Return to Transcripts main page
Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
CNN Republican Debate Lineup Set; Biden Bares His Soul to Colbert; Clinton Support Plummets in New CNN Poll; Deadly Flooding Devastates Eastern Japan; Migrants Pour Into Greece. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired September 11, 2015 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The debate stage, it is set for the CNN Republican presidential candidates, less than one week away.
[04:30:06] We know who will be there. We now know where they will be standing.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Joe Biden's late night interview. Opening up, really candid with Stephen Colbert about the loss of his son and why he may not be ready to run for president.
BERMAN: Just remarkable words and tone.
A new CNN poll shows Hillary Clinton support slipping across the country. So, how will she turn it around? That's ahead.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.
ROMANS: So nice to see you all this morning. I'm Christine Romans. It's 30 minutes past the hour this Friday morning.
Another good reason to be up so early this morning, folks. New this morning, at long last, we know where they will stand. The official staging for the CNN debate. CNN has announced that Donald Trump will be at center stage literally next Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. That location determined by his standing in the polls.
The most notable addition to the main stage, Carly Fiorina now eligible after CNN changes the requirements. Trump and Fiorina will be joined by Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul, John Kasich and Chris Christie. The undercard debate starting at 6:00 Eastern will include Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Bobby Jindal, George Pataki and Lindsey Graham.
Now, these debates are looking ever more crucial and contentious, with the race heating up and getting more personal, much more personal.
CNN's Sara Murray has more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning, John and Christine.
The gloves are coming off on the Republican side. Candidates are trading insults as Donald Trump dominates the Republican field. Our CNN/ORC poll shows Donald Trump ahead with 32 percent among Republican supporters, a wide lead over Ben Carson who's at 19 percent support, but gaining momentum. Both candidates far ahead of Jeb Bush who comes in at 9 support.
And the tenor of this campaign has really changed over the last couple of days. You're seeing Trump insulting Carly Fiorina about her looks.
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS: You want to take this back about Carly Fiorina?
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Many of those comments are made as an entertainer because I did "The Apprentice." It was one of the top shows on television. I decided not to do it again because I wanted to run for president. But some comments were made as an entertainer. And as every said, as an entertainer, it's a much different ball game.
MURRAY: Christine, Ben Carson insult Donald Trump about his faith, and Bobby Jindal even laid into Donald Trump, calling him a carnival act and an egomaniac.
GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R-LA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What's more dangerous is, here's got -- we got a man, there's no ideology, there's no policy, there's no intellectual curiosity. He is only for himself. He said his favorite book is the Bible. He couldn't name one verse that he liked, that had an impact on his life.
Wolf, I don't think he's read the Bible because he's not in it. This is a complete narcissist. It's been a fun show. The idea of Donald Trump is great. The reality is awful.
MURRAY: Now, we had Jeb Bush on CNN. He said he agreed with everything Bobby Jindal had to say about Donald Trump.
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think he believes that he can insult his way to presidency. And I don't think history is a pretty good guide for that. I think he needs to begin to say what's his vision is for the future. And up until now, I think Governor Jindal is absolutely correct. That he is not a serious candidate.
MURRAY: Now, those comments alone give you an idea of how this debate has moved beyond the substance of the candidates to attacks over their personality, getting much more vicious more quickly than many people intended.
As for Bobby Jindal, it will be difficult to see whether this will actually help him in the polls. He is much further behind Jeb Bush, Donald Trump, even Ben Carson.
John and Christine, back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: All right, Sara.
The biggest political news while you were sleeping may have been this. Overnight, an emotional Joe Biden cast some doubt on the potential bid for presidency. This came during a remarkable appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." The vice president spoke about his faith and his parents and the pain, just the raw pain from the recent death of his son Beau. And, yes, he did speak in more detail than I have heard about his plans for the future.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look, I don't think any man or woman should run for president unless, number one, they know exactly why they would want to be president, and two, they can look at folks out there and say, I promise you, you have my whole heart, my whole soul, my energy and my passion to do this. And I'd be lying if I said that I knew I was there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: He doesn't know he's there. He doesn't know that he's in it 110 percent.
Biden was just so candid with Colbert, especially how he is coping with the loss of his son. He talked about a moment at a military base.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I was talking about them being the backbone and sinew of this country.
[04:35:00] And all of a sudden, it's going great. A guy in the back yells, "Major Beau Biden, Bronze Star, sir, served with him in Iraq." And all of a sudden, I lost it. How could you -- I mean, that's not -- I shouldn't be saying. But that --
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST: You know, we --
BIDEN: You can't do that. You can't do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: You know, Colbert lost his father, I think, right? His father and two siblings in a plane crash. Colbert, who's also very religious, knows about loss as well. You know, that was -- it wasn't a political discussion. It was a discussion between two guys dealing with pain.
ROMANS: Devout Catholic who's lost, a big family who lost -- who lost a lot. Both through humor and they are both outgoing. It's interesting some of those parallels.
BERMAN: Ask yourself this. Can you imagine three weeks from now and Joe Biden says I'm running for president and last night he said I'm not there.
ROMANS: He was saying I shouldn't be saying this. When Joe Biden says I shouldn't be saying this.
BERMAN: That can mean a lot of things.
ROMANS: Anyway, troubling news this morning. Overnight for Hillary Clinton's campaign. A new CNN/ORC poll shows she is sliding against Republican candidates. And a more immediate concern, sliding against her Democratic opponents.
Clinton's lead now cut to just ten points over Bernie Sanders. Compare that to last month when Clinton was 18 points ahead. In June, her lead was 43 points. Picture even more grim for Clinton in early voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire.
Sanders playing very well in Iowa and New Hampshire. Among Iowa caucus voters, in particular, Sanders is really resonating. Clinton, the latest polls, is dead even or Sanders is even ahead. Sanders tells Wolf Blitzer even he is shocked at the speed of his surge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes, I'm stunned. Look, we have a message that I believe from day one was going to resonate with the American people. Did I think they would resonate as quickly as they have? The answer is no.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: You usually hear a politician stay I'm stunned that people are liking me that much. That was interesting, too.
ROMANS: That's one of the reasons why the people in Iowa like him so much. I mean, he shows up and there are thousands of people. And he says, wow, I can't believe you're here to see me, and they go crazy because he is that frank about that.
BERMAN: I can't believe I'm doing this well?
Hillary Clinton is not trading her fire on Sanders, at least not outwardly. But on the Republicans that she could face in the general election if she gets there, she blasted Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker on his home turf at a speech at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. And in Ohio, the former secretary took a slight shot at Donald Trump and his Carly Fiorina comment, even though she hasn't mentioned Trump's name exactly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We hear from candidates on the other side about turning back the clock on women's rights. There is one particular candidate who just seems to delight in insulting women every chance he gets. I have to say if he emerges, I would love to debate him.
Now, it seems to me just observing him that Governor Walker thinks because he busts unions and starves universities, guts public education, demeans women, scapegoats teachers, nurses, and firefighters. He is some kind of tough guy on his motorcycle, a real leader.
Well, that is not leadership, folks. Leadership means fighting for the people you represent and putting their interests first.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: We also got to see what her campaign has pre-viewed as her more fun, loose side in her appearance with Ellen DeGeneres. It did air. It included dancing or an attempt at such. This is the "Nae-nae", I'm told, authorities say. She appears on "The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon" on September 16th. I wonder if she would do like the history of rap with Jimmy Fallon, like, you know, how Fallon, I would pay for that.
ROMANS: I wouldn't pay, but I would tune in, I would tune in to watch that.
BERMAN: Maybe 5 bucks.
ROMANS: Speaking of money. Time for an early start on your money. Keep your 5 bucks maybe put it in the market, John.
Asian markets closed lower. European U.S. stock futures also down. Yesterday was an OK day. Dow climbed 77 points. Not too great. The S&P and NASDAQ also up a bit.
The big story here on the wage front, New York could be the first state in the nation with the $15 minimum wage for everyone. Governor Andrew Cuomo will push the state legislature to adopt that wage of $15 an hour. Vice President Joe Biden in New York, of course, as we told you, to appear on "Colbert." He, wow, he really rallying behind Cuomo's decision to take it further.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: It's reasonable. It's rational. It's the right thing to do. And the federal minimum wage needs to be raised. It's been ten years since Congress has increased it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[04:40:02] ROMANS: He called the stagnant wages the single biggest issue facing the economy and families and the missing piece of the economic recovery for him and Obama. In fact, he said it's what they need to finish in their economic plan. Cuomo announced New York's labor commissioner has now approved a $15 minimum wage for fast food workers. He wants to extend that to all of the state.
Among many of the things that restaurant owners and trade groups say you may feel good about saying we need higher wages, but people, workers are going to pay for that. We're going to have fewer hours, fewer jobs and higher menu prices in many cases.
BERMAN: It's an economic debate being had at many levels. But I think there are a lot of workers who just want more money any way they can.
ROMANS: It's an economic debate, but the trend is happening, I mean, across the country, the trend is happening.
BERMAN: All right. Today is September 11th. The nation will pause this morning. Events are planned at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to remember the attacks on this day 14 years ago.
Names of the nearly 3,000 people who died at World Trade Center in 2001 in the 1993 attack there, they will be read at the site. The president and first lady will observe a moment of silence at the White House at 8:45 this morning. An important day to remember.
ROMANS: It really is.
New York's police department apologizing for the mistaken identity arrest of a tennis pro. Did race play a role in the takedown? Details ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:45:01] BERMAN: New York City's top police official has apologized to former tennis star James Blake. The police commissioner, along with New York's mayor has reached out to Blake after he was thrown to the ground and handcuffed by a plainclothes officer, a case of what police are calling mistaken identity.
Let's get more now from CNN's Jason Carroll.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, New York's police commissioner finally was able to reach James Blake by phone and apologized to him late Thursday afternoon. Police say Blake accepted the apology. The tennis star was roughed up by a plain clothed police officer and what police call a case of mistaken identity.
It happened Wednesday afternoon while Blake was in front of his midtown hotel. He was waiting for a car to take him to the U.S. Open when suddenly an unidentified man rushed him.
JAMES BLAKE, RETIRED AMERICAN TENNIS PRO: I even thought maybe -- I thought maybe it was someone I didn't recognize, a high school friend or something coming in to mess with me and give me a bear hug me. And it turned out quickly that it wasn't. When he picked me up, but he picked me up and body slammed me and put me to the ground and turned me over and shut my mouth.
CARROLL: Blake cooperated with police, though, he was handcuffed and held for about 10 minutes. He says the plain clothed officer who tackled him did not identify himself nor did he say why he was being held.
There were six officers involved in the incident. All were white. Blake is biracial.
The police commissioner William Bratton says this incident was not about race, but just simply a case of mistaken identity. He says Blake looked very much like the suspect police believed they were looking for. Police have video of the incident which they are not releasing.
However, after review of the video, they placed the officer who tackled Blake on administrative duty pending the outcome of an investigation -- Christine, John.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Thanks so much for that, Jason Carroll, this morning.
Nearly half a million people forced from their homes as deadly floods devastating Japan. We've got the pictures and rescue efforts, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:50:38] ROMANS: Devastating flooding in eastern Japan. Nearly half a million people have been ordered to leave their homes, more than 2 feet of rain has fallen since Monday. The unprecedented downpour sent torrents of flood water raging through communities. At least three people dead and nearly two dozen others missing.
For the latest from CNN, we turn to CNN's Will Ripley. He's live in Joso City, north of Tokyo.
The rain has stopped and the sun is out, and it is still a very dangerous situation there, Will.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Christine. I mean, this is the first time cars have been able to drive along this street. But a lot of cars are finding if they drive on the water-covered streets, they are getting stuck. We saw one driver who just had to roll up his pants and wait home because he got stuck thinking he could cross. And, of course, you can see what happened to the cars. They were floating because the water was higher here yesterday.
This is one of the areas where you saw the pictures of the rescues that were happening. People standing on the apartment balconies, standing up on this apartment right here, people in the second story waving for help, and then you get a sense of the destruction of the water. The water level went up past the first floor. Meaning though people can now walk back to their homes pretty much nobody is gong to be staying here in this neighborhood and many neighborhoods in Joso City.
The power is still out and this family is loading up their car and family pet that they're holding very tightly. A lot of traumatized pets here. But then they're having to spend the night somewhere else. There are 100 emergency shelters that are open. These are offering assistance for people who don't have family or friends to stay with.
There is also a bit further up Japan's east coast, another situation unfolding in the city of Osaki, where there are dozens of people still stranded after a levee broke there after heavy rainfall that part of Japan.
And even the concern here, although it is a clear day today, you can see how waterlogged everything is. If there is another rain event, and there is still some rain in the forecast and there is risk the flooding could come back, which means for tens of thousands of people who want to rebuild their lives, there is some uncertainty right now -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Will Ripley, thank you for that, Will.
BERMAN: The White House is under fire for not doing more to help with the migrant crisis unfolding in Europe, the refugee crisis. They've announced the U.S. is prepared to take in tens of thousands of Syrian refugees in the coming year.
Meanwhile, more than 7,000 migrants and refugees have reached the Greek islands, surviving a dangerous voyage. Many of them packed in dinghies with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Look at these pictures.
I want to go to Lesbos in Greece for the latest on the situation, CNN international correspondent Ivan Watson is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is what it looks like when migrants and refugees arrive from Turkey on the coast of the Greek island of Lesbos. This is just one boat that has arrived in a matter of less than a half hour. You've got another one right here. People cheering as it landed on the beach, spilling and exhausted.
I imagine that there were more than 30 people in the small boat. They spill up on the beaches with belongings and backpacks, with the orange like jackets that have become the kind of unofficial uniform for the migrants who are coming to this island. Now, according to the United Nations, some 50 boats land on the Greek island a day. That's 1,000 to 3,000 people coming and using this place as an unofficial back door to Europe.
Welcome. Welcome. Where are you from? OK.
As you can see, there is immense relief that the people have after they land here. This is just another step in what is likely to be a very long journey. The Greek authorities are processing the new arrivals and then they can expect to be taken on a much more comfortable voyage aboard a Greek ferry boat to the capital Athens.
Ivan Watson, CNN, Lesbos, Greece.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: Thanks for that, Ivan.
All right. Do you drive a ram pickup truck? A lot of them are being recalled. We're going to tell you how many, which models. An early start on your money, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:58:54] ROMANS: Happy Friday. Let's get an early start on your money this morning.
Asian markets closed mostly lower. U.S. stock futures are also down. Yesterday, the Dow climbed 77 points. The S&P and NASDAQ also climbed about a half a percent. Wait and see mode ahead of next week's Fed meeting when it decides whether to raise interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade.
Do you drive a Ram pickup truck? Fiat, Chrysler, recalling more than 1.7 million of them. Faulty steering wheel wiring could cause the driver's side air bag to deploy. Well, that's a shock. The company says two injuries have been connected to that issue. Chrysler already under intense scrutiny from federal regulators over how it handles recalls. In July, the company paid, remember, a record fine after investors found it mishandles more than recalls.
The NFL kicked off its season last night.
BERMAN: I heard.
ROMANS: I heard. John Berman did not sleep.
It's likely to be another record money-making season. The world's richest sports league raked in $12 billion last year. That's expected to hit $13 billion this year. That's according to a CNN Money analysis. Those aren't small numbers.
But Commissioner Roger Goodell wants more. He says he wants to double the league's revenue to $25 billion to the year 2027. With people like John Berman watching and his children, maybe he'll get there.
