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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Is Trump Flip-Flopping On Immigration?; Louisiana Battered by Epic Flooding; Turkey Reeling From Weekend Wedding Bombing; Olympics Come to a Close. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired August 22, 2016 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:14] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Is Donald Trump ready to make the biggest -- the biggest policy reversal of his campaign? Trump may be edging away from a deportation force to remove undocumented immigrants. What his campaign manager said to fan the flames just moments away.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And parts of Louisiana are still desperate for help more than a week after devastating floods. Now President Obama is preparing to head to the region, but some say it's simply too late.
ROMANS: And the games of the 31st Olympiad come to a close in Rio. Who shined the brightest on the final day as Ryan Lochte tries to explain away the mess that landed him and other swimmers in hot water.
Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
SANCHEZ: Always a pleasure to be with you, Christine.
ROMANS: Nice to see you.
SANCHEZ: I'm Boris Sanchez. It's Monday, August 22nd, 4:00 a.m. on the East Coast. And we have plenty to get to this morning.
Donald Trump campaign is remaining ambiguous about what could be the most stunning flip-flop of his campaign. If it happens. Sources present at a Hispanic roundtable on Saturday at Trump Tower say the Republican candidate was not firm on what has been the foundation of his campaign. The mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. Some at the roundtable even left with the impression that Trump would consider a path to legalization.
Others there, though, didn't really get that vibe but on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION," his new campaign manager was noncommittal.
CNN's Chris Frates has the latest from Washington.
CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Christine and Boris. Well, you might remember that Donald Trump campaigned hard in the primaries on his plan to deport the 11 million immigrants who are in this country illegally. But on Sunday, Trump's new campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, signaled Trump's hardlined stance might be softening.
Here's CNN's Dana Bash pressing Conway on the "STATE OF THE UNION".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, let me play something from what Mr. Trump has said previously. Listen to what he said back in November.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You're going to have a deportation force and you're going to do it humanely.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI, MSNBC HOST, "MORNING JOE": But what are they going to be, ripped out of their homes?
TRUMP: Can I tell you?
BRZEZINSKI: How?
TRUMP: They're going back where they came. If they came from a certain country they're going to be brought back to that country. That's the way it's supposed to be.
BASH: So does Donald Trump still support that? A deportation force removing the 11 million or so undocumented immigrants?
KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: What he supports -- and if you go back to his convention speech a month ago, Dana, what he supports is to make sure that we enforce the law, that we are respectful of those Americans who are looking for well-paying jobs, and that we are fair and humane for those who live among us in this country.
BASH: So --
CONWAY: And as the weeks unfold -- as the weeks unfold he will lay out the specifics of that plan that he would implement as president of the United States.
BASH: Will that plan include a deportation force, the kind that he just -- you just heard in that sound bite and that he talked about during the Republican primaries?
CONWAY: To be determined.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRATES: Now questions about Trump's immigration positions come after a meeting with Hispanic leaders on Saturday where he reportedly told attendees he plans to legalize millions of undocumented immigrants.
Now this would be a huge reversal for Trump, who campaigned on the idea of creating a deportation force that would expel undocumented immigrants from the country. But not everyone who attended that meeting walked away with the same impression that somehow Trump is open to granting legal status to undocumented immigrants. In fact, one meeting attendee told CNN that Trump talked about treating people who are in this country illegally in a fair, in a humane, and in a legal way, but he didn't interpret that to mean that Trump wanted to grant them legal status.
Now Trump plans to focus on immigration all this week so we'll likely hear more directly from Trump himself in the coming days.
Boris, Christine, back to you.
SANCHEZ: All right. Thanks, Chris.
Meantime, the Clinton campaign scoffing at the idea that Trump might reverse one of the central and earliest promises of his run for president. Campaign chairman John Podesta releasing a statement last night saying, quote, "Donald Trump's immigration plan remains the same as it has always been. Tear apart families and deport 16 million from the United States."
ROMANS: All right. President Obama back from summer vacation in Martha's Vineyard but he will not be home for long. The president travels to flood-ravaged Baton Rouge tomorrow. And he is under fire for not cutting his vacation short to head there this week. Donald Trump beat him to it. He and his running mate Mike Pence visiting the state Friday. Louisiana's Democratic governor says he is grateful for the attention that visit brought.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS (D), LOUISIANA: It helped shine a spotlight on Louisiana and on the dire situation that we have here that it was helpful. And I will tell you that I also appreciated the good phone call, the conversation that I had with Governor Pence who was sincere and genuine. When he called and we spoke for a long time on Friday morning about their desire to be helpful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: It's a pretty clear the situation is dire in Louisiana.
[04:05:03] More than 60,000 homes across 20 parishes have been damaged by flood waters. Over 106,000 people and households have already registered for FEMA assistance. The death toll now at 13. And it is raining again.
We get more from CNN's Polo Sandoval.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Christine and Boris. These occasional downpours are adding insult to injuries for so many families who are simply trying to clear out their homes of all the damaged material and get on with the rebuilding process.
Behind me is a snapshot of what you would see if you were to drive the streets of southern Louisiana. We have seen yard after yard where debris is piled high. Many of the -- Much of this, of course, old furniture, damaged furniture, and of course, even in some cases, some of the things that are hard to replace.
New numbers from the state of Louisiana now suggesting that just over 60,000 homes have been damaged in some way. Those are some preliminary numbers, guys. It is important to remember that since FEMA officials are expected to eventually make it on to the streets and begin an official tally of how many homes were damaged by the floods because that will play a significant factor in deciding just how much federal funding will be made available to residents.
I will tell you this, we are in one community where a majority of residents do in fact have flood insurance. Only about 12 percent of the total homes affected are covered by that kind of insurance. However, many people here don't have insurance for the contents. That's what you see behind me. So that is where officials hope that the federal government will step up and that is the message that many people here, Christine and Boris, hope that the president hears loud and clear when he visits this region.
ROMANS: All right, Polo. Thank you for that.
SANCHEZ: On top of all the damage you saw behind Polo there, the trouble for Louisiana is not over. More storms and flood warnings are headed today. Meteorologist Karen Maginnis has the latest.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROMANS: All right, Karen. Thank you for that.
All right. To money now, new campaign finance numbers show Hillary Clinton with a big lead over Donald Trump heading into the last three months of the presidential race. Clinton has $58.4 million in so- called cash on hand. When you add in joint accounts, super PACs, and outside groups that balloons to $140 million. The Trump campaign has more than $38 million in the bank and $78 million including his supporting fund.
Clinton brought in $51 million from donors last month. She spent $38 million during the month. Trump's campaign net at $36 million and spent $18 million in July. The next few weeks will be crucial for fundraising ahead of the general election. The big question for Trump, will donors step up and support him, or will they choose to focus on elections for House and Senate seats?
SANCHEZ: Dozens were killed in a terror attack on a wedding in Turkey. And it's not just the death toll that's grabbing headlines. It's the age of the bomber. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:13:09] SANCHEZ: ISIS is the prime suspect in a bombing at a Kurdish wedding in Turkey over the weekend. What makes the attack especially disturbing is the age of the suicide bomber. Authorities believe he was between 12 and 14 yrs old.
Later this week Vice President Joe Biden travels to Turkey to deal with the repercussions of that attempted coup against the government of the NATO ally.
Let's go live to Turkey now and bring in CNN's senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman. Ben, this attack taking place fewer than 50 miles away from the border
with Syria. Do we know why this wedding and why this area was targeted?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you said, it's only actually 40 miles from -- rather 25 miles from the Syrian border. Now this is a city where the Turkish police, Turkish intelligence have cracked a variety of ISIS sleeper cells. But clearly there are more in action.
Now according to the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the bomber was somebody -- they don't say girl or boy but somebody between the ages of 12 and 14. Investigators were able to find pieces of the suicide vest that was used in this bombing at a time when the street was full of hundreds of people and to add to the disturbing nature of this attack, Turkish officials told CNN this morning that of the 51 victims, the people killed in this bombing, 22 were under the age of 14.
And it's important to keep in mind that ISIS has a unit called the Cubs of the Caliphate. Those are young boys who are trained to fight, trained to be suicide bombers. They are brainwashed and indoctrinated. And it's not the first time they've been in action. Last March in Iraq, one of these Cubs of the Caliphate went to a football match and killed dozens of children just like him. And so this may be what is behind the bombing.
[04:15:14] Now U.S. vice president Joe Biden will be coming to Ankara, the Turkish capital on Wednesday. He will be talking about the war against ISIS. But Turkish have made it very clear that top of the agenda is not the war against ISIS when they're talking to a senior U.S. official. They want the United States to return to Turkey Fethullah Gulen, that U.S. based Turkish cleric, who the Turkish government accuses of being the mastermind behind the July 15th attempted coup de etat. They make it very clear that ISIS is a second priority. They want this man handed over by the United States as quickly as possible -- Boris.
SANCHEZ: Ben, obviously, ISIS, though a second priority in Turkey, still a major player in the region. Turkey has been the center of a lot of bloodshed recently. Many analysts are saying that this attack indicates perhaps a shift in strategy by ISIS. Is that how you read it?
WEDEMAN: Well, certainly keep in mind, look at the big picture, Boris. You have ISIS on the run in Iraq. They're holed up in Mosul, the second largest city. That's the last major city they hold. In Syria, they are steadily losing ground. Turkey apparently is getting its Syrian rebel force ready to go into the city of Jarabulus in Syria, on the border which is controlled by ISIS.
Clearly ISIS is being pushed into a corner and they are fighting back in the way that we have come to expect. Using just the most horrific kind of attacks to inflict maximum casualties on innocent civilians. In this case mostly women and children as their way of fighting back as they lose territory -- Boris. SANCHEZ: Just senseless and horrendous. Ben Wedeman, reporting live
from Turkey, thank you.
ROMANS: All right. Iraq executing dozens of ISIS prisoners who took part in a massacre of about 1700 Iraqi military recruits. Officials say 36 people were hanged Sunday at a prison in Nasiriyah. And they say more will follow.
The 2014 massacre took place at Camp Speicher, a former U.S. base near Tikrit after ISIS forces seized control of the area.
All right, 17 minutes past the hour. The Rio Olympics are in the history books. And one matter does remain unsettled. What is next for Ryan Lochte who's still trying to explain why he claimed to be the victim of an armed robbery. We are live in Rio next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:22:15] ROMANS: All right. The Rio Olympics are now history. The 2016 summer games wrapping up last night with the traditional closing ceremony that included a giant Brazilian samba party. The U.S. men's basketball team captured the final gold medal in Rio. The 46th gold for team USA. And as the Rio Games ended, American swimmer Ryan Lochte was still making news. Now admitting he, quote, "over exaggerated" the Rio robbery story.
CNN's Christina Macfarlane live in Rio with the details. Good morning.
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN WORLD SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine. And the closing ceremony, I can tell you because I was there. It was very much like the games itself. A few bumps along the way. A power cut just ahead of the start of the show had us holding our breath. But then the spectacle that unfolded was pure carnival and samba that had everyone dancing in the aisles, myself included.
The most memorable moments were seen the athletes parading and enjoying themselves in the pouring rain. But Simone Biles, the most popular flag bearer of the night, being stopped every few seconds by other athletes to have a selfie taken. And then the surprise package of the night, not from Brazil, would you believe, but from Japan. Their prime minister, Shinzo Abe, emerging from the middle of the Maracana dressed head to toe as Super Mario, the video game character, to take the baton from Rio 2016 and push it forward four years to Tokyo 2020.
It's the games that has pulled off -- has been pulled off against the backdrop of economic and financial concerns. The Russia doping crisis and organizational problems. Remember the green pool? But it was great to see Brazil ending the games on Sunday with another gold medal in the men's volleyball taking their tally to 19, which his their best ever showing.
Meanwhile, team USA rounded off their best of the medal tally on the basketball court on Sunday night with an emphatic 96-66 thrashing of Serbia taking their third straight gold medal. But it wouldn't be Brazil without ending the games of another dash of controversy. This time in the wrestling arena. A Mongolia mayhem. Two Mongolian wrestling coaches held a bizarre protests when their athlete lost the bronze medal match to Uzbekistan.
They're not happy with the result. The coaches stripped in protest. One of them removing his shirt, the other removing both his shirt and pants leaving on only his underwear. Well, that was certainly going to get everyone's attention. Especially mine. Well, one athlete, though, who is now desperately trying to avoid the spotlight is -- after his exaggerated tale of robbery in Rio is U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte.
On Sunday, the USOC announced that they will be taking further action against Lochte and the three U.S. swimmers involved in the incident and that was 24 hours after Lochte has admitted to NBC's Matt Lauer that the finer points of the story have been incorrect. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[04:25:01] MATT LAUER, HOST, "TODAY" SHOW: As you said at some point after you refused to sit down, the security guard put the gun to your forehead and cocked it. That didn't happen?
RYAN LOCHTE, OLYMPIC ATHLETE: That didn't happen. And that's why I over exaggerated that part.
LAUER: Why did do you that?
LOCHTE: I don't know. You know, it was still hours after the incident happened. I was still intoxicated. I was still under that influence. And I'm not making me being in intoxicated like an excuse. I'm not doing that at all. I mean, it was my fault.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Christine, many people here now hoping that these game games won't be remembered by that story, but rather by this, the spectacle, the samba and a slice of history of the first ever South American games. It's our last night of fun here.
Here is a quick update of the medal table for you once again before we go. The United States out on top ahead of the rest of the field with 121 medals. China with 70. Their worst ever performance at the games in two decades. And Great Britain sitting there in third position with 67 medals to round it off. Back to you -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Christina, very festive at 4:26 a.m. in the East. Thank you for hat.
And gosh, you know, Brazil winning the gold in soccer over Germany. That was awesome.
SANCHEZ: Dramatic.
ROMANS: I mean, crying on the field. It was just awesome. So good for them.
SANCHEZ: A lot of fun to watch.
ROMANS: It sure was.
SANCHEZ: Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to build a deportation force that will remove 11 million undocumented immigrants from the U.S. But now there are signs that he may be ready to back away from that commitment. We will have the latest on the 2016 race next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
