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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Obama Taunts Trump; Trump: "We're Winning"; Clinton, Warren Campaign in New Hampshire; Obamacare Premium Hike; Coalition Forces Advance on Mosul. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired October 25, 2016 - 04:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:30:28] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight. President Obama taunting Donald Trump with a series of slams on late night TV.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Trump in denial. Down in the polls. The Republican nominee says he thinks he's winning.

ROMANS: Hillary Clinton's campaign showing confidence. She's looking to help more Democrats get elected with just two weeks left to go in this race.

BERMAN: But wait, a scathing new government report about Obamacare. Premiums, they will sky rocket next year. This is bad for your wallet and tough for Hillary Clinton.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It's 31 minutes past the hour.

Breaking overnight: President Obama unleashes on Donald Trump, in an appearance, Jimmy Kippel -- Kimmel. Jimmy Kippel, that would be a funny show. But it was funny enough, actually, it was dripping with scorn. You're going to want to watch this, starting with the president doing mean tweets with Kimmel.

BERMAN: Kippel.

ROMANS: Kippel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: "President Obama will go down as the worst president in the history of the United States, exclamation point, @RealDonaldTrump." Well, @RealDonaldTrump, at least I will go down as a president.

What I don't do is like 3:00 a.m., I don't tweet about --

JIMMY KIMMEL, COMEDIAN: You don't tweet anyone?

OBAMA: -- people who insulted me. I try to sleep so that in the morning, I'm actually ready for a crisis.

KIMMEL: When you watch Donald Trump, do you laugh? Do you ever actually laugh?

OBAMA: Most of the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, was this good humor fun or was it dripping with scorn? You can see this president is deeply committed to defeating Donald Trump. And like you were talking, there is no historical precedence for a president to be this involved with picking his successor and to be on the attack like President Obama is.

Democrats may love it. You can tweet us. Let us know what you think. I'm sure Democrats love it. I wonder what Republicans and swing voters think about it.

ROMANS: And two more weeks to go, will there be more appearance for the president? I mean, he has ardently on the campaign trail, ardently supporting Hillary Clinton and really pushing hard to get Democrats elected down ballot.

BERMAN: He was mocking Donald Trump right there. There was no other way to read it. He was mocking him.

All right. It is the final fortnight in this election. Donald Trump is fighting back hard this morning, fighting back against the actual polls. A new CNN/ORC has Hillary Clinton leading by five points. But Trump says that poll and many others are just wrong.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe we are actually winning. Now, the press -- I believe we are actually winning.

(APPLAUSE)

If you read -- if you read "The New York Times" and if you read some of these phony papers, these are phony, disgusting, dishonest papers. But if you read this stuff, it's like, what are we doing? What are we wasting time for? The truth is I think we're winning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So Donald Trump right now fighting math and also the media.

CNN's Jim Acosta traveling with Donald Trump has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, Donald Trump is ramping up his attacks on the national news media, accusing news outlets of running what he calls "dark polls", showing him losing to Hillary Clinton. Trump attacked the reporters covering his campaign as crooks and thieves. And at a rally here in Tampa, he said they don't care about hardworking people.

Here's more of what he had to say.

TRUMP: But the media isn't just against me. They're against all of you. That's what it is. Like Hillary Clinton, they look down on hardworking people within our country. The media is entitled, condescending and even contemptuous of people who don't share certain elitist views.

ACOSTA: And for Republicans who are dissatisfied with the national news media, the Trump campaign is offering alternative programming on Donald Trump's Facebook page. His top advisers, even his campaign manager Kellyanne Conway were starring in their own analysis of the campaign. The Trump campaign officials say, don't call this Trump TV -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Jim, thanks for that.

This morning, the Clinton campaign seems to have turned some of its focus to down ballot races. This as Hillary Clinton and her allies drop new scathing attacks on Donald Trump. The latest now from CNN's Brianna Keilar in New Hampshire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hillary Clinton has been going through battleground states here in the final push ahead of Election Day. She is starting to change her focus, not just trying to get voters to turn out for her, but trying to get voters to turn out for Democrats who are down ballot.

[04:35:01] She is hoping that if she gets to the White House, which is something her campaign feels confident about right now, that she will be able to at least have a Democratic majority in the Senate.

So, that's part of the reason why she's in New Hampshire getting a little help from Elizabeth Warren, the senator from Massachusetts, as she tries to help Hillary Clinton get Maggie Hassan, a Democratic into the Senate.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Trump even attacked Kelly Ayotte and called her weak, and Kelly stuck with him. During a debate a couple of weeks ago when she called Donald Trump a role model for kids, you just can't believe this. But now, Donald Trump's not doing well and Kelly is running as fast as she can away from him. Well, I will say one thing, Donald Trump sure has made Kelly Ayotte dance. Day one, she loves him. Day two, she hates him. Day three, she is back with him. Boy, he spins round and round.

KEILAR: Here in New Hampshire, Maggie Hassan has been leading in the polls, but it wasn't always that way. Kelly Ayotte, the Republican incumbent had been leading before. And what we've seen is a drag on Ayotte by Donald Trump as he struggled in the polls, so is he. And it's been a reversal of fortunes that has benefitted the Democratic candidate here, something that Hillary Clinton is hoping to give a push to so she can have that Democratic Senate -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have not been Senator Ayotte's only problem. Some of the damage to the campaign is self inflicted.

CNN's Manu Raju with that from Manchester.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Good morning, John and Christine.

Now, Kelly Ayotte has been in a bind over Donald Trump for months. He had been saying that he was going to vote for Donald Trump, she supported Donald Trump, but not endorsed Donald Trump. That was the way to distance herself from some of Donald Trump's more controversial remarks, but also not anger some of those core Donald Trump supporters.

But she got herself into trouble this month when she was asked at the debate if she could consider Donald Trump a role model. At the time, she said absolutely before later walking it back. So, I asked her yesterday. What happened?

SEN. KELLY AYOTTE (R), NEW HAMPSHIRE: At the debate, you know, I corrected that because I made a mistake. I mean, debates, many people are -- you know, you are asked a lot of questions at a debate. What is clear to me is that neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton unfortunately are role models.

RAJU: Now, on the other side, Maggie Hassan, the Democratic governor tried to cover herself with the top of her ticket, appearing at a rally with Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren yesterday, believing that actually making the case for a one-party Democratic government in Washington is more effective than divided government, saying that Kelly Ayotte's comments about being a check on Hillary Clinton simply tantamount to more gridlock. But it really just shows you all the challenges that Republicans face down ticket and running with Donald Trump given how controversial his candidacy has been -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Manu Raju, looks like a beautiful day in New Hampshire yesterday.

BERMAN: It's always a beautiful day in New Hampshire.

ROMANS: Beautiful day in New Hampshire. All colors, two weeks to go to the election.

And new this morning, a pretty stunning price tag for Obamacare premiums. According to a brand new government report, the cost of the bench mark silver plan will rise 22 percent next year. That has Donald Trump stepping up his vow to dismantle the system entirely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It's over for Obamacare. And Hillary Clinton wants to double down and make it more expensive and it's not going to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Why the big jump in Obamacare premiums? Enrollees are sicker and costlier than they expected. There are not enough healthy younger people signing up. That's really important for, you know, the entire pool of insured. Many insurers priced their plans too low and now they are adjusting, which is pushing subsidies higher. The government gives subsidies, right, to folks to keep your health care costs within 10 percent of your income.

But some are dropping out altogether. Some of the insurers are dropping all together. That means there are fewer choices and less competition. Five states will have one insurer on the federal exchange in 2017 -- Alaska, Alabama, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Wyoming. This year, only Wyoming had a sole carrier.

There are big differences in costs between states, by the way. Indiana would see a 3 percent drop in premiums. The average cost in Arizona will spike 116 percent. But it had the lowest prices of any state this year.

Now, there are some positives in report. Seventy-seven percent of enrollees will pay less than 100 bucks for their Obamacare, because subsidies will offset te rising prices. Also, the number of insured Americans is expected to hit 11.4 million next year. Right now, just about 8.6 percent of Americans do not have health insurance. That is a record. So, you're getting people into the insurance and then this sticker shock with the -- for some folks, with just 22 percent headline.

BERMAN: Twenty-two percent is a huge, huge increase and it speaks to a system that several years in needs tinkering, like a lot of things.

[04:40:01] Your car needs tinkering after a few years.

ROMANS: Republicans don't want to tinker. They want to get rid of it.

And so, what do you here to tinker with this, to make -- to fix it, when, you know, Donald Trump, the biggest applause lines he gets on the campaign trail from 10,000 people is repeal Obamacare and replace it with something else.

BERMAN: All right. The next president will have to deal with that.

ROMANS: Yes.

BERMAN: Hillary Clinton, she hold a five-point lead over Donald Trump in the latest CNN/ORC. Now, you may look at that and say that is tighter than some other national polls out there. But a look inside the numbers might tell a different story, next on EARLY START.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: A new CNN poll this morning shows Hillary Clinton with a five-point lead. This is less than other polls you might have seen. So, does that mean the race is tightening? Not necessarily.

Here's CNN's John King with a look inside the numbers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[04:45:01] JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Two weeks out, our new CNN/ORC poll shows a tighter race than most other national polls. But still, advantage for Hillary Clinton heading into the stretch. You see it right here, among likely voters, those likely to vote in November 8th, or vote early, Hillary Clinton, 49 percent. Donald Trump, 44 percent. The third party candidates dropping a bit as it gets closer to Election Day, that's fairly typical.

Again, a 5-point lead for Clinton nationally, as we head into the stretch, let's take a look at why. Number one, Republicans tend to win among male voters. Donald Trump is winning, but not by a lot, 48 percent to 45 percent. Hillary Clinton wants to be the first woman president of the United States, a big gender gap among women voters, 53 to 41, a 12-point advantage here, much bigger than Trump's advantage here. That helps Hillary Clinton heading into the stretch.

Also, throughout this race, we've consistently seen this education gap, and it persists to the end. Among white voters with a college degree, Mitt Romney won them four years ago. White voters with a college degree, Hillary Clinton with 11-point advantage over Donald Trump. That's a big deal, especially in some of the key battleground states.

Among white voters with no college degree? Well, that's the foundation of Donald Trump's support. You see that lopsided 30-point advantage for Donald Trump among voters without a college degree.

Now, we don't just ask who you vote for, we ask why. If you go through the issues, you see some that's pretty striking. One reason Donald Trump is still in this race, it's a hard climb, but still in this race, is because he leads when voters are asked, which candidate do you trust more to handle the economy? But another issues, narrowly on terrorism, narrowly on immigration. But then look at this, what has Hillary Clinton said in the campaign? Donald Trump is unfit, temperamentally unfit to be president of the United States. She has a 29-point advantage when asked who has the best temperament to be president, a 15-point advantage when voters are asked who would make the best commander in chief.

These are the key attributes for Secretary Clinton, going on to the stretch. So, you look at the poll numbers, closer than many other national polls. Anything in there that changes this, the math that matters most, the race to 270, Hillary Clinton still has a lopsided edge, nothing in our poll would change this map. Donald Trump needs to get closer still, not only nationally, but change a lot of the state data to make a race of this into the stretch.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right. John King inside the numbers.

Some other politics news: Bridget Kelly, former top aide to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, will be back on the witness stand today for cross-examination in the Bridgegate trial. She testified Monday that Governor Christie and his senior staff lied when they denied knowing about lane closures on the George Washington Bridge, closures that crippled traffic in a community of Fort Lee. Kelly is charged in an alleged plot to take political retribution against Fort Lee's mayor for refusing to support Christie.

ROMANS: A stunning fall for once rising Democratic star, Kathleen Kane. The former attorney general of Pennsylvania has been sentenced to jail time for perjury and obstruction. She will serve 10 to 23 months.

Kane was convicted of leaking grand jury information about an investigation in order to retaliate against a political rival. She then lied about it under oath. The judge told a sobbing Kane her ego drove her to take down enemies and break the law.

BERMAN: The ex-wife of disgraced Subway pitch man Jared Fogle is suing the sandwich chain. Katie McLaughlin alleges Subway executives knew about his pedophilia as far back as 2004, but failed to act. Fogle pleaded guilty to charges of child pornography and sex minors. He is now in a federal prison. The suit says Subway failed every test of corporate responsibility and response to complaints about Fogle. Subway said it cannot comment on the pending litigation.

ROMANS: All right. Will Apple snap the iPhone slump? The company's earnings are due. Will two weeks of iPhone 7 sales be enough to boost revenue? We're going to get an EARLY START on your money, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:52:52] BERMAN: Developing overnight. A terror attack on a police training academy in Pakistan has killed 60 people. Authorities say five or six terrorists entered the hostel Monday night at the academy where cadets live and took hostages. Pakistani security forces killed one of the attackers. Two others died when they detonated bombs they were carrying. Some 200 trainees were rescued.

ROMANS: New developments in the battle for Mosul. Coalition forces closing in on Mosul. Iraqi and Peshmerga troops a few miles from the city. Fighting has been fierce along the way.

The coalition has already freed dozens of villages from ISIS occupation. As they advance, hundreds of ISIS fighters appear to be packing up and fleeing Mosul for Syria.

CNN's Michael Holmes live on the ground near Mosul this morning and bring us up to speed on what's happening near the frontlines. MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes, as you say, Christine,

Peshmerga forces are about six miles from the outskirts of Mosul. But the distance from Mosul depending on which direction you're coming from, it is not uniform. Advances are being made, they're being made very quickly. Eighty towns and villages according to Iraqi officials have now been taken in this campaign since it began.

But not everyone is eight miles from Mosul, and that is the point. They are trying to even encircle the city, cut off egress from it, and that's where you are seeing some of these ISIS fighters actually depart the city. We were speaking to a senior Sunni tribal leader in that area, just outside Mosul who has seen dozens a day fleeing from Mosul crossing ISIS-held terrorist into Syria. He said fighters and fighters' families and leaders also escaping on the battle front.

We have been covering, of course, that strategically important town of Bashiqa, about 20 miles from Mosul. Kurdish Peshmerga forces surrounded it. They've been on the outskirts. They tried to penetrate a day or so ago and were driven back by truck bombs and car bombs and snipers.

Yesterday, we listened to rockets were into that city to try to suppress that threat. They still didn't get to go in yesterday, but today, we are seeing more air efforts being brought in.

[04:55:05] And rockets being fired from Apache helicopters. Obviously, they are trying to identify the problem positions and take them out so those Peshmerga forces can go in and clear out the ISIS fighters in Bashiqa. We think there are no civilians in that city. So, that's at least some good news.

And it is a strategic city because it is a supply route into Mosul. If they cut it off and secure it, then that's another step on the way to encircling the city -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Michael Holmes for us near Mosul in Iraq this morning -- thank you. Stay safe.

BERMAN: Federal authorities are being urged to probe an alleged hate crime at a Mississippi High School. The NAACP says school administrators at Stone Country High School did not follow protocol after white students threw a noose around the neck of a black student. They say the victim's mother was even intimidated into not pressing charges.

Local authorities say they're looking into these allegations. The school superintendent released a statement saying in part district officials will make sure all policies and procedures were followed.

ROMANS: A potentially major development in the investigation into the death of Eric Garner in 2014. The Justice Department has reportedly replacing the team investigating the incident. "The New York Times" says the New York-based FBI agents have been replaced for the team from outside. And federal prosecutors in Brooklyn are no longer assigned to the Garner case. Federal authorities are investigating if Garner's civil rights were violated and the fatal encounter with police.

NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo was seen on video using a prohibited chokehold to subdue Garner. A grand jury refused to indict Pantaleo.

BERMAN: Caught on dash cam, a truly terrifying ordeal for a civilian on a police ride-along in Madeira, California. The driver of this white Mazda sped away during a routine traffic stop, then fired at least 14 shots from an assault rifle.

Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(GUNFIRE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shots fired.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Three rounds hit the car, puncturing a tire, passing right through and back windows. Miraculously, neither the officer nor the woman on the ride-along were seriously hurt. The suspects got away, but police say they do have some leads.

ROMANS: All right. Time for CNN Money Stream this morning.

Dow futures up slightly, coming off nice gains yesterday. Investors were encouraged by some mergers and a big corporate earnings. Stock markets in Europe and Asia mostly higher this hour. Oil is rising.

More earnings on tap for today. Procter & Gamble, Du Pont, 3M, General Motors and Caterpillar among many others. Shares of Time Warner and AT&T dropped yesterday after the companies announced that huge $85 billion merger over the weekend. Shares of Time Warner falling more than 3 percent now, well below the buyout price of $170 per share.

Shares of AT&T down 1.6 percent during Monday's session. Some investors concerned about the regulatory hurdles the companies will face before the deal is approved. Some concerned said AT&T paying too much for Time Warner.

Stocks returning strong gains for the year, though. Look at here. Time Warner is parent company of both CNN and CNNMoney, full disclosures.

We are also keeping an eye on shares of Apple today. Shares up slightly in pre-market trading ahead of the company's earnings due after the closing bell. Here is the big question, John Berman. Will apple end the streak of slumping iPhone sales despite that two straight quarters of slowing iPhone revenue. The stock is still up 11 percent this year. It unveiled new iPhone 7 in September. It's that what you have right in front of you right now.

BERMAN: Yes.

ROMANS: The first couple of weeks of sales will be included in the report. Your one iPhone 7 will be included in that report.

BERMAN: But also, that means Apple has other issues, besides just the iPhone 7, too, right? I mean, now that the AT&T and Time Warner is happening, they are being mentioned as a possible deal maker in this whole media landscape.

ROMANS: Look, a lot happening. A lot happening. We'll see if the iPhone 7 in particular helps their revenue.

BERMAN: My iPhone.

ROMANS: Check out the CNN Money Stream app. Business news personalized. All the latest news from CNN Money and other leading sources, all in one feed. Download it now on the App Store or Google Play.

Have you?

BERMAN: Strong stream.

ROMANS: Strong stream.

BERMAN: EARLY START continues right now.

(MUSIC)

ROMANS: Breaking overnight. President Obama taunting Donald Trump with the series of slams on late night TV.

BERMAN: Donald Trump in denial, down in the polls. But the Republican nominee says he thinks he is winning.

ROMANS: Hillary Clinton's campaign showing confidence she is looking to help more Democrats get elected with just two weeks to go in the race.

In a scathing new government report about Obamacare. Premiums set to skyrocket next year, up a huge amount. This could spell trouble for the Clinton campaign, not to mention your wallet.

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is Tuesday, October 25th, 5:00 a.m. exactly in the east.

Breaking overnight, President Obama unleashes on Donald Trump in an appearance with Jimmy Kimmel, dripping with scorn. You're going to want to watch this, starting with the president doing mean tweets with Kimmel.