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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Obama: Reject Fear, Elect Hillary; Trump to Russian Hackers: "Find Hillary's Emails". Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired July 28, 2016 - 04:30   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[04:31:00] BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This year in this election, I'm asking you to join me to reject cynicism and reject fear and to summon what is best in us to elect Hillary Clinton as the next president of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Boom. Quite an endorsement for Hillary Clinton from the president. Sweeping indictment for Donald Trump. President Obama's legacy on the line this election and he knows it. And, boy, he came out strong for his former secretary of state last night.

Welcome back to EARLY START at the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia. I'm Christine Romans.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Great to see you this morning. I'm John Berman. About 30 minutes past the hour. We are live inside the CNN Grill this morning.

And the question the Democrats are asking themselves is, you know, what do we have left right now? Hillary Clinton called in a cast of the political super friends making the case she should be the next president of the United States. Maybe Joe Biden was Batman. You could argue whether Michael Bloomberg or Tim Kaine is Robin. I don't know. You make the call.

But there's no question who was the Democratic Superman. President Obama making the case for Hillary Clinton like his legacy depends on it, which it might.

CNN's Phil Mattingly joins us from outside the CNN Grill.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. It most certainly does. Legacy obviously a key component of President Obama's speech last night.

But it was also kind of lays out his faith in the American voters, the voters who 12 years ago from last night really helped catapult him to superstardom during his 2004 convention speech. Four years after that, helped elect the first black president of the United States. Four years after that, helped keep him in the White House. President Obama saying those same voters would reject what we heard in Cleveland, would reject everything that Donald Trump is bringing to the table. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: That's another bet that Donald Trump will lose. And the reason he'll lose it is because he's selling the American people short.

We're not a fragile people. We're not a frightful people. Our power doesn't come from some self-declared savior promising that he alone can restore order as long as we do things his way. We don't look to be ruled.

Our power, our power comes from those immortal declarations first put to paper right here in Philadelphia all those years ago. We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal. That we, the people, can form a more perfect union.

That's who we are. That's our birthright, the capacity to shape our own destiny.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: And guys, there was a really -- well, obviously, the speeches were big and well received inside the arena. There was a clear strategy. Throughout the night, you had Michael Bloomberg reaching out to the independent voters, business-minded voters who might be skeptical of Hillary Clinton. You had Tim Kaine going for Midwestern nice. You had Joe Biden, who, by the way, is from Scranton, where Donald Trump was campaigning yesterday, reaching out to those blue collar voters as well. And then you had President Obama obviously talking about continuing his legacy forward.

And, John and Christine, I know you guys were young bucks. But I'm old enough to remember, back in 2014, when Democrats wouldn't be caught dead on the campaign trail with President Obama. Now, Hillary Clinton, really the entire party, kind of grasping on to a full embrace of President Obama. Not even trying to hide the fact that third-term President Obama is something they don't mind at all and say, here's your strategic calculation, but one that also could be dangerous.

You look at this, it's been a very anti-establishment campaign up to this point. The rise of Bernie Sanders. The very real rise of Donald Trump. Democrats, they are siding with the establishment, they are siding as what has worked up to this point. There's no really ifs, ands or buts about it, they are going for the third term of President Obama.

[04:35:01] And Hillary Clinton, as you guys noted, will be the one to bring that home tonight in the fourth of what seems like 287 straight days of Republican and Democratic conventions.

BERMAN: All right. Phil Mattingly outside the grill, thanks so much for everything, Phil. Really appreciate it.

It was quite literally a full embrace between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton at the conclusion of his speech. He walked on the stage. They hugged -- they actually hugged a few times for emphasis.

Joining us to discuss what happened last night, our panel of phenomenal super friends. CNN politics executive editor, Mark Preston, CNN political analyst Josh Rogin, who's a columnist for "The Washington Post". Also with us, a couple of political commentators, Angela Rye, the former executive director for the Congressional Black Caucus, and also with us, John Phillips, talk radio host on KABC and a Donald Trump supporter.

Angela, I want to start with you. How much did President Obama do last night for Hillary Clinton and exactly who was he speaking to?

ANGELA RYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think he was speaking to a broad swath of voters from African-American voters who he still has high approval ratings with. Latino voters, millennials, maybe even those who are still feeling the Bern, he wants them to come on over.

I think he was speaking to some of the women voters who are not college-educated and Hillary needs their support. I also think that there is still a little bit of bad blood from some of the most loyal supporters of Barack Obama in 2008. Quite a few people at the beginning of this election who were like, I'm never going to vote for Hillary because I never forget what happened in 2008. If they didn't -- if they weren't sold with the speech, they were certainly sold when Hillary walked across that stage and gave the president a hug.

ROMANS: John Phillips, what did you think of his takedown of your candidate? You're a supporter of Donald Trump and he quoted Teddy Roosevelt last night. He quoted Ronald Reagan last night and talked about the difference between fear and hope.

Let's listen to that, you know, shining city on a hill sound bite. I want to know how you think he did.

JOHN PHILLIPS, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Ronald Reagan called America a shining city on a hill. Donald Trump calls it a divided crime scene that only he can fix. It doesn't matter to him that illegal immigration and the crime rate are as low as they've been in decades, because he's not actually offering any real solutions to those issues. He's just offering slogans and he's offering fear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: There are folks in the never Trump camp making the case that we wanted to be making.

PHILLIPS: Well, last night, it was easy to see why he was playing the showroom, while Tim Kaine was working the lounge. I think he got the wrong reference to Ronald Reagan. He was comparing this election to the 1980 Ronald Reagan. I think if you are going compare Trump to Ronald Reagan, compare him to the 1966 Ronald Reagan, when you had all kinds of problems, the state university system in California. You had a two-term governor going for a third term for a political dynasty and Ronald Reagan came in as the outsider who was going to bring in law and order.

So, if you want to make a Ronald Reagan comparison, go back to the 1966 gubernatorial election.

BERMAN: America, California, where you're from, California may know that Ronald Reagan, though, John. But America knows the other one better, I would say.

PHILLIPS: Sure.

BERMAN: The shining city on the hill. The Gipper Ronald Reagan. That is the one that the president was talking about last night. And Donald Trump didn't mention Ronald Reagan at all.

PHILLIPS: Well, Ted Cruz will make up for that because he says it every five seconds.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: So what's the risk here, Josh Rogin, in all of this? Because Donald Trump got a convention bounce. A few points here. Maybe five or six points, seven points in our poll if you look at it there.

JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.

BERMAN: Hillary Clinton has thrown the kitchen sink right now at this. Every Democratic luminary that has ever walked the face of the earth has spoken the last three nights in glowing terms of her. If there's no bounce, what's left?

ROGIN: Right. So, I think the risk here politically with the strategy is clear. The risk talking past those voters who are sympathetic to Trump, who feel left out by the system, right? Donald Trump is tapping into an anger here. He's tapping into an unrest.

And by sort of ridiculing him and portraying him as sort of out of the mainstream, they risk saying to those voters, you don't know what you're talking about. You don't know what you're feeling, OK? So, if they can't access those voters, then they won't get the bounce. They won't take away from Donald Trump's core support.

And then this whole effort will be for naught. So, you know, I'm talking to a lot of Democratic officials here in Philadelphia all week. They are saying, oh my God, how is it not clear to everyone that she is better than him? How is it not clear that he is dangerous for democracy and for the world? How is it not clear to everyone that, you know, low income voters are voting against their own interests when they vote for Donald Trump?

And that they are missing is they are not talking to those voters. And by not really accessing what's making them upset, and what's making them flock to this super risky guy Donald Trump, they might be putting all their efforts in the wrong track.

[04:40:02] ROMANS: I feel like Joe Biden was trying to talk to some of those voters yesterday. They were trying to say, you know, look, you got all this wrong. You know, the person who's going to be good for your life and for your life and for your income inequality, the person to solve that is Hillary Clinton.

Did you think he was the guy speaking to those people?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: One of the few. I mean, again, we go back to the production of this and how well done it's been so far. No doubt, you know, Joe Biden from Scranton. Did you know that he's from Scranton?

BERMAN: I had no idea.

PRESTON: Scranton, Pennsylvania, was making that case.

Michael Bloomberg was making that case. And interestingly enough, he was making it because he said trust me, I am worth a bazillion dollars. I know this guy. And he is a risk.

Elizabeth Warren tried to make that case on Monday night.

Whether they're going to be successful or not, it's probably highly unlikely. You know, look, all Hillary Clinton has to do is chip away a little bit at the lead that Donald Trump has them on with white male voters and increase her lead or at least level the lead of African- American turnout and young voters and then she wins. I mean, that's basically how it works.

BERMAN: What's left, Angela, for tonight? You know, Hillary Clinton is the one speaking after, you know, a lineup last night which had 1.5 million people on stage. It is really just her and her daughter Chelsea. What does Hillary Clinton have left to do?

RYE: I think she has left not to show any kind of defensiveness. Hillary Clinton has to show the unguarded person that has been described throughout the duration of this week. She has to show up as the woman who appeared magically behind the shattered glass last night or the night before.

ROMANS: One long night.

RYE: Yes, it has. I keep saying this. Just really early.

BERMAN: Winter is coming.

RYE: Right. But not -- but after this speech, it will be, hopefully, that would be really bad.

But I think that the one thing that she could do is show up as someone who is clearly making a closing argument. We talked about several closings happening. If she is re real closer, that would, one, be a surprise. Two, I'm being very hopeful. But, three, I think if she does that in a way that she appeared in a debate, she wins.

ROMANS: All right. Looking for genuine moments. Not a rally.

BERMAN: Act authentic. Stand on one leg, but look natural. I love that.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: All right. There's a big controversy here in Philadelphia. Donald Trump from afar calling on Russia to hack the U.S. government. Inviting, it seems, some people say, espionage. So, was this treason or was this genius? We'll discuss next.

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[04:46:47] BERMAN: U.S. intelligence officials tell CNN there is little doubt in their mind that the Russians hacked the Democratic national committee email system. Donald Trump insists those claims are a distraction, but he did ignite a firestorm when he stood before reporters and challenged Russian hackers to find dirt on Hillary Clinton. Listen.

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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. Let's see if that happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, if the Putin regime is behind the breach, the White House says, it can respond with, quote, "a full range of options".

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

Matthew, what are the Russians saying?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Trump really pouring fuel onto the flames of that controversy about the hacking allegations, calling on the Russians to find the 30,000 missing Clinton e-mails.

The Russians are dismissing it, as saying, look, you know, first of all, we had nothing to do with this hacking in the first place. The Kremlin spokesman told me earlier, we are a country. We don't hack. This is very much of the usual, what he called, fun and games of the U.S. election campaign.

The fact is the Russians often lambasted and beaten by various candidates across the political spectrum across the United States in campaigns in election season. And the Russians are saying this is what is happened. It is happening now. They are trying to sweep the very serious allegations at least for the moment to one side, John. BERMAN: So, Matthew, Donald Trump frequently praises Vladimir Putin's

leadership qualities. But what do we know about their actual relationship if there is one?

CHANCE: Yes. Trump's said that Putin is a strong leader or leader stronger than Obama. The compliments have been returned. Putin spoke very positively about Trump as well, calling him colorful and bright, if any of those translation you want to take.

So, yes, there is a supposed bromance as it is being called between the two. The more serious allegation which is made by the Democratic Party is that Trump is doing the bidding of the Kremlin. That is something, of course, the Trump camp categorically denies.

There had been business ties in the past. Trump stages Miss Universe competition here in Russia in 2013. There were other projects that never got off the ground as well. But, yes, these experiences, the Miss World competition, his various business contacts, and the people who advise him seem to have forged a very positive image in Trump's mind of the Russians.

BERMAN: All right. Matthew Chance in Moscow for us. You know political season here going international. Thanks, Matthew.

ROMANS: Yes, absolutely. You know, those ties, alleged ties from Russia with Trump were front and center at the Democratic Convention. Does the Republican Party have a looming problem here? Bringing back our team to talk about it.

I want to listen to something Leon Panetta said.

[04:50:00] This all broke yesterday, but it was talked about on the stage last night. Clearly, a very big foreign policy story.

Let's listen to Leon Panetta saying Trump is being irresponsible here.

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LEON PANETTA, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: Donald Trump who wants to be president of the United States is asking one of our adversaries to engage in hacking or intelligence efforts against the United States of America to effect an election. As someone who was responsible for protecting our nation from cyber attacks, it is inconceivable to me that any presidential candidate would be that irresponsible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Josh Rogin, the foreign policy circles are already turned upside down because of Trump's NATO comments last week, turned back upside down again after last night.

ROGIN: Right. I mean, it's really shocking, the Republicans, thanks to Donald Trump, have seeded the ground on national security for the first time anyone can remember in recent history, right? Republicans have always been the daddy party, tough on Russia party, the militaristic party. And here we have Donald Trump making unforced error after unforced

error. It's clear he doesn't know what he is talking about. It doesn't matter if he is joking or if he's serious. I happen to think he is serious. I don't think he is joking.

ROMANS: Some people thought he was joking.

ROGIN: Right. And he said he was joking, but I talked to aides who say, this is exactly how he thinks. He wants to reorient U.S. foreign policy in way that would fundamentally reposition our relationship with Russia from where it has been since World War II, OK? So, we should understand that's how he thinks. That's what he wants to do. And then, we can debate whether or not it is a good idea. I happen to think it is a terrible idea.

AMANDA CARPENTER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I want to make one point on the joking. When you're talking about this inter national matters, it really doesn't matter, the joke gets lost in translation. Other people around the world hear, go get the e-mails, expose the emails. That's just a lose-lose situation for America whether you're Republican or Democrat.

BERMAN: Now, from a political messaging standpoint, Mark Preston, though, there are those that made the case that say it was kind of genius to what Donald Trump did yesterday. It was on my 11:00 show. He did give us 45-minute news conference in the middle of the show. You know, he takes over the day and people talk about this for four hours afterwards in the middle of the convention.

PRESTON: Yes, right. So, after I watched it on your show, I made phone calls to Republicans, you know, to get a quick temperature take.

Here's the thing, one was, as Josh said, what is going on? I can't believe it. He is being reckless. He is going to take down the party. Oh, and by the way, this is terrible for the country. I can't believe he is doing this.

The other was masterful, smart, skillful. He has stolen the message away from the Democratic Convention. And for Donald Trump, all attention is good attention. So, he did own the news cycle from 11:00 Eastern Time to 6:00, and it went back to the Democrats. However, he is still going to have to own it as we head --

ROMANS: I think it was Bill Clinton, this is not plagiarism , I don't know. But I think it was Bill Clinton who once said, you know, when people feel uncertain, they go for strong and wrong rather than right and weak.

So, Angela, if American voters feel uncertain, maybe they like this Donald Trump, this Donald Trump who wants to reorient the world order?

RYE: It is clear somebody likes Donald Trump because he is the Republican nominee. I think what's fascinating about this particular issue is he is on the polar opposite side of it from his running mate, and also from the speaker of the House -- the speaker of the House who begrudgingly backed him. I think they are demonstrating to use Mark's words, just how reckless he is being with this. Whether he is joking or not, this is no laughing matter on national security.

BERMAN: It's interesting because the Donald Trump we saw yesterday and the Donald Trump we saw on Friday, the day after the Republican convention, talking about Ted Cruz and his father once again, that is, Amanda, the unscripted, the unteleprompter-ish Donald Trump. Is that the guy who's going to be around for the next few months?

CARPENTER: I mean, we can say, is it a pivot? Is he going back to his old ways? There is a pattern. We have seen this since he burst on the national scene in 2011 questioning the birth of President Obama. I mean, he said I'm going to send investigators to Hawaii, because he wouldn't believe what they're finding. Well, we never saw what they were finding because probably it was unbelievable.

This is who he is. He likes to traffic in theories and he likes to stir it up. It is another level now he is running into the arms of the Russians for his political benefit.

ROMANS: Guys, we've got to leave it there. Great to see you. Got another great morning tomorrow morning. Nice to see you all.

President Obama center stage to sing Hillary Clinton praises. Will it be enough to get her to the White House?

"NEW DAY" picks up the analysis, next.

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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[04:58:57] BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: America isn't about "yes, he will". It's about "yes, we can".

SEN. TIM KAINE (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Yes, we can. The brightest future for our country is the one we build together.

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: I'm a New Yorker. I know a con when I see one.

JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He has no clue about what makes America great. He has no clue, period.

OBAMA: There has never been a man or a woman more qualified than Hillary Clinton.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to say madam president.

OBAMA: Elect Hillary Clinton and show the world we still believe in the promise of this great nation.

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

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALISYN CAMEROTA: We want to welcome our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world. It is Thursday, July 28th. You're watching NEW DAY. And Chris and I are live in Philadelphia at the Democratic National Convention.

It's already been quite a week here for Democrats. It was a night steeped in symbolism and history. President Obama says he is ready to pass the baton to Hillary Clinton.