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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
President Trump, It's Going To Be Up To Him; Bloomberg $1.8 Billion Financial Aid Donation; Tim Cook Expects Tech Regulations; Peanut Allergy Breakthrough. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired November 19, 2018 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS SUNDAY: If Whitaker decides in any way to limit or curtail the Mueller investigation, are you OK with that?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's going to be up to him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, EARLY START SHOW CO-HOST: He is called the investigation fishy and Russian interference false. President Trump says the acting Attorney General will decide how to deal with the Mueller probe.
DAVE BRIGGS, EARLY START SHOW CO-HOST: Mike Bloomberg donates $1.8 billion to his alma mater for financial aid. 2020 hopefuls no doubt taking notice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a big believer in free market, but we have to admit if the free market is not working.
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ROMANS: Apple CEO Jim Cook says he expects relegations to Silicon Valley amid growing skepticism of the tech industry.
BRIGGS: And a possible breakthrough for kids with peanut allergies. The trick? Peanuts. Good morning everyone, welcome to Early Start. I'm Dave Briggs. There is a hunger.
ROMANS: No, no. It is just, that is a serious story. And I know a lot of people are really working hard to try to figure out how to protect their kids. I'm Christine Romans. It is Monday, November 19th. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East. Holiday week everybody, so get ready.
President Trump says acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker will make the call whether to restrict the Russia investigation. All eyes on the Special Counsel Robert Mueller waiting for his next move. Fox News' Chris Wallace asked the President whether he would allow Whitaker to limit the Mueller investigation.
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CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS SUNDAY: If Whitaker decides in any way to limit or curtail the Mueller investigation, are you OK with that?
TRUMP: Look, it is going to be up to him. I think he is very well aware politically. I think he is astute politically. He is a very smart person. A very respected person. He is going to do what's right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: In the weeks since the President forced Jeff Sessions to resign as Attorney General, Democrats called for Whitaker to recuse himself from oversight of the Russia probe given his past public criticism of the investigation. The President claimed he was unaware of the acting A.G.'s criticism of Mueller. Although Mr. Trump said he agrees with Whitaker.
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WALLACE: There is no collusion. He says you can starve the investigation.
TRUMP: What do you do when a person's right? There is no collusion. He happen to be right. I mean, he said it. So, if he said there is collusion, I'm supposed to be taking somebody that says there is? Because then I wouldn't be taking them for two reasons. But the number one reason is the fact that he would be wrong. If he said that there is no collusion, he's right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The President backing off earlier claims he wants to sit down with Mueller for an in-person interview. Now he says he plans to submit written answers this week.
BRIGGS: In the same Fox interview, President Trump also attacked the retired navy admiral known as the architect of the Bin Laden raid, William McRaven who has been critical of the President. Last year, McRaven called the president's attacks on the media the greatest threat to our democracy in his lifetime. He also called Mr. Trump's leadership embarrassing and humiliating after the President revoked former CIA director John Brennan's security clearance this summer. It does not sound like Trump has forgotten those rebukes.
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WALLACE: Look, retired admiral, Navy SEAL 37 years. Former head of U.S. special operation.
TRUMP: Hillary Clinton fan.
WALLACE: Special operation.
TRUMP: Excuse me. Hillary Clinton fan.
WALLACE: Who led the operations, command the operations that took down Saddam Hussein and killed Osama Bin Laden. Says that your sentiment is the greatest threat to democracy in his lifetime.
TRUMP: He is a Hillary Clinton backer and an Obama backer.
WALLACE: He is a Navy SEAL.
TRUMP: And frankly, it would be nice if we had gotten Osama Bin Laden a lot sooner than that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: McRaven tells CNN, he did not back Hillary Clinton or anyone else in 2016. He says I admire all Presidents who uphold the dignity of the office. When you undermine the people's right to a free press and freedom of speech and expression, then you threaten the constitution and for in which it stands.
BRIGGS: The President did acknowledge one misstep in that Fox interview. He says he should have gone to Arlington National Cemetery for Veterans Day. A Presidential tradition.
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TRUMP: I should have done that. I was extremely busy on calls for the country. We did a lot of calling, as you know.
WALLACE: But this is Veterans Day.
TRUMP: I probably, you know, in retrospect, I should have. And I did last year. And I will virtually every year. But we had come in very late at night. And I had just left literally the American cemetery in Paris. And I really probably assumed that was fine.
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[04:05:00] BRIGGS: Separately, the President again defended his decision to not travel to an American cemetery in France a week ago. He said he didn't cancel the trip, the secret service did, because of bad weather. Meantime the President is vowing to visit U.S. troops in war zones. Something he has not yet done.
ROMANS: All right. By tomorrow, President Trump expects a full report on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. He says the U.S. has a copy of the audio that captured part of the Washington Post journalist's brutal killing. But the president says, he personally won't be listening to the recording.
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TRUMP: I don't want to hear the tape. No reason for me to hear the tape.
WALLACE: Why don't you want to hear it, Sir? TRUMP: Because it is a suffering tape. It is a terrible tape. I
have been fully briefed on it. There's no reason for me to hear it. Like I asked to the people if, should I? They said you really shouldn't. I know exactly -- I know everything that went on the tape without having to listen.
WALLACE: And then what happened?
TRUMP: It was very violent. Very vicious and terrible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The President says he does not know if Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman was lying when he denied any involvement. That conflict with the CIA assessment on Friday that the crown prince personally ordered the journalist's killing. That conclusion based partially on the audio. The President won't listen to. U.S. lawmakers seemed have made up their minds as well.
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SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: If you know anything about Saudi Arabia or anything about MBS, the fact that he didn't know about it is impossible for me to believe. They are an important ally, but when it comes to the crown prince, he is irrational. He is unhinged.
SEN. RAND PAUL, (R) KENTUCKY: I think the evidence is overwhelming that the crown prince was involved. And I don't think we can sweep this under the rug.
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ROMANS: On Saturday, Vice President Mike Pence described the murder as an atrocity and said the U.S. is determined to hold accountable all those who are responsible.
BRIGGS: Multiple reports from Florida, say the embattled supervisor of election for Broward County has resigned. Brenda Snipes, had served 15 years. She came under strong criticism for problems with vote counting in heavily Democratic Broward County which missed last week's recount deadline by two minutes. It is unclear for her resignation is effective immediately. Florida has a brand new Senator-elect this morning. Republican Governor, Rick Scott. Democrat, Bill Nelson conceded following a statewide recount.
ROMANS: The results show Scott with the lead of just over 10,000 votes out of 8.2 million votes cast. Nelson's lost ends the nearly two-decade tenure in the senate. Florida's Junior Senator, Republican Marco Rubio praising his colleague in state and he writes, I knew Bill not just as a Democratic Senator, but also as man of genuine faith, integrity and character. A man who served our country with a dignity that is increasingly rare in our modern politics. I will miss working with him very much.
BRIGGS: Now, that is a turn after suggesting that they were trying to steal that election. Interesting turn from Rubio. In the house, Democrats picking up three more seats ending decades of
Republican dominance in Southern California. Democrats have now achieved a total takeover of congressional seats in the one-time GOP of Orange County. Once call Reagan country. The 48th president himself (inaudible) the concern of district was where good Republicans go to die. With the three new house wins, Democrats now have a net pick up of 37 seats. Three races remain uncalled this morning.
ROMANS: That is a remarkable shift. That is a blue, blue district.
All right. Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg who said to be considering a possible run for president 2020, making a huge donation. $1.8 billion donation to his alma mater Johns Hopkins University. The gift being called the biggest contribution to an academic institution in American history.
What is it for? It will fund financial aid for qualified low and middle income students allowing Johns Hopkins to admit students on a need blind basis and replace loans with grants in more aid packages. Not a big shiny building, but helping students.
BRIGGS: Wow. Bloomberg writing in the New York Times op-ed. America is at its best when we reward people based on the quality of their work, not the size of their pocketbook. Bloomberg has long focus its philanthropy on improving access to top colleges and universities for students who can't afford it. He says he plans to on decide on a 2020 bid no later than February.
ROMANS: All right. Nine minutes past the hour. Imagine driving through this to get more than 20 students away from a raging wildfire. We will have their latest efforts to contain the campfires. Nearly 1,000 people are still unaccounted for.
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ROMANS: Apple's CEO Tim Cook says new regulations are coming for tech companies. Silicon Valley faces anger and skepticism after privacy breaches and manipulation from foreign adversaries. In an interview with Axios on HBO, Cook said, regulations inevitable.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think that is inevitable?
TIM COOK, CEO, APPLE: Generally speaking I am not a big fan of regulation. I'm a big believer in the free market. But we have to admit when the free market's not working. And it hasn't worked here. And I think it is inevitable that there will be some level of regulation.
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ROMANS: Cook has also pushed for a comprehensive privacy legislation. He told CNN last month, that privacy is the issue that will define the century and be quote, data industrial complex as he calls it, needs government regulation. Meantime, big backlash against Facebook after that New York Times
investigation suggested it spectacularly failed to recognize and stop Russian interference and hired a P.R. hit firm to write negative stories about its critics. Just didn't get it early or often enough what was happening on its platform.
[04:15:00] And this morning, Facebook's former chief security officer Alex Stamos writes in "The Washington Post" that lawmakers, the Intelligence Community, and the media were all to blame in 2016. He called on Congress to update quote, Nixon era laws.
BRIGGS: To California, now authorities in Butte County say they found the remains of another victim in the camp fire. The death toll in California's deadliest wildfire is now 77. Nearly 1,000 people still unaccounted for. So officials do expect the death toll to climb. The fire has wiped down nearly 10,000 homes and scorched an area the size of Chicago. The fire now is 65 percent contained. Fire officials don't think it will be fully contained until November 30th.
ROMANS: President Trump had been criticized for blaming forest management for the fires. He mentioned raking under growth as he surveyed the devastation, Saturday. Now it appears he made up a story about a world leader backing his claim.
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TRUMP: I was with the President of Finland. And he said we have a much different -- he called it a forest nation. They spend a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things. They don't have any problem, then what it is, it is a very small problem.
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BRIGGS: Just one problem, Finland's President says he and Trump never spoke about raking even though they did talk about the wildfires and how Finland manages its forests. As for the fires, incredible stories of heroism are emerging. CNN's Paul Vercammen with more.
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PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dave and Christine, so many stories of absolutely stomach churning despair, but here is one of great heroism. There is a bus driver just about, two or three months into his job, he goes to Ponderosa Elementary School that is in Paradise. The flames were burning ever so close near to school it would eventually be damaged. But he gets 22 school children and two teachers on that bus and they begin a harrowing drive to safety.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My first thought was getting them on the bus and get them out of there, because the sky was really menacing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was crazy. There were like fires left and right, everywhere you look. There is like smoke everywhere.
VERCAMMEN: The odyssey to the inferno continued. Some of the young lungs of these little school children started filling up with smoke, they are on the brink of passing out. So they made makeshift respirators dampening pieces the bus driver's t-shirt and putting it over their mouths.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We started getting fire on both sides of the bus. Kids starting get pre- (inaudible) at a couple points, I think that, you know, we had some honest discussions about, is this the time to get out of the bus.
VERCAMMEN: Eventually they made it to safety. Parents just so relieved. And that bus driver Kevin McKay made a joke. He said I'm sure glad I paid attention closely in class when I was taking those safety lessons. Pointing out after all safety is the first issue for a bus driver. Dave and Christine.
(END VIDEO)
ROMANS: Just remarkable. Terrifying for those kids. And I think there will be a lot of discussion about the evacuation plans there and how people were alerted and why so many people in the midst of the fires and the flames were on the move.
BRIGGS: Governor Brown has talked a lot about having a plan next time whether it is a shelter.
Ahead, don't expect to see Condoleezza Rice coaching the Cleveland Browns, but she is using a shocking ESPN report to push for more women in the football coaching ranks.
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ROMANS: Somebody managed to get on the stage during Michelle Obama's book tour this weekend, but this was a happy surprise.
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(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERS)
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Yes, that surprise guest, is former President Barack Obama with a bouquet of flowers for his wife. Mr. Obama compared himself to, you know, Jay-z, the rapper known for appearing with his wife Beyonce, on stage. You know, like when she is talented (inaudible). Before President Obama showed up, the former first lady express frustration at today's heated political discourse. She said she wishes sometimes her husband would speak out more forcefully against it.
BRIGGS: Could peanuts be the cure for peanut allergies? An experimental treatment publish in the New England Journal of medicine, expose children to tiny doses of the allergen in a form of a peanut powder capsule. The doses would then increase slowly, and by the end of the study, two thirds of patients were able to eat a dose, equivalent to two peanuts without suffering a severe allergic reaction. The lead office says the treatment is not a cure, but could provide a safety net for kids who suffer life-threatening reactions to trace amounts of peanuts. Big deal.
ROMANS: Yes, talk to your doctor.
An 11th child has died in the adenovirus outbreak in New Jersey healthcare facility. 23 more children have contracted the respiratory illness bringing a total infected to 35.
BRIGGS: The children had weaken immune systems and other serious medical issues, many require assistance to breath. An investigation at the center in New Jersey finds a major cause of the outbreak is that the facility was not able to separate the sick from those without symptoms. But after deaths and hospitalizations the facility now has enough space to separate them.
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice knocking down on an ESPN report to the Cleveland Browns were considering her for the head coaching position. But she did use the report as a chance to encourage the NFL to bring more women on board as coaches writing, quote, I do hope that the NFL will start to bring women into the coaching profession as position coaches and eventually coordinators and head coaches.
[04:25:12] One doesn't have to play the game to understand and motivate players. But by the way, I'm not ready to coach, but I would like to call a player to next season of the Browns needs ideas. At no time, will I call for a prevent defense. Well, said.
ROMANS: All right. The acting Attorney General has criticized the Russia investigation before and it sounds that the President won't get in the way if Matt Whitaker decides to limit the probe.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: If Whitaker decides in any way to limit or curtail the Mueller investigation, are you OK with that?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look, it's going to be up to him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
