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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Republicans Upset At Ceremony Invitees; Walker Tripped Up By Own Missteps; Hillary Clinton Tweet Crushes Biotech Stocks; Kim Davis: Names "Don't Hurt Me"; Wildfires Destroy 1,600 Homes; E.U. Hoping Turkey Can Stem Flow Of Migrants. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired September 22, 2015 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: U.S. but that may be impossible as Pope Francis and President Obama are strong allies on so many positions that Republicans strongly oppose as the White House led the charge for same-sex marriage.
Pope Francis has softened his own stance on gay priests and climate change. The pope says it's a global problem with grave implications. He has slammed trickledown economics.
The president has also counted on the pope as a supporter for the Iran nuclear deal and his policy on Cuba. With the next presidential election heating up, the White House is trying to downplay the notion that the pope's trip is all about politics.
Here is what the White House press secretary had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: There is no plan or strategy put in place to try to stage an event to advance anybody's political agenda.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Some Republicans are also steamed that the White House is inviting prochoice and pro-gay rights advocates to the pope's arrival ceremony at the White House. Mike Huckabee dubbed that a new low for the administration.
He said that will go down as the most anti-Christian in American history. The White House insists the pope deserves a diverse audience -- John and Christine.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Jim Acosta for that. Overnight, a new position by Ben Carson on the idea of a Muslim in the White House, while he is standing by his statement that he would oppose the election of a Muslim as president, Carson now adds one exception.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now if someone has a Muslim background and they are willing to reject those tenets and to accept the way of life that we have and clearly will swear to place our constitution above their religion, then, of course, they will be considered infidels, but at least I would then be quite willing to support them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: All Americans who run for public office agree to put constitution above their religion. Carson's responses sparked a number of responses from his opponents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't think that religion should be criteria for being president. You know, that there should be some kind of exclusion based on once faith or the lack of faith frankly.
I know a ton of people that are peaceful Muslims that live in the United States that love this country or patriotic Americans who serve in the military. The idea that you would think otherwise is really not grounded in reality.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via telephone): Ben was saying there are difficulties. I think everybody knows what those difficulties are. People want to be politically correct. There have been difficulties.
A lot of people agree with Ben. I do think that Ben would also agree, though, if properly vetted, the proper people properly vetted going through an election, I think anybody that is able to win an election will be absolutely fine.
MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I personally do not believe your religious denomination should disqualify you from serving office. I think that is what the voters decide on. I say this, whether Muslim or Catholic or anything, if you have radical views and values, you will not get elected in this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Carson answered these criticisms on his Facebook page. He wrote, "Those Republicans that take issue at my position are amazing. Under Islamic law, Carson says, homosexuals, men and women alike must be killed. Women must be subservient. And people following other religions must be killed.
I know there are many peaceful Muslims, who do not adhere to these beliefs. Until these tenets are fully renounced, I cannot advocate any Muslim candidate for president."
Carson will be in Ohio today where he is scheduled to hold two rallies and two news conferences in Ohio today.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: And then there were 15. An announcement that would be unthinkable a month ago, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has dropped out of the Republican race for president. He was once a leader in the field. He plummeted to literally an asterisk in the most recent poll. He invited others to drop out with him, taking a shot at Donald Trump on the way out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT WALKER (R), SUSPENDING GOP PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: I encourage other Republican presidential candidates to consider doing the same so that the voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who can offer a positive conservative alternative to the current frontrunner.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Our chief political correspondent, Dana Bash, has the latest on Walker's withdrawal.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, it is hard to believe that just six months ago, Scott Walker, was on top of the national polls. In July, he was winning in Iowa, but his demise is a case study in the perils of running in 2016 as a lifelong politician, which is what Scott Walker is.
Donald Trump came along and drowned out Walker's main message, which was he was a guy who could fight the conservative fight and actually win.
Because at the end of the day, he had not been an outsider, he wasn't in Washington, but he was in government his whole life. Voters at this point don't appear to want that on that Republican side.
But even worse for Walker were his own missteps even sources close to him tell me he was on too many sides of the same issue. He had trouble answering questions.
[05:35:04] Like for example, what would you do with Syrian refugees? He said it was a hypothetical. It came across even his supporters are saying as wishy-washy and even pandering at a time where voters wanted fortitude from their candidates.
At the end of the day, it was also about money. Walker sources tell me he failed to shine in the first debate last month and the money to his campaign simply dried up. They could not get it back going again.
It was hard for him to pay the bills. In fact, another source told me that Walker told his aides how can I run a campaign against the national debt if I have campaign debt? That it wasn't his time -- John and Christine.
ROMANS: All right, Dana, thanks for that. Union leaders clashed with him repeatedly as governor of Wisconsin. They took the news with a bit of a victory lap. This is what the AFLCIO president, Richard Trumka said. "Scott Walker is still a disgrace, just no longer national."
BERMAN: Wow, gets to the point.
A new campaign focus for Hillary Clinton, previewing fixes and tweaks she would make to Obamacare. In a campaign swing to the south, Clinton slammed Republican candidates' promises to repeal the Affordable Care Act if they win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was proud to be part of President Obama's administration when he signed the Affordable Care Act into law. I called him and I was going on one of the foreign trips I had to go on as secretary of state.
I called him and said Mr. President, thank you for getting health care passed to help everybody in America. Think about it. They say it. Repeal it. Get rid of it. Why repeal something that is working to help people?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Clinton also criticized price gouging by pharmaceutical companies pointing to new headlines about a 5,000 percent hike in the price of one drug. Clinton promised to crack down on such increases and cap out of pocket cost for prescriptions under Obamacare.
ROMANS: Wall Street betting a President Hillary Clinton would not be good for the bio-tech industry. Stocks tumbled yesterday after her comments about price gouging. Specifically she called out the drug, "inaudible), a 62-year-old drug used to treat a life threatening parasitic infection.
It was recently bought by Turing Pharmaceuticals and the price jumped from $13.50 a tablet to $750. That puts the annual cost of treatment into hundreds of thousands for some.
Now the company's CEO defended the price hike. He said many big pharmaceutical companies are worse offenders. He says Turing is not profitable and just trying to stay in business. Clinton will unveil a plan to rein in prescription drug costs.
BERMAN: All right, so we know Republican presidential contender, Carly Fiorina, can debate, but what about improv singing? In an appearance on the tonight show, she sang a song allegedly off the cuff about her dog, Snickers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have two dogs, Snickers and Max. I make up songs. My mother and I used to sing together all the time, and I sing to my granddaughters --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it dorky?
FIORINA: Dorky? My dogs are not dorky.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, the singing -- the singing dorky.
FIORINA: Please don't take a walk with me I would rather stay at home and sit down in my warm bed. I'm now sick and you're going to have to carry me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's pretty cute.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: So the next debate will be a sing-off, all the candidates. I want to know which candidate could sing best.
ROMANS: Dueling piano bar, a dueling piano bar debate.
BERMAN: I think Martin O'Malley. He may actually be able to sing. I am very curious to find out. I hope they get tested. Carly Fiorina kicks off a swing through South Carolina and a town hall in Myrtle Beach.
ROMANS: All right, the Kentucky clerk once jailed for refusing gay couples marriage licenses, she breaks down in tears in a new interview.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:42:55]
ROMANS: Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk, who became the national lighting rod for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses, tells ABC in an interview that verbal attacks have been hard to deal with, but they do not define who she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIM DAVIS, ROWAN COUNTY, KENTUCKY CLERK: I have been called Hitler and hypocrite and homophobe. I have been called things and names that I didn't say when I was in the world. Those names don't hurt me. What probably hurts me the worst is when someone tells me that my God does not love me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Davis has said issuing licenses to gay couples would violate her conscience and go against her religion. She was jailed earlier this month and released on a judge's order that she do nothing to interfere with her deputies issuing licenses to all legally eligible couples.
BERMAN: Tennis great, James Blake, meeting face-to-face with New York City's mayor and police commissioner. This came two weeks after Blake was mistakenly jumped by a plain clothes NYPD officer tackling him to the ground. Blake said the sit-down was productive and that both men heard his plea for greater police accountability.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES BLAKE, RETIRED TENNIS PRO MISTAKENLY DETAINED BY NYPD: We are not looking for a quick lawsuit or quick and easy solution. We want a lasting positive impact on the city and on the police force.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: Blake had called for the officer to be fired, but Monday he says he understands the officer has due process rights. Well, the department goes through its disciplinary process.
ROMANS: A devastating wildfire burned through more than 1,000 homes in a blaze still raging north of San Francisco. Over 118 square miles of Lake County torched with the fire 70 percent contained. Nearly 7,000 more homes are in harm's way. A second fire in the Sierra Nevada foothills wiped out 500 additional homes bringing the total to nearly 1,600.
[05:45:05] At least five people have been killed in the blazes. There are 10 active wildfires in Northern California.
BERMAN: Southern California is facing serious weather problems as well. Let's get to meteorologist, Pedram Javaheri.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good Tuesday morning, Christine and John. The fire situation across California gradually improving at least for parts of California when it comes to the large fire, the valley fire now 75 percent contained. Incredible to think this fire, top three when it comes to the most destructive with infrastructure damage.
As much of those record-breaking fires were all occurring since the year 2000, but here we go towards the southwest, wet weather maker to Phoenix and heavy rainfall bringing 6 million people under a flood watch across that region.
But summer for much of the country, it doesn't feel like it is over. High pressure tries to build. We go above average for much of the midsection of the country parts of the northeast as well with the northwest below average.
The wet weather to the southwest and thunderstorms popping up in and around the southeast today from Atlanta back towards Mobile as the storm migrates to Tallahassee. The high temperatures not too bad, upper and mid-70s from Pittsburgh to New York still into the mid-90s from Dallas out towards Little Rock -- guys.
ROMANS: All right, Pedram, thank you.
BERMAN: Europe divided on how to handle the flood of refugees inside its borders. There is a new meeting set to try to solve this crisis. That's coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:50:13]
BERMAN: E.U. leaders are hoping to get an agreement with Turkey to stem the flow of refugees into Europe. They will be meeting in Brussels this week and a plan might include a 1 billion euro payment to help Turkey cope with crisis and crackdown on human smugglers.
Austria is stepping up taking in thousands of refugees providing health care, shelter, and food before routing them toward Germany. Other E.U. nations have not been so welcoming. Hungary's parliament has authorized the deployment of army troops to handle a wave of incoming migrants with the use of non-lethal force.
Let's go to Berlin and bring in CNN's Atika Shubert. Atika, this is still an issue that the continent there is dealing with every day, any progress being made?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a crisis. What we are seeing is tens of thousands crossing over every single day into Europe. There's just no way to stem the flow so far. Hungary is trying to do it by putting up razor wire fences and deploying the army.
And while it has in one sense blocked many refugees from Hungary, they are just finding other ways to come across, now going through Croatia for example. This is exactly what countries like Germany have been saying.
The numbers will keep coming. We need to figure out a solution and try to resettle as many as possible. Germany has said it would take in 800,000 refugee applications, but it wants other countries to also shoulder the burden.
What the EU has jointly agreed is to take in 120,000 refugees, but where do they go is the problem? They are meeting in Brussels now to try and figure out which countries will take which refugees. Hungary doesn't want to be told which refugees to take and they won't be bullied, in their words, by the E.U. -- John.
BERMAN: Atika Shubert for us in Berlin. Tension within the E.U. about how to handle this crisis, thanks so much, Atika.
ROMANS: All right, ready for your new iPhone? The pope may be standing in your way. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:56:10]
ROMANS: Welcome back. I'm Christine Romans. Let's get an EARLY START in your money this morning. An ugly for stocks so far, European stocks are much lower. U.S. stock futures pointing in that direction as well.
Shares of Volkswagen are down another 5 percent after Monday's 17 percent drop. U.S. regulators say VW cheated on emissions tests. The head of Volkswagen USA said the company, quote, "Totally screwed up." Yesterday stock shook off a two-day slump prompted by the Federal Reserve's worries about global growth.
The fed chickened out of raising interest rates. The Dow climbed 126 points yesterday. Now breaking that trend, bio-tech stocks, the sector sank after Hillary Clinton's comments on price gouging in drugs.
If you pre-ordered the iPhone 6S, Pope Francis' visit could delay your delivery. Phones are available starting Friday, but maybe not for New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. UPS is suspending deliveries to parts of Manhattan Thursday and Friday. FedEx says it would still operate, but customers should expect delays.
BERMAN: Can you imagine the thousands of people who were excited to see the pope. Now they are like wait a second.
ROMANS: We love nice visitors, but traffic is terrible. Two percent, the paltry wage growth over the past year, but workers in some jobs have seen their pay go up significantly more. Business system analysts have seen the biggest pay raise, big demand for that job. The median pay is $81,000, up 10 percent from a year ago.
Security officers and sales consultants, wage gains of more than 7 percent and also in the top five, pharmacy technicians and baristas. I think that is a sign of strength in the economy.
BERMAN: We shall see. Ben Carson with new controversial comments about Muslims, "NEW DAY" starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you mean to say radical Islamists?
CARSON: That was implied in the comment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He has a right.
BUSH: I don't think religion should be criteria for being president.
WALKER: I will suspend my campaign immediately.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People are out there yearning for leadership.
FIORINA: I earned my way onto the big stage. I started this race and nobody knew who I was.
TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If I want to change the marriage laws. I believe in democracy.
ROMANS: Today is the day Pope Francis comes to the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What he is doing is expressing a sense of mercy and sense of compassion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He resists the idea he can't have contact with people who are coming to see him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He does things in a very real way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: What a mix of people in the news. Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Tuesday, September 22nd, 6:00 in the east. Here is the state of play. A Muslim should not be president unless they renounce Sharia
law and swear to put the constitution before their religion. Will this non apology clarification help Ben Carson cling to relevance in the presidential race?
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Meanwhile, how did Scott Walker's candidacy crumble so quickly? The GOP field down to a mere 15. Let's start coverage with CNN senior Washington correspondent, Jeff Zeleny. He is live in Washington. Give us all the latest -- Jeff.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. Ben Carson is standing by his comments that a Muslim shouldn't be president, comments that have drawn sharp criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike.
But overnight, a bit of clarity. He seeks to soften his hard line against Muslims. In an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, Carson said he was referring to radical Muslims or anyone unwilling to follow the constitution. He stopped well short of apologizing for those remarks. He said a Muslim could become president with one condition. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARSON: If someone has a Muslim background and they are willing to reject those tenets and --
