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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Trump Campaign Promotes Two Advisers; Clinton Widens Swing State Lead; Determined To Finish, Olympic Runners Help Each Other After Fall On Track. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired August 17, 2016 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:00] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN HOST: New turmoil in the Trump campaign. Two advisers promoted overnight, taking the focus off of Trump's efforts to prove he's the law and order candidate. We're going to tell you how the moves could shake up this race.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN HOST: New polls show that Hillary Clinton is pulling away but the email issue keeps haunting her campaign. Details of the FBI's investigation now in the hands of Congress. Why is the Clinton campaign asking the entire probe to go public?

ROMANS: And Simone Biles with one last stint in Rio. She secures one more gold at the Summer Games. We'll have more on her final Olympic performance. We go live to Rio in just a few moments.

HOWELL: Good on her.

ROMANS: I know. Welcome back to EARLY START this morning, I'm Christine Romans.

HOWELL: And I'm George Howell. Thirty-one minutes past the hour and breaking overnight, another huge shakeup in Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Trump now naming Brietbart executive Steve Bannon as chief executive and pollster Kellyanne Conway as campaign manager. Bannon, a critic of House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Paul Manafort does remain as chairman but his power is likely diminished with these new moves.

All of this taking the spotlight off of Trump's attempt to focus in on policy issues. Overnight, Trump was in the state of Wisconsin making a pitch to African-American voters with his law and order message. Important to point out that he gave the speech near, but not in, Milwaukee just days after these violent protests that were sparked by the police shooting of an armed African-American suspect. He called for more police in poor communities and targeted Hillary Clinton as anti-cop -- listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The war on our police must end and it must end now. Those peddling the narrative of cops as a racist force in our society, a narrative supported with a nod by my opponent, share directly in the responsibility for the unrest in Milwaukee and many other places within our country. Every time we rush to judgment with false facts and narratives, whether in Ferguson or in Baltimore, and foment further unrest, we do a direct disservice to poor African-American residents who are hurt by the high crime in their community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Starting today, Donald Trump gets his first classified national security briefing. That briefing, prepared by the director of National Intelligence,will mark the first time the Republican nominee gets access to classified intelligence.

We also have new information this morning about Trump's T.V. ads. The Trump campaign says it will roll out its very first general election ads this weekend targeting five battleground states where Trump is falling further behind in the latest polls.

HOWELL: Congressional staffers today now reviewing secret documents and notes turned over by the FBI from its investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server. The Bureau making this extremely rare decision to turn over the investigative materials from the closed case, all in the name of transparency.

Staff from the House Oversight Committee will have to review that material in a special secure room. It's material that cannot be publicly disclosed without the FBI's permission. But, the Clinton campaign saying that it would rather see that material released to the public rather than have it selectively leaked by Republicans.

The resurgence of this email issue, though, not stopping Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail. Poll numbers show her pulling away from Donald Trump in key swing states like Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

ROMANS: All right, a lot to talk about today.

HOWELL: For sure.

ROMANS: Let's sort it out with two of our favorites. We'll bring in CNN politics reporter Tal Kopan and Kristen Holmes, a CNN White House producer covering the Trump campaign for us. Good morning to both of you.

Let's talk first about this shakeup overnight in the Donald Trump campaign. Two key advisers being elevated to top spots, Paul Manafort still the chairman. What does this tell us about the relationship, I think, between Donald Trump and Paul Manafort, maybe frustrations each of them might be having with the other, and what kind of Donald Trump we will see on the stump this week?

TAL KOPAN, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Well, it certainly doesn't exactly send the message of all being calm when you bring in two completely new leaders to the campaign at this stage. You talk about a Labor Day kickoff to the general election but we are well into the general election at this point, and to bring in a new campaign manager, a new chief executive, seemingly layering on top of or next to Paul Manafort does not send a strong message about the state of your campaign. [05:35:00] In fact, sources have told CNN that there has been tension and there has been frustration on both sides between Manafort and Trump. And in terms of what Trump we're going to see going forward, in the past few days you've seen it sort of directly coming out of his mouth. Trump has said I am who I am, I'm not going to change. We've seen him doubling down on that message.

And you may remember several months ago Trump promising to be so presidential when we got to this stage. So we're seeing Trump go back to this idea that he knows what made him successful in the primaries and that is what he's going to stick with through the end of the general election. And it's the off the cuff, unpredictable, sometimes controversial Trump that we've come to know.

HOWELL: It made him a bulldozer in the primaries but let's take a look now at the snapshot of the general election as it stands now. Let's start with a look at African-American voters. Their support for Donald Trump, one percent. Also let's take a look at the state of Florida, a very important swing state as we remember many other election cycles. Donald Trump now behind Hillary Clinton 39 percent to her 48. And also, let's go to the state of Virginia. Look at that, 52 percent for Hillary Clinton, 38 percent Donald Trump.

These are important states for Trump to find a path to winning. So the question, if we see Trump now doubling down, maybe even tripling down, to show that Trump will be Trump, will that work in this general election and bring in more voters that he needs to win?

KOPAN: Well, there's no indication that that would change what we've been seeing. And keep in mind, at this point you expect convention bounces to subside and the race to start to stabilize, so the poll numbers we see starting now and going forward are likely to continue.

And the next sort of game change moment we are going to get to in this campaign is that first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. And there are many people who believe that by that point, late September, some of these numbers are going to be baked in.

And it's not really a change. Trump has been Trump much to the vexation of those advising him and the RNC, who wanted him to moderate. So this is not -- him being sort of more Trump is not necessarily going to reverse the trend we've seen and that's why you see him sort of testing these new messages on the trail to try to do anything to reverse this trend.

ROMANS: Kristen, let's talk a little bit more about the shakeup. You're covering the Trump campaign -- what are the latest breaking developments here on this shakeup? What are insiders telling you about why they've made this move?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Well, it's no secret that things are not going well in the Trump campaign. As you mentioned, those poll numbers coming off of weeks of negative headlines there. And it's not just the poll numbers in those swing states. We're looking at states like Georgia that typically lean right. And now we're seeing a close race between Hillary Clinton and Donald

Trump, which is very, very, very rare. But looking at that, those kinds of issues within a campaign causing tension. Sources telling CNN that those tensions existed so much so that people near the campaign were expecting some sort of shakeup in coming days. They had a sense of it. One source telling CNN that both Trump and Manafort were talking to their friends about the situation -- about their souring relationship. So within that shakeup there is quite a few -- quite a few threads to follow there.

ROMANS: Sure.

HOLMES: And we are going see how this affects Trump. And one of the reasons we had this big shakeup just two months ago when Corey Lewandowski was ousted as campaign manager -- one of the big things that people said was Corey Lewandowski was always telling Trump just to be Trump. Trump can be Trump. And other advisers were saying no, you have to stay buttoned up, you have to act presidential.

Well, now he's picked two people who are longtime associates who know how he works, who know how he ticks. And he even said, as Tal mentioned, I'm not going to pivot. So we'll see how this goes going forward.

HOWELL: Well, you know, it's interesting because we are seeing Trump be Trump when it comes to his outreach -- the way he's choosing to outreach to African-American voters. Let's listen to what he had to say in Wisconsin the other day and we can talk about here on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It's time for our society to address some honest and very, very difficult truths. The Democratic Party has failed and betrayed the African-American community. Democratic crime policies, education policies, and economic policies have produced only more crime, more broken homes, and more poverty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: That was Donald Trump in Wisconsin last night. So Tal, the question to you, Donald Trump saying hey, more law enforcement in these communities. Is that something that will resonate and bring in more African-American voters? His polling number right now, as we saw, at one percent.

ROMANS: One percent.

[05:40:00] KOPAN: It's really hard to make that case that this is going to sort of suddenly dramatically turn around those numbers. We saw the one percent number. Other polls have shown him at zero percent in some states, which to put in context, Republicans have traditionally not done well with African-Americans but they've done much better than that. His numbers are abominable among them.

And, you know, it sort of misses the argument of a lot of the activists we've seen speaking out against what they call rampant police brutality in this country. Their point isn't that they need more police and more secure communities, but that the nature of policing has harmed these communities. And so, to try to discuss that issue --

And, as we mentioned earlier, he was speaking in front of a predominantly white audience away from Milwaukee which there's been much written about in the past few days how it's a very segregated city and there are a lot of systemic factors that have led to the unrest. We've seen that in the past few days.

To sort of gloss over that and tailor his law and order message, more cops on the street, it sort of doesn't listen to what the complaints have been. And so it's hard to see that sort of suddenly resonating with a community that has really felt not heard by his campaign and, honestly, by politicians more broadly.

ROMANS: All right, Tal Kopan, thank you so much. And Kristen, nice to see you again this morning.

HOWELL: Thank you both.

ROMANS: Thanks for getting up so early for us.

KOPAN: Thank you.

ROMANS: Big, busy day ahead for both of you. Donald Trump's immigration proposal is running into a gloomy forecast from his own alma mater. The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania estimates Trump's plan to deport undocumented workers would result in four million lost jobs by the year 2030.

It projects Trump could deport 10 percent of the undocumented population each year. Researchers make the assumption there that undocumented immigrants are taking jobs no one else wants. Deporting them, according to the researchers, would shrink the labor force.

Now, Hillary Clinton's immigration proposals would also lead to job losses, about 400,000 job losses over four years. Wharton researchers say that's due to Clinton's Path to Citizenship program, which would make more workers legal -- that would entitle them to safety net programs like unemployment benefits. The access to unemployment benefits would make some less likely to work. Once they lost their job they might be less likely to quickly find another one once they are legal.

However, researchers say that documented workers tend to be more productive. So while the labor force would be a bit smaller, more workers would earn higher wages and that would boost the economy.

Forty-two minutes after the hour. Let's get a quick check on the stock market right now. Record highs still in sight, a turning point of sorts for investors. The big question on Wall Street this morning, can the bull market keep going? Looks like a little pause, at least, for the moment. The stock market opens in about three hours -- four hours. HOWELL: We will see, all right. Simone Biles, one last turn at the top of the medal stand in Rio. More on her final performance at the Summer Games, next.

[05:43:05] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:47:15] ROMANS: It is with a heavy heart that we report tragic news about one of our own this morning. Our senior producer, Matt Null, passed away on Monday while on vacation with friends overseas.

Matt led our EARLY START team for more than three years. He was an exceptional producer. He was hardworking, dedicated to bringing you, the viewer, the news every morning. Before making his way to New York, Matt worked his way up in the producing ranks at local stations in Ohio, in Tampa, Miami, San Francisco. Just a great guy. He got his start in this business as a reporter at KTVO in Kirksville, Missouri after graduating from Truman State University.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and his friends during this very difficult time. And I've got to tell you, he is literally the voice in our head every morning. When terrible things happen around the world he is the one who brings it to you with calm and fairness. He is someone who really made a difference in the world to his job. He was 34 years old.

HOWELL: I didn't know him as well as you and John, but he was the nicest, most welcoming man you'd ever meet.

ROMANS: Just a true professional.

HOWELL: A very friendly guy.

ROMANS: A rising star here at CNN. We are going to miss him so much. We'll be right back.

[05:48:30] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:52:55] HOWELL: Welcome back. Team USA's Simone Biles ended her Olympic competition the same way she started it, taking another gold medal. Biles topped the field in floor exercise, winning her fourth gold medal of the Games. Let's go live to CNN's Coy Wire following it all from Rio. Coy, good morning.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, George. A stack of medals, especially gold, accumulated here in Rio by Simone Biles. It puts her right there as one, if not, the greatest femaleAmerican gymnast ever. She ends her run with gold in the floor exercise and that gives her gold in four of the five events she entered. She became one of just four U.S. gymnasts to ever take five total medals at the same Olympic Games.

Now, teammate Aly Raisman takes silver behind Biles, giving her six career Olympic medals. That's second only to the great Shannon Miller, so congrats to her, too. Biles and Raisman both putting a huge bow on what has been a historical games for the women's gymnastics team here in Rio. Now, a big, big upset yesterday in beach volleyball as Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross lose to host nation Brazil in straight sets. That was Kerri Walsh Jennings' first ever loss in Olympic beach volleyball. She was going for an incredible fourth straight gold here in Rio. They still have a shot a bronze, though, guys, as they play another team from Brazil later today.

Usain Bolt was cruising again, this time in the 200-meter qualifying heat and he qualified. Remember, he already has that under meter going. He's going to go for the 200 gold Thursday. That's assuming he advances after the semifinals later today.

Let's take a look at the medal count. U.S. pulling away majorly, 84 medals in total. Check out Great Britain, though. Only one medal way from China now for second place. They have 50 so they're making a run here, our London colleagues. They're getting all the hype up here, guys, at our set.

[05:55:00] The next story, though, is what the Olympic spirit is all about, sportsmanship. In the women's 5,000-meter heat, New Zealand runner Nikki Hamblin falls down and American Abbey D'Agostino trips over her injuring her own knee, but she urges Hamblin to go on.

But then, D'Agostino realizes that her knee's injured much more than she thought at first, so it buckles and she goes down. This time, Hamblin stops, helps D'Agostino back to her feet. They both go on to finish the race in the last two spots but both runners are being allowed to compete in the final on Friday. That's outstanding, guys.

Sixteen gold medals up for grabs today. A lot of great action. You have the women's 200-meter and 100-meter hurdles and men's hoops playing Argentina as well, guys.

ROMANS: Very cool.

HOWELL: Very, very cool, and just to see that display of sportsmanship, knowing that it was going to cost her time but she still did it, Coy, that's awesome. Thank you so much for being with us live in Rio.

ROMANS: All right, let's get an early start on your money this morning. Dramatic days for stock investors. Stocks paused from record highs yesterday. Dow futures look a little flat right now. Here's a snapshot of markets around the world. The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 this week synchronized, achieving record highs together for the first time since 1999. Fierce debate now in markets over whether the market is overheated or whether there's more room to rise.

Another sign of a hot housing market and people spending money on home improvements. Strong earnings from Home Depot during the second quarter and it raised its outlook for the year. The stock popped yesterday, then fell. Now it's rising in pre-market trading right now. Rival Lowe's reports later this morning.

Another positive for housing, breaking ground on new homes at the second highest pace since the recession. The Census Bureau says housing starts hit a 1.2 million annual rate in July. That was much higher than expected.

Delta Airlines getting down to business giving business travelers their own plane, launching an all-suite business class plane that will fly internationally. Passengers will get their own personal space containing a flatbed seat, an 18-inch entertainment system, and individual storage. The airline says prices will pretty much be right in line with the current Delta One tickets.

It will also retrofit its Boeing 777 fleet with the new seats by 2020. The announcement comes in the wake of a rough week for Delta. Computer outages caused widespread cancellations and delays. Your own little door when you fly internationally.

HOWELL: But the price is on par with Delta One. That's kind of pricey.

ROMANS: Yes, that means you've got to have business travelers. You've got to have your expense account to pay for those, right?

HOWELL: That would be the best way to do it, I'm sure. Another major shakeup for Donald Trump's campaign. There is the question will it revive his push for the White House? "NEW DAY" picks up our coverage right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: Good morning, welcome to your new day. It is Wednesday, August 17th, 6:00 in the East, and we do begin with breaking news. It is another major shakeup in Donald Trump's campaign. Overnight, Trump appointing a new campaign manager and chief executive. The question, is this a reaction to the past of campaign chairman Paul Manafort or the concerns for Trump's future?

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: So, this is the second major overhaul in less than two months for Trump. What does this mean? We have it all covered for you. Let's begin with CNN's Jessica Schneider. She's live at Trump Tower in New York with all of the breaking details. What have you learned, Jessica?

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alisyn, Donald Trump reiterating overnight that he will not be changing his style, but it turns out he is changing up his campaign. He is adding two new people to top posts to his struggling campaign but those people saying this isn't a shakeup, this is just an expansion.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER: Donald Trump shaking up his campaign leadership team again for the second time in two months.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: People want to criticize Donald Trump.

SCHNEIDER: Senior adviser Kelly Conway confirming that she has been promoted to campaign manager. And the executive chairman of Brietbart news, Steve Bannon, is now the campaign's chief executive. The campaign's embattled chairman, Paul Manafort, will stay on despite his relationship with Trump going sour in recent weeks.

TRUMP: The campaign is doing really well. It's never been so well united.

PAUL MANAFORT, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Trump is very plugged in. He's very connected. The campaign's working contrary to what the media is saying.

SCHNEIDER: Manafort is under investigation by Ukrainian authorities for allegedly receiving millions in illegal payments from the country's former pro-Russian ruling party. This is the second major shakeup for Trump's team. Back in June, he fired Corey Lewandowski weeks before the Republican Convention.

TRUMP: He's a good man, we've had great success, and he's a friend of mine. But I think it's time now for a different kind of a campaign.

COREY LEWANDOWSKI, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Yes, I had a nice conversation with Mr. Trump and I said to him it's been an honor and a privilege to be part of this, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.

SCHNEIDER: The news comes as Trump tries to appeal to black voters in Wisconsin but the audience was mostly white.

TRUMP: I'm asking for the vote of every African-American citizen struggling in our country today who wants a different and much better future.

SCHNEIDER: Trump addressing the violent protests in Milwaukee after police shot and killed a black man Saturday.