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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Democrats Take Control of U.S. House; Democrats Push Plan to End Government Shutdown; Trump Won't Commit to Syria Timeline; U.S. Ambassador Huntsman Visits American Detained in Moscow; China Lands Rover on Far Side of the Moon; Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired January 03, 2019 - 04:00   ET

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


[04:00:17] DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: A new era on Capitol Hill. And a new reality for President Trump. Democrats take over the House today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), MINORITY LEADER: We're asking the president to open up government.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's too important a subject to walk away from.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The president and Democrats dig in with no deal to end the government shutdown.

BRIGGS: The boss at Apple drops an iPhone bombshell. Sales are taking a big hit thanks in part to President Trump's trade war.

ROMANS: The college basketball player takes using his head on a whole new level. We can tell you he is OK. What a dramatic --

BRIGGS: You know, upside -- the downside to this increased athleticism is you're able to hit your head on the backboard.

ROMANS: Yes.

BRIGGS: But he's going to be OK.

ROMANS: All right. Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. Good morning, my friend. Good morning to all of you. It is Thursday, January 3rd. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East.

It was an extraordinary day in the D.C. We say that all the time, Romans.

ROMANS: Yes.

BRIGGS: But you have this meeting in the situation room that followed a 90-minute freewheeling camera spray in which a poster was featured on the table, and no one explained why it was front and center, in front of the president, and harkens to "Game of Thrones."

ROMANS: A Cabinet meeting with props. "Sanctions coming November 4th" so also pretty much after the fact. No one knows what that's all about. So fascinating.

BRIGGS: What a day.

ROMANS: What a day.

BRIGGS: What a day. We'll get more into that 90 minutes in a moment. But we start this morning with the single-party rule in Washington comes to an historic end as Democrats take over the House of Representatives and it's expected they'll choose Nancy Pelosi as their leader making her the first woman ever to reclaim the speaker's gavel. Democrats will hold a wide margin in the House, 235 to 199, for Republicans but their ability to actually pass legislation will be hamstrung by the GOP's six-vote margin in the Senate and of course president's veto pen in the Oval Office.

ROMANS: Even so the president faces a brand new reality which actually started yesterday. He sat down with Democratic leaders in the situation room. He wanted to talk border security but they redirected the conversation to their plan to end the government shutdown now entering its 13th day.

More on that in a moment. For the latest on the new balance of power, though, let's go to Phil Mattingly in the Capitol.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Dave, Thursday marks a new era for Washington, for Congress, frankly even for the White House as well. Democrats will take the majority in the House. Divided government, here we come. And it's not just the fact that policy wise or even politically, we're not totally sure what's going to happen over the course of the next two years, although gridlock seems likely. It's also who's actually coming to Washington?

If you take a look at what occurred back in the 2018 elections, back in November, the class of freshmen that are coming to D.C. have said that they're going to change D.C. You have progressive fire brands like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, who made very clear that they don't agree that Congress business as usual is something that they subscribe to.

In all you have 40 women who are coming to Capitol Hill. More women serving in Congress than ever have before. On the other side of that, 20 new veterans are coming to Congress as well. You have a new group of African-Americans and a new group of the first two Muslim members of Congress -- female members of Congress to ever serve. Native- American members of Congress. Diversity is probably one of the biggest stories of this class. Diversity is one of the biggest story of the 116th Congress.

Of course the big questions aren't just necessarily the make-up of Congress, although it's important that it now reflects far more of the country that they currently serve, it's what's actually going to happen. And Democrats have made clear they want to do two things. They want to move policies forward that they agree with, that they subscribe to, even if the president does not. And they've also made clear they want to investigate the president. They want to conduct oversight of the president.

Now they say from leadership on down that they can do both things at once. It's going to be something we're going to have to keep a close eye on. The White House has made very clear, the president calls it presidential harassment, that they're going to be keen to fight them every single step of the way. We'll just have to keep a close eye out -- guys.

ROMANS: And we know you will. Phil Mattingly, thank you.

As we mentioned one of the Democrat' first order of business proposing a way out of the government shutdown. Proposal which would just so happen to reduce the president's leverage to demand funding for a border wall. Both sides, though, are entrenched. Their sit-down in the sit room led to nothing.

For more on that, CNN's Kaitlan Collins at the White House.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine and Dave, Washington is essentially at a stalemate today now that that meeting between the president and congressional leaders yesterday ended in a deadlock with no progress being made and the government no closer to being reopened than it was 12 days ago when it first partially shut down.

[04:05:01] Now in this meeting which was held in the situation room because White House officials wanted to communicate just how serious they think what they're calling the crisis on the border truly is.

There was also already a lot of drama happening in that room. Now we're told by sources that as soon as the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen started giving her briefing to those lawmakers that Nancy Pelosi interrupted and said the Democrats wanted to lay out their plan to reopen the government. That's when Chuck Schumer proposed having the Senate and the House pass a bipartisan six bills to keep those agencies funded and then negotiate over the next 30 days what they want to do for DHS funding for the long haul.

But that's an idea that the White House is opposed to. A White House official said that they asked these Democrats if we do that agree to do that and have the president sign those bills, will you come up on your requirement for funding for only $1.3 billion in border security funding we want to make that number higher. Democrats didn't signal if they were open to doing so and essentially we are back to square one here.

Now talks have been delayed until Friday when the White House says they've invited those same lawmakers to come back to the White House and continue negotiations. And in the words of one White House official, they said prepare for this to be a long shutdown because this could go on for a while -- Christine and Dave.

BRIGGS: All right, day 13th. Kaitlan Collins, thanks.

After meeting with the president Democratic leaders told reporters they believe they gave Mr. Trump a chance to take yes for an answer. He did not do so.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), MINORITY LEADER: I said, Mr. President, give me one reason why you should continue your shutdown of these -- of the eight Cabinet departments while we are debating our differences on homeland security. He could not give a good answer.

PELOSI: We're asking the president to open up government. We are giving him a Republican path to do that. Why would he not do it?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Now earlier in the day at a Cabinet meeting the president made clear he is standing his ground on funding for the border wall. He says he will not compromise on keeping Americans safe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Would you accept anything less than $2.5 billion?

TRUMP: No, not 2.5. No. We are asking for 5.6. And, you know, somebody said 2.5. No, look, this is national security we're talking about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina believes the government shutdown is a defining moment for the president and the Republican Party. He tells FOX News for Trump to fold on border wall funding is simply not an option.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: If he gives in now, that's the end of 2019 in terms of him being an effective president. That's probably the end of his presidency. Donald Trump has made a promise to the American people. He's going to secure our border. That's the end of us if we give in on this issue as Republicans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Senator Graham is proposing his own shutdown solution. $5 billion for border security in exchange for the passage of the Bridge Act, the bipartisan bill that would temporarily protect Dreamers from deportation for three years.

BRIGGS: President Trump also taking a few parting shots to his former Defense Secretary James Mattis. The president claiming he essentially fired his Pentagon chief when the truth is Mattis resigned in protest. Here is the president taking on Mattis' departure. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: What has he done for me? How has he done in Afghanistan? Not too good. Not too good. I'm not happy with what he's done in Afghanistan. And I shouldn't be happy. But he was very happy, he was very thankful when I got him $700 billion. And the following year $716 billion. So I mean, I wish him well. I hope he does well. But as you know, President Obama fired him and essentially so did I. I want results.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Essentially. Mattis was supposed to leave the White House at the end of February. The president moved up the departure date by two months. His aides telling CNN he was frustrated by the media coverage of Mattis' resignation letter.

ROMANS: For the record, Mattis resigned. He wasn't essentially fired. Mattis resigned and --

BRIGGS: He made that pretty clear, didn't he?

ROMANS: And then the president let him out the door sooner than he had planned.

All right. President Trump walking back plans for an immediate withdrawal from Syria while refusing to be pinned down on a new timetable. Multiple sources say his original 30-day drawdown plan is physically impossible without significant risk to U.S. forces. Pentagon officials say four months would be closer to reality. But speaking to reporters at that Cabinet meeting yesterday, the president would not commit to the longer timeline.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You used the word slowly when you're describing withdrawal from --

TRUMP: I never said fast or slow.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: For the record, what's your timetable? When do you want troops to be out?

TRUMP: I know somebody said four months. But I didn't -- I didn't say that either. I'm getting out -- we're getting out of Syria.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: CNN's Barbara Starr has the very latest from the Pentagon.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Dave, Christine, officially, the Trump administration has no specifics to make public about when and how 2,000 U.S. troops will come out of Syria.

[04:10:05] But the president is now saying he was never in a big rush. He never said they're coming out tomorrow. But in fact last month in a White House produced video, he said they were all coming home and they were coming home now. But he's beginning to hear from his commanders and from some in Congress a lot of concern about too much rush on bringing those troops home, that they have to be brought home in a safe and orderly manner. They have to be protected inside Syria while the withdrawal was happening, and that it could take potentially, but unofficially, as long as four months to bring the troops out and all the equipment and weapons that they are inside Syria with that they have at a number of forward operating bases where they are located.

So all of this now a lot more complicated than the president perhaps imagined when he first talked about it. And of course one of the enduring questions is, what about ISIS? At first, Mr. Trump saying ISIS was defeated. But hearing from his commanders, not so fast. There are still pockets of ISIS in Syria they very much want to go after -- Dave and Christine.

BRIGGS: Barbara Starr, thanks.

President Trump touting the progress his administration has made with North Korea and showing reporters at the White House what he characterized as proof.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I just got a great letter from Kim Jong-un. And those few people that I shown this letter to, they've never written letters like that. This letter is a great letter. We've made a lot of progress with North Korea and Kim Jong-un.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: The expected second meeting with the North Korean dictator will be arranged in the not too distant future. The president again griping that his administration has not been given enough credit for better relations with North Korea. If someone else were in the White House, he says you'd have a, quote, "nice big fat war with Asia."

ROMANS: All right. The U.S. and China trade war is having an effect on the iPhone. In a letter to shareholders, Apple CEO Tim Cook warned investors to expect lower sales from the holiday quarter blaming the disappointing outlook on the U.S. -- ongoing U.S.-China trade war and a number of other factors including Apple offering cheaper iPhone battery replacements.

Apple now expects revenue for the three months ending in December to be about $84 billion. That's down from the earlier range of 89 and 93. That's a big miss. And this really shook up investors. Tim Cook told CNBC tensions between the U.S. and China put additional pressure on the Chinese economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM COOK, APPLE CEO: If you look at our results, our shortfall is over 100 percent of iPhone and it's primarily in greater China. And so as we look at what's going in China, the -- it's clear that the economy began to slow there for the second half. And what I believe to be the case is the trade tensions between the United States and China put additional pressure on their economy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: China, a huge market for Apple, making up about 15 percent of its global revenue. Apple stock tanked after the news. Down 7 percent after hours losing $55 billion of its stock market value.

This would be an important thing to watch here today. This is the first real concrete evidence that the big multinationals are being hurt by the president's trade war. And it's also interesting because Apple's phones were exempted from tariffs. Right?

BRIGGS: Right.

ROMANS: So they're being touched sort of tangentially and that's still enough for that slowdown in China.

BRIGGS: And will this continue to drag on the Dow?

ROMANS: We'll have to watch --

BRIGGS: S&P?

ROMANS: You know, all of those global indices this morning.

BRIGGS: Across the board? Yes.

ROMANS: We have futures down a little bit. So we'll watch in a few hours.

BRIGGS: All right. Ahead, nobody's been there before. Not even Pink Floyd. Until now. Next, the winner of the race to the far side of the moon.

ROMANS: And why Netflix is telling people don't try this at home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:17:04] ROMANS: The State Department revealing that U.S. ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman visited Paul Whelan, that American detained in Moscow on espionage charges. Huntsman subsequently spoke with Whelan's family by telephone. Huntsman's visit represents a surprisingly swift escalation of U.S. government efforts on Whelan's behalf.

CNN's Nathan Hodge is live in Moscow with the latest. And some of our military experts here, Nathan, were saying that this is a sign that Huntsman went so quickly personally to intervene here, that that is sending a message to Vladimir Putin.

NATHAN HODGE, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Christine, that's right. This is not a typical consular visit after the arrest of a U.S. citizen in Russia. And it does signal that Washington is taking much, much more serious interest in this case. So here's what we know right now. The FSB, Russia's domestic

intelligence agency, said earlier this week that they had detained Mr. Whelan last Friday on suspicion of espionage. Well, Paul Whelan's family has told us that he was there to attend a wedding in Moscow and that he has visited Russia many times -- several times before and that he was more familiar with the city.

He was acting as a guide for his friends. And CNN managed to speak to his brother, David Whelan, last night to tell us more about what his brother was doing and his experiences in Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID WHELAN, BROTHER OF DETAINED AMERICAN PAUL WHELAN: I don't believe Paul's a spy. I don't believe that there are charges that would support him being a spy. Paul has traveled a lot for personal reasons and for business, and I think Russia was one of the many locations that he went to. He has friends that he's gathered over the years on social media and some of them are Russian, and so he's visited them while he's been in Russia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HODGE: So, Christine, that's what his family is telling us. That Paul Whelan is a -- he's an avid traveler, that he's been to Russia before. And what we're dealing with on the Russian side is of course the black box with the Federal Security Service really giving us very few details about what they claim or the charges or the suspicions against him and the espionage case that appears to be being built against him. But it's a very serious one, one that can carry a long jail term, Christine. Thank you.

ROMANS: All right. Nathan Hodge, thank you so much for that. In Moscow this morning. Keep us posted on new developments. Thanks.

BRIGGS: China has become the first nation on earth to land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon. State television announcing last night that the Chang'e 4 lunar mission landed a rover near the moon's South Pole.

For the latest from Beijing, Matt Rivers, live for us this morning. Matt, good to see you.

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, Dave. Yes, this is a big deal for China's space program which historically has lagged, you know, far behind powers like the United States and Russia. This was launched a little under a month ago and basically what happened is earlier today China state media said it was a successful landing so this rover is going to go on the far side of the moon.

It's going to explore on the ground there for the first time in the history of mankind. So basically they're going to do a number of experiments, looking at what you can plant in certain aluminum containers that are specialized for that kind of environment to see if you can support growing any sort of plants. [04:20:10] They're going to explore the poles of this moon, and it's

going to hopefully provide a treasure trove of scientific research not only for the Chinese but perhaps for other space agencies around the world.

This is a big deal for China but, you know, this isn't saying that Chinese space program is near the Americans, for example. America landed people on the moon, you know, 50 years ago at this point. They've already sent someone -- sent a probe to Mars. But what this is it's showing you China's ambitions. They want to move forward. They want to become the leader in space exploration.

They're going to send a probe to Mars in the next couple of years. They want to eventually send astronauts to the moon. So if you're looking for a new space race, the U.S.-China could be it the next couple of years -- David.

BRIGGS: Interesting. All right. Very good. Matt Rivers live for us in Beijing. Thank you.

Ahead, a burger and a brawl. You won't believe what caused this fast food fight. Next.

ROMANS: And a basketball player takes a big -- a big hit and somehow shakes it off.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right. A ban on plastic straws triggering a brawl at a McDonald's in St. Petersburg, Florida. And it was captured on a customer's iPhone. An eyewitness says 40-year-old Daniel Taylor became irate because there were no straws available at the condiment station. So he reached across the counter and lunged at the employee Yasmine James, grabbing her by the apron. And she was having none of it.

Yasmine was not hurt. Police say Taylor kicked another employee who complained a pain afterward. Police arrested Taylor, who they say is homeless, on two charges of simple battery.

[04:25:07] BRIGGS: Wow. OK. Darryl Dragon, the captain of the 1970s music duo "Captain and Tennille," has died. Dragon and his then-wife Toni Tennille had some big hits in the 1970s, none bigger than the Grammy-winning song "Love Will Keep Us Together." Other hits included "Muskrat Love" and "Do That to Me One More Time."

The "Captain and Tennille" also had their own TV variety series. His publicist says Tony Tennille was by Dragon's side when he died Wednesday at a hospice in Arizona. Darryl Dragon was 76 years old.

ROMANS: Actor-comedian Bob Einstein has died. The two-time Emmy winner had a recurring role as Marty Funkhouser on HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm," often sparring with Larry David.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB EINSTEIN, ACTOR, HBO "CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM": I'm an orphan.

LARRY DAVID, ACTOR, HBO "CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM": Orphan?

EINSTEIN: Yes, an orphan.

DAVID: You look too old to be an orphan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Einstein was also known for his character, the hapless daredevil Super Dave Osborne. He was 76 and had recently been diagnosed with cancer. His brother Albert Brooks says he was a brilliantly funny man who will be missed forever.

BRIGGS: He was hysterical.

Also some sad news from the world of professional wrestling.

Okerlund has died. He held his own beside some of wrestling's biggest personalities like Hulk Hogan and Randy "Macho Man" Savage. Okerlund has inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006. He was 76.

ROMANS: All right. Take a look at this epic block by North Central hoop star Blaise Meredith. After racing the length of the court he elevates and his head slammed right into the bottom of the backboard. Now it looked worse than it really was, we're told. Meredith did reject the layup attempt by Augustana's Chrishawn Orange. He shook off the cobwebs a few minutes later and returned to the game.

BRIGGS: Ouch. Netflix is pleading with viewers to stop imitating Sandra Bullock in the hit movie "Bird Box."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDRA BULLOCK, ACTRESS, NETFLIX'S "BIRD BOX": If you hear something in the woods, you tell me. If you hear something in the water, you tell me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Bullock's blind box challenges in the movie's post- apocalyptic world have given rise to a real world Internet craze. Viewers blindfolding themselves hoping to go viral and then hurting themselves. There are videos all over the Internet of blindfolded people staggering through their homes or stumbling around outdoors, getting so bad Netflix released a warning that reads, "Please do not hurt yourselves with this 'Bird Box' challenge."

(LAUGHTER)

BRIGGS: 2019. Welcome to it, folks.

ROMANS: Oh come on. Come on.

BRIGGS: Hey, at least we've moved on from Tide pods. ROMANS: Yes, thank you. 27 minutes past the hour. It's day 13 of

the government shutdown. More importantly, day one of a brand new Congress on Capitol Hill. A Congress unlike any other in American history. Full coverage next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)