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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Candidates Fight for Indiana; Obama Reveals Challenges For His Successors; Syria Ceasefire Collapsing; NBA Playoffs Final Play Controversy. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired May 03, 2016 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN ANCHOR: 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.
[05:00:06] 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)
ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Jim Acosta, thanks for that.
On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders hoping for a win today in Indiana. Polling a close second to Hillary Clinton. Sanders has been making his case to Hoosier voters. The same case he hopes will persuade Democratic superdelegates to back him, namely that 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)
KOSIK: 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.
Joining us this morning to assess and work out all the complications of the primary fight in Indiana, "Newsday" Ellis Henican, co- author of "The Party's Over: How the Extreme Right Hijacked the GOP and I Became a Democrat."
Thank you very much for coming in.
ELLIS HENICAN, NEWSDAY: Good morning, guys. It's Indiana day. (CROSSTALK)
MARQUEZ: Crucial primary, where it will all be over.
HENICAN: How super is that Tuesday?
MARQUEZ: It is totally Super Tuesday.
HENICAN: It's pretty good Tuesday.
MARQUEZ: It all comes down to the numbers. Donald Trump has over 1,000 delegates. Ted Cruz. Dana Bash talked to Ted Cruz yesterday. I want to play that sound and chat with you about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Will you support his candidacy, if Donald Trump gets the delegates before Cleveland?
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.
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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: All right. So if he walks away from this -- we have 57 delegates up for grab. He is looking at 1,050. I mean, he is going to close it and you have 450 left. He has every chance of winning 1,237 by the time we get to California.
HENICAN: You have been doing some mathematical analysis --
(CROSSTALK)
MARQUEZ: It hurts my head.
[05:05:00] HENICAN: But your analysis happens to be correct.
I mean, listen, this will not absolutely mathematically seal anything today in Indiana. But if Donald does like we expect, California for him will be a slow-walk in the sunshine. If Cruz surprises us somehow, then he's going to have to fight for every congressional district. That is what it comes down to.
KOSIK: What's the minimum number that Trump needs to get in Indiana where he can feel pretty darn good as he walked into California?
HENICAN: You know what? If he gets most of them. He is in such a commanding position at this point.
There's mathematical analysis that Miguel has been doing. He has so many advantages. It's -- Alison, he is sliding in.
KOSIK: You know, and I think Cruz is feeling this change of sort of power in the delegates on Trump's side, because there seems to be the change in the Cruz campaign. There is something that struck me yesterday. You know, seeing Ted Cruz spa with a Trump supporter on live TV. Asking him, why do you like Trump?
I want to go to a piece of that. We'll come back and talk about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRUZ: Sir, America is a better country --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without you.
CRUZ: Thank you for those kind sentiments. Let me point out I have treated you respectfully the entire time. A question that everyone here should ask --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you Canadian? Are you Canadian?
CRUZ: Do you want your kids -- do you want your kids repeating the words of Donald Trump?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: Come on. I feel desperation.
HENICAN: Actually, I think he handled that exchange pretty well. And I give him credit for doing it because a lot of candidates won't wander into the other side. Here is how you know we're at the point of death rattle in the Cruz campaign, right? The candidate remains sunny and optimistic, absolutely adamant. But all of his aides are saying it is not looking too good.
MARQUEZ: Well, you have Dana Bash reporting the stop Trump campaign are looking at pulling their money out. You have the metaphorical situation where Carly Fiorina falls off the stage. It reminded me of Bob Dole during an earlier campaign where that sort of set of everything. It just looks bad.
HENICAN: Yes, although in 2016, the tendency is never quit. I mean, these guys look at campaigns and say what would I be doing if I weren't here? Who has been having more fun? John Kasich and Ted Cruz or Rand Paul?
You know, I'm out there. Maybe I'll have impact. I'll raise money. I'll keep my name in front of folks. Why not ride it even if you will lose. KOSIK: What about bringing the unifying, that kumbaya feeling back to
the Republican Party? You know, clearly, Cruz won't be backing trump. At some point, there has to be a surrender from Cruz.
HENICAN: Well, you know, it's interesting, Dana Bash is a great interrogator. She did what she could to squeeze that answer out of him. So, if he wins, will you back him? You can't get an answer at this point.
MARQUEZ: Yes, I can't -- it has become so rancorous clearly between them.
Somewhat less so on the Democratic side. Hillary Clinton skipping over Indiana and going to Appalachia, to West Virginia, talking to coal miners. Here's what she said to them.
(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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: Big oops.
MARQUEZ: This struck me as very Bill Clinton-esque, going to sort of a Sister Soulja moment where goes to the enemy and you go to enemy territory and you look brave doing it.
HENICAN: Yes, it's a good technique. We have not seen enough of that from Hillary. But here's one difference, Bill was very popular in Appalachia and Hillary, it's kind of Trump country this year, honestly.
MARQUEZ: Well, but West Virginia has been going that way for some time.
HENICAN: Partly. But you are right about the Democratic race. It feels a little more alive. Bernie has a tremendously steep climb.
MARQUEZ: He will not quit. Nor should he.
HENICAN: He has been surging a little in Indiana. It is not impossible as we sit here on Tuesday morning that he could win or come very close tonight with a victory in Indiana. The latest polls within the margin of error. Down a bit. He is still raising big bucks. Don't count him out out yet.
KOSIK: We're going to watching the numbers and I know you're going to be counting them up.
[05:10:02] MARQUEZ: I will be on the math. I'm your math nerd of the day.
HENICAN: Do you use a pencil or calculator?
MARQUEZ: I use an old calculator with the thing and tape.
KOSIK: All right. Ellis, thanks very much. You are coming back in a little bit to talk more.
All right. The economy and jobs will likely be the top issue for voters in Indiana today. And the state has unique picture. Indiana's jobless rate matches the national average at 5 percent. The median household income is over $48,000. That is below the nationwide average.
Check their home prices. Average single family home in Indiana is at $119,500. That's almost $100,000 less than the national average. Manufacturing is one of Indiana's top industries giving it deep connections to the auto industry.
Retail trade and health care. Those sectors employ hundreds of thousands of workers in the state. Mining is very important, although it employs a smaller number of workers than other industry. Indiana produces a lot of coal, limestone, sand and gravel. You really see the economy resonating strongly for the voters in Indiana.
MARQUEZ: Interesting, because you would not think so given the way the various candidates talk about it.
KOSIK: Right. 14 percent of all employed workers are in manufacturing. So, that's a big deal.
MARQUEZ: President Obama revealing the biggest challenge ahead for his successor in the war on terror. A CNN exclusive coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:15:36] KOSIK: 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: 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. Not the last of that argument, I am sure.
KOSIK: I'm still thinking, there could be the will on that vault. We never know. But --
MARQUEZ: You want the vault? We are all fascinated by the vault.
KOSIK: If it has all those songs in it, yes, I'd say so.
All right. A wild finish in game two of the NBA playoff series between the Spurs and Thunder. The refs admitting, hey, they got it wrong. Who benefitted from the blown call?
Coy Wire with this morning's bleacher report, that's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:23:13] KOSIK: A big time controversy and crazy ending in the NBA playoffs last night.
MARQUEZ: It does make it crazy when you say crazy like that.
Coy Wire -- speaking of crazy, Coy Wire has more in the bleacher report. Hello there, Coy. COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miguel and Alison.
Something askew the last 13 seconds of the Spurs game may be the most peculiar in playoff history. Spurs down a point, and Thunder's Dion Waiters trying to inbound a ball. Pierce throw an elbow at Manu Ginobili. No call.
Spurs intercept the pass. Mills gets a shot from the corner. Misses the three. All kinds of contact under the rim.
But watch this inbound play again, guys. Waiters clearly shoves him.
Check this out, the refs admitted after the game as Alison mentioned that they have never seen anything like this before and missed the call. Should be an offense foul. Thunder hang on for the win, 98-97. Now, the series tied at 1-1 and it is headed back to OKC.
Hawks and Cavs, game one of their playoff series. Cleveland coming out and firing on all cylinders, hand shakes and all. Third quarter, Kyrie Irving finding LeBron James in transition. That's pretty. That's really pretty.
Now the hawks would rally late in this one making it a game late. The Irving connection too strong for the ATL. LeBron real strong. Cavs win 104-93. Two more games on TNT tonight. The Heat and Raptors at 8:00 and Trailblazers and Warriors at 10:30.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
WIRE: You see the joy on those men's faces there. That's the moment that the biggest underdogs in sports history became champions.
[05:25:02] Leicester City. A 5,000 to 1 underdog at the start of the season. But they got a little help last night when Chelsea scored to tie Tottenham late in the match. With that tie, Leicester City became champs for the first time in the 132-year history.
Again, arguably the biggest sports upset of all time. Bigger than the miracle on ice at the 1980 Olympics when Team USA beat the Soviet Union in hockey. Bigger than 42-1 underdog Buster Douglas defeating Mike Tyson. It's bigger than Rocky Balboa knocking out Drago in "Rocky IV".
KOSIK: That's big.
WIRE: That's real big, crazy big as Alison was saying. They were so bad last year, Leicester City was, they were almost relegated to the lower league. That is equal to the major league team being sent to the minors. Now, one of the most improbable champions in the history of sports, guys.
MARQUEZ: Just incredible. Leicester City, winning in a tie like that and with another tie that actually puts them on top, it just doesn't seem very satisfying.
WIRE: There were a couple more games left and they probably would have done it anyway, Miguel. It is a feel good city.
MARQUEZ: All right. Leicester City, go!
WIRE: There we go.
MARQUEZ: All right. Thanks, Coy.
WIRE: You're welcome.
MARQUEZ: In just a short time, a half hour from now, the first polls in Indiana open. Voters get to cast their ballots for the race for president. Will Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton keep on winning or will a surprise upset shake up the race?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
