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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Democratic Debate Tonight on CNN; Rough Reception for Trump in New Hampshire; U.S. Drops 50 Tons of Ammo to Syrian Rebels. Aired 4- 4:30a ET

Aired October 13, 2015 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[04:00:16] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: In just hours, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders go head-to-head for the very first time in CNN's Democratic presidential candidate debate. Who will come out on top? And will there be a breakthrough from a lesser known candidate? We are live.

Good morning and welcome to EARLY START, everyone. I'm Christine Romans, holding down the fort in New York.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Berman. It is Tuesday, October 13th. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East -- no, it's not. It's 4:00 a.m. in the East. It's 1:00 a.m. in Las Vegas.

Things are just getting started here on the strip. It has arrived. The first Democratic presidential debate tonight here behind me at the Wynn Las Vegas, only on CNN.

Frontrunner Hillary Clinton, she will be center stage.

Bernie Sanders leading in New Hampshire, next to her. Can he convince a wider audience to feel the Bern?

Martin O'Malley, Lincoln Chaffee and Jim Webb all trying to make some kind of impression to break through.

We have already had one surprise here in Las Vegas. Hillary Clinton with a dramatic cameo at a union rally outside a Donald Trump hotel. This a doubly advantageous moment for Clinton. She can bash GOP frontrunner Donald Trump and appeal to organized labor, a group she needs in Nevada and across the country.

Senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine.

Hillary Clinton arrived here in Las Vegas and almost immediately went to where? The Trump Hotel. That's where she joined union workers who are picketing outside of this hotel co- owned by Donald Trump. The Culinary Union has been trying to unionize employees there. So, Hillary Clinton joining them and really making a splash as she came into town.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, some people think Mr. Trump is entertaining. But I don't think it is entertaining when somebody insults immigrants, insults women. That is just unacceptable behavior.

And so, when we are here together in solidarity to organize, we also want to send a message to Mr. Trump. If you are going to run for president, then you should represent all the people of the United States and that includes hardworking people.

(CHEERS & APPLAUSE)

And you should not stand in the way of the right to organize because that's what built the middle class of America.

KEILAR: She has been preparing for this debate in earnest. She's been working with a team of litigators who have a lot of experience with debate prep. Some of them helped President Obama in 2012, as well as a number of other candidates in other cycles.

Her goal, one of her top aides tells me, is to cut through the politics. She has been dealing with this e-mail controversy and her aides, her campaign is hoping that this will give her a chance to change the subject, to really talk substance and get attention of so people who will be watching this debate.

Bernie Sanders, her closest competitor taking a different approach. His camp says that it's a little more low key. Of course, remember, those always some expectations management going on. You often have teams that are downplaying just how prepared their candidates are. But they say that he has been reading up on the issues, that has been doing some Q&A, but not full on mock debates, like we expect Hillary Clinton has done.

His goal, one of his top aides says, is to show that he is a serious candidate and that he has mainstream ideas. He is a self described Democrat socialist and certainly, he wants to make sure that Hillary Clinton can't portray him as politically extreme -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right. Brianna, thank you so much.

The Sanders team suggests that among the themes that Sanders will hit, taking the country back from what he calls the billionaire class, returning it to the middle class. He plans to talk about raising the minimum wage, making college more affordable, rebuilding infrastructure.

Beamed into an event in New Hampshire, Sanders said that American roads and bridges are falling apart.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That is why I have proposed a $1 trillion investment over a five-year period in rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure. And that unto itself which create up to 13 million decent paying jobs and at the same time because we are improving our infrastructure, make our country more efficient, more productive, and in fact safer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Sanders also wants to draw contrast with Secretary Clinton on the Pacific free trade deal, the Keystone pipeline, and the Iraq war. Though, they all now agree with the three issues.

His team is also working hard to lower expectations.

[04:35:00] You heard Brianna talking about that. It's an age old tradition in politics. They note that Hillary Clinton has lots of experience in national debates, while this is Sanders first time on the big stage.

For the three other candidates, all polling in asterisk territory, Martin O'Malley, Lincoln Chafee, Jim Webb, they all want some kind of surge in the polls, the likes of which Carly Fiorina saw after the first Republican debate.

O'Malley has done all kind of prep work, including rehearsals on her bright light to simulate television lighting. He will talk about his executive experience as mayor of Baltimore and then governor of Maryland.

Jim Webb was the Democratic senator from Virginia. He was also secretary of the navy under President Ronald Reagan.

Lincoln Chafee, the former governor of Rhode Island, was a Republican for most of his career, including in the U.S. Senate, before becoming independent as governor, now Democrat. So, he's got all the bases covered.

One possible candidate not here? Vice President Joe Biden. Will he ever be a candidate at all? He spent the weekend at his home in Delaware with his family. You can see him here, at least, I think, his BlackBerry.

Aides say he will watch the debate, but it will not influence his decision whether to run they say. Some of those close to him say he does not have a self imposed deadline. But it seems to them, at least, that he is leaning in favor of running. At the end of this month, he's got some state filing deadlines that could force his move.

Stay with CNN for comprehensive coverage of the first Democratic presidential debate and tune in tonight. Our coverage begins at 8:30 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

On the Republican side, a rough reception for Donald Trump at the No Labels convention. That's an event in New Hampshire that places a premium on cooperation and civility. Trump tried to convince the crowd he knows how to compromise, but he cannot help adding that it is better to compromise and win. The Republican frontrunner was also bragging about his poll numbers and his ability to knock his rivals out of the race.

Let's get more from Sara Murray in Manchester.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning, Christine and John.

It wasn't Donald Trump's usual day on the campaign trail. Here in Manchester yesterday, instead of meeting with a crowd of adoring fans, he spoke to a crowd of more skeptical New Hampshire voters. Trump was appearing at the event for No Label. It's a political group that advocates for breaking through the gridlock in Washington and a bipartisan approach to solving problems.

Now, some in the crowd were skeptical that Donald Trump who is famous for hurling insults is the guy who can work across the aisle and he even faced some combative questions about how he would treat him if he was elected president.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you become president, will a woman make the same as a man and do I get to chose what I do with my body?

(CHEERS & APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You're going to make the same if you do as good a job. You're going to make the same if you do as good a job, and I happen to be pro-life. OK? I'm pro-life.

MURRAY: Trump was one of a number of candidates to speak here yesterday, including John Kasich who spoke about his effort to balance the budget, as well as Lindsey Graham, who spoke about foreign policy. All of those candidates will, of course, be back on the trail after the Democratic debate.

And for Trump, he'll be keeping an eye on the Democratic debate. He says he is watching, but he's not rooting for anyone in particular.

Back to you, Christine and John.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right. Thanks, Sara.

Donald Trump also took a swing at Hillary Clinton. He told FOX News he believes Clinton should be behind bars for using a private e-mail server when she was secretary of state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: She shouldn't be a candidate. What she's done is very serious. And everybody else who has done it has either gone to jail or had certain problems like you wouldn't believe. Like, as an example, General Petraeus. Now, with that being said, I'd love to run against her because she is

so flawed. She's got so many problems. She did such a bad job as secretary of state, I think she is very beatable. But she shouldn't even be allowed to run.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Jeb Bush and Carly Fiorina also targeting Clinton's record as secretary of state. Bush tweeted, "Hillary Clinton is rewriting her history of weakness and wrong choices on Iran." Fiorina tweeted a fundraising pitch, "Are you ready to beat Hillary? Get your official ready to beat Hillary sticker with a donation of $5 or more."

You know, the table minimum here in Las Vegas is $10 now, $5 won't even get you a seat at the blackjack table, I'm told, Christine Romans.

ROMANS: You're told and you won $170. I'm not sure the CNN fact checkers survive your claim that you've even able to win some money at the table.

John, let me just tell you this, it is all about the Democrats, though, tonight. I mean, the Republicans can get in the right hooks here, but this is about the Democrats tonight.

And, John, whether some of the lesser known candidates will be able to break through. Do you think they will breakthrough by attacking Hillary Clinton?

[04:10:02] BERMAN: It's so interesting. They have to do something, don't they? They are nowhere in this race right now. And one of the best ways to get your name in the headlines is to take a swipe at Hillary Clinton.

But they have to be careful or perhaps Martin O'Malley has to be careful. What does O'Malley want? Unless he thinks he can actually win the nomination this time, if he is trying to set up for the future, is it best for him to tick off the Clintons? Will that help him four years from now? Eight years from now? Not so sure.

ROMANS: All right. John, thank you for that. And we'll talk to you again very, very soon. Expect to hear tonight from Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders on some really important kitchen table issues, income inequality, taxes and making college more affordable.

So, we want to show you where they stand. On the minimum wage, Clinton wants to raise the federal minimum wage to $12 an hour. Sanders wants $15 an hour. The federal minimum wage right now is $7.25, hasn't been increased since 2009.

On taxes, Clinton says she will close loopholes for the wealthiest Americans. She wants to crackdown on an IRS loophole that allows hedge fund managers to list their profits as carried interest, instead of income. You're going to hear a lot about this in the election. Those earnings now have a top tax rate of only 20 percent instead of an income tax rate close to 40 percent. Now, Sanders wants all income over $250,000 to be subject to the

Social Security payroll tax and he wants to slap a $10 percent surtax on billionaires.

And affordable college, affordable college, a cornerstone of both candidates' domestic agendas. Clinton wants two years of free community college. Sanders wants state grants to make all public four-year colleges free paid for with a tax on high frequency traders.

Our coverage of the CNN's domestic presidential debate continues all morning long.

But, first, the U.S. with new help for Syrian rebels fighting the Assad regime and now Russia. We are live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:15:06] ROMANS: U.S. military cargo planes have successfully dropped 50 tons of ammunition to anti-Assad rebels in northern Syria. It's the first step in the new White House plan to support rebel forces in the region. In fact, Moscow's intervention in Syria's civil is prompting rival rebel groups to team up presented a more unified front against President Assad's troops.

I want to live to Moscow and bring in journalist Jill Dougherty, someone who has covered the region for a very long time.

And let me ask you this, Jill. You've got the United States dropping ammunition to the rebels and you have Vladimir Putin's military supporting Assad. Those are two major world powers at opposite ends of a very dangerous conflict.

JILL DOUGHERTY, JOURNALIST: It is. The word, of course, springs to mind, proxy war. It's disturbing, because, you know, there were proxy wars back in the old Cold War. But this time, we do have the U.S. and you have say Saudi Arabia, Qatar and others supporting the rebels and then you have Russia coming in with those air attacks and, you know, softening up the targets and hitting these targets and that's debatable exactly who they are hitting, and the ground forces of Assad going in to hit them.

So, two sides. And it is dangerous because as you pointed out, both sides are carrying out air attacks. And that raises this issue of could there be a mid-air collision. They had discussions between the Pentagon and the ministry of defense. But it is, it's a very troubling and kind of hot situation right now.

ROMANS: Hot situation indeed. We know there was a 90-minute phone call with the two militaries earlier this week where they tried to work out protocol for how pilots would talk to each other if they encounter each other in the sky. Incredibly important for them not to be a mishap here, Jill.

DOUGHERTY: Exactly. That is exactly what it is. The language they use, the radio frequencies, et cetera, because they have to communicate to know that somebody potentially is in your air space. You know, Christine, the Russians wanted to broaden that discussion,

get into more political areas and others. The United States, so far, is saying no, it's just going to be technical, thank you.

We do have another factor here in Moscow. Staffan de Mistura, who is a Syrian special envoy for the United Nations, is here in town in Moscow. He is talking to Russian officials. And at least the beginning of those talks, he was saying that it's very important to get the process moving forward some type of political resolution.

After all, that's what both sides say they want ultimately. But right now, Russia is doing it through military means. And you could argue the United States, obviously, is trying to hit other ISIL targets. So, the movement toward any political solution doesn't seem to be going very fast.

ROMANS: Just quickly, Jill, is Vladimir, is he shoring up the Assad regime here? Is Assad more powerful today because of this help from Russia?

DOUGHERTY: You know, I wouldn't say that they are more powerful. What President Putin and he made no secret of that, this is his mission to prop up the regime, make sure it does not collapse. That's really the mission. Push back the opposition forces, terrorists, et cetera, who have been weakening Assad's forces and then, Mr. Putin would say, once you have that kind of solid situation, then you can move toward a type of peaceful political resolution.

The United States, of course, would say that he's just indiscriminately hitting anyone, and that that is a flawed policy.

ROMANS: All right. Jill Dougherty for us in Moscow this morning, thank you so much, Jill. Very nice to see you.

Breaking news this morning, just a couple of hours ago, Iran's parliament gave its approval to the nuclear deal Tehran reached with the world powers in July. One sign of contention within the Iranian parliament, lawmakers want to limit inspectors' access to the military sites. The agreement would lift international sanctions on Iran, in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program aimed at preventing developments of an atomic weapon.

The House is not in session this week, but there is intense behind the scenes debate over picking John Boehner's replacement as speaker. A spokesman for Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, who, of course, is being pushed to run, says Ryan won't make a decision this week. If he decides not to run, it could be a Republican free-for-all.

On Monday, Texas Representative Bill Flores told GOP colleagues he is actively considering a bid for the speakership. But Flores also says if Ryan runs, he won't.

Georgia's Lynn Westmoreland is also considering a run.

Currently, the only two Republicans to announce they are running for the speaker are Jason Chaffetz of Utah and Daniel Webster of Florida. [04:20:03] Like Flores, Chaffetz has said if Paul Ryan is in, he is

out.

Stoking the leadership crisis is demand by the conservative House Freedom Caucus that the next speaker have less power, giving the rank and file more sway over committee assignments and floor procedures.

We are just hours before CNN's Democratic presidential candidate debate. Candidates facing off for the very first time. We are live breaking down tonight's rules and what you can expect, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: We are just about 16 hours away from the CNN Democratic presidential debate right here in Las Vegas. We are counting down, so you don't have to.

What are the rules of engagement here for the candidates as they face off for the very first time?

CNN's Tom Foreman has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John. Hey, Christine.

Five candidates are expected to be on stage when the debate begins. And they will be arrayed according to their strength in the polls. So, Hillary Clinton with the biggest numbers will be in the middle and their poll standing will also determine the order of their opening and closing statements.

No candidate can bring a phone or a tablet or notes or any props on stage. They will each be given a pad of paper and a pen and they'll have some water if they need it.

What are they going to face?

An all CNN panel this time around.

[04:25:01] The moderator will be our own Anderson Cooper. He will be joined on stage by Dana Bash and Juan Carlos Lopez and Don Lemon will be watching Facebook and Instagram for questions there, which he will present to the candidates.

Each candidate will have one minute to answer a direct question. If one gets brought up in somebody's answer, they'll have 30 seconds to respond to that. And lights will tell them if they are running overtime.

Now, I should note that Anderson has the discretion to let any part of the conversation go on a little bit longer if he feels it is needed for whatever reason. You (AUDIO GAP) out here on the edges, they're going to want every moment they can get to try to make an impression and rise in the polls and maybe closer to center next time around -- Christine, John. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right. Tom Foreman for us.

So, how are the candidates preparing for tonight's debate here in Las Vegas? Will Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, will they go after each other or will they play nice? Our live team coverage from the very first Democratic presidential debate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Democrats running for president facing off for the very first time. CNN's presidential debate now just hours away. Hillary Clinton taking the stage with Bernie Sanders. Who will come out on top? We are live.

Good morning, everybody. Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans here at the anchor desk in New York.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman. Thirty minutes past the hour. I'm at the anchor desk on the Las Vegas Strip, just outside the Wynn Las Vegas.

It has arrived. The first Democratic presidential debate, it is tonight right behind me at this resort hotel, only on CNN. Frontrunner Hillary Clinton center stage. Bernie Sanders leading in New Hampshire, but can't he convince a wider audience to feel the Bern?