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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Trump To Iran's President: Never Threaten The U.S. Again; President Trump Fumes Over Pace Of North Korea Talks; Humanitarian Effort Evacuates Hundreds From Syria; Uber And Lyft Suspend Livestreaming Driver. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired July 23, 2018 - 05:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:30:18] DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking, some tough talk from Iran met with a blunt warning by the U.S. President Trump says further threats from Tehran will bring severe consequences. And the secretary of state compares Iran's leadership to the mafia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: Yes, I don't think they did anything wrong. I think they went to the court; they got the judges to approve it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Republicans refuting the president's claim that newly-released documents prove his campaign was spied on. The president now undoing a week of rebuilding support for the Intel Community.

BRIGGS: And a driver for Uber and Lyft is off the road after live- streaming passengers. It turns out nothing illegal here.

We'll have reports this morning from London, Jerusalem, Hong Kong, and from New York.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everybody. I'm Dave Briggs.

ROMANS: It is Monday, folks. It is 5:30 in the east. I'm Christine Romans.

Let's begin with this. Tensions between the United States and Iran escalating dramatically overnight. It all started early Sunday when Iranian President Rouhani cautioned President Trump about pursuing hostile policies.

Rouhani said, quote, "America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars."

BRIGGS: Last night, via Twitter, President Trump warning Rouhani in all caps, "NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!"

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh live from London for us this morning.

Nick, a lot of people just waking up this morning having no idea where this came from. Take us back.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And I was one of them, frankly. Block capital letters mean a lot in the Middle East certainly, an area already roiled (ph) with a lot of different tensions and conflicts.

Now -- yes, how did we get here? Well, the U.S. pulled out of a nuclear agreement that was designed to keep Iran's nuclear program in check by the Obama administration. They're ratcheting up sanctions. They've come up with kind of like a wish list of 12 areas they'd like to see Iran effectively bend to their will. Unlikely that's going to happen so they continue to keep the rhetoric going.

Hassan Rouhani's comments in reference to those economic tensions built up by sanctions mounting. The Iranian economy is already under deep pressure. There were protests inside Iran about the collapse of its currency and general economic slide there. Of course, that tweet was responded to by President Trump's tweet.

At the same time, we had U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in California, giving a speech in which he basically said we shouldn't be fooled by the moderate nature of the current Hassan Rouhani administration.

Remember, Iran has kind of a guardian counsel running the country of ayatollahs that have their revolutionary guard close to them. But also, sort of an executive -- a more moderate government led by Mr. Rouhani.

We shouldn't be fooled by that moderate nature. In fact, they are extremists.

Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE: The bitter irony of the economic situation in Iran is that the regime uses this same time to line its own pockets while its people cry out for jobs, and reform, and for opportunity. The Iranian economy is going great but only if you're a politically-connected member of the elite.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: Now, there's a $95 billion slush fund, he claimed without providing details, used by the ayatollahs and the guard there to keep their position globally and in the country sweeter.

Yes, of course, there are economic issues there. The big misconception, I feel at this point, is that there is some belief in the U.S. State Department there's a liberal alternative Iranian government in a box willing to take over from the Rouhani administration. That's highly unlikely.

And, in fact, what we've seen recently is Rouhani having to edge more hardline positions to keep sweet with the hardliners inside of Iran, but it's exactly what the U.S. does not want.

We heard the foreign ministry spokesperson today in Iran say that this kind of rhetoric simply unites the Iranian people.

Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu -- sorry, Prime Minister Netanyahu coming forwards and supporting this stance, too. It could potentially get ugly but only through the proxies of Israel or inside of Syria where the U.S. has troops.

We're unlikely to see overnight, unless something goes terribly, badly wrong Dave, the U.S. and Iran in any kind of open shooting war soon.

Back to you.

BRIGGS: Yes, the oil markets do not think there's pending military action, barely blinking overnight.

Nick Paton Walsh live for us this morning. Thank you.

ROMANS: All right. It is just under six weeks since President Trump declared North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat. But a U.S. official tells CNN the president has privately fumed about the slow pace of denuclearization.

For the latest, let's bring in CNN's Will Ripley live in Hong Kong.

And Will, this is what foreign policy experts have been saying for weeks now, that be careful how the North Koreans -- their brand of diplomacy is -- can be very frustrating.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And they were saying that in the months leading up to the Singapore summit Christine because the North Korean definition of denuclearization, slow, step- by-step with the easing of sanctions with each step that the North Koreans take.

[05:35:07] Vastly different from what the United States thought was going to happen, apparently -- at least members of the Trump administration thought North Korea was going to be fully transparent about nuclear sites and missile sites and give up their nuclear warheads in a matter of months.

Well, a North Korean source -- a source close to the North Korean side of the negotiations I spoke with overnight said not so fast. The North Koreans already feel that they have done enough. They haven't launched a missile or conducted a nuclear test since November.

They've destroyed their nuclear test site at Punggye-ri or at least they claimed they did. There were no international experts there to back up what we saw on the ground as journalists.

And in the coming days, they are expected to hand over dozens of sets of what they say are remains of U.S. service members killed in the Korean War.

So, North Koreans say it's now time for the Trump administration to give them something. They want sanctions relief. And even more importantly than that, they want a peace treaty formally ending the Korean War, which they feel would guarantee the survival of Kim Jong Un's government.

And my North Korean source saying that at least, for now, the North Koreans have no intent of walking away from denuclearization talks. But that source also saying if the United States doesn't take these -- what they say are bold moves -- they could walk away at some point down the road.

And they are further emboldened by the fact that even while things aren't going so well with the United States, things are going very well right now with North Korea's traditional allies, China and Russia -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Will Ripley, thank you so much for that from Hong Kong this morning.

BRIGGS: All right.

Joining us this morning, CNN political analyst Julian Zelizer, historian and professor at Princeton University.

ROMANS: Hello again, Julian.

BRIGGS: Good to see you, sir.

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, HISTORIAN AND PROFESSOR, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, AUTHOR, "THE FIERCE URGENCY OF NOW": Hello, again.

BRIGGS: All right. We'll get to Iran in a moment but let's pick up there on Will Ripley's reporting about North Korea.

Here's what Lindsey Graham said directly to the president on a Sunday show regarding North Korea's actions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Mr. President, North Korea is playing the same old game with you they played with every other president. You're being tough on China, and you should be, but China's pulling North Korea back.

You need to make sure that China and North Korea know and believes that you're different than everybody else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Interesting tactic there --

ZELIZER: Right.

BRIGGS: -- from Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham. Will the president listen?

ZELIZER: Probably not. I mean, here -- first of all, you have him speaking through television to the president, which is kind of astounding because that means he doesn't have his direct ear.

But, President Trump does what he wants on foreign policy. He's a renegade leader and it's very hard to get his ear. I don't think Graham can influence him.

ROMANS: Let's talk about Iran here -- fire and fury, Iran edition is what we've got here. I mean, the president talked very tough about North Korea and now, the president's using the same sort of tactic with Iran.

Is this a dangerous game to play here -- all capital letters? We're going to -- unlike anything you've ever seen before is what he's threatening.

ZELIZER: It's extraordinarily dangerous. You're one tweet away from a really big mistake that ends up with a huge conflict so we shouldn't take this kind of diplomacy -- or the opposite of diplomacy lightly. And this could have huge consequences in the region so hopefully, there's some plan in the administration about how to handle this.

BRIGGS: In stark contrast to the punt standing next to Putin.

ZELIZER: Yes.

BRIGGS: This, however, though, is the guy that Trump supporters voted for, is it not?

ZELIZER: Oh, absolutely. This won't hurt him politically, it will probably help him. And it's not just the base, it's the Republican Party generally supports this stance.

The question is does this kind of action on Twitter shake people because you see the potential consequences of his leadership style. But so far, it looks like it's working for him.

ROMANS: And in "The Wall Street Journal" this morning on page A4, the president's rating inching higher -- his approval rating to 45 percent, the highest of his presidency although still historically low for a president. And, 88 percent --

BRIGGS: And that's the one that matter.

ROMANS: -- among the Republican base -- 88 percent.

BRIGGS: Eighty-eight.

ZELIZER: Right. So going into the midterms it's not just him, it's Republicans see those numbers and they're much less likely to push back against them --

ROMANS: Yes.

ZELIZER: -- on almost anything, other than going on television occasionally and warning him to adjust his direction.

BRIGGS: One of the Republicans pushing back on the president is Marco Rubio, who has been, in recent weeks, in particular on the president's allegations that the FBI illegally surveilled or spied on the campaign.

They released a FISA warrant on Carter Page over the weekend.

Here's what Rubio said about Trump's allegations that this was illegal spying -- listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIO: I don't think they did anything wrong. I think they went to the court, they got the judges to approve it. They laid out all the information and there was a lot of reasons unrelated to the dossier for why they wanted to look at Carter Page. And, Carter Page was not a key member of the Trump campaign but -- and the Trump campaign has said that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Case closed?

ZELIZER: Well, no. I mean, look, it should be --

BRIGGS: Yes.

ZELIZER: -- and I think he was one of the lone voices in the GOP saying anything yesterday about that but let's see if he does anything with that rhetoric.

Does he protect the Mueller investigation? Does he take any legislative steps to put some muscle behind his words? So far, Rubio hasn't so we'll see if he follows up.

BRIGGS: Trey Gowdy has also said, again, nothing improper or illegal --

ZELIZER: Right.

BRIGGS: -- was done here. They did exactly what you would want them to do.

[05:40:01] Julian Zelizer, thanks for being here.

ROMANS: All right, nice to see you, Julian -- thanks. All right.

President Trump back where he started a week ago, questioning whether Russia interfered in the U.S. election. He spent much of last week trying to convince everyone he believed the intel after questioning it -- remember, as he stood alongside Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. Now, the president is again scoffing at the conclusion of U.S intelligence.

"So, President Obama knew about Russia before the election. Why didn't he do something about it? Why didn't he tell our campaign? Because it is all a big hoax."

BRIGGS: Now, for the record, the president was briefed about potential Russian interference in August of 2016. And even before his tweet last night, GOP leaders were raising concerns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. TREY GOWDY (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: The evidence is overwhelming. The president either needs to rely on the people that he has chosen to advise him or those advisers need to reevaluate whether or not they can serve in this administration, but the disconnect cannot continue.

GRAHAM: He's changed his mind four times this week. You didn't collude with the Russians -- or at least, I haven't seen any evidence -- but Mr. President, they meddled in the elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Senator Lindsey Graham calling on President Trump to oppose new heavy-handed sanctions on Russia before Vladimir Putin visits Washington.

ROMANS: Breaking overnight, at least 14 people shot in the Greektown neighborhood of central Toronto. Police say one of the victims has died and another, a young girl, is in critical condition.

Officials say the shooter is dead.

Witnesses transported by bus so investigators can interview them. One witness standing near the scene told CTV he heard about 20 shots and the sound of a weapon being reloaded repeatedly.

All right. Corporate America doesn't always agree with President Trump but one of the world's most powerful CEOs says that doesn't mean business shouldn't work with the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMIE DIMON, CEO, JPMORGAN CHASE: I think it's a mistake to say that because business is trying to work with government that they're supporting every policy of the government. That just is not true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: More of my exclusive interview with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, next.

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[05:46:04] BRIGGS: In an extraordinary move, Israel is helping to evacuate more than 400 Syrians, including members of the White Helmets rescue group to neighboring Jordan. Syrian regime forces have been tightening their grip on southern Syria with help of allies, including the Russians.

CNN's Oren Liebermann live in Jerusalem with the latest. Oren, good morning. OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, and that's why it was so important to get the White Helmets and these other Syrian civilians out as quickly as possible.

Syria and Russia both consider the White Helmets, a volunteer rescue group operating in Syria -- they are considered terrorist organizations by the Syrians and Russians which is why it was so important to get them out as Syrian forces closed in.

It was much was an international effort led by the United States, Canada, Germany, France, all of whom consider the White Helmets as humanitarian workers doing a very critical job in war-torn Syria.

More than 400 Syrian civilians, including those White Helmets, came through Israel to Jordan where they are now before they'll be moved to western countries where they will find safe haven.

But we have spoken with another member of the White Helmets in Syria who says they still have some 300 members who weren't able to get out because of regime roadblocks and fighting between Syrian forces and an ISIS affiliate in southern Syria. So they're calling on the international community to step up once again and try to get even more of these White Helmets out. That's in northern Israel.

Meanwhile, in southern Israel, a severe escalation on Friday after a Palestinian gunman shot and killed an Israeli soldier on Friday morning. That led to retaliation with the IDF turning a wide-scale attack.

The military hit dozens of military -- Hamas military targets in Gaza throughout Friday. Those airstrikes killed four Palestinians, three of which were members of Hamas' military wing.

There is a ceasefire in place now, Dave. So far, it seems to be holding.

BRIGGS: OK. Oren Liebermann live for us this morning in Jerusalem. Thank you.

ROMANS: All right.

Corporate America doesn't always agree with President Trump, praising him for corporate tax cuts but clashing on policies like trade and immigration, including the head of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon.

I spoke to him in an exclusive interview at the bank's Entrepreneurs of Color fund event in Chicago. He said he would still work with President Trump even though he disagrees with most of his policies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: You have said of the president -- of Trump -- he's the President of the United States. I believe he is a pilot flying our airplane.

I would ask you -- you know, you support him because he is the President of the United States, obviously. But is it clear what the flight path is of this airplane? Do you see the strategy in where he's going here?

JAMIE DIMON, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, JPMORGAN CHASE: I don't agree with all the policies of the president. I've already spoken about trade and immigration. And so -- but I still want him to get immigration done and if he was -- if we can help get it done we're going to be there.

ROMANS: Yes.

DIMON: So you can't take yourself off the playing field.

One of my daughters sent me a note about getting involved and that I shouldn't be involved like that, and she gave me a Martin Luther King quote. And I called her up and said you know, Julia, sweetheart, you're right but Martin Luther King didn't take him off the playing field.

ROMANS: Right.

DIMON: He'd be calling the president every time he can to further his agenda. And so, business -- that's what business does.

ROMANS: Right.

DIMON: I think it's a mistake to say that because business is trying to work with government that they're supporting every policy of the government. That just is not true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Dimon warns that Trump's trade policy, in particular, could hurt economic growth. And he's -- on climate change, on trade policy, and a whole host of other things, a lot of business leaders in this country are on the opposite side --

BRIGGS: Yes.

ROMANS: -- of the president.

And on trade policy, he's very concerned that if it's not done properly -- if it's not done right you're going to undo the benefits of the tax -- of the tax cuts.

All right.

Right now, global stocks lower today. Trade shares still shaking the markets.

Last week, President Trump threatened tariffs on all the U.S. imports from China. That, along with the president's criticism of the Federal Reserve, sparked a sell-off on Wall Street.

It's a big week for corporate earnings. More than a third of S&P 500 companies set to report, including some tech giants -- Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook. And some big names in telecom, air travel, autos, and food.

Fiat Chrysler's longtime CEO is stepping down due to health concerns. Over the weekend, Fiat Chrysler announced the sudden resignation of Sergio Marchionne. He experienced unexpected complications following surgery.

[05:50:00] Fiat Chrysler says he will not be able to return to work. The CEO of Jeep will replace him.

Marchionne is an automotive legend. He's widely credited with rescuing Chrysler after the financial crisis.

Papa John's board is preventing its controversial founder from gaining control of the pizza chain. Last week, John Schnatter resigned as executive chairman after he used a racial slur during a conference call on sensitivity training, ironically. Since then, Papa John's has been trying to cut ties with Schnatter.

He still owns 30 percent of the company's share. Last night, the board adopted a plan to keep stockholders from gaining a controlling stake in Papa John's. Essentially, a poison pill.

Schnatter has apologized for this comment but he has questioned his decision to resign, something the board has not questioned.

BRIGGS: Yes, it looks like a fight ahead. The stock largely unchanged through all of this.

All right, ahead, the duck boat that sank, killing 17 people last week, will be raised to the surface today. What survivors say about life jackets on board and why no one was wearing them. Would they even have helped the situation?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:55:29] BRIGGS: The duck boat that sank in Missouri last week killing 17 people will be raised from the bottom of Table Rock Lake today.

A source close to the investigation telling CNN the 17 who died were not wearing life jackets. According to the survivors, the captain said there were life jackets above but passengers wouldn't need them.

ROMANS: Tia Coleman is one of those survivors. She lost nine members -- nine members of her family in this tragedy, including her husband and three children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIA COLEMAN, SURVIVED DUCK BOAT SINKING AT TABLE ROCK LAKE, LOST NINE FAMILY MEMBERS: Going home, I already know it's going to be completely difficult. I don't know how I'm going to do it.

I'm a -- since I've had a home, it's always been filled with -- it's always been filled with little feet and laughter, and my husband. I don't know how I'm going to do it. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Calls for new safety regulations are growing after the accident but many regulations following a similar incident in Arkansas in 1999 were never implemented.

BRIGGS: The suspect in Saturday's deadly armed standoff at a Los Angeles Trader Joe's is being held on $2 million bail. Twenty-eight- year-old Gene Evin Atkins faces one count of murder with other charges pending. A Trader Joe's employee, Melyda Corado, died in the standoff.

Police say Atkins crashed a car near the store after firing at officers. He was fleeing authorities following a shooting involving his grandmother.

Shoppers began running from the store when Atkins burst in, with some employees climbing out a back window on a chain ladder.

ROMANS: Uber and Lyft have suspended a driver following a report he live-streamed passengers without consent. The "St. Louis Post- Dispatch" reports the driver, 32-year-old Jason Gargac, filmed his passengers and their interactions. The livestream occasionally revealed passengers' full names and addresses, as well as private conversations and intimate moments.

But it turns out it is all completely legal. Missouri is a one-party consent state, meaning only one person in a conversation needs to be aware of a recording. Still, both rideshare companies deactivated the driver's accounts.

CNN was unable to reach Gargac, but he told the "Post-Dispatch" the cameras were there for his own security.

BRIGGS: A fascinating story -- all right.

CVS apologizing for a pharmacist' refusal to fill a transgender woman's prescription. In April, Hilde Hall tried to fill her first hormone therapy prescription. The pharmacist refused and she says humiliated her in front of other customers.

When no one at CVS addressed her concerns she filed a complaint with the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy. CVS Health says the pharmacist violated its policies and is no longer employed by the company.

ROMANS: Sixteen varieties of Ritz Crackers and Ritz Bits are being recalled because of the risk of salmonella. The company says the products contain whey powder which has been recalled by the powder supplier due to the potential presence of salmonella. To get the latest information about that Ritz recall go to ritzcrackers.com.

BRIGGS: Well, it's not quite Steve Bartman-level outrage but a Cubs fan getting ripped on social media for right here, stealing a ball intended for a little kid. You saw the Cubs coach toss the ball into the stand to the kid but the guy in the front row grabs it off the bottom. He's all psyched and hands it to his gal there. Credit the Cubs, though. They did give the kid two replacement balls, including one signed by Cubs star Javier Baez.

And, guy -- don't be that guy. Anyone, when you get a ball in the stands, look around for a kid. It makes their day, it makes their week.

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

BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. "NEW DAY" starts right now. We'll see you tomorrow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POMPEO: Iran is run by something that resembles the mafia.

RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: We've seen a lot of very bellicose words from Mr. Trump but, you know, this tweet really takes it to a new level.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's trying to change the subject away from his disastrous summit.

GOWDY: Russia is not our friend and they tried to attack us in 2016. The president needs to say that.

RUBIO: In the president's view, any sort of admission of Russian interference as admission of collusion.

JOHN KERRY (D), FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: It sends a message that he doesn't know either what the facts are or he won't accept the facts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Monday, July 23rd, 6:00 here in New York.

And a lot's happened while you've been sleeping, so here's our "Starting Line."

We have some breaking news for you. President Trump has warned Iran in an all-caps tweet late last night to "never threaten the United States again or suffer consequences the likes of --