Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Countdown Clock for Crucial Indiana Primary Today; Sanders Hoping for Victory Today; Obama Reveals Challenges For His Successors; Syria Ceasefire Collapsing; Beyonce and Prince Dominate Music Charts. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired May 03, 2016 - 04:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:30:50] ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: We've got the countdown clock ready because in just hours, voting begins in the critical Indiana primary election. Donald Trump declaring the race over if he wins. And Bernie Sanders escalates attacks on Hillary Clinton.

Will tonight become a turning point in the race for president?

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Alison Kosik.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Miguel "do or die in the primaries" Marquez. It is 31 minutes past the hour.

Just hours now, voters head to the polls in Indiana. The front runner is trying to close the deal, seal in that state's crucial primary.

Donald Trump campaigning in Indiana, predicting a huge, as he would say, huge victory that would crush the White House hope of rivals Ted Cruz and John Kasich.

CNN's Jim Acosta is with the Trump campaign in Indiana. He has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Miguel and Alison, Donald Trump is declaring this race for the GOP nomination over if he wins the Indiana primary. Joined by some of the biggest sports heroes all day long, Trump hit Ted Cruz hard in South Bend, the home of Notre Dame, teasing the Texas senator for not assisting his running mate Carly Fiorina when she stumbled off a campaign stage over the weekend. But Trump said he is ready to turn to Hillary Clinton in the general election campaign.

Here is more of what he had to say.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If we win, it's over. And then I can focus -- then I don't have to worry about Lyin' Ted Cruz. And I don't care less if he endorses me or does -- I couldn't care less. But I don't have to worry about Lyin' Ted Cruz. We wouldn't have to worry about Kasich who's 1-44.

ACOSTA: A top Trump campaign official tells me they believe a big win in Indiana will force Cruz to start rethinking his future in this race, predicting the money will start drying up for the Texas senator.

Cruz is vowing to stay in the race as long as he remains viable -- Miguel and Alison.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOSIK: All right. And as you just heard from Jim, Ted Cruz is not giving up on his bid to stop Trump. No surrender just yet. Cruz has no path to victory outside of a contested convention. So, he's been barnstorming Indiana, a state that is critical to his hope.

Cruz spoke to CNN's Dana Bash about why he believes he still has a chance at the Republican nomination. He joins us now from Indianapolis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Miguel and Alison, the thing to keep in mind about today's primary here in Indiana today is it is in no way going to get Ted Cruz the nomination before the convention. This is all about just giving Cruz the ability to say that he has the potential to have a fight at the convention in Cleveland.

So, that is part of what I talked to him about when he was standing with the governor of Indiana, Mike Pence, who endorsed him and I put the numbers to Ted Cruz. I said that from now on, Donald Trump just needs 47 percent of the remaining delegates to win and Cruz needs 132 percent. Meaning, it's mathematically impossible.

So, why is he saying he is sure it will be a contested convention? Here is how that conversation went.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Dana, nobody is going to get to 1,237. I'm not going to get to it but neither is Donald Trump. And I'll tell you, I think Indiana is going to be a critical state in that. Indiana is voting tomorrow and I'm encouraged that we're seeing conservatives come together, including especially Governor Mike Pence.

BASH: What makes you sure he won't get the delegates? I mean, getting 47 percent of the remaining delegates isn't inconceivable at all.

CRUZ: Well, he hasn't gotten 47 percent to date. That's better than he's done. And I'll tell you --

BASH: But he sure did well last week.

CRUZ: You are right. He did well in his home state and he did well in the adjoining states. He won five states last week. But I'll tell you, in the three weeks that preceded that, I won five states in a row, starting with Utah and then North Dakota and then Wisconsin and then Colorado, and then Wyoming -- 1.3 million people voted in those states.

BASH: The bottom line for Ted Cruz, is that he gotten a lot of what he wished for, for almost a year -- a one-on-one chance to try to beat Donald Trump mano-a-mano because John Kasich is effectively not campaigning here in Indiana, fertile ground, which Indiana is for him.

[04:35:03] He's even got a running mate who is relatively popular, at least seems to be here in Carly Fiorina -- however unconventional that announcement was last week.

So, he has laid everything, all of the stakes have been raised by him and his campaign for Indiana. So, if he doesn't win, that is why people in the never Trump community, people who have been helping to pour money in against Donald Trump privately are telling me and others that they think maybe this is the end of the road for them, which could mean that it would be much more difficult for Ted Cruz to continue, even though his campaign is insisting, even if he doesn't win here in Indiana, today, he is not going to get out of the race, but getting out of the race and continuing on nominally, they are different things.

While I toss it back to you, I just want to give you just one more anecdote. This room is relatively empty. It was filled with people who came to hear Ted Cruz. And there were a remarkable number of people who said to me that, many supporters, of course, but other who said they weren't sure they were going to vote for him because they don't want a contested convention. And a vote for Ted Cruz, by definition, is a contested convention, because he can't get the nomination outright. And those kind of calculations going into voter's minds today could make this race very different from what perhaps Ted Cruz wants -- Miguel and Alison.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: Our thanks to Dana Bash.

On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders hoping for a win today in Indiana today, polling a close second to Hillary Clinton. Sanders has been making a case to Hoosier voters, the same case he hopes to get superdelegates to turn around and back him. Namely he will be the strongest candidate in the general election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Every single national poll, every single poll in a battleground state like Indiana, you know what those polls show? They show that by far, Bernie Sanders is the strongest candidate to defeat Donald Trump.

(CHEERS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: Senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny is traveling with the Sanders campaign. He has the latest from Indianapolis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPODENT: Miguel and Alison, Bernie Sanders campaigning until the very last minute before this Indiana primary. He is looking for another win. Hillary Clinton has won five out of the last six contests. Bernie Sanders is looking to turn around the momentum.

One thing he cannot turn around is the math. Hillary Clinton has a commanding lead in pledged delegates, even more so in superdelegates. But Bernie Sanders still making the argument he will go forward until the California primary and perhaps even until the convention. Now, he was campaigning across the state of Indiana on the eve of the primary and not holding back on Hillary Clinton at all. Still calling on her to release those paid speeches to Goldman Sachs, still calling her out support for her Iraq war vote.

And the crowds were cheering along the way here. Now, how does Indiana primary turns out tonight will help decide how much the Clinton campaign is going to have to fight back. They've already been trying to turn their attention to Donald Trump, turn their attention on the fall campaign. But if Bernie Sanders wins here in Indiana, this is one problem the Clinton campaign wants to sprint through the finish line, not limp toward here.

So, the Clinton campaign is still holding out for hopefully a win. But Bernie Sanders could win Indiana and that could slow down her march to the nomination -- Miguel and Alison.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: Jeff Zeleny for us, thank you very much.

Hillary Clinton looking past Bernie Sanders to the general. She's campaigning not in Indiana, but in Appalachia, making several stops in West Virginia.

Clinton felt the wrath of coal miners angry over her fast remarks to CNN that she would, quote, put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business as part of her clean energy plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just want to know how you can say you will put coal miners out of -- out of jobs, and then come in here and tell us how you're going to be our friends, because those people out there don't see you as a friend.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What I said was totally out of context from what I meant. I have been talking about helping coal country for a long time. And I did put out a plan last summer. And it was a misstatement because what I was saying is that the way things are going now, we will continue to lose jobs. That's what I meant to say. I think that that seems to be supported by the facts.

I didn't mean that we were going to do it. What I said was that is going to happen unless we take action to try to help and prevent it.

I do feel a little bit sad and sorry that I gave folks the reason or the excuse to be so upset with me, because that is not what I intended at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: Now, Clinton does acknowledge she has a steep climb to win in West Virginia, in the primary and the general election. She said she had a moral obligation to help coal workers, regardless.

KOSIK: Time for an early start on your money. Stock futures are in the red, as investors take a breather after the solid gains that we saw yesterday. Oil is up. European stocks, they're diving lower. Asia finishing with losses overnight.

And gas prices, they are at their highest level in six months. AAA saying the national average for a gallon of regular is now sitting at $2.22. That's up 8 cents in the past week and 16 cents over the past month. Still, it's well below prices this time last year.

[04:40:03] So, why are prices rising?

Crude oil is the driver behind those gas prices. It's rebounded after crashing earlier in the year. Plus, the summer blend of gasoline that stations use is a little more expensive and demand is high.

The low cost is encouraging drivers to take more trips. So, analysts are saying prices could actually take a little higher over the summer, but likely won't experience prolong run-up. It shows you, you know, don't get too used to those lower gas prices. They creep up on you and they suddenly drive up your car and you look and think --

MARQUEZ: I have been filling 55 gallon barrels with cheap gas. So --

KOSIK: You're hoarding them in your garage.

MARQUEZ: Hoarding them exactly.

KOSIK: You have a garage.

MARQUEZ: I'm very sensible.

A CNN exclusive: President Obama revealing the biggest challenge his successor will face in the war on terror.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: Welcome back.

[04:45:00] President Obama revealing some of the challenges ahead for his successor in the war on terror. In a CNN exclusive, the president tells our Peter Bergen the next commander in chief will most likely turn to the special forces and intelligence gathering model his administration used in the raid against Osama bin Laden. The president also identifying one area his successor should be worried about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Because of the power of social media, there is a mechanism to recruit volunteers that are located in the West, that are much more difficult, precisely because they don't engage in the same kind of planning. And what that means is, is that we've got to continue to be vigilant. It means we have to go after ISIL in its core where it allows itself to maintain the illusion that somehow it's on the march.

It's going to be important for us ultimately to take them out of Mosul and take them out of Raqqah, make sure they don't have the safe havens where they can pretend that they're a state in some fashion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: In the "AC360" special, "We Got Him: Obama, Bin Laden and the War on Terror", the president said large scale military operations like sending troops to Afghanistan and then Iraq has some current candidates are suggesting in his words make the fight against extremism harder.

MARQUEZ: President Obama visits Flint on Wednesday and Michigan Governor Rick Snyder will not only be there to greet him, he is also asking for a private meeting, insisting he wants to work together with the White House to sold Flint's water contamination crisis and improve the quality of life there. The White House is not saying whether the president will make time for the governor.

KOSIK: Detroit public schools could be closed again today. The teachers union urging members to call out sick for a second straight day. The district has already warned the union it won't be able to meet payroll past June. Union leaders are calling on state lawmakers to pass a $715 million bailout plan to keep teacher paychecks flowing through the summer.

MARQUEZ: And authorities say there will be ample security when six more members of the Rhoden family are buried this morning in Ohio. Eight family members were found shot in the head in four different homes last month in what police are calling a sophisticated preplanned operation. Hundreds of marijuana plants found on the Rhoden's property, but authorities are not releasing a motive for the killings or saying whether the remaining family members are facing an ongoing threat.

KOSIK: A special administrator appointed by the courts to handle the estate of the late entertainer, Prince. The singer's family was in court Monday trying to determine the fate of the $300 million estate as well as a vault rumored to contain thousands of unreleased Prince songs. So far, no sign of a will, and if none is found, prince's sister and half siblings inherit his money and possessions.

MARQUEZ: The former pharmaceutical CEO who notoriously hiked up the price of a life-saving drug by 5,000 percent is back in court this morning in New York. Martin Shkreli faces fraud charges and possible jail time for allegedly transferring funds between companies illegally and lying to investors. He denies any wrongdoing. Shkreli is best known for raising the price of cancer and AIDS drug Daraprim from $13.50 a pill to 750 bucks for a single pill in an overnight move. Amazing.

KOSIK: Outrageous.

MARQUEZ: Outrageous. Beyond.

KOSIK: Severe storms, heavy rain and possible flash flooding in the South. Let's bring in meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.

Good morning.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Alison and Miguel, good morning. Watching the thunderstorms pop up in the early morning hours and a quick moving disturbance in the afternoon hours.

The Storm Prediction Center has put 9.5 million people in line for some threat for severe weather. On the scale of one to five, we are talking about a 2. Some damaging winds and some hail possible in portions of the Carolinas, Charlotte in particular.

Beyond this, we bring in multiple blasts of cooler air. Pretty cool for this time of year. Especially when you look at the temperature trend. In fact, in places like Chicago, even places like New York City, some of the high temperatures are more in line with what you expect around St. Patrick's Day.

The mid-50s in New York City. Certainly not around Cinco de Mayo in the next couple days. Chicago's temperatures at 67 degrees. Slated to cool off in the coming days. In Chicago, that's a March 28th temperature happening here in early May.

[04:50:03] But quickly warms up back in the next couple days. New York City looks to warm up over the next several days, temps there into the 60s, Chicago, almost 80 by later in the week -- guys.

KOSIK: All right. Pedram, thanks for that.

Stocks jump on the first trading day of May. Will investors make it two in a row? We will get an early start on your money, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARQUEZ: With a nine-week-old cease-fire in Syria completely falling apart, the United States and Russia say they are trying to bring peace and end the hostilities in Aleppo. Secretary of State John Kerry meeting with Syria's special envoy to the U.N. before making a lengthy phone call to Russia's foreign minister overnight.

Let's go to Moscow and bring in CNN senior international correspondent Matthew Chance.

Matthew, I take it unless the Americans and the Russians get heavily involved and specifically if the Russians don't stop bombing, the violence isn't going to end anytime soon.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, that's the big question. That's what it all revolves around, whether the Russians, in fact, can be convinced by the United States and by its allies to put enough pressure on their allies, the Syrian government headed by Bashar al-Assad to ease back on their offensive in and around the city of Aleppo where hundreds of thousands are coming under attack by the Syrian government for the most part.

Now, backed by Russian infrastructure and to some degree Russian air support as well, particularly over the last ten days, hundreds of people killed in Aleppo. There's a hospital has been attacked, a pediatric hospital where 50 people have been killed.

And it's outrage like that that bolstered the secretary of state to try and push for a renewed peace effort in Syria to try to bring all sides away from the battlefield and to the negotiating table. The emphasis moved to Moscow today because the U.N. special representative to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, is in town, is meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to see what the Russians say about this and again how much pressure they can put on their allies in Syria.

MARQUEZ: You are watching some of that video of that hospital as it got hit, just absolutely heartbreaking.

Thank you for keeping the tabs for us. Matthew Chance in Moscow.

KOSIK: NATO is considering a plan to deploy thousands of new troops in Poland and Baltic States to deter Russian aggression. Defense Secretary Ash Carter is not saying which countries might contribute troops to the mission, but a "Wall Street Journal" report says half the troops come from the U.S. and half would be provided by Germany and Britain. A final decision on bolstering troop levels will be made this summer at a NATO summit in Warsaw.

MARQUEZ: Now, the Marine Corps is confirming that it's looking into claims that one of the men raising the American flag in that iconic World War II photo taken at Iwo Jima is incorrectly identified. The picture was snapped in 1945 by an "Associated Press" photographer and became the basis for the Iwo Jima memorial outside of Washington, D.C. Now, now two amateur history buffs claimed the marine identified as John Bradley is actually Harold Henry Schultz, a private first class naval corpsman from Detroit who died in 1995.

Amazing.

KOSIK: Let's get a check on your money. Stock futures are pointing lower this morning. The market posted solid gains yesterday. Oil prices are higher. Stock markets in Europe are down, and shares in Asia posting losses overnight.

Best investment of the year, so far could be gold. The precious metal up 22 percent in 2016. It crossed $1,300 an ounce for the first time in a year. Yesterday, that performance is better than the stock market, bonds or other commodities. The rise came as investors dumped stocks and bought gold as a safer investment. The latest rally is due to the following dollar. A week dollar is

good for gold because it makes less expensive for foreign buyers making it a good long-term value.

KOSIK: Interesting developments at the top of the music charts. Beyonce's album "Lemonade" grabbing the top spot last week, selling 653,000 copies. And the rest of the top five makes up mostly Prince. Greatest hits album checks in at number two. Followed by "The Purple Rain" sound track. Rihanna is at number five.

And despite popularity of streaming, it shows that fans are still willing to buy albums. Beyonce's album debuted with an HBO special and only streaming on Tidal, which is owned by her husband Jay-Z. Tidal also has a lock on streaming Prince's music as he signed an exclusive deal with the service.

MARQUEZ: I was going to get a gold grill, but I'll put that off now.

KOSIK: Now, it would be too expensive.

MARQUEZ: Gold --

KOSIK: You shouldn't have waited.

MARQUEZ: I really messed up.

Oh, guess what? EARLY START continues now.

(MUSIC)

KOSIK: We've got the countdown clock going, because in just hours, Indiana voters head to the polls in what could be a turning point in the race for president. Can frontrunners Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton lock up their nominations or will a surprise upset shake up the race?

Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Alison Kosik.

MARQUEZ: And I am Miguel Marquez. It is Tuesday, May 3rd. It is 5:00 a.m. here on the East Coast.

Just hours from now, voters head to the polls in Indiana. Frontrunners trying to seal the deal and close it up in the primary. Donald Trump campaign in the Hoosier state, predicting a huge victory as the Donald might say, that would crush the White House hopes of rivals Ted Cruz and John Kasich.