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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Joe Biden Reverses Support for Hyde Amendment; Jerry Nadler Said to Push Nancy Pelosi on Impeachment Inquiry; Trump Wraps Up Five- Day Trip to Europe; Colorado Couple Got Violently Ill at Dominican Report. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired June 07, 2019 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:19] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: It's deadline day for President Trump to order those tariffs he's been threatening to impose on Mexico.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I make no apologies in my last position, and I make no apologies for what I'm about to say.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Democratic front runner Joe Biden flip-flops on federal funds for abortion.
ROMANS: A Colorado couple says they became violently sick at the same Dominican resort where three Americans mysteriously died on vacation.
BRIGGS: Plus, how did an airplane door fall from the sky right into a Vegas neighborhood? Hello.
ROMANS: Hey.
BRIGGS: Good morning, everyone, and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Dave Briggs.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is Friday.
BRIGGS: Say it again.
ROMANS: June 7th, Friday, jobs day actually.
BRIGGS: Jobs day.
ROMANS: Big economic report coming out this morning. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East. So let's begin here with tariffs.
Today is the deadline for President Trump to decide whether to impose tariffs on goods from Mexico. The president wakes up today at his golf club in Ireland. We're looking at live pictures, I believe. There -- there it is. No. Well, the banner on the top says Mexico. I'm pretty sure it is --
BRIGGS: I'm a little confused. But that's not Mexico.
ROMANS: That does look like Ireland to me. Look, he must set the wheels in motion to carry out his threat to impose an initial 5 percent tariff starting Monday unless Mexico stems the flow of migrants at the southern U.S. border. Now both sides say they believe there's still a chance at a deal to stop the tariffs but the Vice President Mike Pence underscored the U.S. demand that Mexico must first halt the tide of migrants.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The bottom line is we made it very clear that Mexico has to step up. They have to do more, and they have to do more quickly.
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BRIGGS: Mexico's Foreign minister announcing last night that his country is deploying 6,000 Mexican National Guard troops to the country's southern border with Guatemala to help curb migration. Earlier the Foreign minister said he is optimistic a deal can be made with the U.S. in time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCELO EBRARD, MEXICAN FOREIGN MINISTER: We are optimistic because we have a good meeting with respectable -- respectful position from both parts. We have the opportunity. We have the opportunity to share our point of view.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: President Trump for his part believes tariffs are a win-win for the U.S. telling FOX's Laura Ingraham they're, quote, "a beautiful thing."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Republicans should love what I'm doing because I view tariffs in two phases. Number one it's great to negotiate with because people don't want to be tariffed for coming into the United States, they don't want that. And number two, frankly if they're gone, you make a fortune because all the companies are going to move back into the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Republicans don't typically love tax increases, to note. Talks between the U.S. and Mexico resume in Washington later this morning.
ROMANS: All right. A 180 from Joe Biden from the Hyde Amendment. The former vice president and Democratic frontrunner reversing his long-held position on abortion funding in the space of a single day. He says he no longer supports the measure and wants it eliminated.
What is the Hyde Amendment? It blocks federal funds for being used from most abortions.
More now from CNN's Arlette Saenz in Atlanta.
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Christine and Dave, after he had faced swift criticism from his 2020 rivals, Joe Biden made a major reversal when it comes to abortion. He told a group of Democrats here in Atlanta that he no longer supports the Hyde Amendment which prohibits the use of federal funds for abortions in most cases except for rape, incest and saving the life of the mother.
Now take a listen to what Biden had to tell Democrats in Atlanta last night.
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BIDEN: I can't justify leaving millions of women without access to the care they need and the ability to -- to exercise their constitutionally protected right. If I believe health care is a right, as I do, I can no longer support an amendment that makes that right dependent on someone's zip code.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ: Now this was a very quick reversal. You had basically seen the entire Democratic field criticize Biden for the fact that he supported this Hyde Amendment. That was really the first major fault line that you had seen between the former vice president and his 2020 rivals. But now Biden issuing that major reversal saying that he does support ending the Hyde Amendment -- Christine and Dave.
BRIGGS: OK, Arlette, thanks.
The candidate's views are becoming more critical to a number of voters. Take a look at this new CNN poll, 3 in 10 Americans now say a candidate must agree with their views on abortion to get their vote in a major election. In 2004, only 17 percent of the voters felt that way.
[04:05:06] ROMANS: All right. House Judiciary chairman Jerry Nadler is privately pushing to begin an impeachment inquiry into President Trump. But he's running into resistance from Nancy Pelosi. According to Politico, Democrats held a meeting this week where the House speaker argued she would rather see the president in prison.
CNN's Manu Raju has more from Capitol Hill.
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine and Dave. Now a split between the House speaker Nancy Pelosi and the chairman of the House Judiciary over whether or not to open up an impeachment probe. Jerry Nadler, the chairman of that committee, says they should and he's been making this case privately to Nancy Pelosi on multiple occasions.
Pelosi says no. She believes that's a wrong approach. She (INAUDIBLE) supports a current plan which does not go down this route. She also believes that moving to vote to impeach the president ultimately would be fruitless and help Trump essentially be reelected because the Senate would not convict this president and the president could essentially say he has been exonerated. She does not want to go down that path.
Nevertheless, Jerry Nadler is pressing on. I am told behind closed doors he's made the case on multiple occasion to the speaker, only to get rebuffed, including at a meeting earlier this week when he told the speaker very clearly that moving forward with an impeachment inquiry could add weight to the legal case in court. The cases involving the fight between the House Democrats and the Trump administration over the subpoenas that they are demanding for information, subpoenas that the White House is not complying with.
He thinks they could win those cases. Also he believes it would be important to centralize all the investigations that are happening in the House. He says these are all happening under his committee, particularly the investigations involving potential crimes involving this president.
Now there's pushback, not just from Pelosi but also Adam Schiff, the House Intelligence Committee chairman, who himself is looking into different aspects of the president's conduct while in office. But nevertheless the Judiciary chairman is facing pressure from his own members in the House Judiciary Committee who want to move forward with the impeachment probe, who are growing frustrated by the defiance from this administration. And this tension and division only bound to intensify in the weeks ahead, particularly if the administration does not comply with their demands -- Christine and Dave.
ROMANS: All right, Manu, in Washington, thank you for that.
President Trump lashing out at Nancy Pelosi for that prison comment. The president hitting back hard in a FOX News interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think she's a disgrace. I actually don't think she's a talented person. I've tried to be nice to her because I would have liked to have gotten some deals done. She's incapable of doing deals. She's a nasty, vindictive, horrible person. The Mueller report came out. It was a disaster for them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Wow. You know, the timing of that interview I think is curious.
BRIGGS: Sure.
ROMANS: That interview took place at the American Cemetery in Normandy, France, in front of the graves of American soldiers who lost their lives in World War II, before, you know, sort of the official program of the day honoring the sacrifice of Americans and British, too. And that was the tone from the commander-in-chief.
BRIGGS: Right. And what's more revealing, reading a very good speech off a teleprompter or revealing your true feelings there, and he said in that interview to Laura Ingraham, I'm holding up the ceremonies because of this interview. Now it turns out that Emmanuel Macron was later than the president. But that's time he thought he was holding it up for a FOX News interview.
Moving on, the president returning to Washington today, set to depart Ireland in the coming hours. Now during this five-day trip to Europe, he wasted no time wading into domestic U.K. policies and even apparently claiming he talked politics with Queen Elizabeth.
CNN's Nic Robertson live in Doonbeg, Ireland with the latest on this.
Nic, good morning to you. This is the president's private club, the third time he has stopped as president at a private business he maintains to visit one of his clubs. How do you -- how do you grade this trip?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You know, he managed to behave well in front of the Queen. He totally waded into British politics in a way that's not only disruptive but it's divisive and it's put issues out there that people in Britain really didn't know were on the table. And that's -- you know, that can be very destructive. I mean, what he said could actually lead to a general election, the implications of what he said.
But right now this morning he's supposed to be playing golf. We've got a picture up from here. You can just about see the golf resort. You might be able to see it through the rain behind me on our other camera here. It's going to be a wet golfing session if the president gets out for that session before he takes off back to the United States today but is leaving behind him, you know, a trail of concern and he's alluded here that he actually talked about Brexit, talked about politics with the Queen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[04:10:01] TRUMP: So I think before you can think in terms of Brexit for the next few weeks, you're going to have to find out what happens, who's going to be the new leader.
I found it to be a set of an amazing period of time, especially having spent so much time with the Queen who I think is an incredible lady, but I spent so much time and, you know, there's a lot of question marks as to who's going to be leading, and so it was very interesting talking to her, being with her for so many hours, actually.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Well, when the president's back in D.C., dealing with Mexico, Theresa May, the British prime minister, will be stepping down in London from her position, and the ramifications of the issues the president has brought up while he's been in the U.K., the country will be dealing with those in the weeks and months ahead -- Dave.
BRIGGS: Turbulent times there. Nic Robertson live on a terrible golf day in Ireland. Thank you, sir. After several days, President Trump has signed that $19.1 billion
disaster relief package as promised. Even tweeted a photo that appears to have been taken on Air Force One. The measure will bring much needed relief to Americans affected by hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and other disasters. Several House Republicans held up passage of the bill last month, after the Senate passed.
ROMANS: All right. That long U.S. streak of jobs growth probably has not ended yet. Economists polled by Reuters -- Refinitiv rather, estimate 185,000 jobs were added in May. 185,000, you can see how that fits into the trend this year. April was also a strong month. 263,000 net new jobs added then.
One worrying sign, this month's payroll report from the payroll processer ADP. ADP found the private sector added just 27,000 jobs in May. You can imagine if we had a reading like that. Steep losses in construction employment. That caused some forecasters to lower their expectations for the Labor Department's report.
They also expect the unemployment rate to hold steady here at 3.6 percent. This is a generational low. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more open jobs than people looking for jobs in America, and that's been the case since February 2018, a sign of just how tight that labor market.
Also wage growth expected to come in around 3.2 percent. If that happens, that would be the 8th month above 3 percent pay growth. That's an important number to watch.
Let's look at futures here. You've got slight gains but really I would call this an indecisive positive tone here at the opening bell. And around the world, in stock markets around the world, really kind of mixed. You had a little bit of a bounce here in London. So we'll see if that follows through to the opening bell here in the U.S. Opening bell opens in a little more than five hours -- Dave.
BRIGGS: Interesting, right. It seems like, feels like the economic story of the week is what the Fed is prepared to do.
ROMANS: That's right.
BRIGGS: It's prepared to backstop the president's policies.
ROMANS: Absolutely.
BRIGGS: It's not necessarily the worldwide (INAUDIBLE).
ROMANS: And the president has been screaming for a Fed rate cut for how many months now saying the Fed was loco for not lowering interest rates. In a way he may have bullied his way into that.
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: By putting tariffs on potentially Mexico, definitely on China. The Fed may have come to come in, the thinking goes, and lower interest rates just like the president always wanted to undo the damage from his trade wars and the U.S. economy.
BRIGGS: That would be the story of the economy this month indeed.
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: Romans, thank you.
Ahead a Colorado couple says they got sick at the same Dominican resort where three Americans were recently found dead. You'll hear from them next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:18:08] BRIGGS: New developments in the investigation of three unexplained American deaths at a Dominican Republic resort. A Colorado couple who stayed at the same facility in La Romana last year claims they became violently ill once they arrived. Kaylynn Knull and her boyfriend Tom Schwander are suing the owners of the Grand Bahia Principe resort. They believe they were exposed to pesticides in the air-conditioning system.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAYLYNN KNULL, AMERICAN TOURIST AT DOMINICAN RESORT: It's too coincidental with the symptoms that we had for me to even begin to stay quiet about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Autopsy resorts are in for the three Americans who died at the resort. All three had fluid in their lungs.
Rosa Flores has more from the Dominican Republic.
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dave, Christine, there are new developments into the mysterious deaths of the three Americans who died in the Dominican Republic. This is according to the attorney general's office who released preliminary autopsy results. According to the A.G., Miranda Schaup-Werner had a heart attack. The Maryland couple Nathaniel Edward Holmes and Cynthia Ann Day had internal bleeding of the pancreas and fluid in the lungs.
Now all of this is dependent upon toxicology reports so official cause of death has not been determined yet. Now the A.G. also mentions some medications that were found inside the couple's room.
And here's another development, the FBI is assisting with the investigation. This is according to a State Department official who says that local police asked the FBI to assist with the toxicology reports and then of course there is an FBI attache here in this country that is helping with that. And finally health inspectors went into the resort that you see behind me to conduct a health inspection and the results of that inspection are expected Friday or Monday -- Dave, Christine.
[04:20:01] BRIGGS: Rosa Flores there, thanks. Residents in a Las Vegas neighborhood receiving an unwelcome surprise.
An airplane door falling from the sky, hitting a building and ending up in someone's front yard. Well, it happened yesterday afternoon. Officials say an access panel fell off an A-4 military plane shortly after it took off from nearby Ellis Air Force Base on a routine training mission. Thankfully no one was hurt. The FAA and Las Vegas Police are investigating the incident.
ROMANS: That's something. Airplane door.
BRIGGS: Luckily it didn't hit a person. That could have been far worse.
ROMANS: Coming out of the sky.
All right. A part owner of the Golden State Warriors caught on camera shoving a Toronto Raptor.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There you see. There's that in the blue shirt pushed him off.
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ROMANS: Whoa. This is during the NBA Finals. What the league is going to do about this next.
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[04:25:48] ROMANS: New Orleans' music legend, Dr. John the Night Tripper, has died after suffering a heart attack.
The song "Right Place, Wrong Time" was his biggest hit but his style fit many musical genres, blues, jazz, rock, pop. His real name was Malcolm John Rebennack. Governor John Bel Edwards says he was a true Louisiana legend. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. Dr. John was 77.
BRIGGS: The NBA takes quick action banning a Golden State Warriors minority investor after cameras captured him shoving Toronto Raptors player Kyle Lowry on the sidelines during game three of the NBA Finals. Stevens there seated in the blue shirt also accused of cursing Lowry. The league has banned Stevens from attending Warriors games and team activities for one season. Also fined him half a million dollars. Stevens issued a statement apologizing for the incident, attributing it to a, quote, "lapse in judgment."
ROMANS: All right. The Sailors Blues are on the brink of winning their first ever Stanley Cup. They beat the Bruins 2-1 last night in game five in Boston to take a 3-2 lead in the series. Rookie goalie Jordan Binnington had his best game of the series, stopping 34 shots. The Blues now one win away from the first championship in the team's 52-year history. Game six Sunday night back home in St. Louis.
BRIGGS: They are hungry for a cup there. All right, ahead, President Trump could sign the order to slap tariffs
on Mexico today. The latest on negotiations to stop all of that. Next.
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