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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Hillary Clinton Taunts Trump At His Hotel; Sanders Hasn't Been Doing Mock Debates; Democrats To Face Off In First Debate; Rival Anti- Assad Fighters Joining Forces. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired October 13, 2015 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Vegas is ready, baby.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It's just like the strip, right. You never sleep in Vegas. A debate stage never sleeps. I'm John Berman. It is 30 minutes past the hour. It has arrived.
You can see the countdown clock now under 15 hours. If it is under 15 hours, you know it's serious, the very first Democratic presidential debate right behind me tonight at the Wynn Las Vegas only on CNN.
Frontrunner, Hillary Clinton, she will be center stage on that stage you just saw. She is ahead in the polls. Bernie Sanders, who is leading in New Hampshire, will be right next to her.
The big question, can he convince a wider audience beyond New Hampshire to ride his progressive wave? Martin O'Malley, Lincoln Chaffee, Jim Webb, they are all trying to make some kind of impression. They need a breakthrough tonight.
We have already one surprise here in Las Vegas. Hillary Clinton made a cameo at a union rally outside a Donald Trump hotel. This is a doubly advantageous moment for Clinton.
She could bash the GOP frontrunner and appeal to organized labor. That is a group she needs in Nevada, but across the country. Senior political correspondent, Brianna Keilar, has the story.
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 were picketing outside of this hotel co- owned by Donald Trump.
The Culinary Union has been trying to unionize employees so Hillary Clinton joining them and really making a splash as she came in to town.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Some people think Mr. Trump is entertaining. But I don't think it is entertaining when somebody insults immigrants or women. That is unacceptable behavior.
So when we are here together in solidarity to organize, we 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 hard working people and you should not stand in the way of the right to organize because that's what built the middle class of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: She has been preparing for this debate in earnest. She has 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 for months now with this e-mail controversy and her aides and her campaign is hoping that this will gives her a chance to change the subject and talk substance and get the attention of so many people who will be watching this debate.
Bernie Sanders, really her closest competitor here is taking a different approach. His camp says that it's a little more low key. Of course, remember, there is always some expectations management going on.
You often have teams that are downplaying just how prepared their candidates are. He has been doing some Q&A, but not mock debates like Hillary Clinton. One goal is to show he is a serious candidate and mainstream ideas.
He is a self-described Democratic socialist and certainly he wants to make sure that Hillary Clinton can't portray him as politically extreme -- John and Christine.
BERMAN: All right, many thanks, Brianna Keilar, for that. So what does each candidate need to do when they take that debate stage? There is a live picture of the stage right now even at 2:30 a.m. Las Vegas time. It looks stunning.
Joining me to talk about the game plan tonight is CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist, Hilary Rosen. Hilary, great to have you here bright and early this morning.
Bernie Sanders, his team saying, you know, he hasn't done any mock debates, did some exchanges yesterday, some back and forth. Now each candidate, they believe what they believe.
They have their policy positions that they want to convey to the American people, but there is a performance element to this that they have to be prepared for.
HILARY ROSEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, people really underestimate the theater nature of this debate. So there's Hillary Clinton is a policy wonk. Bernie Sanders is kind of a grumpy old grandpa telling us what's good for America.
The other candidates are looking for their first baked moment in this campaign. So really what these candidates have been saying the same thing every single day for months.
What they need to do tonight is sort of step up the energy around that and gives people sort of a higher purpose reason to believe in them. That really becomes more about theater and performance than it does about policy.
BERMAN: Because you have to do it in a minute. The answers here are a minute. The rebuttals, if you get called out by name, 30 seconds. So you have to know what you want to get through before the moment comes.
[05:35:01] ROSEN: You do and Bernie Sanders in particular hasn't had a lot of give and take events. So he has done big speeches, you know, huge crowds, a tremendous amount of enthusiasm, but he hasn't done the kind of town hall, you know, rapid fire forums.
For instance, Hillary Clinton or Martin O'Malley. His test is to keep his answers short enough to people to get excited and understand it and not be sort of too rhetorical.
BERMAN: Bernie Sanders has been saying the same things about the same issues for 30 or 40 years in politics. Is there a risk for Hillary Clinton in being too polished? She has done this before, dozens of times eight years ago. Does she need to somehow seem more authentic?
ROSEN: You know, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have almost opposite jobs tonight. Bernie Sanders has to come across tonight as more reserved and more presidential. So he won't seem so extreme to the moderate Democrats who are looking for a candidate.
(CROSSTALK)
ROSEN: I'm not just throwing fire bombs. Hillary Clinton on the other hand, everybody knows she could be president. What she needs to do is talk about why she wants to be president. She needs to engage people more in her task and enthusiasm.
BERMAN: You know, in terms of the issues, it is interesting, if not Bernie Sanders, one of the other candidates will certainly bring up that Hillary Clinton has shifted on some of the issues. Some issues Democrats care about.
You see Keystone oil pipeline and Pacific trade deal, you know, things of that nature. However, she has shifted in a direction that the Democratic race probably likes.
ROSEN: Yes, and that's going to be her task tonight is to talk about when she gets accused of flip flopping which she will.
BERMAN: She will.
ROSEN: She is going to have to talk about policy positions as evolution. She will have to talk about trade as meaning something to today's workers that it did not mean 20 years ago.
BERMAN: Or four years ago -- following the golden standard of trade deals.
ROSEN: When it comes to Keystone, what is it about, you know, the development of that pipeline today that makes her believe what she believes. You know, she has to convince people that this is coming from a thoughtful policy place.
BERMAN: I'm sure she is ready for that. One of the things that I'm very curious about whether she can be ready for is Martin O'Malley, Lincoln Chaffee and Jim Webb, these candidates who have nothing to lose.
They are nowhere in the polls right now. So they have to do something. They have to throw the bomb, the Hail Mary on the stage. It seems to me hard to prepare for a candidate who has nothing to lose if you're Hillary Clinton.
ROSEN: Yes, although what these candidates have to lose is missing an opportunity to talk about themselves --
BERMAN: True.
ROSEN: So, you know, we saw a few times in the Republican debate, if people remember that most closely, where Scott Walker was firebombing other candidates, but he wasn't talking about himself.
Rand Paul is doing the same thing. You know, if Martin O'Malley is going to convince people he is a viable alternative. Yes, he's going to make some headlines by criticizing Hillary Clinton.
But he's really got to put forward something positive about himself. Same with Jim Webb and Lincoln Chaffee, what are people going to remember about them.
You know, if I'm their staff, I'm sitting there telling them, don't let the only thing people remember about you is, you have to good insult going. There's got to be something more there.
BERMAN: And you know, O'Malley has been practicing under the bright lights, probably a smart move, right?
ROSEN: O'Malley is a good debater. You know, all of these candidates --
BERMAN: Jim Webb was a serious guy, who ran a really tough campaign.
ROSEN: Run a very tough campaign against a tough opponent. They are all experienced debaters. Bernie Sanders, I have been watching some old tapes of him debating. He will be effective. He will be strong. This will be an interesting debate among professionals.
BERMAN: It really will. With only five candidates, you will get to hear from all. Hilary Rosen, thank you. We will be here all day leading up to the debate itself, which begins at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time only here on CNN. Christine Romans, back to you.
BERMAN: You know, John, this one thing, one platform all of the candidates agree on and how they differentiate themselves would be interesting. They all know the middle class family income is back to 1995 levels when the top 1 percent is richer than ever. The key is for the lesser candidates to be able to say why their plan to level the playing field would really work, right?
BERMAN: They all want to take that message into the general election. What they have to do tonight on the stage is saying I'm the one to take that message after tonight.
ROMANS: All right, John Berman, after tonight, countdown, less than 15 hours to go. Our coverage of the CNN presidential Democratic debate continues all morning long.
But first, the U.S. with new help for Syrian rebels, new help fighting the Assad regime and Russia. We are live with the dramatic new details next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:43:45]
ROMANS: Welcome back. U.S. military cargo planes have successfully dropped 50 tons of ammunition to anti-Assad rebels in Northern Syria. It is the first step in a new White House plan to support rebel forces in the region.
In fact, Moscow's intervention in Syria's civil is prompting many rival rebel groups to team up. They are not presenting a more unified front against President Assad's troops.
We want to go live to Moscow. Let's bring in Jill Dougherty. She is a researcher for the International Center for Defense and Security. Good morning, Jill. So you have this rebel groups now kind of teaming up in a way we haven't seen before.
JILL DOUGHERTY, RESEARCHER, INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR DEFENSE AND SECURITY: You do. The jury is out as to whether they can actually form a real team. That is what the United States wants. That is certainly why they have identified leaders of the groups that they feel they can trust.
They can give them weapons and equipment, and it will not fall into the hands, they hope, of terrorists. That's on the ground and the fighting on the Russian side continues with air strikes, et cetera.
Christine, in Moscow, there is an emphasis on political solution. You have two things going on. The U.N. special envoy on Syria is discussing with a number of people in Moscow some type of efforts toward a political solution.
[05:45:09] Just a few minutes ago, the Russian media was reporting quotes coming from the Foreign Ministry saying that they were welcoming news that the Syrian government is naming people to what they are calling working groups.
Four working groups that would set about trying to get some type of political solution in motion, not a lot of details on this. Obviously that's what Russia does want to focus on. President Putin said that the whole idea of his military action is to get to a political solution.
So it serves them very well to point out that at least something is happening although it's very slow.
ROMANS: All right, Jill Dougherty for us in Moscow, following all of those developments. Thank you so much, Jill.
It's 45 minutes past the hour. Let's take a look at what is coming up on "NEW DAY." Chris Cuomo joins us now fresh off the tables. Hi, Chris.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Vegas, Romans. I just saw your man Berman begging for money trying to play the slots. It's just embarrassing.
But you know what brings all here, the energy of the city is nothing compared to the exhilaration and anticipation of what's going to happen on that stage tonight with the Democrats.
We are hearing from campaigns. They are starting to get chatty. There can always be one of two things, tactical or nervous. Hillary's campaign, the Senator Bernie Sanders's campaign, all of them, Jim Webb, Martin O'Malley, they are all talking about it.
Who they will be and what they will not be. All we are not hearing about is what they will wear. We are going to look at it tactically. Who needs to do what tonight and then what do we expect?
Because this is a very different dynamic than what we saw with the Republicans where you have a dozen plus on stage fighting for a bit of oxygen. They will get time tonight. The question is what do they do with that time? How do they distinguish themselves?
We have good insights throughout the morning on "NEW DAY." But you better get your boy, Berman, some help, Romans because he has his tie sideways, not a good look.
ROMANS: He already won $170 playing craps. I said quit while you're ahead.
CUOMO: Is that what he told you?
ROMANS: That's what he told me. All right, guys, leave it in Vegas. Talk to you soon. We are hours away from that CNN Democratic presidential debate. What rules will the candidates face? We are breaking it down after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:51:24]
BERMAN: Less than 15 hours to go until the CNN Democratic presidential debate here in Las Vegas. What is the first rule of the Democratic debate? How about all the rules? CNN's Tom Foreman has the details.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, five candidates are expected to be on stage when the debate begins. They will be rated according to the strengths in polls. Hillary Clinton with the biggest numbers will be in the middle.
Their poll standings 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 the stage. They will each be given a pad paper and a pen, and they will have some water if they need it.
What will they face? The moderator will be Anderson Cooper. He will be joined by Dana Bash and Juan Carlos Lopez and Don Lemon is watching Facebook and Instagram for any questions there, which he will present then to the candidates.
Each candidate will have 1 minute to answer a direct question. If one gets brought up in somebody's answer, they will have 30 seconds to respond to that and lights tell them if they are running overtime.
I should note that Anderson has the discretion to let any part of the conversation to go on longer if he feels it is needed for whatever reason.
You can bet some of the candidates on the edges will want every moment they can get to make an impression and rise in the polls and maybe closer to center next time around -- Christine, John.
ROMANS: All right, Tom Foreman, thank you for that, Tom.
All right, it's the longest winning streak for the Dow Jones Industrial Average all year, an EARLY START on your money next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:57:02]
ROMANS: Welcome back. Good morning. Let's get an EARLY START on your money. I'm Christine Romans. Time for an EARLY START, as I said, a setback for stocks around the world this morning. Asian markets are lower. Blame is weak trade data in China.
European markets and U.S. stock futures also lower, but let's relish for a moment the longest winning streak since last year. The Dow closed higher for the 7th day in a row yesterday. Corporate earnings from Intel and JP Morgan Chase, those are today.
Happening overnight, the biggest beer merger in history, Inbev Anheuser-Busch InBev buying rival, SABMiller, this is a huge deal, $104 billion, makes it one of the top five acquisitions of all time.
SABMiller rejected four earlier bids. Regulators still have to approve this. If it goes through, Budmiller would be a super brewery with half of the world's top 40 beers. Mergers are track for a record year, just yesterday, the biggest merger in the tech industry. Dell bought data storage company, EMC, for $67 billion. All right, we are just hours away from CNN Democratic presidential debate. "NEW DAY" picks it up now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: It has arrived, the very first Democratic presidential debate tonight.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you are going to run for president, then you should represent all the people of the United States.
BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let's not try to demonize people who may have disagreements with us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Each of these candidates, they have to defy themselves.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am un-bought and I am un-bossed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They feel strongly where we are going as a country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is not about the words. It's about the action.
CLINTON: I will fight as hard as I can to earn every vote.
SANDERS: Join in the political revolution. Let's transform America.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It's Tuesday, October 13th, 6:00 in the east. That's lunchtime in Vegas. Live from the Wynn Hotel. It is time as they say before the big fights out here. Tonight is the high stakes Democratic debate.
Michaela is in New York. In case the slots get the better of her and Alisyn abandons the post. We are seeing the candidates next to each other on stage. It's the best way to evaluate them.
That is what you have in Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders along with the rest of the field here on CNN in the hotel behind us. The campaigns are hyping and spinning. We have lots of great information for you on what to expect tonight.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, meanwhile, there are some developments in the game changing wild card known as Joe Biden's decision. One top senator says she believes he will run.
So let's begin the CNN's debate coverage with our senior White House correspondent, Jim Costa, he is inside the debate hall. Give us the latest -- Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn and Chris. That's right. Vice President Joe Biden is certainly the wildcard in the mix for this Democratic debate.
