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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Trump And Clinton Fight For Florida; Trump: Don't Believe The Polls; AT&T To Buy Time Warner For $85 Billion; Deadly Collision On California Interstate; Kurdish Forces Advance On Mosul; Seahawks And Cardinals End In Overtime Tie. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired October 24, 2016 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:04] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get more from CNN's Jason Carroll.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, despite national polls showing Donald Trump trailing behind Hillary Clinton. Despite his old campaign manager coming out and acknowledging that the campaign has some ground to make up, Donald Trump coming out here in Naples, Florida, telling the crowd that the polls are wrong and the media is wrong. He continued to double down on this whole idea that the system is rigged against him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My message is this. If we win on November 8th, we are going to fix our rigged system. It's a rigged, broken, corrupt system. It's rigged. It's broken. It's corrupt. They want me to take that back. Let me tell you, folks, it's a rigged system and we are going to drain the swamp of corruption in Washington, D.C.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: There has been concern that because Donald Trump is trailing in national polls that it could be a drag on down ballot races. Donald Trump telling the crowd in Naples, that they have to get out and vote.
For the first time we heard him say that voters have to get out and help reelect Republicans. Trump also making no mention of his accusers or any threats of any lawsuits. Once again, no acknowledgment THAT he is trailing behind Clinton in the national polls -- John and Christine.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Jason Carroll, thanks so much.
Hillary Clinton is something of a new target in her stump speech and she's campaigning with some new special guests. Elizabeth Warren in New Hampshire today in what might be the biggest Democratic weapon of all later this week in North Carolina. Hillary Clinton was in North Carolina on Sunday. CNN's Joe Johns there with the latest.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, Hillary Clinton wrapping up her latest trip here to the Tar Heel state with the stop at University of North Carolina Charlotte talking to a large crowd here.
Polls showing her in a tight race in the state with Donald Trump, but running very strong now. She is now trying to use some of her popularity to help Democrats in down ballot races.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm going to do everything I can and I hope you will do everything you can to help elect Roy Cooper as your next governor. He has real plans. Not just rhetoric. Real plans to create good jobs and protect the environment and he will stand up for your voting rights.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Earlier in the day, Hillary Clinton made two other stops in North Carolina in the research triangle area. First stop, Durham, North Carolina visiting a large African-American Baptist church there.
Also going to Raleigh, North Carolina and visiting St. Augustine's University. At both stops, she was accompanied by The Mothers of the Movement, a group of women whose sons were killed and often confrontations with police.
Hillary Clinton reaching out to minority millennials and others. The campaign teams will be very important in November. Hillary Clinton will be back in the Tar Heel state later this week campaigning for the first time together with the first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama -- John and Christine.
BERMAN: All right, Joe Johns for us in North Carolina, a really interesting tidbit from CNN's Jeff Zeleny. Jeff has learned that that Hillary Clinton is secretly reaching out to Republicans in the House and Senate. Trying to reassure them that she is willing to work with them if she wins in November 8th and will be a different kind of president with an open door policy.
Different by implications than President Obama. You are starting to see signs. Hillary Clinton for the time this week in going after Senate candidates on the trail. She is trying to put together perhaps what would be a more cooperative Congress if she wins. She has been unwilling to look past November 8th until this point, but now you're starting signs that she can do that.
ROMANS: All right, let's bring in "Newsday" columnist and radio talk show host, Ellis Henican. Nice to see you again. I want to play sound from Naples, Florida yesterday where Donald Trump is really going to be focusing again on that important Florida vote. He doesn't believe he is so behind in the polls. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'll tell you what. We are doing well in the polls. You know, I really think those polls are very inaccurate when it comes to women. I think we are doing better with women than with men, frankly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: So let's look at this brand new ABC poll numbers, likely voters choice for president, Clinton 50 percent, women likely voters, Clinton, 55 percent. Donald Trump thinks he's under polling.
ELLIS HENICAN, "NEWSDAY" COLUMNIST: He didn't think he was in the primaries. All of a sudden polls cannot be believed. Keep an eye on the 50 percent threshold. It is difficult for her to cross 50 percent. This is really the first time we have seen her nose up above that.
[05:05:02]BERMAN: Look, the ABC News poll is 12 points, isn't it very high end for Hillary Clinton's polling. A lot of people on both sides who say that is too much. But the last ABC News poll was four points. So there is clear there is growth here.
It is clear Hillary Clinton is expanding her lead at a time when Donald Trump is supposed to be closing in. It is just not happening. Hillary Clinton yesterday was talking about something that Donald Trump has said in the debate, continuous to talk about that election is rigged. Listen to the former secretary of state.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: He said something that no presidential nominee has ever said, Democrat or Republican, nobody. Nobody has ever said this. He refused to say that he would respect the results of this election. That is a threat to democracy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Now the reason I bring this up is the same ABC News poll so we don't have the numbers here, actually showed that voters hate the rigged election argument that Donald Trump is making. Again, what is striking is that is part of Donald Trump's closing argument.
HENICAN: That's his message.
BERMAN: So if they don't like his closing message, why keep doing it?
HENICAN: You know, go figure. I mean, they don't like to talk about women or some the ethnic minority slurs. I mean, Donald is Donald, right. At this point, we really need to accept that whatever the focus groups in the polls are saying.
ROMANS: Let's listen to the president. President Obama was in Las Vegas last night. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We can't elect Hillary and saddle her with a Congress that is do nothing. Won't even try to do something. Won't even get their own stuff passed. Much less the stuff you want passed. All they got to offer is blocking and obstructing every step of the way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: The president has been on this message about blocking and fighting back Republican members of Congress here. But Hillary Clinton is also taking this very line.
HENICAN: It is the self confidence that comes when you know that you are up in the polls. You don't have to worry about yourself. You can afford to think how will I govern best and clearly one answer is with the Congress and Senate that is more open to her agenda.
BERMAN: You know, President Obama has been doing this with gusto, a mocking gusto.
HENICAN: He is having fun.
ROMANS: Come on, man.
BERMAN: It's aggressive. I think he risks turning off some voters in the middle right there because it really plays to the Democratic base. Hillary Clinton really for the first time this weekend started going out and campaigning against Republican candidates for Senate. This is because she's thinking forward.
HENICAN: It is interesting how that dovetails with what you said a moment ago, John. But the idea maybe once elected, how she would govern differently because she also needs to be careful about those old Bernie voters and base Democrats. You got to keep them revved and out to the polls. You don't want to be wishy-washy to make them think you are not the person who is carrying their torch.
ROMANS: It's 15 days. The major moments are behind us. Debates are behind us, you know, the debates, they're behind us, 15 days. What can Donald Trump do to close that gap?
HENICAN: Well, you know, I think the most effective thing is to get back to the message that got him here. That one that answers the anxiety of Americans who feel like things are just pretty tough for them. The more he gets pulled off on the other stuff, the women and minority slams and complaining about whether the election is rigged. To me, that just interrupts the message that is the one that has worked for him.
BERMAN: He wanted to be a policy speech on Saturday in Gettysburg. It had a preamble about women in a rigged election there.
ROMANS: He will sue after the election the women --
HENICAN: If he'd stuck with the second half of the speech, probably would have been received pretty well.
BERMAN: Ellis, stick around. We'll talk to you again in a little bit.
ROMANS: All right, time for an EARLY START on your money. It's one of the biggest media deals ever. AT&T will buy Time Warner for $85 billion. Time Warner is the parent company of CNN. This deal was announced Saturday.
It's a union of programming and distribution. AT&T's wireless and internet service combined with household names like CNN, HBO, TNT and Warner Bros. Studio.
The biggest merger of content and distribution since Comcast bought NBC Universal back in 2011. This deal is worth more than double of that one, in fact, the largest of its kind, which means it will face a lengthy review by government regulators.
The Department of Justice, the FCC were criticized for approving the Comcast deal and the government has blocked several proposed company tie ups in the past few year.
Some members of Congress who looked over this sorts of issues are already calling for meetings about this proposed deal. But both companies defended explaining this gives consumers what they want, more shows and video on their phones.
Adding, this is not a horizontal merger. There is no overlaps between these companies. They are not similar companies. Time Warner is an entertainment company that will provide content to AT&T, a 140-year- old communications giant.
[05:10:07] Time Warner stock climbed 8 percent Friday after the news of this deal broke. It is up another 3 percent in pre-market trading.
Coming up on "NEW DAY", we are going to talk to the chairman of Time Warner and the chairman of AT&T. We will ask about consumers. It's an $85 billion deal. What changes for consumers? What would they feel?
BERMAN: This will be worth watching just to see you navigate a confrontational interview with your current boss and future boss. Tune in to watch that.
ROMANS: I haven't thought of it that way.
BERMAN: All right, up next, the battle for Mosul. Kurdish forces now within five miles of the occupied city. This operation is already taking a toll. ISIS has reportedly slaughtered dozens of civilians. We are going to have a live report from the frontlines next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:15:13]
BERMAN: Tragedy at a California interstate. The NTSB is now investigating a deadly collision between a tour bus and a tractor- trailer. This left 13 people dead, 31 others hospitalized.
The bus was returning from a casino when it rear-ended a truck on I-10 near Palm Springs just after 5:00 Sunday morning. Authorities described the force of the collision. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF JIM ABELE, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL: I will tell you the speed of the bus was so significant that when it hit the back of the big rig trailer, the trailer itself entered about 15 feet into the bus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: The driver of the bus was killed. It is not known whether drugs or alcohol played a role in this crash.
ROMANS: Kurdish forces are advancing towards Mosul. Now within five miles of Iraq's second largest city. Along the way, they've been liberating villages from ISIS control with U.S. coalition planes providing cover from the air.
But the progress comes with this horrific toll, ISIS militants executing civilians who are apparently celebrating their freedom prematurely.
I want to bring in CNN's Michael Holmes live on the ground near Mosul. Michael, we are getting these reports, these wire reports right now also of ISIS fighters and their families trying to flee towards Syria.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that just came in recently. Our bureau here was in contact with the senior tribal leader in that part of the country. He has been reporting hundreds of ISIS members and their families including leaders have been fleeing Mosul and heading for Syria.
You talked about how the closest forward position of Peshmerga Kurdish fighters is about six miles or so. The city is not surrounded yet. There is an out and according to the tribal leaders, ISIS fighters, families and others are leaving now for Syria.
You also mentioned that tragedy. The perils of a rapid advance which is ahead of schedule. A lot of these army units are going through towns and villages. Some have small numbers of civilians and some have none.
The Iraqis are saying that they have, quote/unquote, "liberated 78 of them so far during the operation." During the one village, the army came through and people came out to celebrate. They were cheering on the Iraqi army.
The army did not stop, hold and clear the village, they kept going on to the next target. You can imagine what happened. ISIS fighters had been in hiding as the army rolled on through, they came out, rounded up those who have been doing the celebrating and executed them.
More than 40 people that we are told. Quickly over the last few days, the sulfur factory deliberately set on fire has been burning. We got word from the World Health Organization, more than 1,000 people have now been treated for respiratory problems.
It is a big problem. It's been a big issue in that part south of Mosul, those sulfur fumes. So keeping an eye on that -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right, stay for us. Michael Holmes, thank you so much for that report.
BERMAN: All right, back here at home. The Chicago Cubs trying to break a century-old curse. The World Series begins tomorrow night. If you want to see it in person, well, it will take a pretty penny actually like millions of them. Coy Wire with this morning's "Bleacher Report" next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:23:04]
BERMAN: The World Series begins Tuesday, but if you want to see the Cubs and Indians play in person, you better be named Theo Epstein or be seriously rich or both.
ROMANS: Coy Wire has more in this morning's "Bleacher Report." Hey, Coy.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS: Good morning, Christine and John. About 41,000 seats at Wrigley Fields and the average ticket price for one of those seats for the three scheduled games there, more than $3,500. No matter which team wins this series, they are going to send their respective city into a frenzy.
These clubs own Major Leageu Baseball, two longest championship drought. The Cubs have not made it to a World Series since 1945. That's before colored TV. They have not won since 1908. Now it's been 68 years since Cleveland has won it and if they do, that city is going to claim their second post-war title in the same years.
Here's the moment Hillary Clinton, a Chicago native, saw her Cubs advance to the World Series. That's what Christine Romans was like, too. She was streaming the game on her phone.
Check out President Obama, caught Cub fever as well. He tweeted yesterday, quote, "I'll say it. Holy cow, Cubs fans. Even this White Sox fan was happy to see Wrigley rocking last night."
Let's go to the NFL. Patriots Ben Roethlisberger on the sideline with the torn meniscus. It was Tom Brady doing his thing. Man on a mission since returning from the deflategate suspension finds Rob Gronkowski with two touchdowns. Patriots move to 6-1 on the season.
Here is something you don't see very often. NFL game ending in a tie. Seahawks and Cardinals prove that it can actually happen Sunday night. Both teams with short field goal attempts in overtime.
First Chandler Catanzaro with it hitting off the upright. The game ends 6-6. Lowest scoring game. The first tie with no touchdown score since 1972.
[05:25:11] Check this out. Joey Logano's car in NASCAR race in Talladega yesterday. That's the jack hanging on to his car. That's hitting the road, jack, with the jack. He still won. He got penalized. He currently sits atop NASCAR standings. There are eight drivers making their way for the chase with four races left in the season -- guys.
BERMAN: I kind of want people to tweet us and vote. What was a better line? The up-left, which was fantastic? You had me at that or the hit the road jack line. Coy Wire on fire this morning. Thanks, Coy.
WIRE: Happy Monday, guys.
BERMAN: All right, just 15 days and counting until Election Day. You know what? The voting begins today in Florida. This is such a crucial state. We will give you the very latest on the campaign next.
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