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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Trump & Ryan Tout Party Unity; Sanders Questions Fairness Of Delegate Process; House Speaker: "I Was Very Encouraged"; Syria Ceasefire Expires; Facebook CEO Says No Evidence Of Wrongdoing In Investigation; Jihadist Recruiters At Work; Congress Approves TSA's Request For Extra Funds. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired May 13, 2016 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:31:00] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump and the Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, presenting a united front. Republicans praising Trump after a day of meetings on Capitol Hill, but that key endorsement -- will it follow?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: Bernie Sanders on the campaign trail today, making the case he's the best Democrat to take on Donald Trump.

HOWELL: New this morning, the White House ordering public schools across the country to accommodate transgender students.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm George Howell in for John Berman this Friday the 13th. If you're superstitious or suspicious of bad luck, here you go.

KOSIK: Good luck today. Good morning to you. I'm Alison Kosik. I'm in for Christine Romans. It's 30 minutes past the hour and up first, Donald Trump and Paul Ryan moving toward unifying the Republican Party, but still no endorsement from the House Speaker.

The GOP heavyweight hashing it out at RNC headquarters in Washington, D.C. hoping to find common ground. Both men emerging from their closed-door meeting with a message of optimism about uniting the Republican Party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't mind going through a little bit of a slow process. It's a very big subject and we have a lot of things. I think for the most part we agree on a lot of different items and we're getting there.

REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), HOUSE SPEAKER: The process of unifying the Republican Party, which just finished a primary about a week ago, perhaps one of the most divisive primaries in memory, takes some time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: RNC Chairman Reince Priebus was in the room, as well, with Ryan and Trump. He says the two men agreed to speak again soon, maybe even today. We get more now from CNN's Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: George and Alison, it's hard to believe that just one week ago we were all talking about the Republican Party split straight down the middle, starting at the top with Paul Ryan, the House Speaker, and the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump.

Well, fast forward to now we are ending the week in a very different place, thanks in large part, almost exclusively, to Donald Trump's trip here to Washington yesterday. His meeting with Paul Ryan at the behest of and with the help of the RNC chair, Reince Priebus. This was the first of several meetings that Trump had. It was just the three of them.

It was a chance for Ryan and Trump to get to know each other. They hadn't spent time together at all. Then it was expanded to the rest of the House Republican leadership, and then later Trump was able to go over and talk to Senate Republican leaders.

At the end day unity was the name of the game. This is not to say there aren't deep differences. There very much are. Paul Ryan, for example, has still not endorsed and he still very much disagrees with the tone that Trump had taken during the primaries.

He very much disagrees on really core policy issues from immigrations to trade to how to fix the entitlements in the country, Medicare and Social Security. But when it comes to trying to heal an incredibly fractured Republican Party and a primary system -- and a primary process, I should say --

That was a lot tougher than a lot of people realized, coming out with a nominee that nobody here in Washington in their wildest dreams would have imagined. This week ended a lot different again than last week -- George and Alison.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Dana, thank you. Now, turning to the Democrats, Hillary Clinton staying focused on Donald Trump and the general election. But, Bernie Sanders is keeping the case on that he is the best hope for the party to hold onto the White House. Sanders is hitting the campaign trail hard, predicting a contested convention this summer. CNN's Jeff Zeleny has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: George and Alison, Bernie Sanders is campaigning today in North Dakota. It's part of his pledge to fight for every vote in every state. This week alone has taken him from Montana to South Dakota, where he saw Mount Rushmore for the first time, and then on to North Dakota.

This weekend, Kentucky as well as Puerto Rico. He's campaigning in every state remaining. There are 11 contests remaining in this race. Eight states, three territories, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia here. Now, Bernie Sanders is far behind in delegates but he is increasingly making the argument that superdelegates, those party officials, should be coming to his side, particularly from states that he actually won, like New Hampshire, West Virginia, Minnesota.

He won big majorities in those states but the superdelegates are siding with Hillary Clinton. He says, point blank, that's unfair. But he's increasingly started talking more about Donald Trump and the need to defeat him, no matter who the Democratic nominee is. Let's listen to what he said last night in South Dakota.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am not here to say that Hillary Clinton can't defeat Donald Trump. I absolutely believe that she can. But I believe, quite honestly, that Bernie Sanders is the stronger candidate.

ZELENY: So, it is clear that Bernie Sanders is going after any of those voters who may be disaffected Bernie Sanders supporters. Donald Trump has been saying for weeks now at his rallies that Bernie Sanders has been treated unfairly. He's been trying to win some of those Bernie Sanders voters over should he happen to not win the nomination.

Bernie Sanders making it clear that he will do what it takes to defeat Donald Trump. That he will be on the Democratic side here. So, one of Hillary Clinton's biggest, most secret weapons in the nominating fight could actually be Bernie Sanders if they resolve their differences in the final month here after these primary contests end -- George and Alison.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOSIK: All right, Jeff Zeleny, thanks for that. Let's break down the races with CNN's political reporter Tal Kopan. Thanks so much for joining us this morning.

TAL KOPAN, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning.

KOSIK: So, the big meeting happened at the RNC headquarters, just a few steps away from Capitol Hill. There was a crush of media. There was some protestors. Now, we didn't hear much from Donald Trump, at least talking to the media yesterday, but we did hear from Paul Ryan. He did step in front of the mic and here's what he said right after the meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN: This is our first meeting. I was very encouraged with this meeting, but this is a process. It takes a little time. You don't put it together in 45 minutes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Now, he did come out with a statement with Donald Trump saying this. "The United States cannot afford another four years of the Obama White House, which is what Hillary Clinton represents. That is why it's critical that Republicans unite around our shared principles, advance a conservative agenda, and do all we can to win this fall."

So, from what I can tell from that statement and what you heard him say before, he's saying this is a process. Isn't it obvious that they're going to each come halfway? They're going to meet in the middle and hold hands because this winds up being, really, a prolonged dance of drama to an end game that we kind of know what's going to happen in the effort to beat Hillary Clinton.

KOPAN: Yes. This season has been pretty much a lesson in faint praise. We've heard so many various endorsements that didn't quite sound like such. You know, a lot of this is about leverage. It's about making sure that the voice of Paul Ryan is still an important voice in the Republican Party, even as Donald Trump is that party's standard bearer.

You described it as a dance and that's exactly the word that I was going to use, as well. This is a negotiating process which, of course, Donald Trump should be familiar with. It's the way that the party comes to an agreement over what Donald Trump is going to run on, what the party is comfortable with, repeating down ballot.

And then, giving himself an out in terms of Paul Ryan. Giving himself the opportunity. If he really feels like Donald Trump just doesn't show that he can tame down some of his more inflammatory instincts, it gives Paul Ryan the opportunity to say you know what? I didn't come around to a full endorsement, and it protects some of those vulnerable congress members running for reelection.

HOWELL: Tal, let's talk about the man who his job is to try to square this big circle, Reince Priebus. Here's what he had to say the other day. It was a good day for him. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REINCE PRIEBUS, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: I can just tell you that there is a lot of agreement on almost all things that were discussed. But, you know, they're going to continue talking and it was a cooperative, good-spirited meeting with good chemistry and I can just tell you I don't think it could have turned out any better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: So, Priebus putting a good face on this and, obviously, there was communication the other day between these two men but the question. As they continue to meet will they start to see similarities? Will they have similar views because right now many of their views on trade and other issues are so different?

KOPAN: Well, and they put out a statement that made sure to emphasize few differences. They are trying to characterize their differences as narrow and limited, and emphasizing that they probably agree on a lot of things. The party is being careful here and it's understandable.

[05:40:00] Donald Trump has brought a lot of energy to the Republican base. Brought in a number of new voters, set some records in the primary season. The party cannot ignore that and they want to capture that excitement.

It's the same crisis that's happening on the Democratic side of the Bernie Sanders supporters, and how do you get those people energized, even if the candidate doesn't end up as the nominee? In this case, the candidate did end up as the nominee but the Republican Party wants to reshape him in their image instead of in his. And so, they're trying to figure out how do they go about that process?

KOSIK: When do you think Trump will get an actual endorsement, though?

KOPAN: Well, I wouldn't put my money on anything at this point. We'll see. You know, probably by the convention the party will want that to be quite the show and this sort of culmination of this whole process. The coronation of Donald Trump as the standard bearer. I would be surprised if after the convention the people who are going to endorse haven't come around by then.

But, a lot of these people are going to be keeping on the polling, keeping an eye on how Trump comes off in some of these rallies. They're biding their time and they're going to give themselves an out if they feel like they need it.

HOWELL: It will be interesting to see as the party coalesces and also interesting to see how Democrats will play this because, again, there is so much tape of so many different things that Donald Trump has said. Will that have an impact? The impact that I think Democrats are hoping for. We'll have to wait and see.

KOPAN: Yes.

KOSIK: All right, Tal Kopan, thanks so much for joining us this morning.

KOPAN: Thank you.

KOSIK: Crisis in Syria. A ceasefire collapsing, peace talks going nowhere. CNN takes you there live, next.

[05:42:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:46:00] HOWELL: Welcome back. In Syria, intense fighting erupting overnight. A ceasefire in the war-torn country now expired and peace talks are facing difficult challenges with Syria's information minister telling CNN there are "terrorists" sitting at the table.

CNN is live in Syria. Our senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen on the ground in Damascus. Fred, it's good to have you. Does it feel like we're back at square one here? The opposition and the U.S. are wanting the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad out of the equation. The Syrian government saying that's not even an option and the fighting continues there. FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, George, it certainly appears as though the talks have hit a deadlock. They're supposed to resume next Tuesday and Sec. of State Kerry says he really hopes for some tangible results there. But from some of the things that we're hearing from the Syrian government, specifically there from the information minister in that interview with us, it's hard to see where that headway could be.

One of the main things the opposition is calling for is they say at the end of any sort of transitional process in Syria, which is a key part of the negotiations, they want to see Syrian president Bashar al- Assad step down. Now, in our interview the information minister said not only is that something that's unlikely, but that is something they say is not even going to be on the negotiating table and is absolutely out of the question.

At the same time, what you have is you do have that reemergence of fighting as well, specifically, as you said, in the Aleppo area, where a ceasefire ran out just a couple of hours ago. Intense fighting started almost immediately afterward and in that place the fighting is really as intense as it ever has been up in that very volatile region.

So, at this point in time all sides still continuing to combat each other. At the same time, it's really hard to see that there's any sort of way forward at the negotiating table. So certainly a very tall order for Sec. of State Kerry as he tries to move this forward because at the same time, of course, he has the Syrian civilians on his side.

People that we're speaking to on the ground say look, all we want is for all of this to end. They did have a little bit of calm here over the past couple of days as a ceasefire was in place. They want something longer lasting. They want to know that they don't have to wake up in the morning to have mortars rain down on their heads, George.

HOWELL: It is a bleak outlook for those many people are just wanting some peace again, hoping for another ceasefire and humanitarian aid to get to them. Fred Pleitgen, live for us in Syria. Fred, thank you for your report.

KOSIK: Time for an EARLY START on your money. Seeing a lot of red arrows around the world this morning. Markets closed lower in Asia. European markets, they're slightly lower as well. And, guess what? U.S. futures -- they are following their lead. But what a wild ride it's been for stocks this week.

The Dow fell 217 points Wednesday, almost wiping out all of Tuesday's triple-digit gains. The Dow closed Thursday with a small gain, nine points. The S&P 500 ending the day slightly lower, and the Nasdaq falling one-half a percent.

Mark Zuckerberg wants to meet conservatives amid allegations of bias. The CEO says Facebook is investigating whether the company suppressed news about conservatives from its trending box. Facebook says it's found no evidence so far that it's true and released its guidelines for determining trending topics.

Zuckerberg will invite leading conservatives to discuss their points of view in the coming weeks. That should be interesting because I'm thinking this is a P.R. move. I wonder if anything's really going to come out of it.

HOWELL: They're facing a lot of heat from it.

KOSIK: They are. They're the darlings, so they're trying to save face.

HOWELL: We'll have to wait and see what happens.

KOSIK: Yes.

HOWELL: How does he handle it? Now time to take a look at what's coming up on CNN's "NEW DAY". Chris Cuomo joining us now.

KOSIK: Good morning.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Two of my favorite people. Alison Kosik and --

KOSIK: Be still, my beating heart.

CUOMO: -- the man with one of the best suit games at CNN, George C. Howell. And I like that thing you do intentionally with that little touch of gray in the front. I know it's fake, but I still love it.

HOWELL: It's real, Chris. It's real.

CUOMO: Come on, I've seen you in the field. I've seen you touching it up.

HOWELL: That's not true. It's real.

KOSIK: And he's proud of it.

CUOMO: It's good to see you both.

KOSIK: Proud of gray hair.

HOWELL: It's real, yes.

CUOMO: He looks great. He's a great reporter and great man.

KOSIK: I agree.

CUOMO: All right, for the rest of you, here's what coming your way on "NEW DAY". There was no endorsement from Paul Ryan, but a lot of the right signals were sent from the perspective of Republican unity and for Donald Trump.

[05:50:00] Donald Trump said he had a great round of meetings with GOP leadership in Washington. And, he also got a big endorsement from a major donor who has a lot of fundraising power, so we're going to talk to his campaign about that.

On the other side of the ball, Bernie Sanders continuing to make the case that this is not about saying good things and building the party platform. It is about winning and fighting for the soul of the Democratic Party. So, what happens next? What is the goal right now? His campaign manager, who made some strong statements about Hillary Clinton, is going to give us a lens into that.

And then, we're at the point in the campaign where it is time now to start getting some of the big brains involved -- the people who have been there. Leon Panetta -- we all know him. Former Secretary of Defense, CIA director. He weighs on his concerns and the challenges in this election -- my friends.

KOSIK: All right, we will be watching all of it and I love how George is owning the gray hair.

HOWELL: It really is real.

CUOMO: One of the strongest games at CNN. One of the strongest games at CNN on field, on studio, no difference.

HOWELL: Right back at you, Chris. Thank you so much --

KOSIK: All right, Chris, thanks.

HOWELL: -- and we'll be watching.

KOSIK: All right, new changes coming to air travelers as security lines get longer. That's next.

[05:51:30]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:55:30] HOWELL: Welcome back. They prey on society's most vulnerable. Jihadist recruiters radicalizing young men and women, sometimes right under the noses of their own parents. The terror attacks in Brussels exposed Belgium as a fertile breeding ground for such extremists. One reason behind it, a legal system that allows them to walk free even after they've been convicted in a court.

CNN's Erin McLaughlin is live in Brussels with this CNN exclusive -- Erin.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: George, 28 people were convicted in Brussels last week for being part of what's called the Zarconi network, which is responsible for recruiting some of Europe's deadliest terrorists.

A CNN producer was in court as the verdict was read out and watched as two senior members of that network, recruiters, walked free despite having been sentenced to six to seven years in prison. They were allowed to walk free pending their appeal.

Now, we actually tracked one of the recruiters down to his home address. He confronted us when we got there. He was not happy to see us, though he refused to speak on camera. One of the individuals that was convicted alongside him was one of his recruits, 18-year-old Sabri Refla, who was a foreign fighter believed to have died in Syria. He was convicted in absentia.

We spoke to his parents and they told us they are absolutely outraged that the man they believe is responsible for recruiting and radicalizing their son is free. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SALIHA BEN ALI, MOTHER OF SABRI REFLA: I don't really believe in human justice, but in a God justice, and he will pay. Not here, but by God. And I just want to tell him that my son didn't have a second chance like him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLAUGHLIN: We spoke to the president of the tribunal. He said he stands by the court's decision, adding that if these recruiters lose their appeal they will be going to prison -- George.

HOWELL: Our international correspondent, Erin McLaughlin, live for us. Erin, thank you so much for your exclusive report into this very serious matter.

KOSIK: All right, let's get an EARLY START on your money. Seeing a lot of red arrows around the world this morning. Markets closed lower in Asia. European markets, they are slightly lower as well. U.S. futures, they are following that world lead.

Monthly retail sales numbers, they are coming out later today. They're going to be watched more closely after poor earnings came out from Macy's and Kohl's. Today, we're going to be hearing from J.C. Penney.

Let me ask you this. Are you tired of waiting in long security lines at the airport? I think I hear a lot of yeses. Well, help is on the way. Congress approved the TSA's request to reallocate funds to increase security officers at airports.

All right, so where's the money going? Well, about $26 million of it is going to pay for extra hours employees will work, and about $8 million will be used to hire more security officers. And the extra staff, I'd say, is coming just in time because the summer tends to be the busiest travel season.

HOWELL: All right. Donald Trump and the Republican Party, can they reunite? Can they unite? "NEW DAY" starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN: I was very encouraged.

TRUMP: I thought it was a great meeting. I think Paul-Trump the same win (ph). PRIEBUS: I don't think it could have turned out any better.

RYAN: We are now planting the seeds to get ourselves unified.

PRIEBUS: I think the headline is a positive first step toward unifying our party.

SANDERS: I am not here to say that Hillary Clinton can't defeat Donald Trump.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I certainly want to be delivering on the challenges that still lie ahead of us.

SANDERS: It is our campaign which will result in a Democratic victory in November.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When Hillary wins the nomination I believe everybody will endorse her and embrace her.

LEON PANETTA, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: The reality is who's going to be the next president of the United States? Hillary Clinton has that experience and that capability, and Trump does not. You want to take a gamble with the future?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota.

CUOMO: They've got the wide eyes there, J.B. We'll have to find out why. Good morning, welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Friday -- Friday the 13th of May, but it means nothing here, 6:00 in the east.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: In here, what could possibly go wrong?

CUOMO: Well, Alisyn Camerota recovering from poker night. Brianna Keilar on one side, John Berman on the other. Can you feel the love? So can the GOP.