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President Trump And Saudis Trade Threats Over Khashoggi; President Trump And First Lady Melania Trump To Visit Hurricane- Ravaged Florida Today; Sears Declares Bankruptcy; Duke And Duchess Of Sussex Expecting A Baby. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired October 15, 2018 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[05:31:01] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to get to the bottom of it and there will be severe punishment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump under pressure to take action after the suspected murder of a Saudi journalist.
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: The president and the first lady head to Florida today where dozens are still unaccounted for after Hurricane Michael.
ROMANS: Sears just filed for bankruptcy and announced the closing of dozens more stores, a dramatic fall for what used to be America's largest retailer.
BRIGGS: Breaking news out of Kensington Palace. Prince Harry and his new bride Meghan Markle expecting a baby. It wasn't easy to knock Tom Brady off the top-trending Twitter list but Prince Harry managed to do that.
Welcome back to EARLY START, everybody. I'm Dave Briggs.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is 31 minutes past the hour this Monday morning.
President Trump and the Saudis trading threats over the weekend over the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The president telling "60 MINUTES" the Saudis face severe punishment if they killed Khashoggi during this visit to a Saudi consulate in Turkey.
And a Saudi-owned news channel publishing an op-ed saying the U.S. faces an economic bloodbath if it imposes sanctions on Saudi Arabia.
For the latest developments, I want to bring in international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson. He is there in Istanbul right in front of that Saudi consulate, the last place Khashoggi was seen alive -- Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, good morning, Christine.
There's no way an article like that would have been written by somebody as senior as the general manager of a state-run news agency that appeared over the weekend without sanction from the top level. That just wouldn't happen in Saudi Arabia. No one would have -- would have the courage to do that unless they knew that it was actually going to be smiled upon if you will.
And then we have the state news agency, itself, saying very clearly that if there were any sanctions against Saudi Arabia, then Saudi Arabia would fight back and be doubly as strong.
And then came what seemed to be a rollback from the Saudi embassy in D.C. saying, actually, what we mean by that -- by that news release is that we're very thankful and grateful for our friends around the world, including the United States, for not rushing to judgment while we wait to see how the investigation pans out.
The investigation, however, is not panning out at the moment. The Saudis are not speaking about it, other than denying that Khashoggi was murdered inside the consulate.
We're also hearing that there was a phone call between the Saudi king -- King Salman -- and President Erdogan here in Turkey.
They've said that they will agree to form a working group. Well, last week, officials -- Saudi and Turkish officials agreed upon the working group to allow Turkish investigators to get into the consulate. And a few days before that, the Saudis said that the Turkish investigators would get inside the consulate.
The gap between the two sides on this is very big. It's not getting smaller. Both sides are entrenching at the moment.
International pressure on Saudi Arabia is mounting to allow a transparent and open investigation. Key, of course, getting the Turkish investigators -- those forensic experts into the consulate where they claim Khashoggi was killed -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right, Nic Robertson for us there in Istanbul in front of the consulate. Thank you.
BRIGGS: President Trump promising severe punishment but avoiding a firm stand on Saudi Arabia's role in the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi. In that "60 MINUTES" interview the president said nobody knows whether Crown Prince bin Salman ordered Khashoggi's murder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It's being investigated. It's being looked at very, very strongly and we would be very upset and angry if that were the case.
As of this moment, they deny it and deny it vehemently. Could it be them? Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BRIGGS: CNN's Boris Sanchez with more this morning from the White House.
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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Dave, President Trump has not explicitly pointed the finger at Saudi Arabia of the disappearance of "Washington Post" columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Instead, President Trump saying the White House will get to the bottom of the disappearance of that journalist.
[07:35:00] The president, though, has chafed at a bipartisan group of senators who have suggested that Congress should intervene and get involved, potentially by blocking a $100 billion arms deal that President Trump secured with Saudi Arabia shortly after taking office. The president suggesting that it would likely hurt the American economy and jobs more than it would hurt Saudi Arabia or send a message to them.
The president spoke with "60 MINUTES" on Sunday night suggesting that if the White House found that Saudi Arabia was responsible there would be a steep price to pay. Listen to this.
TRUMP: There's a lot at stake and maybe especially so because this man was a reporter. There's something -- and you'll be surprised to hear me say that -- there's something really terrible and disgusting about that if that were the case, so we're going to have to see.
We're going to get to the bottom of it and there will be severe punishment.
SANCHEZ: Now, the hesitation from President Trump to really condemn the Saudi Arabians could be seen as an indication of how much this administration has staked on Saudi Arabia and the future of the Middle East.
We know that this administration believes very strongly that Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is intricate -- an intricate part of the future of the Mideast, not only with countering Iranian aggression but also any potential Israeli-Palestinian peace plan moving forward -- Dave and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right, Boris, at the White House. Thanks, Boris.
You know, talk of sanctions hit Saudi Arabia's stock market. Riyadh's main index fell seven percent Sunday, wiping out billions in market value for top Saudi companies.
For more than two years now, Saudi Arabia has been working to modernize and diversify its economy away from oil, but Khashoggi's disappearance is prompting some big-name business partners to cut ties.
Richard Branson suspended billion-dollar investment talks. Many execs are pulling out of this high-profile Saudi investment conference dubbed "Davos in the Dessert." The head of Uber, Viacom, media partners pulled sponsorships.
Now, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon will no longer attend. A spokesman for JPMorgan didn't say why specifically, but he has pulled out, as has Ford executive chairman Bill Ford, we're told because of scheduling.
But, Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin will be there -- still plans to be there, at least for now. A Treasury spokesperson said officials will be evaluating the information that comes out this week.
BRIGGS: All right. Let's talk about this from Washington with political economic Greg Valliere, chief strategist for Horizon Investments.
ROMANS: Hi, Greg.
BRIGGS: Good to see you, sir.
GREG VALLIERE, POLITICAL ECONOMIST, CHIEF GLOBAL STRATEGIST, HORIZON INVESTMENTS: Good morning.
BRIGGS: All right, so we'll talk about that conference in a moment, but let's start with that the United States can do because President Trump promised severe punishment.
Here's what Marco Rubio said on Sunday about what the U.S. can do.
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SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: I believe the Trump administration will do something. The president has said that. But if he doesn't, Congress will. That I can tell you with 100 percent certainty.
SEN. JEFF FLAKE (R), ARIZONA: Well, severe action needs to be taken and I think the Congress will take it upon themselves to take that action if it turns out, as the press reporting seems to indicate, that Saudi Arabia was involved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: OK, Greg, so the president made clear that $100 billion arms deal, no matter how much it's really worth, is not really on the table here.
If he does nothing, what can Rubio and Congress do?
VALLIERE: Well, they can come up with their own sanctions, Dave. I mean, this is like a Daniel Silva novel. Everywhere you look, what tremendous story angles.
The president and Jared Kushner made a big bet on this prince. There could be implications for the markets for gasoline prices, for the state of the Saudi economy. And, most intriguingly politically, this president, who has had iron control over his party is now going to maybe lose a war with Republicans who want to do something.
ROMANS: What about the Saudis and what can they do? We heard -- you know, there's this op-ed that apparently appears to be sanctioned by Saudi leadership --
VALLIERE: Yes.
ROMANS: -- that said, "The Kingdom affirms its total rejection of any threats and attempts to undermine it, whether by threatening to impose economic sanctions using political pressures or repeating false accusations.
VALLIERE: Yes.
ROMANS: The Kingdom also affirms that if it receives any action it will respond with greater action."
Greg, what can they do? Can they jack up oil prices?
VALLIERE: Sure, they can. I mean, their response over the weekend Christine, was so defiant, basically saying dare us, that I think an oil response is not out of the question. Prices could go higher. This could be quite disruptive for Western markets.
Hopefully, cooler heads will prevail and the Saudis will realize what's at stake here. But if they think there will be just a very meek and passive reaction from Washington, they're not reading Congress correctly.
BRIGGS: Yes. We may be the largest producer of oil but Saudi Arabia remains its largest exporter.
VALLIERE: Yes.
BRIGGS: But in a bigger picture, once you get beyond gas prices and sanctions, what's at stake here in terms of American values, and a way of life, and freedom of the press around the world?
VALLIERE: Yes, I think that when you look at the reaction Dave from business leaders around the world from other foreign governments you realize the U.S. can't afford to be totally isolated on this. We're going to have to come up with some kind of response and this very hardline prince probably will take it poorly.
[05:40:05] So this has all the makings of a protracted crisis that the markets have to pay close attention to.
ROMANS: You know, something I noticed about the president's posturing over this -- over the weekend was that he kept talking about jobs and this -- you know, these military contracts. And that's the first time I've heard a president talk about the importance of doing business with a country for doing business with a country as opposed to doing business with countries because we have influence on their domestic agendas. That's a real shift.
VALLIERE: Yes, I think it is. I think, though, you've got say he's been on a roll in the last couple of weeks with a great jobs market, with an economy that looks really solid, with a lot of key Senate races starting to turn a little bit toward Republicans. So I think he wants to emphasize the jobs angle here but he's got to be careful on gasoline prices.
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: Rubio brought it back to what you were talking about, our having --
ROMANS: Right.
BRIGGS: -- influence over the Saudis behavior.
Quickly, I want to get your thoughts on --
VALLIERE: Yes.
BRIGGS: -- way down the road. On "20/20" some new CNN polling showed --
VALLIERE: Right.
BRIGGS: -- the more things change the more they stay the same. Joe Biden, the top favorite for Democrats but that was before Michael Bloomberg announced that he --
VALLIERE: Yes.
BRIGGS: -- is a Democrat.
What do you see happening there?
VALLIERE: Two points.
Number one, I think Bloomberg may be too moderate on a lot of issues, like stop and frisk, for the Democrats, who are moving to the left.
The other thing is even though Biden leads, there's a fascinating story in this morning's "Washington Post" talking about the one campaign that's really getting off the ground, it's really well- organized -- and that is Elizabeth Warren's.
ROMANS: All right, we'll read that story in "The Washington Post."
VALLIERE: OK.
ROMANS: Thank you so much. Nice to see you, Greg -- thanks.
VALLIERE: You bet, yes.
ROMANS: All right, President Trump set to tour hurricane-ravaged Florida just hours from now. More on the damage and the missing -- that's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [05:45:53] BRIGGS: President Trump and the first lady travel to Florida this morning for a firsthand look at the devastation left by Hurricane Michael. The White House not revealing which locations they'll visit.
In hard-hit Mexico Beach, though, a grim announcement from local police. Dozens of people who decided to ride out the storm still unaccounted for.
Martin Savidge in Mexico Beach for us.
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MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Morning, Dave. Morning, Christine.
President Trump is expected in some fashion to visit Mexico Beach here, and whether he actually just flies over it or touches down on the ground he is going to, like many people, be impacted by what he sees.
There is just only the television does justice to the amount of destruction that you will find here. The words, you can't find them, and the video just doesn't seem to be enough of it to give you the full scope and scale of it.
But even as the president visits and even as, of course, he promises more resources to be brought to bear, the biggest thing that they're worried about in this community finding those who are unaccounted for. They know that there were about 300 people that rode out this storm or at least said they were going to, and the problem is trying to account for those people in the aftermath with so much devastation.
Communication's been a problem although the cell service is back. And there's also been the problem that they had the addresses of where people were but when they went to find their homes after the storm, in some cases those homes were completely gone.
Now, a lot of those people have been accounted for in some way. They've either self-reported or they have been seen by witnesses alive and well afterwards. The problem is there is a number of people who haven't been found and the longer time goes and on and there's no word from them -- well, the greater the concern goes that they are still here somewhere.
So, search and recovery teams from across the state and beyond have been pouring through the buildings and they've searched just about all them. Now, they're left with the debris and there's just so much of that to be sifted through it could still be several more days before they can make a full accounting.
And until then, they're encouraging residents to stay away. This community cannot support the people that used to live here. There's no power, there's no sewer, there's no running water, and we've already pointed out communication is pretty spotty. Then there's the risk of fire. There is so much timber on the ground here you could have another disaster on top of the one you already have -- Dave and Christine.
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BRIGGS: Just devastating. Martin Savidge, thanks.
President Trump says he doesn't know if climate change is a hoax during his wide-ranging "60 MINUTES" interview. He questioned the science but did acknowledge something's happening.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm not denying climate change but it could very well go back. You know, we're talking about over millions of years.
LESLEY STAHL, CBS NEWS REPORTER, "60 MINUTES": But that's denying it.
TRUMP: They say that we had hurricanes that were far worse than what we just had with Michael.
STAHL: Who says that -- they say? You mean the people on the phone?
TRUMP: The people say. People say that in the --
STAHL: Yes, but what about the scientists who say it's worse than ever?
TRUMP: You'd have to show me the scientists because they have a very big political agenda, Lesley.
STAHL: I can't bring them in.
TRUMP: Scientists also have a political agenda.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The president suggesting responding to climate change would put the U.S. at a trade disadvantage. Said he's not willing to give trillions and trillions of dollars and lose millions and millions of jobs.
ROMANS: Sears, the iconic retail chain that changed how Americans shopped and lived is bankrupt. Sears started, remember, the mail- order business with that famous catalog. But at midnight, the 132- year-old company filed for bankruptcy.
Sears has been struggling for years, losing nearly $12 billion since 2010. Since then, sales have plunged 60 percent. It shut more than 2,600 stores.
You know, the final straw, a $134 million debt payment due today that it could not pay.
Sears is one of many prominent retailers declaring bankruptcy because of the rise of online shopping and big-box stores. But, Sears also failed to invest and modernize.
It will stay in business, keeping profitable stores and its Web site open, but it's going to have to close 200 stores this year.
Eddie Lampert, chairman of Sears holdings, gives up his title of CEO. He says the bankruptcy process will allow Sears to become profitable.
But many retailers have gone out of business after filing -- Toys R Us, Radio Shack, and Sports Authority among them.
[05:50:03] BRIGGS: Some breaking news out of London this morning. The announcement from Kensington Palace coming a short time ago. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expecting a baby. The newest royal bundle of joy expected to arrive next spring.
The royal couple seen arriving in Sydney, Australia earlier this morning.
Joining us live from Buckingham Palace, CNN's Max Foster.
It's just about 11:00 a.m. there this morning. Max, good morning. Royal baby trending on Twitter.
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely, Dave, and we have changing of the guard here at Buckingham Palace so you'll see the band walking past. A sort of celebration today. Sometimes they do mark these royal events by playing a particular tune, so we'll wait to see whether or not they do.
So, the seventh in line to the British throne due to be born in the spring -- in April, we reckon -- and a very exciting moment for both Meghan and for Harry, who are really keen on kids. Always billed their public engagements around kids and they haven't hidden their desire to have children either.
We understand that Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, has been informed and she's delighted, as are the royal family. The royal family were actually informed at the wedding on Friday of Harry's cousin Princess Eugenie.
So, they're in Australia. All eyes now -- I know all the royal photographers are very keen to catch that first picture with the baby bump, so Meghan's clothing and attire will be poured over more than is even usual for her.
We do know that they've stuck to the original plans of the tour. It's very arduous -- more than 17 engagements. And also, there's a moderate risk of Zika actually on some parts of the tour in Fiji, for example, but they've taken medical advice and haven't changed their plans.
So, all steam ahead for this royal couple and we'll get lots of coverage of them in the coming weeks from down under.
BRIGGS: Oh, the paparazzi just clamoring for that shot.
Max Foster live for us at Kensington Palace this morning.
Seventh in line, Romans.
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: Not bad.
ROMANS: And baby Sussex seventh in line whether it's a girl or a boy. They've changed the rule so it's not just the boys who are in the line of succession.
BRIGGS: Very keen.
ROMANS: All right.
Coming up, like a real-life Winnie the Pooh. How wildlife workers helped a bear stuck in a bucket.
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[05:56:34] ROMANS: A bear cub in Maryland is back in the woods after getting its head stuck in a bucket. Wildlife workers tracked the animal for three days, then safely tranquilized it and removed the bucket with the help from police. Officials say the 100-pound cub looked fine as it returned home with two other bears.
BRIGGS: The Boston Red Sox tying up the American League Championship Series at one game apiece with a 7-5 win over the Astros late last night.
It was Jackie Bradley Jr., known for his glove, delivering the big blow -- a third inning 3-run double off the monster. It kind of bounced around the alley there for a while. It gave the Red Sox a 5-4 lead.
Boston led 7-4 entering the ninth but the Astros put a run on the board against closer Craig Kimbrel and nearly tied it. Alex Bregman's blast snagged just at the wall for the final out.
Game three in Houston Tuesday night.
Tom Brady and the New England Patriots handing the Kansas City Chiefs their first loss of the season last night -- a thriller -- 43-40. It came down to the last seconds.
Chiefs quarterback Pat Mahomes -- he has been unstoppable.
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: He hooked up here with Tyreek Hill -- 75-yard touchdown to tie the game at 40.
If you can, check the New England salute in the corner from the fans. He got a beer in the face and well, number one.
Four T.D.s for Pat Mahomes. Tom Brady, though, as he always does -- the last laugh, cool and calm
under pressure, hooks up with Gloth (ph) there, 39 yards. Sets up the game-winning field goals from Stephen Gostkowski and he splits the uprights.
Patriots get the win there, 43-40. First loss of the season for the Kansas City Chiefs.
ROMANS: All right.
It appears Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson will not be walking down the aisle. After five months of dating and a lot of tabloid coverage, a source close to the singer tells CNN the couple has split.
The "God Is a Woman" songstress and the "SNL" comedian confirmed their engagement in June after just several weeks of dating. The source tells TMZ the couple realized it was too much too soon, adding the pair still have love for each other.
Reps for the stars have yet to comment.
BRIGGS: All right, thanks for joining us, everybody. I'm Dave Briggs.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. "NEW DAY" starts right now.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
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, October 15th, 6:00 here in New York.
And we do begin with breaking news because a diplomatic source has just told CNN that Saudi Arabia has given permission to Turkish authorities to search their consulate in Istanbul today.
There is growing international pressure for the Saudis to explain what happened to missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi. President Trump vows to severely punish the Saudis if they killed the "Washington Post" columnist.
The Saudis, of course, as denying involvement and they are threatening to retaliate against any sanctions.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, as the world wonders whether President Trump will stand up to the horrific alleged human rights abuses by Saudi Arabia, he gave a crystal clear and glaring assessment of what he thinks about others accused of atrocities.
In a remarkable interview with "60 MINUTES" overnight, the president acknowledged that Russian President Vladimir Putin, quote, "probably assassinates and poisons his rivals." But the president seemed to downplay the significance of it because it doesn't happen on U.S. soil.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) STAHL: Do you agree that Vladimir Putin is involved in assassinations, in poisonings?
TRUMP: Probably, he is, yes -- probably. I mean, I don't know, probably.
STAHL: Probably?
