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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Election Day Now Two Weeks Away; Trump: Elitist Media Looks Down On People; Clinton Helping Down-Ballot Democrats; Average Obamacare Premium To Jump 22 Percent; Cubs Vs. Indians: World Series Starts Tonight; Coalition Forces Advance On Mosul. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired October 25, 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] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: At least I will go down as a president. What I don't do is like at 3:00 a.m., I don't tweet about --

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, ABC "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!": You don't tweet at 3:00 a.m.?

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 the debate and you watch Donald Trump, do you -- do you ever laugh? Do you ever actually laugh?

OBAMA: Most of the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: With the election exactly two weeks away Trump is fighting back hard. You loved that appearance last night.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I just -- I think it's -- first of all, I think there's no mystery who Jimmy Kimmel supports in this election anymore. All of late night pretty seriously on the side of Hillary Clinton --

ROMANS: Yes.

BERMAN: -- at this point, but other -- it's interesting to hear President Obama go after Donald Trump like that on fairly personal terms and we haven't seen a sitting president be this involved in an election.

ROMANS: Well, it's personal because it was personal. Donald Trump made it personal with where he was born --

BERMAN: Yes, true.

ROMANS: -- and questions -- you know, where he questioned the legitimacy of the President of the United States. I can see why it could be a little personal for the president. All right, so what is Donald Trump saying? He's fighting back hard this morning against the increasingly grim forecast for his prospects. A new CNN/ORC poll has Hillary Clinton leading Trump by five points, 49 to 44. But Trump says that poll and many others are wrong.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

ROMANS: So, Donald Trump is fighting with math and he's fighting with the media.

CNN's Jim Acosta is traveling with Trump. He's got the latest for us.

(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 outlet 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, as top advisers, even his campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, were starring in their own analysis of the campaign. But Trump campaign officials say don't call this Trump T.V. -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right, Jim Acosta, thank you so much. Donald Trump continues to go after the women who have accused him of various forms of impropriety. The latest woman to alleged inappropriate sexual contact is an adult film performer, Jessica Drake. She claims that Trump grabbed her and kissed her without permission 10 years ago. Listen to Trump respond to that accusation in a radio interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I don't grab them on the -- you know, as they say, on the arm. And one said he grabbed me on the arm and she's a porn star. Now, you know, this one that came out recently -- he grabbed me and he grabbed me on the arm. Oh, I'm sure she's never been grabbed before. And they make it so -- it is -- it's all lies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: "Oh, I'm sure she's never been grabbed before." That statement raised a lot of eyebrows. Now, Jessica Drake is represented by attorney Gloria Allred. In the interview Trump referred to her as a Clinton supporter and a "third-rate lawyer". You can judge how good of a lawyer she is. There's no doubt she is a Clinton supporter but that has nothing to do with whether Jessica Drake's statement is true or not.

ROMANS: All right, another sign Trump's campaign is worried about a loss here. His running mate, Mike Pence, has scheduled a last-minute rally on Wednesday in Utah, normally the strongest of Republican strongholds. Recent polls show Trump in a virtual three-way tie with Clinton and Independent Mormon conservative Evan McMullin.

BERMAN: 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. Let's get 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 and she's 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.

She is hoping that if she gets to the White House, which is something that her campaign feels very confident about right now, that she'll 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 Democrat, into the Senate.

[05:35:00] 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 want to say -- you just can't believe this.

But now, Donald Trump's not doing so 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's back with him. Boy, 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 as a drag on Ayotte by Donald Trump. As he's struggled in the polls, so has she and it's been a reversal of fortunes that has benefitted the Democratic candidate here, something that Hillary Clinton is hoping to give a little push to so that she can have that Democratic Senate -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, Brianna, thanks for that. And then add this eye- popping headline into the mix. A huge jump in Obamacare premiums. Look at this, a 22 percent increase for next year. Enrollees are sicker and costlier than expected. There aren't enough healthy younger people signing up. Many insiders -- insurers, rather -- price their plans too low and they're now adjusting, which is pushing subsidies higher. Some insurers are dropping out altogether, which means there are fewer choices and less competition.

Five states will only have one insurer providing plans on the Federal Exchange in 2017 -- Alaska, Alabama, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wyoming. This year, only Wyoming had a sole carrier. There are big differences in costs between states, by the way. Indiana will see a three percent drop in premiums. But the average in Arizona will spike 116 percent. It had one of the lowest prices of any state this year. It's just wild.

Now, there's some positives in this government report. Seventy-seven percent of enrollees will pay less than $100 a month because subsidies will offset the rising prices. Also, the number of insured Americans using Obamacare is going to hit about 11.4 million. You know, right now, just 8.6 percent of Americans do not have health insurance -- a record low.

But the headline here -- the headline here -- 22 percent spike in Obamacare premiums next year far outstripping what, you know, what people thought.

BERMAN: It's a big, big number and will have political implications right now. Joining us, CNN Politics reporter Eugene Scott. You know, Obamacare, Eugene -- the signature policy of the Obama administration. Hillary Clinton running to succeed, you know, President Obama as a Democratic president. You know, this matters and you can hear Donald Trump already pouncing on it -- listen.

(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)

BERMAN: How does she respond to this?

EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Well, she's going to have to communicate what she's going to do differently than what's being done right now to keep these rates from going up. These are problems that both Republicans and Democrats have had since, really, early in these campaigns. But Donald Trump has not been able to communicate very clearly what he will do to decrease these rates or to replace Obamacare after he repeals is, if he actually wins. ROMANS: Even Donald Trump still has the edge in the polls about who is better to fix the economy, although those polls have been narrowing. But there is this great new story we have on "CNNMONEY" about why Trump is resonating with his middle-skill workers.

What are middle-skill workers? These are people who maybe don't have a college degree but they might have college debt. They have skills that are -- and they're losing -- they're losing their wages. I want to show you this. The wage plunge for middle-skill workers in Las Vegas, 21 percent. In Miami, 18 percent. Detroit -- look at that -- 16 percent. Cleveland, 12 percent. That's from 2007 to 2015.

This is exactly why Donald Trump is resonating. Can he take the Obamacare premium increase -- can he take the economy message, over the next two weeks, and be disciplined and do better in those places, in particular? I mean, these are -- these are important battleground cities and counties.

SCOTT: Yes, voters in these areas are certainly hoping so. They've made it very clear that this economic recovery that's supposed to be happening hasn't trickled down to them. Donald Trump, though, hasn't really made it clear what he will do to make sure that they enjoy the prosperity that other people in America say --

ROMANS: Build a wall, bring back American jobs. The bring back American jobs thing is the thing that resonates with --

BERMAN: And you see Las Vegas right there. There had been some question about why was Donald Trump overperforming his national numbers in Nevada for such a long time given the demographic diversity there. That does explain one reason. There's some economic factors pulling it down.

Brianna Keilar, Eugene, was talking about Hillary Clinton and the Clinton campaign starting to focus a little bit on down-ballot races, trying to get some Democratic senators elected. We heard Elizabeth Warren, in New Hampshire, going after Kelly Ayotte and Hillary Clinton did the same. She was at that same rally supporting the governor, Maggie Hassan, who's running against the Republican incumbent -- listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Unlike her opponent, she has never been afraid to stand up to Donald Trump. She knows he shouldn't be a role model for our kids or for anybody else, for that matter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:40:10] BERMAN: So, there is this decided shift over the last 48 hours where the Clinton campaign directly is trying to weigh on in Senate races. There are still two weeks to go. I mean, this does come with some risk. Hillary Clinton hasn't been elected to anything in this race yet. SCOTT: Yes, but I think this is two-fold, so some of this is personal. Kelly Ayotte has been no friend of Hillary Clinton's during this campaign, and even before, and I think she wants to respond to that. But also, if Hillary Clinton wins she wants to get people in the Senate who are going to help her accomplish what it is that she hopes to accomplish.

This isn't going to be an easy first term for Hillary Clinton. We're going into a new administration with a lot tension and a lot of lawmakers representing a lot of different people.

ROMANS: You know, we've talked a lot this morning about how Donald Trump seems to be in denial about the polls, but I wonder what other public position can he take when he's sitting with a group of supporters in a diner and he says I think we're winning? He doesn't want a depressed turnout.

SCOTT: Yes.

ROMANS: He doesn't want to depress his own outcome, right? He -- isn't -- you know --

SCOTT: He's not going to say we're losing.

BERMAN: Well, there is a tradition to say we're the scrappy underdog.

ROMANS: Right.

BERMAN: You know, we're coming from behind. We're down but we're closing the gap. And sometimes that animates people more than saying we're actually winning, don't believe the polls. You know, it's a hard tightrope to walk. But I will say, Eugene, the one thing that popped out to me was Mike Pence -- you said it -- going to Utah.

ROMANS: Utah.

BERMAN: You know, if you had to list to me the states a year ago where you would never see a Republican candidate campaign two weeks before Election Day, Utah would have been a top five on that list.

SCOTT: Absolutely, but we've seen almost every major lawmaker in Utah come out very vocally against Donald Trump.

ROMANS: Boy, this is closing arguments phase, right? Two weeks now. I mean, it will be really interesting to see if they can cue (ph) to that message of Obamacare is bad. Jobs --I can bring them back and we can make America great again.

BERMAN: The question is, are people still listening to closing arguments or is the jury already back in the room deliberating? How do you like that metaphor? Eugene, thanks so much.

All right, the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians -- two teams with historic World Series routes, historic levels of pain -- set to begin this year's --

ROMANS: It's my team.

BERMAN: We're getting ready -- this is live pictures from Chicago where there is seriously some kind of sickness prevailing right now. This is a bar at 5:42 in the morning. Andy Scholes will come back with the Bleacher Report, next.

ROMANS: Oh, that's awesome.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:46:40] BERMAN: Hello, Cleveland. The World Series between the Cubs and Indians begins tonight.

ROMANS: Andy Scholes is there for game one. He has more on this historic match-up. Good morning.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, guys. You know, this Series really couldn't be more perfect. The biggest thing that could happen in sports right now is the Cubs winning the World Series. They haven't won in 108 years. And for the Indians -- you know, the city of Cleveland went 52 years without any kind of championship and they might get two in a matter of four months after LeBron and the Cavs won the NBA Championship back in June.

Players going through one last workout yesterday here at Progressive Field and all of the players on both sides well aware of how special this Series is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE ARRIETA, CUBS PITCHER: The Cubs nation all around the world, all around the country, they're there. They're behind us and we're ready to give them something special.

MIKE NAPOLI, INDIANS FIRST BASEMAN: I think it's going to be a special World Series. Obviously, there's two droughts so, I mean, there's going to be a winner.

KRIS BRYANT, CUBS THIRD BASEMAN: It's been a while for both of us, so some -- one of us is going to go home very happy. And it's just like I said, it's great for the sport.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Ticket prices for this World Series, it rivals the Super Bowl. Game one, tonight, the cheapest seat in the house going for about $750 right now on StubHub. Game three at Wrigley Field -- just to get in the stadium is going to cost you around $2,000. I talked to a lot of fans last night that are here in Cleveland going to game one and they said you know what, no matter what the price they wouldn't miss it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I haven't seen this. My father, grandfather, great grandfather, so here we are. We just drove in from Chicago and we have tickets for the first two games and, you know, we're looking to bring it home to Chicago. We're excited.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cleveland has a lot of energy and we'd like to put the mistake by the lake behind us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I never thought this would happen. It's great for the city.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is once in a lifetime so it really didn't matter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's once in a lifetime but the price mattered because if the price didn't matter I'd be at Wrigley.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: It's going to be one incredible sports night here in Cleveland, guys. You know, on the other side of Progressive Field, where we are right now, the Cavs are going to get their championship rings before the NBA season opener against the Knicks. That's at 7:30. Then at 8:00, game one is going to get started here between the Indians the Cubs.

You know, LeBron James was asked what could make this night any better for Cleveland and he said I don't know, maybe ice cream for everyone. Well, Blue Bunny ice cream said OK, deal. They're going to have ice cream trucks out here giving away free ice cream, guys. So you've got a World Series, championship rings, and free ice cream. What more could you ask for?

BERMAN: You really can't.

ROMANS: Someone bring in the deep dish Giordano's for the Cubs fans, you know. They've got to do something to combat that ice cream.

BERMAN: That Cubs fan was saying, you know, it's a once in a lifetime thing. If you live to 110, you know, it's a once in a lifetime thing. For most people it's like way past several lifetimes. Andy Scholes, you're the man, thanks so much.

All right, let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY". Alisyn Camerota joins us now. Good morning, Alisyn.

ROMANS: Hi, there.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Good morning, guys. Great to see you. So, Donald Trump has looked at the polls and he says that they show that he is going to win. Hillary Clinton has looked at the polls and she says they show that she's going to win.

So how does that work? This morning on "NEW DAY" Chris and I -- as soon as he gets into makeup. Look at how complicated it is for Chris to get into makeup. Look at how many people have to work on him, OK guys. I think you know that that is behind the scenes.

[05:50:00] This morning on "NEW DAY" we are going to look at the different maps that both campaigns are using and try to determine which one is more accurate.

Also, Obamacare. The premiums are set to go up in 2017. This is exactly what Republicans warned against and why they fought against Obamacare. So, how will Donald Trump use that to his advantage in the next two week?

All of that and more when Chris is finally in makeup at the top of the hour.

ROMANS: Shiny foreheads is a real killer on the Cuomo, it's true. But, you know, you're right about the Republicans. You know, Stephen Moore, who is advising Donald Trump, for years has warned that Obamacare -- exactly what is happening today would happen. He wrote about it in the pages of "The Wall Street Journal" and it's happening. And they're hoping to really seize on that over the next two weeks for their candidate.

CAMEROTA: We'll be talking a lot about that, guys.

ROMANS: Thanks, Alisyn.

BERMAN: Also, Chris' growing forehead coming up on "NEW DAY".

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:55:10] BERMAN: New developments in the battle for Mosul. Coalition forces closing in on that city. Iraqi and Peshmerga troops -- they're just a few miles from the borders now. Fighting has been fierce along the way. The coalition has already freed dozens of villages from ISIS occupation during the advance. Hundreds of ISIS fighters do appear to be packing up and fleeing Mosul, leaving in the other direction for Syria.

ROMANS: Federal authorities being urged to probe an alleged hate crime at a Mississippi high school. The NAACP says school administrators at Stone County High School did not follow proper 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 are looking into these allegations. The school superintendent released a statement saying district officials will make sure all policies and procedures were followed.

BERMAN: Officials in Minnesota paying posthumous tribute to Prince. The Chanhassen City Council voted unanimously to rezone the Paisley Park home and recording student as a museum. Approval had been delayed to address concerns about increased traffic in the community. Paisley Park will now be permanently open for public tours. That all starts on Friday.

ROMANS: Let's get a check on CNN Money Stream this morning. Dow futures up slightly after a big gain yesterday. Investors encouraged by some big mergers and upbeat corporate earnings. Stock markets in Europe and Asia mostly higher. Oil is rising, as well. More earnings today from Procter & Gamble, DuPont, 3M, General Motors, Caterpillar, among many, many others.

Shares of Time Warner and AT&T dropped yesterday after the companies announced an $85 billion merger over the weekend. Shares of Time Warner slipped more than three percent, edging even further away from the buyout price of $107 a share. Shares of AT&T fell 1.6 percent. Some investors are concerned about the price tag and the regulatory hurdles that lie ahead. Both stocks are higher for the year, you can see there -- wow. Time Warner is the parent company of both CNN and "CNNMONEY".

BERMAN: It's going to be a long year as this gets discussed.

ROMANS: It will be, but it's interesting. I talked to both CEO's yesterday and they did not seem concerned about the regulatory environment. And I asked them about the election. I said look, this is the biggest populous election we've had in my lifetime, certainly. Aren't you concerned about a big merger in that time? And they were like no, this is a good time for us to do this.

BERMAN: Interesting.

ROMANS: Watch Apple today. Shares are up slightly in premarket trading. The company reports earnings after the closing bell. A big question, will Apple end the streak of slumping iPhone sales? Despite that two quarters straight of slowing iPhone revenue the stock is still up 11 percent this year. It unveiled the new iPhone 7 in September so the first couple of weeks of sales will be included in the report, including the phone that you have in your right hand.

BERMAN: Yes.

ROMANS: Check out the new CNN Money Stream app. It's business news personalized. All the latest news from "CNNMONEY" and other leading sources all in one feed. Download it now on the App Store or Google Play.

A lot going on today. The earnings are going to be the real -- the real focus, I think.

BERMAN: All that, plus it is the final fortnight of the 2016 election campaign. I'm going to say the word fortnight all day long. Get used to it, Christine Romans.

ROMANS: Oh.

BERMAN: The final stretch. Donald Trump, despite the polls, says he is winning so what's the reality? "NEW DAY" starts right now.

ROMANS: Fortnight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The system is corrupt, and it's rigged, and it's broken.

WARREN: Get this, Donald. Nasty women are tough, nasty women are smart, and nasty women vote.

TRUMP: They are phony polls put out by phony media.

OBAMA: The brand of politics Hillary represents, it's not something that goes into a 140 characters.

TRUMP: Repeal and replace Obamacare. It's only getting worse.

CLINTON: He shouldn't be a role model for our kids or for anybody else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota.

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone, welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Tuesday, October 25th, 6:00 in the East.

Up first, Election Day is exactly two weeks away. A fortnight --

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, well said.

CAMEROTA: -- as John Berman would say. National polls show Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump by five points, 49 to 44 percent in the final stretch of the campaign, but Trump says he is winning. He dismisses what he calls phony polls from the media.

CUOMO: Hey, and there's a lot that can still happen. Look what just hit the trail. Clinton facing a new challenge. Obamacare premiums are going to soar by double digits next year. Now, what's that going to mean on the race? Trump and Clinton are battling it out for votes in Florida -- big 29 electoral down there. We have it all covered.

Let's begin with CNN's Jason Carroll in Miami. Good morning, Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And goodmorning to you, Chris. You know that the Trump campaign says that the large crowds that they draw at their rallies shows that this candidate is doing well. They say that the media is ignoring it and they say the pollsters are just getting it all wrong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: Donald Trump on the defensive.

TRUMP: I believe we're actually winning.

CARROLL: Trump flat out denying he is behind in the polls as he blazes through the battleground state of Florida.

TRUMP: They are phony polls put out by phony media.