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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Moderates Versus Progressives; Biden Debates Tonight; North Korea Launches 2 Short-Range Ballistic Missiles. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired July 31, 2019 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[04:30:13] SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Second of all --
REP. TIM RYAN (D-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But you don't know that -- you don't know that, Bernie.
SANDERS: Second of all --
JAKE TAPPER, CNN DEBATE MODERATOR: I'll come to you in a second, Congressman.
SANDERS: I do know it, I wrote the damn bill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren fend off attacks from moderate Democrats at the first CNN debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't understand why anybody goes to all the trouble of running for president of the United States just to talk about what we really can't do and shouldn't fight for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Plus, just hours from now, the moderate front-runner takes the stage. Joe Biden joining the ten candidates in Detroit tonight.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Boris Sanchez, in for Dave Briggs.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is exactly 30 minutes past the hour here in New York.
The ideological gulf between progressives and moderate, an overriding theme of the first night of the CNN Democratic debates, with ten candidates struggling for attention last night at the Fox Theater in Detroit. Moderates trained their fire on the two progressives topping the polls. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren seeming to circle their wagons, avoiding attacks on each other and concentrating on lower polling moderates. One of the key issues up for debate -- Sanders' proposed overhaul of
the U.S. health care system, Medicare for All. Watch this exchange among Warren, Sanders, and former Maryland Congressman John Delaney.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Congressman Delaney just referred to it as bad policy. And previously, he has called the idea "political suicide that will just get President Trump re-elected." What do you say to Congressman Delaney?
SANDERS: You're wrong.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
SANDERS: Right now, we have a dysfunctional health care system: 87 million uninsured or underinsured, $500,000 -- 500,000 Americans every year, going bankrupt because of medical bills, 30,000 people dying while the health care industry makes tens of billions of dollars in profit. Five minutes away from me and John is a country, it's called Canada.
They guarantee health care to every man, woman and child as a human right.
JOHN DELANEY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm right about this. We can create a universal health care system to give everyone basic health care for free, and I have a proposal to do it. But we don't have to go around and be the party of subtraction, and telling half the country, who has private health insurance, that their health insurance is illegal.
My dad, the union electrician, loved the health care he got from the IBEW. He would never want someone to take that away.
WARREN: Let's be clear about this. We are the Democrats. We are not about trying to take away health care from anyone. That's what the Republicans are trying to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: An energetic Sanders also taking on John Hickenlooper, former Colorado governor and Denver mayor, arguing he's one of the few running with executive experience.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN HICKENLOOPER (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So again, I think if we're going to force Americans to make these radical changes, they're not going to go along -- throw your hands up --
SANDERS: All right.
HICKENLOOPER: Oh-ho, I can do it. But you haven't implemented the plans. Us governors and mayors are the ones, we have to pick up all the pieces when suddenly the government's supposed to take over all these responsibilities, and there's no preparation. The details don't work (ph). You can't just spring a plan on the world and expect it to succeed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The candidates generally stuck to the issues and avoided cheap shots. There were still a few notable zingers as Sanders and Warren fended off the centrist attacks. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DELANEY: So I think Democrats win when we run on real solutions, not impossible promises, when we run on things that are workable, not fairy tale economics.
TAPPER: Senator Warren?
DELANEY: We can do it.
WARREN: You know, I don't understand why anybody goes to all the trouble of running for president of the United States just to talk about what we really can't do and shouldn't fight for.
(APPLAUSE)
I don't get it.
TAPPER: Can you guarantee those union members that the benefits under Medicare for All will be as good as the benefits that their representatives, their union reps, fought hard to negotiate?
SANDERS: Well, two things. They will be better because Medicare for All is comprehensive. It covers all health care needs. For senior citizens, it will finally include dental care, hearing aids, and eyeglasses.
Second of all --
RYAN: But you don't know that -- you don't know that, Bernie.
SANDERS: Second of all --
TAPPER: I'll come to you in a second, Congressman.
SANDERS: I do know it, I wrote the damn bill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The senator's campaign so confident in that comeback, it already is selling "I wrote the damn bill" stickers as a fundraiser on its website. That they tell you how spontaneous that line actually was.
ROMANS: All right. For Pete Buttigieg, last night, was not about moderates versus progressives. He framed it as right versus wrong. The South Bend mayor knows he will make the cut for the next round of
debates and he seemed determined to separate himself from the pack by staying above the political fray.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is time to stop worrying about what the Republicans will say. Look, if --
(APPLAUSE)
If it's true that if we embrace a far-left agenda, they're going to say we're a bunch of crazy socialists.
[04:35:03] If we embrace a conservative agenda, you know what they're going to do? They're going to say we're a bunch of crazy socialists.
So let's just stand up for the right policy, go out there and defend it. That's the policy I'm putting forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Buttigieg also challenged Republicans to stand up to President Trump, and he this warning for those who chose to look the other way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUTTIGIEG: Today, they are supporting naked racism in the White House or at best silent about it. If you are watching this at home and you are a Republican member of Congress, consider the fact that when the sun sets on your career and they are writing your story, of all the good and bad things you did in your life, the thing you will be remembered for is whether in this moment with this president you found the courage to stand up to him, or you continue to put party over country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: It was Montana Governor Steve Bullock's first time on the big debate stage. And he did his best to make up for lost time. He cast himself as a more pragmatic progressive, focused on the economy, and against dark money in politics.
On immigration, he said he's against decriminalizing border crossings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. STEVE BULLOCK (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think this is part of the discussion that shows how often these debates are detached from people's lives. We've got 100,000 people showing up at the border right now. If we decriminalize entry, if we give health care to everyone, we'll have multiples of that.
Don't take my word, that was President Obama's homeland security secretary that said that. The biggest problem right now that we have with immigration, it's Donald Trump. He's using immigration to not only rip apart families but rip apart this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Marianne Williamson may be a long shot to make it to the next Democratic debate, but there's no doubt she has America's attention. A political novice and author with an unconventional perspective, she stood out on stage as she was flanked by career politicians. She had a frank response to a question about reparations for slavery.
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MARIANNE WILLIAMSON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: About $500 billion in financial assistance, it's $500 billion, $200 billion to $500 billion payment of debt that is owed. That is what reparations is.
We need some deep truth telling. We need to recognize that when it comes to the economic gap between blacks and whites in America, it does come from a great injustice that has never been dealt with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: As for what her party must do to defeat President Trump, she said this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMSON: This is part of the dark underbelly of American society. The racism, the bigotry, and the entire conversation that we're having here tonight, if you think any of this wonkiness is going to deal with this dark psychic force of the collectivized hatred that this president is bringing up in this country, then I'm afraid that the Democrats are going to see some very dark days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Dark psychic force.
SANCHEZ: Dark psychic force.
ROMANS: Got a lot of attention. She was the -- one of most highly Googled.
SANCHEZ: Yes. Yes. She didn't bring up the prime minister of New Zealand, but Pete Buttigieg did. Again, the prime minister of New Zealand getting major play in the debates.
Joining us now to discuss these dark psychic forces, live from Detroit, "Guardian U.S." White House correspondent Sabrina Siddiqui. She's also a CNN political analyst.
ROMANS: Good morning.
SANCHEZ: Sabrina, good morning to you.
SABRINA SIDDIQUI, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning. SANCHEZ: Really, this first debate was a showcase between the more
moderate sort of pragmatic Democrats and the more, you know, home run, big plan, big idea wing of the party. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren clearly head and shoulders above the rest. They were sort of playing defense against the jayvee squad. Did anybody break through and really put a dent on them?
SIDDIQUI: Well, I wouldn't say anyone was really able to put a dent on Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren who are not only leaders of the progressive movement but have had an indelible impact in terms of shaping what the current Democratic Party's platform looks like on issues ranging from health care to income inequality and taxes.
You did see them very much on the defensive. This was sort of a night in which you could describe it as the centrists fighting back, but I don't think there was any clear candidate who claimed that mantle, especially when you look at the field more broadly it's Joe Biden who is still very much leading most polls and also kind of trying to occupy that pragmatic centrist approach. I think that there really wasn't anyone who was able to undercut the movement that Sanders and Warren are trying to build.
ROMANS: It was almost as if the moderates were literally setting the stage for Joe Biden, you know, to pick up the mantle tonight in Detroit.
I want to listen to something that Elizabeth Warren said because I think there is this -- this discussion going on within the Democratic Party, look, we just need to -- we don't want to start another revolution. We want to win the presidency. We want elect ability and want to repair the damage from the Trump presidency. She's saying, no, we have to be the party of big ideas.
[04:40:00] Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WARREN: Our problems didn't start with Donald Trump. Donald Trump is part of a corrupt, rigged system that has helped the wealthy and the well connected and kicked dirt in the faces of everyone else. We're not going to solve the urgent problems that we face with small ideas and spinelessness. We're going to solve them by being the Democratic party of big structural change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: That almost sounds like she's talking to Joe Biden, too, don't you think?
SIDDIQUI: Absolutely. I think it was a message to anyone who is not really willing to embrace the more bold progressive agenda that the likes of Warren and Sanders have campaigned on. There was another point in time where Elizabeth Warren during the debate said that candidates shouldn't be running on what they can't do. They should be running on what they can do because so much of the conversation was about how feasible really is Medicare for All or is the Green New Deal actually practical.
I think for people like Warren and Sanders, they really believe the path to victory is in building a movement as opposed to Biden or some of these moderates who really want to make this election about electability and who is best positioned to defeat Donald Trump. Now I don't think that there's any clear sense of what the Democratic electorate is thinking. We still have several months before voters actually go to the polls. And that's when we'll get a better sense of whether or not they want this to squarely be a referendum on the president or if there is that progressive litmus test that a candidate is going to have to clear in order to earn the nomination.
SANCHEZ: And speaking specifically about night one, some of the ideas that were put out there by Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, these big ideas that we're talking about, the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, we're not exactly broadly popular. I guess my question is watching what you saw last night, was there anything that president Trump should be concerned about?
SIDDIQUI: Well, I think that it depends on which issue you're talking about because there has been some polling to suggest that Medicare for All or even a well tax polls well with Americans. Now, what the Republicans and the president are doing is they're painting Democrats as socialists. It's a scare tactic that they're going to use to try and make the case to voters that Democrats really want the government to overtake every aspect of your life. And you've already seen them hitting that message home in a number of ads that they're running in key states.
So I think that's the way that Republicans are going to push back. Where Donald Trump may be concerned is there certainly is a fair amount of energy on the side of Democrats, but again, that goes back to whether or not this is about building a movement, or is this simply Democrats wanting a return to normalcy which is what you're going to hear from Joe Biden tonight, that forget all of the -- these high- minded policy debates, we have a more urgent problem in front us, and that's taking back the White House from Donald Trump's grasp.
ROMANS: Yes. It's fascinating, the whole Democrats no matter what will be painted as socialists as Pete Buttigieg said. It's this Republican Party, this president of the United States picking winners and losers in the economy, raising taxes on working people, consumers with tariffs. You know, all of these things that were so, you know, would never have happened in a Republican Party in the past happening today. Just kind of a fascinating socialism irony.
Nice to see you, Sabrina.
SANCHEZ: Thank you so much for getting up early for us.
There's still ten more Democrats taking the stage tonight including the front-runner, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris. We saw what happened during the first debate. Fireworks potentially tonight. The second night of the CNN Democratic debates begin at 8:00 p.m. live from Detroit, only on CNN. ROMANS: All right. As the candidates get ready to debate, North
Korea launches two more missiles. A live report from the region, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:48:03] SANCHEZ: North Korea firing two short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, according to South Korean and U.S. officials. It's the second missile test by Pyongyang in the last week.
CNN's Ivan Watson is monitoring developments. He's live for us in Hong Kong.
Ivan, North Korea clearly trying to send a message about joint U.S.- South Korean military exercises, about South Korea buying some U.S. jets.
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Some predawn saber-rattling, and definitely sending some messages with now what is the second short-range ballistic missile launch by North Korea in less than a week. So, this came at around 5:00 a.m. local time, these two missiles that traveled a distance of 250 kilometers, around 155 miles.
Now, a U.S. official tells CNN that the ballistic missiles did not threaten the U.S. or any U.S. allies, but as the crow flies, these missiles could have easily hit the South Korean capital, Seoul. Now the Trump administration has been downplaying these two missile launches and one that took place May 9th, just less than three months ago. But the South Koreans are getting increasingly concerned.
There was an emergency meeting of the National Security Council in Seoul, and they subsequently expressed concern about these launches saying they could hurt peace efforts on the Korean peninsula. The South Korean government is just as invested in diplomacy with Kim Jong-un as President Trump is who a month ago exactly met with Kim Jong-un on the demilitarized zone.
Despite these launches, the Trump administration says it's still working on trying to restore working level diplomatic talks with the North Korean government, though that has fallen behind the schedule that President Trump said would start within weeks of that historic meeting on the DMZ -- Boris.
SANCHEZ: That's right, Ivan.
[04:50:00] The Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying it would happen soon. We'll keep an eye on.
Ivan Watson, Thanks.
ROMANS: All right. Let's get a check on CNN Business this morning. A look around the world here first. You can see Asian markets fell as trade worries linger here.
The United States delegation left Shanghai after a short meeting about -- about trade. Also we have this Fed rate decision.
Hong Kong markets closed early. There's a tropical storm approaching southern China. They had to close trading. And again, as the trade officials met for a second time in China, the president said this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think the biggest problem to a great deal is China would love to wait and just hope they would just love if I got defeated. China is dying to make a deal with me. Whether or not I'll do it, it's up to me. It's not up to them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Yes, the American and Chinese counterparts were meeting while the president was saying all that. Now they've left for the airport. So, I don't know how hopeful that was.
On Wall Street, slight gains here. U.S. stocks closed lower as investors anticipate the first rate cut in a decade. The Dow closed down 23 points. The S&P and Nasdaq fell slightly.
All eyes will be on the central bank this afternoon. A rate almost certain. The question, how big will it be?
Apple's core iPhone business is seeing sales decline for three quarters in a row. Sales fell to about $26 billion, a 12 percent decline. The slowing demand comes as customers hold on to their smartphones longer.
Apple is also working to reverse the slowdown in China, once its most promising market under this ongoing trade war. On the other hand, Apple's services segment which includes Apple Pay and Apple Music, that hit nearly $11.5 billion. Trade war concerns are still there. Last week, the president tweeted he will refuse to exempt Apple from tariffs on parts for the Mac Pro which Apple has said to be building in China.
SANCHEZ: A miracle catch you have to see. A toddler saved falling from a high rise. Heart-stopping video next.
ROMANS: Plus, a wild brawl on the ball field with a familiar face right in the middle of it all.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:56:25] ROMANS: All right. Watch this: a 3-year-old boy in China survives a six-story plunge from a high-rise. Just terrifying to watch. The toddler clinging to the apartment balcony. Neighbors grabbed two large blankets. He loses his grip and falls. The child remarkably, six stories, unhurt.
SANCHEZ: Reds and Pirates last night. Both benches emptied. The Reds' reliever Amir Garrett charging the dugout. Yasiel Puig goes out fighting in his final game with the Reds. Moments after this Puig found out he'd been traded to the Cleveland Indians mid game. ROMANS: All right. Stephen Colbert did his show live so he could
mind the CNN Democratic debate for comedy gold. Here are your late- night laughs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, COMEDIAN: Bernie got his chance, and he talked about corporate power.
SANDERS: Companies like Amazon that made billions in profits did not pay one nickel in federal income tax.
COLBERT: And one nickel is a lot. You can take a street car to the Ziegfeld and see a talky -- see a talky and still have enough left over for an egg cream at Woolworth's.
Former Colorado Governor Hickenlooper laid out the stakes of this election in no uncertain terms.
HICKENLOOPER: I was out of work for two whole years.
COLBERT: Please, I need this job. I am -- I am in deep.
On the subject of health care, John Delaney tried to speak to his experience on the trail.
DELANEY: I've been going around rural America and ask rural hospital administrators one question --
COLBERT: Do you know who I am?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: They probably do now that Elizabeth Warren dumped on him.
ROMANS: I know. Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.
SANCHEZ: I'm Boris Sanchez. That's it for EARLY START.
Early "NEW DAY" starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BUTTIGIEG: There was time to stop worrying about what the Republicans will say.
Let's just stand up for the right policy, go out there and defend it.
DELANEY: Democrats win when we run on real solutions, not impossible promises.
SANDERS: We made it to have a campaign of energy, excitement, and vision.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Warren and Sanders decided not to go after each other. It's not going to last. WARREN: We're not trying to take away health care for anyone. That's
what the Republicans are trying to do.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was chewing up and spitting people out. That's what people are looking for with Donald Trump.
ANNOUNCER: This is "NEW DAY" with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to a special edition of "NEW DAY." It is Wednesday, July 31st, 5:00 here in Detroit.
There was no lack of energy on the stage last night.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It was really impressive. They were in it.
CAMEROTA: It was a calorie burner even to watch it. There were different visions laid out for the Democratic Party between these progressives and the moderates. It was on full display at the debate.
The candidates offered distinct approaches for America while wrestling with how to defeat President Trump. Senator Elizabeth Warren warned against, quote, spineless moderation while some of the more moderate candidates cautioned against making promises that will be hard to keep and played right into the hands of Republicans in the general election.
BERMAN: Yes, this was an incredibly demanding debate. I don't know if I've seen so much substance and policy on display at such a blistering pace that required an impressive effort from all the candidates. Health care is just one example of real discussion on Medicare for All with Sanders and Warren defending the costs and the idea of doing away with private insurance and trying to fend off criticism from the middle.
So who won? Who lost? And what does it mean for tonight's debate? Will we see a rematch of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris?
We have the best analysis on earth for you this morning. Five a.m. has never seen so much talent.
I want to go first to Athena Jones live on the debate stage with the highlights.
Athena, it's like being on the field at halftime.
