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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Trump Lashes Out After NYC Terror Attack; Manhattan Terror Suspect In Court; Astros Hold Off Dodgers To Win First-Ever World Series. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired November 02, 2017 - 05:30   ET

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


[05:30:20] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have to get much less politically correct. We're so politically correct that we're afraid to do anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: The president now calling for the death penalty for the suspect in the Manhattan terror attack. His decision to quickly politicize this attack is drawing scorn.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: And disturbing details emerging about the suspect. He began planning a year ago, self-radicalized in the U.S., and he says he feels good about what he's done.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. Thirty minutes past the hour.

President Trump already taking heavy criticism for politicizing Tuesday's terror attack in Manhattan. He may have made things worse with a late-night tweet.

The president saying, quote, "NYC terrorist was happy as he asked to hang his ISIS flag in his hospital room. He killed eight people, badly injured 12. Should get the death penalty." a This tweet came after the suspect was charged in court with providing material support to ISIS, which does carry the death penalty.

ROMANS: Legal experts were quick to point out this sort of public suggestion could taint any jury pool if the suspect is tried in New York.

Now, the came hours after Mr. Trump lashed out at the justice system.

BRIGGS: Let's go live to Washington and bring in our friend Tal Kopan, CNN political reporter. Good to see you, Tal.

All right, let's talk about the president and what he said about the criminal justice system and how his press secretary Sarah Sanders attempted to walk it back -- listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We need quick justice and we need strong justice, much quicker and much stronger than we have right now because what we have right now is a joke and it's a laughingstock.

SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: That's not what he said.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said that the system of justice in this country is a joke.

SANDERS: He said that process. He said the process has people calling us a joke and calling us a laughingstock.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: OK, Tal, we could have a 30-minute conversation about the credibility of the White House --

ROMANS: Let's don't.

BRIGGS: -- podium after that because that is clearly not in any way, shape, or form what the president said.

But let's talk about what the president said and how serious that implication is, saying his criminal justice system is a joke, is a laughingstock.

TAL KOPAN, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: The implications of that are incredibly serious, as you said, Dave.

First of all, when you talk about our justice system you are talking about some of the most important parts of our constitution. And the Supreme Court has heard these cases over and over on our due process rights as Americans and there are some fundamental aspects of that, including your rights to a fair trial.

And, yes, sometimes that can make the process go a bit methodically because it ensures that anyone who is charged with a crime has the ability to defend themselves from that crime. But that is a core of our constitution which, in many ways, is the envy of the world -- our democratic system. So to have the President of the United States on camera sort of trashing a jewel of justice is unusual.

And, you know, another aspect of that tweet divulging information from law enforcement --

BRIGGS: Yes.

KOPAN: -- is another remarkable development. So there's a lot that's going on here that's sort of unprecedented when you get into --

ROMANS: Right.

KOPAN: -- the specifics of it.

ROMANS: Let's look at that tweet from 11:43 last night. "NYC terrorist was happy as he asked to hang ISIS flag in his hospital room. He killed eight people, badly injured 12. Should get death penalty."

This, after saying that the American justice system was a laughingstock.

I would point out the suspect was apprehended, arrested, has already been charged and appeared in court. And one of the charges, material support to ISIS, does already carry the death penalty, so that's one point.

The second point is the President of the United States weighing in on matters like this. I mean, we know this is a president who is not normal like -- that's not what I mean to say about normal. Maybe I do mean to say that. No, he doesn't act like a traditional president in this way and that could potentially taint a jury pool.

KOPAN: Yes. Can you imagine a defense attorney with this material, you know, pulling potential jurors and asking all of them do you follow the president's tweets, do you follow the news about the president and what he said about this case?

It's almost hard to fathom that we've reached that point but it's absolutely something that a defense attorney is going to want to at least try in figuring out whether this individual can get a fair trial by jury.

[05:35:01] BRIGGS: Yes, 40 million followers, the president has on Twitter. No matter how many are bots, that could certainly change a jury pool.

Let's talk about, though, all the things the president has said about immigration in the wake of all this and what "The Wall Street Journal" -- the conservative Murdoch-owned "Wall Street Journal" writes about his rhetoric.

Quote, "It's unfortunate and counterproductive that President Trump's first instinct has been to politicize the tragedy by blaming, what else? Immigration.

Perhaps we will learn that Uzbekistan is a terror breeding ground from which immigrants need special vetting. But the commander in chief, in particular, should wait for answers before jumping to policy conclusions or exploiting immigration fears."

BRIGGS: You cover immigration for a living here at CNN. Has anything the president said about extreme vetting or all these various policies protect the United States from future terror attacks?

KOPAN: Well look, the concept of extreme vetting is a little confusing. Obviously, there's been the travel ban but certainly, the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department have been slowly implementing measures that they believe strengthen their vetting.

But, you know, keep in mind there was an insinuation and an outright statement from the White House yesterday that diversity lottery candidates, which is the way that this individual came to the U.S., are not vetted and that is not true.

What is true is that these individuals are selected randomly but they have to be qualified first -- there are some requirements within the law. And then, they have to meet the requirements of anyone to enter the United States, and that includes they can't be connected to terror. There is an interview process, there's a security check, and so these individuals coming here are vetted.

And you mentioned earlier there's at least an early belief that some of the radicalization or all of the radicalization may have happened here, coming to the U.S. It's not really possible to screen every individual coming to the U.S. -- in the U.S. -- whether they will ever commit a bad act someday. That's just not how reality works.

And so, while there is a call for vetting measures, which is a very important part of our national security, to imply that there wasn't vetting when this individual came here is just not true.

ROMANS: Let's talk a little bit about this part of this because I was hearing New York officials, yesterday, talk about hey, well wait, the president's own budget proposes cuts -- steep cuts for some of these counterterrorism and combating terrorism funds and grants that go to places like New York City.

So the president's talking very, very tough about political correctness but the money in the budget -- you know, there's a -- there's a very clear disconnect between his policies and his rhetoric.

KOPAN: There is absolutely a feeling among lawmakers -- it has been since the beginning of the year when the president proposed his budget -- that it makes way too steep cuts to some grant programs. Really, a wide variety of them that help local and state law enforcement prepare for domestic extremism, for terrorism, to try to prevent those things from happening. I have a story up on cnn.com that goes into the numbers.

But there are hundreds of millions at stake nationally that the administration has proposed to cut and a city and state like New York itself stand to lose millions, and that's on top of the administration effort to take away law enforcement funds from some major cities on the immigration and sanctuary cities battlefront.

So yes, absolutely, the administration has proposed some steep cuts.

Now, the Department of Homeland Security says that what it's trying to do is overhaul these programs and make sure that they're efficient and actually work.

ROMANS: Right.

KOPAN: That's their line. And it's also pretty clear that lawmakers intend to preserve that funding. But certainly, it's what the administration has proposed to do.

BRIGGS: All right. That's their guideline. That's the White House blueprint. All right. Tal Kopan, thanks so much. We appreciate it.

KOPAN: Thank you.

ROMANS: It's great to have her here this morning.

BRIGGS: Indeed.

All right. As for the terror investigation itself, Sayfullo Saipov now charged with providing material support to ISIS. Authorities say the Uzbekistan native self-radicalized in America after arriving in 2010.

ROMANS: The complaint against him says he chose to strike on Halloween because he believed there would be more civilians on the street.

We get more from CNN's Jason Carroll.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, Dave, the suspect appeared in federal court last night. He appeared in a wheelchair.

He did not enter a plea. That will come later.

He is facing two counts, including providing material support to a terrorist organization, that organization being ISIS. The U.S. attorney has 30 days to indict and at that time, that is when he's expected to enter a plea.

But he's already talking, giving investigators a great deal of information about his state of mind. And, in fact, when he was interviewed in his hospital room apparently, he told investigators that he felt good about what he had done and at one point asked if an ISIS flag could be hung in his hospital room.

Also, according to the federal complaint, more information revealed as well. He rented that rental truck at 2:06 p.m. on Wednesday but it was actually on October 22nd that he also rented a truck so he could practice doing turns, we are told.

[05:40:13] Also, at one point he thought about hanging ISIS flags on his rental truck but thought, in some way, that that might draw some attention.

And initially, the original plan was for him to go beyond the West Side Highway and continue onto the Brooklyn Bridge. But, of course, he was stopped when he crashed into that school -- that school bus.

Once again, learning more about his connection to ISIS from a letter that was left behind near the truck which basically was written in Arabic and in English, which included ISIS propaganda -- Christine, Dave.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Jason Carroll for us in New York.

All right. President Trump will name the next chair of the Federal Reserve today and it could mean current chief Janet Yellen is out of a job.

Leading the U.S. Central Bank, of course, is one of the most powerful jobs in the world. The president teased his pick during his cabinet meeting yesterday. He told reporters they'd be impressed.

The current frontrunner is Fed governor Jerome Powell, is what a White House official tells CNN. He's a former investment banker. He's been on the Federal Reserve's board since 2012, a Republican. He would be the first fed chief in more than 40 years who is not an economist.

Now, Yellen's term is up in February and Powell has been right alongside her for much of her agenda, so there won't be a huge shift in monetary policy if he gets the top job.

But regulation, that will likely be another story. He's not as tough on banks as Yellen.

Powell largely supports Dodd-Frank. That's the sweeping reforms put in after the financial crisis. But he has opposed parts of the law -- the parts that prevent banks from making risky bets with taxpayer money.

So look to see if maybe there's a regulation angle there.

BRIGGS: So the markets will react favorably, presumably?

ROMANS: I mean, the markets -- you don't want to change the horse midstream and there's a lot going on in the economy and with the Fed's balance sheet, but Jerome Powell is a known quantity.

BRIGGS: All right. Ahead, a devastating year for the city of Houston capped off with an exhilarating World Series victory.

A man who's as happy as these Astros players, Andy Scholes. That smile has not worn off despite the fact he hasn't slept. He has the "Bleacher Report" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:46:32] BRIGGS: It took seven hard-fought games but the Houston Astros are World Series champs for the first time in their 55-year history, Romans.

ROMANS: And, Andy Scholes is so happy. His clothes soaked after the game. It was a combination of tears of joy and champagne.

BRIGGS: All right. Is that what I smell? Tears and champagne?

ROMANS: Tears and champagne for Andy Scholes. Hi, Andy. ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, guys, and tears and champagne says it perfectly because I literally cried when the Astros won and I'm not joking. I had tears coming down from my eyes.

Even though I showered I still smell like champagne. I think it's coming out of my ears or something.

But, you know, as a lifelong Astros fan it was the best night ever. I still have not gone to sleep and I doubt the city of Houston has either. They've been waiting for this for 55 years.

And, George Springer was, once again, the hero. He homered in in the second to give the Astros a 5-0 lead. He's the first player ever to hit a home run in four straight World Series game. He is the MVP of the series.

And the Stros pitching staff coming through with a great performance. Charlie Morton avoids getting speared by a broken bat there. He goes four strong innings to close this game out.

The Astros win what was an awesome World Series, taking game seven 5- 1.

And I was in the clubhouse for the celebration and all of the players could not be happier to bring a title to the city of Houston, especially after what it went through with Hurricane Harvey.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX BREGMAN, THIRD BASEMAN, HOUSTON ASTROS: Are you kidding me? This is what you dream about as a kid.

We're so fired up. We did it for the city of Houston. I'm so proud to call Houston home. It's unbelievable.

JOSH REDDICK, OUTFIELDER, HOUSTON ASTROS: We wanted to pick up our city going through all this tragedy and really trying to pick a city up. To bring a championship was goal from day one and if we could it after a tragedy, even better.

LANCE MCCULLERS, JR., PITCHER, HOUSTON ASTROS: Times weren't easy and they were pretty impossible for a lot of people, and the fact that we got to be like a small part of just people being able to get away from it and to enjoy some moments is special.

GEORGE SPRINGER, OUTFIELDER, HOUSTON ASTROS, WORLD SERIES MVP: This means the world, it's incredible. I'm at a loss for words.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: A pretty cool moment. Right after the game, shortstop Carlos Correa surprising everyone by proposing to his girlfriend on the broadcast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CARLOS CORREA, SHORTSTOP, HOUSTON ASTROS: Daniella Rodriguez, you make me the happiest man in the world. Will you marry me? Will you marry me?

DANIELLA RODRIGUEZ: Oh my God.

CORREA: I'm pretty sure of the decision I made and I was planning that if we were World Series champions that I was going to do it right there. I don't think that's a stage you can create, it just has to happen. And we were able to win tonight so perfect timing for me to get engaged.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Now, this Astros win even more incredible because "Sports Illustrated" predicted it back in 2014. This was the cover with George Springer on it back then with the title "Baseball's Great Experiment." How they broke down the entire team to build it back up.

And check out the cover they're going to have coming out. The new title, "Baseball's Great Prophecy."

ROMANS: Cool.

BRIGGS: Yes, that --

SCHOLES: Guys --

BRIGGS: Go ahead.

SCHOLES: I got -- I was going to tell you I literally became a sports reporter to one day cover one of my Houston sports team winning a championship. So I guess I need a new dream now because that one has now been fulfilled.

ROMANS: Andy Scholes is going to retire.

BRIGGS: There's still the Rockets.

SCHOLES: Right.

BRIGGS: But you remember then when that "Sports Illustrated" came out, the prior year they lost 110-111 games.

[05:50:00] ROMANS: Yes.

SCHOLES: Yes, and they lost over 100 games three years in a row.

BRIGGS: Yes.

SCHOLES: And that's -- that was the whole -- that was the whole thing. It's called "Baseball's Great Experiment" because G.M. Jeff Luhnow said you know what, the way we're going to win is that we're going to be really bad for a few years, get all these great draft picks.

BRIGGS: Yes.

SCHOLES: George Springer was the first one. That's why he's on the cover because -- I even remember that day when George -- we called it George Springer Day when he got called up because he was the first sign of hope for the Astros. And it certainly paid off in the end, winning a championship.

BRIGGS: And he was three for 30 ahead of game two. They could have easily benched him and never been blamed. So, three for 30 --

ROMANS: Wow.

BRIGGS: -- to MVP.

Andy Scholes, congratulations, and to everyone in Houston as well.

SCHOLES: Thanks so much, guys.

ROMANS: All right, 50 minutes past the hour.

The scandal over Russian-bought ads has not hurt Facebook sales. But the CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, says preventing abuse is going to cost him in the future but they're going to do it.

Details on "CNN Money Stream," next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:55:21] BRIGGS: All right. Police in Thornton, Colorado looking for a murderer on the loose this morning. They're putting out this picture of a person they want to speak with about the shooting at Walmart, just north of Denver.

Authorities warning the gunman is armed and dangerous. The suspect shot and killed three people, two men and a woman all shot inside the store. The female victim pronounced dead after being transported to a local hospital.

We'll keep you up-to-date with all the details on "NEW DAY."

ROMANS: Hollywood director and producer Brett Ratner denying accusations of sexual misconduct. In a "Los Angeles Times" story, six women, including actress Olivia Munn, accuse Ratner. His attorney says Ratner's name will be cleared once the current media frenzy dies down.

Ratner is the latest in a series of powerful men in Hollywood and in the media to face sexual misconduct allegations.

Now, one of the most powerful women in the media is weighing in. I spoke to Martha Stewart and asked her this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Where do you think we are as a moment for women at work? I don't go an hour without someone talking about the revelations about powerful people who acted inappropriately.

MARTHA STEWART, MEDIA ENTREPRENEUR: I think it would have been better to call them out originally instead of 15-20 years later.

ROMANS: They didn't have the power, though.

STEWART: Well, I had it. I called them out. I remember saying, you know, stay away from me, creep, you know.

But you have to -- you have to feel good about yourself --

ROMANS: Right.

STEWART: -- in order to behave in the way that you deem appropriate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Obviously, a very big topic of conversation among women in all sorts of industries.

Our conversation was about her new line at QVC, about her business, how to stay relevant, and this amazing new show with Snoop Dogg.

Michelle Obama taking a subtle swipe at President Trump without referring to him by name. During a conversation with poet Elizabeth Alexander, the former first lady offered young people this simple advice on tweeting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY: This whole tell it like it is business, that's nonsense. You know, you don't just say what's on your mind. You don't tweet every thought.

I'm not talking about anybody in particular. I'm talking about us all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Mrs. Obama went on to say most initial thoughts are not worthy of the light of day. And she suggested to spellcheck tweets, too, after you've pondered them for a minute.

Let's get a check on "CNN Money Stream" this morning.

Global stocks mixed. Wall Street closed mostly higher after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged. It was expected but Fed officials hinted at a rate hike, potentially, in December.

The Fed has raised interest rates twice this year. Interest rates, of course, affect borrowing costs for credit cards, auto loans, mortgages.

Fed leaders also noted the economy's strength, particularly in the labor market. That's despite recent job losses because of those hurricanes. The next big jobs report comes out tomorrow with the October jobs number.

The crisis over Russian-bought ads has not slowed down Facebook yet. Sales topped $10 billion last quarter. That's up nearly 50 percent from last year, fueled mainly by advertising.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said future profit, though, will take a hit because the company will invest heavily to prevent abuse on its site. Facebook has been harshly criticized for letting misinformation run rampant in 2016, for completely underplaying and missing what was going on from the Russians on their platform.

Executives from Facebook, as well as Google and Twitter, they're on Capitol Hill this week. They face tough questions about what you're seeing right there on your screen. Those ads -- Russian ads meddling in the election of 2016.

BRIGGS: I'm suspect. Will transparency, will security help? There's a willingness to click on and a willingness to share these ads, and they're going to allow them.

ROMANS: Fascinating to see how they're going to be able to police that when --

BRIGGS: Yes.

ROMANS: Until now, they have just been basically a platform. They have not been the -- you know, the censor.

All right, thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs.

President Trump calling for the death penalty for the New York terror suspect. Will that harm the case? "NEW DAY" starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Contrast what he did in Las Vegas. The president said hang on a second, we can't politicize this tragedy, but he did the exact opposite today.

TRUMP: We need quick, strong justice. What we have right now is a joke.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know what the president was referring to. The penalties in terrorism cases are extreme.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: The president ought to stop tweeting and start leading.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The suspect was planning this for about a year and he chose Halloween because he wanted a big impact.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: This was the actions of a depraved coward.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He did do preplanning, which means somebody's got to know something.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The commitment these people have goes beyond what's easy for us to imagine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)