have the shot blocked. Wade was pretty made. He thought he was fouled on that play.

Hornets win, 90-88. They now lead the series 3-2 after losing the first two games of that series. Now, we have one game tonight on TNT. The Celtics are going to try to keep their season alive as they host the Hawks in game six of their series.

Phillies is playing at the Nationals last night. Cesar Hernandez, (INAUDIBLE) this pitch in the seventh inning. Check this out. His shattered bat gets stuck in the high protective netting and you can see the jagged edge on the bat. It actually got stuck in the expanded netting that was put in place this season. Good thing that bat did not make its way into the stands.

All right. The wait is almost over for NFL fans. Tonight is the NFL draft. The St. Louis Rams are officially on the clock. They will take a quarterback with that first pick. Now, they are not giving hints, but the heavy favorite to go number one is Cal's Jared Goff. But North Dakota State's Garson Wentz also in the discussion.

Now, the Eagles traded up to the second pick. They're expected to pick whichever quarterback that the Rams do not.

And, John, there's good news and bad news for you tonight. The bad news is the Patriots don't have a first round pick because of deflategate. But, the good news is hey, you don't have to stay up to watch the draft.

BERMAN: Now, I know. Actually, the draft is one of my guilty pleasures. It's a dividing line between my wife and me. I love watching the draft. She cannot understand why. I mean, any sports, she sort of gets why I watch sports. But why are you watching the draft? Yes.

SCHOLES: I love the draft as well. I wish there wasn't so much time in between each pick in the first round. It seems like it takes forever.

BERMAN: Forever.

ROMANS: All right, guys.

BERMAN: Thanks so much, Andy. Romans has had enough already on the draft. You can see.

ROMANS: Blah, blah, blah.

All right. Thanks, guys. Ted Cruz hoping to energize his campaign by naming a running mate

before he's even secured the nomination. New reaction to the Cruz- Fiorina ticket, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:29:00] ROMANS: The Republican race for president shaking up. Donald Trump with this major foreign policy speech. The world reacting this morning as Ted Cruz tries to energize his campaign with an early vice presidential pick.

BERMAN: And after a string of losses, Bernie Sanders cuts hundreds of jobs in his campaign.

ROMANS: Breaking overnight, the DEA investigating Prince's death. Did prescription painkillers play a role?

Welcome back to EARLY START this morning. I'm Christine Romans.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman, 29 minutes past the hour right now.

This morning, a new running mate for the candidate who isn't winning and new speech and maybe a new style from the guy who is. Donald Trump trying the teleprompter and delivering what his campaign called a major foreign policy address.

And Ted Cruz with a fairly unprecedented move of naming a vice presidential pick months before the convention and while he is running a distant second place. That pick you see right there -- Carly Fiorina.

Now, last night, Donald Trump, he spoke about this. He was careful not to criticize Carly Fiorina herself, but he did mock what Ted Cruz is doing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He has set a record, though. He is the first presidential candidate in the history of this country who's mathematically eliminated from becoming president who chose a vice presidential candidate, OK? It's a record.

(END VIDEO CLIP)