Return to Transcripts main page
Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Trump Campaign Lashes Back at GOP Letter; Aiming for Gold; Kansas Waterslide Death. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired August 09, 2016 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:30:11] RYAN NOBLES, CNN ANCHOR: A new independent candidate, a major drop in the polls and major Republicans pledging not to vote for Trump. Can Donald Trump rally his party behind him?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: Day four of the Olympics. USA swimming and gymnastics going for gold. What you need to watch.
NOBLES: And new information. How a 10-year-old boy died while riding a water slide.
Welcome back to EARLY START. Good morning. I'm Ryan Nobles.
KOSIK: Good morning. I'm Alison Kosik. It's 30 minutes past the hour.
And Donald Trump, he's trying to elevate the tone of his campaign. He is trying to get back on track after a couple of really rough weeks and plummeting poll numbers like this. New Monmouth poll showing Hillary Clinton breaking out to a 13-point lead. Compare that to the 2-point lead she held just a month ago.
So, Trump laid out his economic plan at a Detroit event Monday, filling in some details, tweaking others. Trump says he wants to reduce tax rates for most Americans and simplify the tax code. Protesters disrupted Trump's speech 14 times.
Meantime, dozens of leading Republicans stepped on his economic message, announcing their strong opposition to Trump's candidacy. Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who's a lifelong Republican, and now she says she can't vote for the party's nominee, citing Trump's constant stream of cruel comments and lack of self restraint.
This as 50 prominent Republican policy and national security experts denounce Trump's campaign and pledge not to vote for him. Their open letter warns that Trump is too erratic and dangerous to be president. Here's part of the letter declaring, "We are convinced in the Oval Office, he would be the most reckless president in American history."
The Trump campaign lashing back, of course.
CNN's Jim Acosta has more from Washington. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alison and Ryan.
On the same day Donald Trump was trying to show message discipline, he is in another fight with members of his own party. And Trump is punching right back at those 50 former national security officials. Many from the George W. Bush administration who wrote that scathing letter, saying the GOP nominee fails the test of being commander in chief.
The Trump campaign put out a statement from the candidate and here's a portion of it. We'll put it up on screen. It says, quote, "The names on the letter are the ones the American people should look to for answers on why the world is such a mess and we thank them for coming forward so everyone in the country knows who deserves the blame for making the world such a dangerous place. They are nothing more than the failed Washington elite, looking to hold on to their power, and it's time that they are held accountable for their actions.
I also talked to a senior Trump advisor who continued making that case saying that many of the former officials from the George W. Bush administration, they were the ones who took the country into the war in Iraq, even though Donald Trump suggesting himself he was in favor of that war. He continues to hold up the Iraq war as being responsible for much of the violence in the Middle East. As this Trump advisor put it to me, they're on the wrong side of history -- Alison and Ryan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOSIK: All right. Our thanks to, Jim Acosta, for that.
And Donald Trump has a message for parents. I can help with your child care cost. In his economic speech yesterday, Trump vowed to let parent fully deduct day care from their taxes. Currently, parents can deduct $6,000 annually for child care. Costs vary depending on where you live. Child care is the most expensive in the Northeast. Averaging more than $22,000 for two kids to attend a day care center, that's more than the average cost of housing in that area. Same in the west where the average is over $17,000.
One child care expert tells CNN money the plan would help middle class families, but would not benefit the working poor, and that's because lower income families don't pay as much for child care, and they would not be able to take advantage of the Trump's tax breaks because of the way it structured.
NOBLES: Hillary Clinton is taking direct aim at Trump's economic plan. The Democratic nominee calling Trump's proposals "repackaged trickle-down economics".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: You know, that old saying, "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me"? You know, trickle-down economics does not help our economy grow. It does not help the vast majority of Americans, but it does really well for people already at the top. Well, we're going to turn that upside down. We're going to make the wealthy pay their fair share in taxes for a change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBLES: Clinton also laying into Trump's business record and temperament, as she campaigned in a key swing state.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny is traveling with the Clinton campaign. He has the latest from Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ryan and Alison, the back and forth between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton may continue today as Hillary Clinton campaigns in Florida, for a second straight day in this key battleground state.
[04:35:01] Twenty-nine electoral votes are at hand in the state. It's ground zero for every presidential campaign, but this one in particular.
The Clinton campaign believes that Donald Trump's negative ratings among Hispanic voters will destroy him here in the state. That's why she is coming back to the state again and again to campaign. She made a plea directly last night in Kissimmee, Florida, about the help she needs.
CLINTON: I need your help. And I'm not -- you know, I'm not beating around the bush. I need you. I need you -- I need you to be sure that we get everybody registered to vote who is eligible to vote. I invite you to be part of this campaign.
ZELENY: The Clinton campaign is registering voters across the state, but nowhere more intensely than the I-4 corridor that stretches from St. Petersburg to the ocean across Central Florida in Orlando. That is where some many Puerto Rican voters, of Puerto Rican descent live. The Clinton campaign reaching out to them aggressively, believing that young ones in particular can help deliver a victory for her to the White House.
But the Clinton campaign is already out-working the Trump campaign in terms of offices. They had 12 offices on the ground, two more opening this week for a total of 14. The Trump campaign only has one central office in Florida. It has other Republican offices helping them out.
But there's no question that the road to the White House for Donald Trump runs through Florida. Republicans believe that he cannot win it without winning the state of Florida. That's why the Clinton campaign is trying to fight to a draw here, coming back to Florida again and again. She'll be campaigning later today in Miami -- Ryan and Alison.
(END VIDEOTAPE) KOSIK: And our thanks to Jeff Zeleny for that.
The parents of two Americans killed in the Benghazi attacks have filed a lawsuit against Hillary Clinton. Patricia Smith and Charles Woods are seeking damages for wrongful death, defamation and emotional distress. The suit filed by an activist with the conservative group Judicial Watch. A Clinton campaign spokesman responding, saying multiple investigations of the Secretary of State Clinton's handling of the Benghazi incident have found no wrongdoing.
NOBLES: Donald Trump is trying to link Hillary Clinton to the execution of an Iranian nuclear scientist accused of spying for the U.S. Trump taking to Twitter after the hanging of Shahram Amiri, pointing out the scientist was mentioned in hacked emails released last year by the State Department. The Clinton campaign firing back, calling Trump's attack desperate rhetoric.
KOSIK: Conservative Republicans have recruited a former CIA staffer to challenge Donald Trump. Evan McMullin, a policy director for House Republicans, announcing on his website, "It's never too late to do the right thing."
McMullin says he decided to run because something needed to be done. He calls Trump inhuman and believes the GOP nominee has already lost the general election. McMullin will us live on "NEW DAY" in 8:00 a.m. hour.
NOBLES: And the question is, how many states can he get on the ballot? That would be the big challenge in this late in the game.
The U.S. women's gymnastics team looking to win the gold. Can they achieve back-to-back wins? That story next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:42:28] NOBLES: American swimmers poised to win more gold on day four of the Rio Summer Olympics with Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky back in the pool. Plus, the women's gymnastics team, it looks to do something the U.S. has never done before, win back-to-back gold medals.
Monday is another big night for the U.S. at the swimming. Six medals, including two golds.
CNN's Christina Macfarlane following all the action. She is live in Rio for us this morning.
Christina, good morning.
CHRISTIN MACFARLANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Ryan.
Yes, it was another good night for the United States in the pool last night. Two golds as you say. The most hotly anticipated race of the night was that between Lilly King of the United States and Russia's Yulia Efimova. That is because of the high profile public spat playing out between these two ladies over the last two days. Not hidden her disapproval that Efimova should not be here, shouldn't be allowed to compete in the race because of her doping past.
However, on Sunday, Efimova won her heat. And on the completion of winning, she just articulated to cameras wagging her finger at Lilly King, suggesting that she was number one. Now, Lilly King was watching this and did not like what she saw and wagged her finger back.
And this all added to the tension between the pair. We saw it play out in the pool last night. The two of them were neck and neck until the end when Lilly King won the race by under half a second. It was exciting to watch. Efimova in tears at the end of it, but happy to walk away with silver.
Now, the other gold medal came from Ryan Murphy. His first ever Olympic gold and men's 100 backstroke. That's right. I'm getting confused this evening.
Men's 100 backstroke. This is the event the U.S. men have been dominant dating back to 1996 winning gold.
Almost gave Murphy everything he dreamt of as a child. You have to look at the picture on social media overnight. It is a picture from Murphy that he drew as a kid. He says, "I hope my swimming life continues and I become an Olympian when I grow up. I hope I break world records. I want to be the best swimmer in the world. The end."
And I'll you what, Ryan, you almost got it. World record by .03 last night. So, really exciting drama.
Elsewhere, the men's basketball team were in action as well against Venezuela last night. They were held by Venezuela in the first quarter. But then they managed to come back as we expect they would.
Kevin Durant with 16 points, Paul George with 20, eventually wrapping things up 113-69. An interesting fact about the game, Kobe Bryant's cousin was an action for Venezuela last night. He did pretty well. He scored 19 points out of 20 shots, proving that, you know it obviously runs in the family.
The other thing we're going to be looking forward to today, though, in the next 24 hours is we're back in action in the pool. All eyes on Michael Phelps going for the 20th gold medal. But I'll tell you, it's going to be a testy affair. He is up against his nemesis Chad le Clos.
Now, you remember Chad from the London 2012 Games, because he's the one that stuns the world by beating Michael Phelps in the 200 meter butterfly. So, this is a real grudge match that we're going to be seeing unfolding here. We have Katie Ledecky in the pool and going for her third medal of the games. Three medals already and three days in.
We're going to be seeing, of course, the women's USA gymnastics in action, looking to defend the 2012 title. Simone Biles is one of the big stars. She is set to be one of the big stars of this competition, can't wait to see her in action. She is just a delight to watch. NOBLES: And, Christina, speaking of medals, the home country, Brazil,
picked up their first gold medal this week. What can you tell us about that?
MACFARLANE: Yes, that's absolutely right, Ryan. Absolutely crowd pleaser here. As you can imagine, eventually Brazil getting off the mark with the gold. It came in judo in this 57-kilogram category to Rafael Silva.
And this is such a fascinating story. She actually heralds from one of the favelas here in Rio. It's one the biggest favelas in Rio, and it was actually, the favelas depicted in the film "City of God", if you're ever seen that incredible film.
As such, she's one of the home grown champions, and when she won gold yesterday, it was such scenes of emotions. People were besides themselves. She did in such incredible fashion. She won all five of her matches. She was completely flawless.
And she said she hopes this now is going to open the flood gates for more gold for Brazil as the home nation hoping to finish in the top ten. So, great to see.
NOBLES: You can see the emotion in those pictures.
All right. Christina Macfarlane, live in Rio for us this morning -- thank you.
KOSIK: The Zika virus may be spreading across a wider region of South Florida. Palm Beach County reporting the first suspected case that officials believe was contracted locally. The patient recently travelled to Miami-Dade County, but it's not clear where he acquired the virus. The total number of nontravel-related Zika patients in South Florida is now 17, with another 357 traveled related cases statewide.
NOBLES: If you are heading to the airport this morning, make sure to check on your flight ahead of time. It will be a rough day for passengers flying on Delta. The Atlanta-based carrier announcing 100 flight cancellations today and at least 200 flight delays. And they are warning those numbers could go higher. Delta was forced to cancel over 1,000 flights on Monday because of the computer outage, stranding tens of thousands of customers.
KOSIK: Take a lot of patience.
Heavy rainfall and flash flooding in the forecast this morning. Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri has the latest.
Good morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Ryan and Alison, good morning, guys. The flooding concerns in the gulf coast because of a storm system that's very slow to move out of this area, also a stationary frontal boundary to the north. So, you put this together, the flash flood risk tremendously high across the southeast states. And, of course, the extensive heat still in place across large parts of the country, in particular, Lone Star State of Texas.
Look at this, you have heat watches stretching from Houston well to the north. Some of the areas, you won't believe the heat indices. So, you know, the temperatures will be close to 100 degrees. But look at Houston, 108 degrees. But you feel like this afternoon, as steamy as they come, Shreveport, 107, Dallas will feel like 105, even around New Orleans will be flirting with 100 degree heat index.
But the good news is it will cool off next week. We could bring it back down into the 90s across Dallas. We will keep it cool because of all the wet weather around the Southeast over the next couple days. Look at this. Lights up with tremendous rainfall. Six to 10 inches in Tallahassee and south along the Gulf Coast states in the next couple days, guys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOSIK: All right. Pedram, thanks very much.
More record highs for the stock market. That is despite warnings from Wall Street insiders. So, is it time for a major pull back? We're going to get an early start on your money, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:54:01] NOBLES: Police in Kansas investigating the death of the 10-year-old boy on the world's largest water slide. They say he suffered a fatal neck injury at the end of the ride. The slide has been the main attraction at the Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City since it opened two years ago. But there have been concerns about safety.
We get more now from CNN's Kyung Lah.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alison and Ryan, 10-year-old Caleb Schwab got on the world's tallest water slide. It is 168-foot, 7 inches tall, 17 stories high. Riders there hit up to 50 miles per hour.
Now, witnesses say it did not happen on the first big drop, but it was the second hill, a 50-footdrop where something went terribly wrong. A park guest says that a number of riders on Sunday who had ridden that particular ride said there was some sort of a problem with the harness. The park's spokeswoman said that she was not aware of the issue.
[04:55:01] Now, this is the first death ever reported at this water park. It did open in 2014. But the opening was delayed at least three times. One of the concerns, sand bags were launching out of the raft -- Alison, Ryan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOSIK: All right. Kyung Lah, thanks for that.
Police in San Francisco are trying to figure out how candy laced with THC, marijuana's active ingredient, how it was distributed at a teenager's Quinceanera party over the weekend. Nineteen people sickened by edible marijuana in gummy ring candies that were in the party favored bags. Health officials say most of the victims were 6 to 18 years old. They are working with the company to determine where the candies came from.
NOBLES: FOX News host Andrea Tantaros says she was demoted and taken off the air in April after reporting that her former network boss Roger Ailes for sexual harassment. That contradicts senior FOX executives who say they were unaware of any claims against Ailes until former anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a lawsuit against him in July. FOX denied the allegation and claimed Tantaros was demoted because she violated company policy with the book that she wrote this year.
KOSIK: All right. Let's get an early start on your money. We are watching Dow futures there. Struggling to find direction this morning. Stocks in Europe are in the green. Shares in Asia finished mostly higher overnight.
We are seeing oil prices, though, move lower. The S&P 500 hit a high yesterday before retreating and finishing with a loss. The record comes as Wall Street is warning that stocks may be due for a big pull back.
Goldman Sachs warned investors last week to stay out of stocks for the next three months. A group of high-powered investors met this weekend in Maine and concluded that a drop is coming, but it won't happen just yet. The thinking is stocks are over bought.
Cheap interest rates and ongoing problems overseas, many believe, will keep the party going on Wall Street for now. Some feel U.S. stocks are over valued, but they look better than the alternatives at the moment.
We are also keeping our eye on oil prices this morning. We did see crude jump yesterday quite a bit after OPEC announced it was hosting an unscheduled meeting in Algeria next month. Prices have been down below $40 a barrel for the first time since the crash earlier in a year. OPEC has struggled with whether or not to cut production in order to push prices higher.
So far, no deals have been reached and member nations continue to churn out oil. One interesting development ahead of next month's meeting, officials from Russia maybe attending. It's the world's biggest oil producer, but it's not a member of OPEC.
You see these countries struggling with whether or not how to handle this because you have the output continuing at the pace. You've got this glut of oil happening around the world. You've got these countries like Venezuela and Russia and India. And you name it, whose economies depend on oil. You have the prices dipping so low. Their economies are suffering.
NOBLES: And the average American not disappointed because the price is still affordable.
KOSIK: Yes, we're loving it. Filling up at low prices.
NOBLES: All right. EARLY START continues right now.
(MUSIC)
NOBLES: Republicans revolting against Trump. Major party members pledging not to vote for their candidate, as he takes another dip in the polls.
KOSIK: Team USA on fire at the Olympics. We've got all of the moments you have to see.
NOBLES: And tragedy in Kansas. The investigation into the death of this 10-year-old boy who died at the water park. What we know.
Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. Thank you for joining us. I'm Ryan Nobles.
KOSIK: Good morning. I'm Alison Kosik. It is Tuesday, August 9th. It's 5:00 a.m. in the East.
And Donald Trump is trying to elevate the tone of his campaign to try to get back on track after a couple of rough weeks and plummeting poll numbers, like this new Monmouth poll showing Hillary Clinton breaking out to a 13-point lead. Compare that to the two-point lead she held a month ago.
So, Trump went ahead and laid out the plan at the Detroit event Monday, filling in some details, tweaking others. Trump says he wants to reduce the tax rates for most Americans and simplify the tax code. Protesters disrupted Trump's speech, count them, 14 times.
Meantime, dozens of leading Republicans continue to step on his economic message, announcing their strong opposition to his candidacy. Susan Collins of Maine saying she cannot vote for the nominee, citing Trump's constant stream of cruel comments and his lack of self restraint.
This as 50 prominent Republicans, foreign policy and national security experts, denounce Trump's campaign and pledge not to vote for him. Their open letter warns that Trump is too erratic and dangerous to be president. In the letter, they declare, "We are convinced that in the Oval Office, he would be the most reckless president in American history."
