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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Clinton Campaigns in Iowa, Rubio Joins the Race; Iraqi PM to Visit Washington Today; New Details in South Carolina Police Shooting; One Year Since #bringbackourgirls. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired April 14, 2015 - 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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[05:30:11] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, the 2016 presidential race, oh, man, is it on. Dot your "i"s with America right there. Now part of the growing Republican field. What about the Democratic field? Hillary Clinton. She's just like all of us. Really. She eats at Chipotle unrecognized. We will break down the political significance of all of it ahead.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Christine Romans. I like the flourish of the map of the United States.

BERMAN: Its better than dotting your is with hearts. Dot it with America.

ROMANS: 31 minutes past the hour this morning, Tuesday morning.

BERMAN: Florida Senator Marco Rubio, he is in. He is in the Republican race for president. He held a rally last night in Miami, casting himself as a forward-looking candidate and telling his personal story as the son of Cuban immigrants.

ROMANS: So how does the freshman senator size up compared to the rest of the potential GOP contenders? Here to weigh in, our own contender, CNN political - politics executive editor, Mark Preston. A lot happened the last couple of days. Marco Rubio in it, talking about how yesterday is over, today is the day, and also with this generational divide he's talking about. Time for a new generation.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Yes, no doubt, Christine. He - it was interesting. We saw the Hillary Clinton announcement on Sunday and a lot of people thought that would overshadow Marco Rubio's announcement on Monday night. However, Marco Rubio used that to his advantage and he talked about the old and how there needs to be a cast forward to the new. Now, Marco Rubio is 43 years old. He turns 44 years old next month. Makes me feel a little bit bad about where my station in life is because I am his age. But I got to tell you what, Marco Rubio certainly not doing fantastic in the national polling right now, but certainly is a contender for the Republican nomination. BERMAN: We'll get to where he ranks in the polls right now because

he's not first, not second, not third, not fourth. He's deep down inside there. But I want to play one sound bite from his announcement yesterday. He's talking about Hillary Clinton. He says yesterday is over. But couldn't you replace the name Hillary Clinton with the name Jeb Bush every time he says it? Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Just yesterday, a leader from yesterday began a campaign for president by promising to take us back to yesterday. Yesterday is over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Now, that was a powerful part of his speech. He was specifically talking about the former Secretary of State. He says Jeb Bush is his friend, Mark Preston, but isn't that a potent avenue for attack from Marco Rubio in the Republican primary?

PRESTON: No question, John. Not only is Jeb Bush his friend, in many ways he was his mentor when Bush was the governor of Florida, Marco Rubio was the house speaker. But you're right, you could just take out Hillary Clinton -- references to Hillary Clinton and put in Jeb Bush. Marco Rubio trying to cast himself as a leader for a new America with new ideas. Jeb Bush, the son of the former president, the brother of a former president, somebody who's certainly got a few more years on him than Marco Rubio does. But, yes, Marco Rubio trying to set himself up as somebody who's young, fresh ideas, something that this country needs.

ROMANS: So John Berman, we just showed the GOP choice for nominee. And John Berman was just saying that his sources are saying, look, Marco Rubio has good ideas, he's a good leader of the party.

PRESTON: He's got real serious people backing him, big money people. You know, experienced staff.

ROMANS: So why is he only at 7 percent on this list?

PRESTON: You know, it is still very early on. We have a very diverse field right now. And it is name recognition in national polling. When you look at state polls, he does a little bit better. But Marco Rubio is probably well positioned right now. He really skyrocketed on the scene when he won the Senate seat several years ago down in Florida. He was a long shot to win it. He ended up taking out Governor Charlie Crist to win that seat. However, Marco Rubio has positioned himself in the Senate as a conservative. But unlike the likes of Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, he's also a little bit more mainstream and can play to those types of voters.

BERMAN: So he's got to split the difference there, which isn't always easy.

Let's talk about the other race. The one Hillary Clinton is in with herself right now and seemingly no one else, and perhaps people who serve food at Chipotle where she went unrecognized yesterday in Ohio.

President Obama did some interviews yesterday and he was asked about whether or not he is going to endorse his former Secretary of State. Let's listen to his answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, it's a little early for endorsements and she just announced yesterday. But here's what I can say. She is talented, tenacious, was a great Secretary of State. She is a friend of mine and I think she would be an excellent president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: That's about as close to an endorsement you can get without making an endorsement, which no president would really do at this stage of the game. The secretary gives her first official campaign event in Iowa today. Low key, we keep hearing. Mark Preston, what does that mean?

PRESTON: Hillary Clinton is trying to get rid of the idea that she is going to be coronated, that this is her Democratic nomination to just put in her back pocket and head into the general election in 2016. But Hillary Clinton is trying to change the persona around her. These are small events. We won't see these huge campaign rallies, certainly not for another month or so. She wants to try to reconnect with voters.

[05:35:00] I have to tell you, I've been talking to Clinton campaign aides all weekend about this. That's what they're emphasizing over and over and over again, John, is that she knows that she has to earn their vote. Especially in Iowa, where she came in third back in 2008.

ROMANS: I mean, it was Iowa that pretty much anointed Barack Obama has the candidate. And how does she change -- we've been talking to people in Iowa. Democrats in Iowa, are they excited by her, are they energized by her, or waiting to see who else is in the field?

PRESTON: Well, Christine, your home state of Iowa, you know how fickle the voters are out there and how there's an expectation of voters out there that they get to talk to the candidates not once, twice, three times, four times, personally. I was out there a few weeks ago talking to Democrats. They were very frustrated that Hillary Clinton was being very coy about running for president. They wanted her out there. They said that it was about time that she got into the race.

And I'm going to tell you, Democrats did not have a competitive primary in 2012 with Barack Obama's nomination in 2012. They want a fight this time. If anything, to try to help push out Democratic ideals. That's why you're seeing such a ground swell of support, certainly from liberals, for the likes of Elizabeth Warren.

BERMAN: Mark Preston, we're happy to have you here on EARLY START talking about 2016 though it is only April of 2015. We expect to see you again very soon. Thanks, Mark.

PRESTON: Thanks, guys.

BERMAN: All right, 37 minutes after the hour. Secretary of State John Kerry is appealing to Congress to give him a little space so he can finish negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran. Now, Congress could hold votes as soon as today on a possible measure which would let them review this nuclear deal with Iran. The secretary met with House members last night, urging them not to derail the se talks. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will brief lawmakers today on the scientific, diplomatic, and economic elements of the emerging deal with Iran.

ROMANS: Finalizing that nuclear deal just got a little more difficult now that the Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved the delivery of an elaborate $800 million air defense missile system to Iran. That is straining ties between Moscow and Washington, threatens to undermine the nuclear talks because that very missile system could make it more difficult for the U.S. or Israel to attack Iran's nuclear infrastructure if the Iranians violated any agreement in the future.

BERMAN: The prime minister of Iraq is in Washington this morning, making his first official visit to the United States since taking office. Prime Minister Haider al Abadi will meet with President Obama at the White House this morning, then holds a closed-door session with Secretary of State John Kerry tonight. Abadi no doubt looking for help from the White House, from the U.S., in the battle against ISIS.

Let's bring in senior international correspondent Arwa Damon live in Baghdad this morning. Good morning, Arwa.

ARW DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. And al Abadi has one key aim in all of this, and that is to get more weapons, more equipment, more military support, and more coalition-led air strikes. At least that is what he is going to be asking for. Whether or not he's going to get it might be dependent largely on whether or not he can help alleviate some of America's concerns when it comes to Iran's influence in Iraq and in the battlefield. Iran has been a vital entity when it comes to helping Iraq battle, fight against ISIS, taking action fairly quickly shortly after ISIS first swept through large portions of northern Iraq last summer. And there has been a fair amount of criticism towards the United States, saying that America has not done enough.

Now, before boarding his plane, al Abadi did say that in recent weeks they had been seeing an increase in support from the United States, but again the bottom line is they want more. They cannot do this on their own. And al Abadi feels as if the U.S. or other nations have that a problem with a country like Iran need to leave those problems outside of the Iraqi arena.

This country has long been a proxy battleground for various nations, various competing interesting. And a lot of people are really hoping that that, at the very least, is going to come to an end. And when we talk about the battle against ISIS, even though, yes, the Iraqi government had success when it comes to Tikrit, ISIS is striking back and striking back hard. Over the weekend, breaching the perimeter of the country's largest oil refinery in Baiji. Clashes there still ongoing in this vital piece of infrastructure. ISIS also making advances in al Anbar Province, taking over three villages, forcing residents to flee on foot.

And then there is the violence in Baghdad, for which ISIS is not necessarily taking responsibility, but it goes to the daily struggles that Iraqis face on a regular basis. Yesterday, a car bomb exploding outside of a restaurant. And earlier today, a car bomb placed in, of all places, the parking lot of a hospital. So it's against this complicated backdrop that the prime minister makes his trip to Washington, is hoping to press his case for more American support for Iraq's fight against ISIS, and of course the many challenges his country is going to be facing moving forward. John.

[05:40:08] BERMAN: Arwa Damon for us in Baghdad this morning. Thanks, Arwa.

ROMANS: New developments this morning in the police shooting of unarmed black man Walter Scott. The passenger in his car now when the deadly chase began, he is breaking his silence.

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ROMANS: A series of new developments this morning in the shooting of a fleeing man by South Carolina police officer Michael Slager, a shooting caught on video that now has Slager facing murder charges.

We now know the name of the man who remained in the car when Walter Scott took off running. His name is Pierre D. Fulton. He has released a statement saying, quote, "I'll never know why he ran, but I know he didn't deserve to die."

We also have a new audio recording of Officer Slager after the shooting laughing as he says his adrenaline is still pumping.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: By the time you get home, it'd probably be a good idea to kind of jot down your thoughts about whatever happened, once the adrenaline stops pumping and stuff.

OFFICER MICHAEL SLAGER: It's pumping.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Meanwhile, a man tasered by Officer Slager last year, he is now filing a lawsuit. Julius Wilson claims Slager used excessive force during this arrest last August after Wilson refused to get out of his car.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SLAGER: Back up. I'm going to tase. Back up. I'm going to tase.

(EXPLETIVES DELETED) [05:45:00] SLAGER: Turn over! Turn over or you're only going to get hit again!

JULIUS WILSON, FILING LAWSUIT OVER TASERING: During my lifetime, I've witnessed violent acts by police officers. Without proof of such acts, the word of police officer's always taken over the word of the victims forced to endure these violent acts. As the video shows, I myself have been a victim of such force by the police.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: A spokesman for the North Charleston Police Department declining to discuss Wilson's case there.

All right, 46 minutes past the hour. Let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY". Chris Cuomo joins us.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Good morning, Christine. How are you? This morning, we have a delicate dance around the Iran deal. The White House making a push for more time to get it done; lawmakers are not easing up. They don't have their own plan, mind you, but they are looking to pass a bill in the Senate that would give them final approval on any deal. Now, that could greatly complicate negotiations. The man you're looking at on your screen, Secretary John Kerry, is saying just give us time. We have two months.

So we're going to talk to the people at the center of this. And you can test the situation. We'll test it and you can judge it. Senator Bob Corker, Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, who's pushing this bill.

Now, this of course getting extra attention from the presidential hopefuls as well. You've got Hillary Clinton in Iowa getting set for the first of what will be many campaign events. What is she going to say about this issue? How will it weave into whatever her strategy is? And Republicans are ramping up the early attacks on Hillary Clinton. There's the man. Marco Rubio announced last night standing next to his wife, had his kids there as well. Gave a very stirring and powerful address about yesterday being over and it about being tomorrow. This plays not just to his age, obviously, Christine, just 43, but to what he sees as a future of what this country is. So you're really getting some competing messages.

ROMANS: And it plays with both Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton when you talk about the generational divide. That's what's so interesting too about Marco Rubio. Thanks, Chris.

All right, 40 minutes past the hour, the world outraged after Boko Haram kidnapped hundreds of schoolgirls in Nigeria. It is one year later now. Is there any hope that these children can be saved? We're live next.

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[05:50:43] ROMANS: One year after Boko Haram abducted more than 200 school girls in rural Nigeria, the threat of kidnappings remains a scary reality there. Amnesty International reporting more than 2,000, 2,000 women and girls have been taken by the terror group since the start of 2014. Nigeria's president-elect pledging to crush the insurgency. But can he deliver?

CNN's Christian Purefoy is in Abuja at the site of a vigil for the abducted. And Christina, I have been hearing for a year now the government saying it will crush this insurgency, it will get these girls back. And these girls have been gone for a year. Bring back our girls. They are still gone.

CHRISTIAN PUREFOY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, exactly. And we're actually at the protest now, the campaign to bring back our girls, where they have standing, Christine, every day since those girls disappeared. And there really is a palpable anger about the fact that these girls are still missing. No one really has any idea where these girls actually are, but also a determination amongst these campaigners. They're really going to see this through until the girls are brought back alive or until they hear other news. Chris.

ROMANS: All right, Christian Purefoy, thank you for that this morning.

53 minutes past the hour. You didn't just imagine it. Yes, air travel got worse last year. We will tell you which airlines were the worst offenders next.

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[05:55:32] ROMANS: Let's get an EARLY START on your money this morning. U.S. stock futures are lower right now. We get a lot of earnings reports from the major players out later this morning. Earnings overall, profit at these big companies, expected to fall by 3 percent this quarter. That's the first profit decline since 2009. If profits fall, that can suck the oxygen out of the stock market. A little bit of nervousness there.

For high skilled foreign workers, it's getting harder to stay in this country. This year, 233,000 people applied for the H-1B visa, the most common visa for highly skilled workers. It's a record, up significantly from 172,000 last year. But only 85,000 people will get those visas. The government has a lottery process and a cap of 85,000 visas. Business leaders want Congress to raise the cap. They say these workers are crucial in science and technology, and that these workers create job.

Flying just got a lot worse last year. According to a new report looking at factors like customer complaints and bumped passengers, lost luggage, quality for most airlines fell. The worst performer of the 12 airlines is an outfit called Envoy, which used to be known as American Eagle. It had the highest rate of lost bags, the worst on time performance. One group not complaining, though, airline investors. The airline industry posted record profits last year; some of those stocks have done very, very well even as the complaints have come piling in.

All right, will Congress kill a potential nuclear deal with Iran? That's the big story that "NEW DAY" picks up now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: We have two months more to negotiate, which has high stakes for hour country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At some point, Congress is going to have to lift the sanctions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is the get a deal at all costs that I think has lots of countries around the world concerned.

OBAMA: I think she would be an excellent president.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If she wants to be different, she's going to have to prove it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is about every day Americans. It is not about Hillary.

RUBIO: I announce my candidacy for President of the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The policies really are taking us back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Underestimating Marco Rubio is a mistake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a person in there so we're going to have to come back around.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We started hearing voices underneath us and pounding.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He just kept banging. He kept banging.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

CUOMO: Good morning and welcome to you and your NEW DAY. It's Tuesday April 14th, 6:00 in the east. Alisyn is off, JB here, and we have a lot of news.

A big vote on the Iran deal could come today. A Senate committee is trying to pass a bill to have a final say on any deal. President Obama's deputies are saying if you don't have any better ideas, just give us more time to negotiate as they head back to Capitol Hill to brief members of the Senate once again.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All of this, no doubt, of great interest to the newly minted presidential candidates. Hillary Clinton kicking off her first campaign event in Iowa. Meanwhile, Senator Marco Rubio, who could have to vote on Iran legislation, jumping in to a crowding GOP field.

We have every angle covered only the way CNN can. We begin with Michelle Kosinski live at the White House. Michelle.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey Michaela. Congress is very close to acting in a way that could substantially change a nuclear deal with Iran or derail it entirely. I mean, today, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee could vote on this bill that would give Congress an up or down vote. It could prevent the president from removing sanctions imposed by Congress while Congress considers this. Others could add other provisions. The Senate is close to a veto-proof majority. So now is the administration's time to try to convince members of Congress otherwise.

Now, they held a closed-door classified briefing with the House. They met with American Jewish leaders today. A classified briefing with the Senate. The White House basically says they need two things: time and space to fully hammer out the details of a deal without Congress acting, at least not for now.

I mean, this has turned into a real battle, though, the white House saying that Republicans are mired in rigid partisanship, but keep in mind, some of those who want Congress to have a vote are Democrats and those are the votes the White House is going to be fighting for now. Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right, Michelle. Later this morning, we're going to talk to Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Senator Bob Corker about the Iran bill he has co-authored, and Congressman Jim Hines, a Democrat from Connecticut no the House Intelligence Committee. Stay tuned for all of that.

CUOMO: So if you were president, what would you do about Iran?

[06:00:00] The expanded field of candidates for the 2016 race, which is literally growing by the day, they're going to have answer this. Hillary Clinton will get her chance today in her first campaign event in Iowa.