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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
High Stakes Midterms One Day Away As President Trump Keeps Up Immigration Drumbeat; U.S. Reimposing Sanctions On Iran; Khashoggi Sons Plead For Return Of Their Father's Body. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired November 05, 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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[05:30:58] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No nation can allow its borders to be overrun.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Don't be hoodwinked, don't be bamboozled.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Power players making a final pitch. We're in the last hours of the midterm campaign, expected to be a referendum on President Trump.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The president vows to protect preexisting conditions and says he didn't know his own Justice Department would urge a court to throw them out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE DAVIDSON, CAST MEMBER, NBC "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": And he lost his eye in war or whatever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: And mounting criticism for an "SNL" cast member. Pete Davidson made fun of a congressional candidate who lost an eye in Afghanistan.
Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Dave Briggs.
ROMANS: It wasn't funny -- and it -- and it wasn't.
BRIGGS: No, it wasn't. Let us know what you think about it @EarlyStart on Twitter.
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. Thirty-one minutes past the hour.
The midterm elections just a day away now -- 24 1/2 hours until polls open in the east deciding 35 Senate races, 435 House seats, and 36 races for governor.
A new NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll has Democrats with a 7-point edge in the generic congressional ballot. And the latest Washington Post-ABC News polls 69 percent of registered voters under the age of 40 say they are certain they will vote. That is up from 44 percent in the last midterms.
A lot riding on whether Democrats can flip the House. CNN political director David Chalian handicapping the state of play.
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DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Nearly 70 districts truly in play, some leaning a little blue, Democratic; some leaning a little red, Republican. Thirty-one in yellow, true toss-ups -- total coin- flip. And of those, 30 of them are currently held by Republicans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Wow, good breakdown.
The president going all out in the home stretch holding three rallies in three states -- Ohio, Indiana, Missouri -- where he'll be joined by special guest Sean Hannity. That's right -- a news network is allowing a personality to campaign for Republicans.
On Sunday, the president was in Georgia and Tennessee. He repeated his ominous warning about the migrant caravan, the first members of which have just reached Mexico City which is about 500 miles away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: No nation can allow its borders to be overrun, and that's an invasion. I don't care what they say. I don't care what the fake media says, that's an invasion of our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Not fake, not invasion.
The president has kept up the drumbeat on the caravan on the border for more than a week now, but Republican Party chairwoman Ronna McDaniel downplaying that focus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RONNA MCDANIEL, CHAIRWOMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: I'm with the president at these rallies. The president's talking about all of the accomplishments.
I think the media is focusing on immigration constantly, and I get that, but he's focusing on the economy. He's talking about the jobs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: CNN political analyst Rachael Bade, reporting this morning for "Politico," House Speaker Paul Ryan called the president Sunday for one final plea -- please, please talk up the booming economy in the final hours before polls open. The president, instead, boasted to Ryan that his focus on immigration has fired up the base.
BRIGGS: Democrats deploying their heavy hitters, if you will, to make closing midterm arguments. Party leaders from the past, present, and perhaps the future fanning out across the nation, though noticeably absent from the trail, Hillary Clinton.
President Obama campaigning in Indiana and Illinois Sunday, delivering a stinging indictment of the Trump administration record and rhetoric.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Don't be hoodwinked, don't be bamboozled. Don't let them run the okey-doke on you because while they're trying to distract you will all this stuff they're robbing you blind. They'll be like look, look, look, caravan, caravan. Then they're giving tax cuts to their billionaire friends.
They promised they were going to take on corruption in Washington. Instead, they've racked up enough indictments to field a football team. Nobody in my administration got indicted.
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[05:35:13] ROMANS: As of Sunday morning, more than 34 million people had voted early in this country, two-thirds more than the early votes cast in all of 2014.
Joining us again, CNN political analysts Julian Zelizer and Rachael Bade.
Rachael, your reporting this morning in "Politico" that the Speaker of the House Paul Ryan called the president and said please, please, please, Mr. President, will you talk about the economy?
RACHAEL BADE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, POLITICO: That's right. House Republicans, right now, are concerned that the president has basically gone overboard with immigration.
They supported him using some of this rhetoric about the caravan and border security a couple of weeks ago, believing that it would sort of gin up Republicans and drive them out to the polls to help in some of these swing districts. But whenever he started talking about birthright citizenship last week, they thought OK, this is way too far.
The whole ad he released a few days ago highlighting an immigrant who had killed cops and suggesting that Democrats want to allow illegal immigrants to come to this country to kill police officers -- again, a step too far, House Republicans feel.
They want him to focus on the economy. And we saw some polling yesterday out of ABC and "The Washington Post" that showed that something like 65 percent of Americans feel like the economy is doing really well right now. And, Republicans say that this is a bright spot.
BRIGGS: Yes.
BADE: This is what they want the president to highlight to win those suburban districts.
But again, he wants to talk about immigration and red meat issues.
BRIGGS: Yes, it's kind of Reaganism versus Trumpism right now.
You heard Ronna McDaniel, the RNC chair, say it's the media who's focused on immigration. The president is talking about the economy.
If only we knew what the president thought about that. Oh wait, we do. Here's what he said about it out loud over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They all say speak about the economy, speak about the economy. Well, we have the greatest economy in the history of our country but sometimes it's not as exciting to talk about the economy, right?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Julian, how revealing is that and is it working?
JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, HISTORIAN AND PROFESSOR, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, AUTHOR, "THE FIERCE URGENCY OF NOW": Well, it's very revealing in that this is a president who has a very keen sense of how the media works and what stories will get attention and which won't, and we don't know how it's working.
But remember, most midterms are not good for the president and the party of the president in power. This is narrowed and you have to grade this on a curve because it's President Trump who's done the most outlandish, unconventional things in the world.
So at some level it's worked in that we are going into tomorrow --
ROMANS: Yes.
ZELIZER: -- and it's now competitive, including for the House of Representatives.
BRIGGS: And suggesting that the generic ballot number has come down. Things seem to be turning a bit for Republicans in the final hours.
ROMANS: And, Democrats have their former president out there on the campaign trail. Here's what he said about the economy and that magic wand that Ronna -- that Ronna McDaniel said that President Trump had -- listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: And by the time I left office wages were rising, unemployment had fallen, the uninsured rate was falling. The economy created more jobs over my last 21 months than it did the 20 months since I've left office.
So when you hear the Republicans bragging about how good the economy is right now, where do you think that started? Who you think that did that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: He's trying to inoculate against the argument that the president isn't even really making himself.
How is Obama doing out there on the -- on the trail, do you think?
ZELIZER: I think he's been very effective in the -- in the last few hours, in the last few days, other than maybe overshadowing other Democrats who were saying why can't we be like him. I think that's an important argument. The economic recovery did start with the Obama administration but in politics, that doesn't matter.
ROMANS: Yes.
ZELIZER: In politics, it's about who's president --
ROMANS: Right now.
ZELIZER: -- when the economy is doing well. So he can say that all that he wants, other Democrats can say it, but it doesn't resonate.
ROMANS: Yes.
ZELIZER: And that's the reality of politics. It's a hard argument to make that well, it started when I was ending --
ROMANS: Yes.
ZELIZER: -- even if he's right.
BRIGGS: Yes. So it's real interesting, Rachael, to see Obama, Biden, and Oprah, in particular --
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: -- really preach an uplifting message that might appeal to Independents.
Do you see the same message being preached by Democrats that are actually on the ballot?
BADE: Yes. Democrats are talking about sort of cookie-cutter pocketbook issues right now.
They're talking about the tax cuts being more of a boon to welfare individuals -- wanting to give more of those benefits to sort of the middle-class.
They're talking about health care. Health care has been their strongest message -- ROMANS: Yes.
BADE: -- by far, this campaign -- this election.
[05:40:05] And you're seeing that again with the president saying just yesterday that oh, Republicans are going to protect people with preexisting conditions. Well, you know, people really have to pause and think about that because Republicans in the House passed a bill that doesn't do that.
And I know right now there are Republicans on the trail who are trying to hit back on this attack from Democrats that they're trying to get rid of preexisting conditions protections, but I covered the repeal effort in the House when they were trying to get it through and they absolutely do scale back these protections. And that's why Republicans are trying to lower costs at the time.
So I think it's been a very effective message for Democrats and it's going to win over a lot of swing voters.
ROMANS: It's almost as if it's also caught Republicans and the president by surprise a bit, I think -- the preexisting conditions -- because we heard for so long how --
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: -- gut Obamacare, gut Obamacare, almost as if it was Obama that they were going after.
For the record, they've done very little to protect -- they've gone after preexisting conditions, right?
ZELIZER: Yes, it's opposite of.
ROMANS: Right.
ZELIZER: I mean, it's very clear -- their record. They have gone after preexisting conditions, they have gone after the programs. The only thing that stopped then was the repeal and replace fiasco --
ROMANS: Right.
ZELIZER: -- where Sen. McCain, at the time, voted against it and checked it.
But this has been a principal argument of the Republicans. We have to get rid of ACA. We have to get rid of Obamacare.
And so, the president says this but it flies in the face --
ROMANS: Yes.
ZELIZER: -- of the not only old record of the Republican Party but what's actually being attempted right now --
ROMANS: By the administration. ZELIZER: -- in states and by the administration. They want to gut it.
BADE: And just to jump in there really quickly --
BRIGGS: Yes.
BADE: -- there's a blame game going on right now behind the scenes.
BRIGGS: Yes.
BADE: I have heard senior Republicans sort of frustrated and sort of throwing daggers at conservatives in the House who required them to add these sort out opt-outs for states that could allow them -- insurance companies -- to charge people with preexisting conditions more.
ROMANS: Yes.
BADE: And that blame game is just going to continue as Election Day comes and goes, especially if Democrats take the House. It's going to get really ugly, I think.
ROMANS: All right. Rachael, Julian, nice to see you both. A lot happening in the next couple of days. Thank you for being here with us this morning.
ZELIZER: Thank you.
ROMANS: U.S. sanctions on Iran reimposed overnight, but Iran's president is ready to defy them. CNN is live in Tehran, next.
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[05:47:12] BRIGGS: Just hours ago at midnight eastern time, the U.S. reimposed all the sanctions on Iran that were lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal. The new embargo targets all of the country's oil exports, along with other key sectors. But, Tehran apparently ready to defy this order.
Senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen live for us in Tehran with the latest. Hi there, Fred.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there Dave.
You had a flurry of Iranian government officials speaking out early this morning talking about how they want to defy the United States and stand up to President Trump, not the least of which was the country's president, Hassan Rouhani, who said that Iran would be quote "glad to bust the new U.S. sanctions" because they believe that these sanctions are both unjust and contrary to international law.
Also, we do know, David, apparently there's waivers for eight countries from these sanctions and the Iranians are saying even if these waivers would not be around they would still want to sell their oil on international markets. Of course, the big question is to what extent the Iranians are going to be able to do that.
The Trump administration, of course, saying they believe that these sanctions are going to be extremely tough. They don't want anybody to buy Iranian oil anymore.
As you can imagine, a lot of anger on the streets here in Tehran. We were at a massive anti-U.S. protest that was staged here yesterday in central Tehran where they were burning American and Israeli flags. They were saying they're not angry at the American people but angry at the Trump administration.
Also, some signs against Donald Trump being carried around there as well. And obviously, a lot of people -- some very strong words there for the U.S. president.
However, many Iranians, of course -- the economy here already reeling -- they are very concerned about what the future could hold with these new sanctions in place now, Dave.
BRIGGS: All right. Fred Pleitgen live for us in Tehran. Thanks very much. Great reporting.
Now to a CNN exclusive. The sons of murderer Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi pleading for the return of their father's body so they can give him a proper Islamic burial.
Salah and Abdullah Khashoggi telling CNN's Nic Robertson it's been hard dealing with the loss of their father and the global fallout.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SALAH KHASHOGGI, SON OF MURDER JOURNALIST JAMAL KHASHOGGI: This is putting a lot of burden on us -- all of us -- that everybody seeking for information, just as we do. And they think that we have answers. Unfortunately, we don't.
ABDULLAH KHASHOGGI, SON OF MURDER JOURNALIST JAMAL KHASHOGGI: It's difficult. Like, it's not easy, especially when the story gets this big. It's not an easy death. It's confusing.
Even the way we grieve, it's a bit confusing. Like, because we're grieving at the same time we're looking at the media and the misinformation. Like, there's a lot of ups and down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Salah Khashoggi telling CNN he has faith that the king of Saudi Arabia will bring those responsible for his father's murder to justice.
ROMANS: All right, let's get a check on "CNN Business" this Monday morning.
[05:50:01] Asian stock markets start the week lower after China's President Xi Jinping made remarks at an import expo that global trade can't go it alone, a veiled swipe at the U.S. The Nikkei is down 1.5 percent. Shanghai and the Hang Seng also lower.
European markets up to start the week. The Dax, FTSE, and the CAC in Paris all slightly higher. No big direction there.
On Wall Street, futures are lower. On Friday, the Dow closed down 110 points, giving back a bit of this week's strong gains.
The Nasdaq dropped one percent. The S&P fell, however, it was the best week for the S&P 500 since March and the Nasdaq since May.
General Electric fell three percent to a 9-year low, losing ground for the eighth day in a row.
Fifty shopping days to go until Christmas. You're welcome for the anxiety this Monday morning.
But good news for Amazon customers this holiday season. For the first time, Amazon is offering free shipping on all holiday orders in an effort to add new prime members and juice sales.
Last year, Amazon shoppers without prime memberships had to spend at least 25 bucks to earn free shipping. But starting today, Amazon waiving the minimum to give customers even more convenient and faster delivery options, it said.
Amazon did not announce a cut-off date for this promotion but said that free shipping will be available for all orders arriving in time for Christmas.
I guess they're trying to hook you on the idea of buying stuff and not paying the shipping so that you'll be a prime member then next year.
BRIGGS: Then you don't ever want to give it up.
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: That makes sense.
All right, EARLY START --
ROMANS: That seems to be the thing.
BRIGGS: -- will be right back after this.
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[05:55:23] BRIGGS: Police in Tallahassee, Florida say the gunman who killed two women and wounded five others at a yoga studio Friday had been accused of harassing women in the area. "The New York Times" reports he also made misogynist remarks on YouTube videos.
According to police, Scott Beierle posed as a customer at Hot Yoga Tallahassee and fired a handgun without warning.
ROMANS: The students fought back but two were killed. Nancy Van Vessem, chief medical officer for a health plan, and 21-year-old Maura Binkley, a student.
Binkley's father says her daughter -- his daughter had gone to Washington to protest after the Parkland shooting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF BINKLEY, FATHER OF MAURA BINKLEY: She grew up in the age of these mass shootings, often in schools. And she just saw that the suffering and also the senselessness of this and just wanted to do something. Then she became a victim. That's a cruel irony -- a cruel irony.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Police say the gunman fatally shot himself before officers arrived.
BRIGGS: A New York man faces hate crimes charges in connection with anti-Semitic graffiti found at a Brooklyn temple and fires set at several locations, including a Jewish school.
Police arrested 26-year-old James Polite on Friday.
The suspect had interned with former New York City Council speaker Christine Quinn and volunteered during Barack Obama's first presidential bid.
A "New York Times" report says Polite was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2015.
ROMANS: A fistfight between a California high school teacher and a 14-year-old student captured on video. Music teacher Marston Riley is seen exchanging punches with the teen at Maywood Academy in Los Angeles -- this was Friday. The brawl ends with students and what appears to be a campus resource officer trying to break it up.
Students told CNN affiliate KTLA the fight began after Riley asked the student to leave the class because he wasn't wearing the proper uniform. The boy refused, shouting profanity and a racial slur at Riley.
Riley was arrested for alleged child abuse. CNN has reached out to him but has not heard back.
BRIGGS: "SNL" comedian Pete Davidson facing growing backlash for mocking a Republican congressional candidate who lost an eye in Afghanistan.
Dan Crenshaw did five tours of duty in Afghanistan as a Navy SEAL. On "Saturday Night Live," he made Pete Davidson's list of gross people running for office this year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVIDSON: This guy's kind of cool -- Dan Crenshaw.
MICHAEL CHE, CAST MEMBER, NBC "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": Oh, come on, man. Hold on.
DAVIDSON: You may be surprised to hear he's a congressional candidate from Texas and not a hit man in a porno movie. I'm sorry, I know he lost his eye in war or whatever.
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ROMANS: Or whatever.
BRIGGS: Whatever, yes.
ROMANS: That joke meant with anger from veterans of the National Republican Congressional Committee. It needled him about his breakup with Ariana Grande, writing, "Getting dumped by your pop star girlfriend is no excuse for lashing out at a decorated war hero."
That's kind of a better joke than he did.
BRIGGS: Yes, that was better. I like that.
ROMANS: Crenshaw, himself, taking the high road.
He tweeted, "Good rule in life -- I try hard not to offend. I try harder not to be offended. That being said, I hope SNL recognizes that vets don't deserve to see their wounds used as punchlines for bad jokes."
All right.
Polls open for the midterms in 24 hours. We are on at 3:00 a.m. eastern tomorrow.
Thanks for joining us this morning. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. "NEW DAY" starts right now. We'll see you at 3:00 a.m. tomorrow.
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TRUMP: A few months ago, I was hearing about this horrendous blue wave. You better get out and vote.
REP. BETO O'ROURKE (D-TX), SENATE NOMINEE: This election's all about bringing people together, matching the division with both strength, and courage, and confidence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a narrow path to a Senate Democratic majority. Everything comes down to turnout.
MCDANIEL: Democrats, what are they running on? Stop him, resist, obstruct?
OBAMA: America's at a crossroads. The character of our country is on the ballot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It's Monday, November fifth, 6:00 here in Washington today.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Very exciting to be here with everybody. Things are already off to a raucous start.
BERMAN: We've got a big table here.
The polls open in about 24 hours in this huge, high-stakes midterm election. And breaking news, the final CNN poll of where the race stands -- here it is.
Democrats hold a sizeable double-digit lead over Republicans, 55 to 42 percent. That's a 13-point edge for Democrats on which party that voters say they will select tomorrow.
