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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Donald Trump Calls for Total Ban on Muslims' Entry to U.S.; California Terror Attack: Investigating the Shooters; Cowboys Top Redskins in Wild Finish. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired December 08, 2015 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Even former Vice President Dick Cheney weighed in. He said it's simply un-American. But the supporters who were here in South Carolina listening to Donald Trump make his case, they cheered in response.
[05:00:04] Some of them said they thought it went too far, but others said it was given the shooting in San Bernardino. Now, this has actually changed the conversation in this presidential debate. Donald Trump talked about that as he made his case for why he believes this plan is necessary.
Let's take a listen.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have to be tough. We have to be smart. We have to be vigilant.
Yes, we have to look at mosques and we have to respect mosques, but yes, we have to look at mosques. We have no choice. We have to see what's out there, because something is happening in there.
Man, there's anger. There's anger. And we have to know about it.
ZELENY: Now, it was that type of language we heard through and through more than an hour long campaign event. He said something is happening out there. Something is going on out there. He even went as far as there could be another World Trade Center bombing.
It is the fear and frustration that he is playing into by choice. Politically, it may be a wise move for him, but it's an open question of how this plays in the longer term. With this Republican debate now one week away, you can bet this will be front and center in the conversation -- Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I'll bet. Changing the conversation, frankly.
As Jeff Zeleny mentioned, Donald Trump's Republican rivals were quick to pounce. He slammed this plan. Many of them slamming with pretty vivid language.
Let me start with Jeb Bush here. He tweeted, "Donald Trump is unhinged. His, quote, 'policy' proposals are not serious."
And this for Marco Rubio. Donald Trump's habit of making offensive and outlandish statements will not bring Americans together.
Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina also blasting this idea as unnecessary, and Fiorina called it unconstitutional.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He is mobilizing anti- Muslim sentiment. He is preying on the fears of the American people. It is called rabble-rousing.
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is the kind of thing that people say when they have no experience and don't know what they are talking about. You do not need to be banning Muslims from the country. That's -- in my view, that's a ridiculous position and one that won't even be productive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: John Kasich tweeted, we need a leader that will unite us, not divide us.
Ben Carson released a statement saying, "Everyone visiting our country should register and be monitored during their stay as is done in many countries. I do not and would not advocate being selective on one's religion."
Ted Cruz dismissed the Trump plan and highlighted his own approach focused on excluding Syrian refugees.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That is not my policy. I've introduced legislation in the Senate that would put in place a three-year moratorium on refugees coming from countries where ISIS or al Qaeda controls a substantial amount of territory. And the reason is that's where the threat is coming from.
And the Obama administration, the FBI has told us they don't have the resources to properly vet those refugees, to determine whether or not they are ISIS terrorists. I think that's the approach we should take.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Trump also taking fire from Democrats. No surprise there. In a personally sign tweet, Hillary Clinton called Trump's proposal reprehensible, prejudiced and divisive. "Donald Trump, you don't get it. This makes us less safe."
And Bernie Sanders tweeting that "the U.S. is a strong nation when we stand together. When we are weak, we are weak when we allow racism and xenophobia to divide us."
All right. Joining to us break down the Trump reaction, the reaction to the Trump proposals, CNN politics reporter Zachary Wolf, up bright and early for this morning with real big news story in the political world to talk about.
Nice to see you. Thank you.
ZACHARY WOLF, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good to see you.
ROMANS: Let's talk first about the support Donald Trump is getting for this Muslim exclusion policy. This in South Carolina, you could hear Jeff Zeleny's piece. You could hear the sounds of the crowd. They loved it. Donald Trump, you know, just -- you know, driving that ball right into the center of what his supporters wanted to hear in that crowd.
Let's listen to what some of them said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Donald Trump is now saying Muslims should not be allowed to enter this country until the U.S. figures out what's going on. Do you agree with that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I do.
REPORTER: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want them here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is a prudent idea. I think he has done due diligence when he makes that statement. We have to protect our American citizens first and the vetting process and the whole program lacks integrity.
REPORTER: Are you in favor of bombing terrorists homes?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely, absolutely. People will continue to reproduce and they will raise children in their beliefs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somebody just needs to go in there and take control of this. I think it is going rampant. I'm worried about America, worried about our safety. They're getting in. They need to be stopped.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: So, Zach, let's not talk about the practicality of the policy. Let's talk about the politics of the policy. It plays to his base.
WOLF: It does. You see them there. They are on board with what he has to say.
But, you know, those are people at a Donald Trump rally. This is the first time since the summer with one of the proposals or things that Donald Trump has said.
[05:05:04] He said things that have offended, you know, Mexicans and country of Mexico, and women and hosts of other people.
This is the first time you have seen the Republican establishment turn on him en masse and have every single candidate say what he said is wrong.
So, you see the people there, his base, maybe a groundswell of America that a lot of people aren't seeing. It's possible. But this is the first time I think you are seeing the Republican Party itself and all the other candidates really turn on him.
ROMANS: Well, the Republican Party itself, because, of course, the country was founded on the fact that there is not religious test to be an American or to come to this country. And it's something that Dick Cheney, the former vice president, he talked about this, about how that is not what founded this country and to move in that direction now would be wrong.
Listen to what he said.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: I think this whole notion that somehow we can say no more Muslims, just ban a whole religion, goes against everything we stand for and believe in. I mean, religious freedom is an important part of our history and where we came from. A lot of people, my ancestors got here, because they were Puritans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The Republican base has been at odds with Donald Trump before. Donald Trump still goes up in the polls, Zach.
WOLF: They have. You know, we could sit here and say, wow, this is an amazing, I can't believe he is proposing this, this is going to be an end of his career. But since this summer, he said a series of things starting with the comments that he made about Mexico and Mexicans that had political watchers and political reporters kind of crashing their heads. And we'll just have to see if this is one of those things or if the country, you know, the Republican base and his base turn on him over this. It remains to be seen.
ROMANS: Something that I hear more and more and often from Donald Trump supporters, are people who like the way he has shaken up the field, is that he projects strength, he projects decision, and he doesn't back down. He will not back down. He is the opposite of politically correct.
Let me ask you about this most recent poll though showing Ted Cruz doing well in Iowa. And maybe that could be motivating this new policy from Donald Trump. Republican choice for nominee in 2016 among Iowa Republicans: Cruz, 24 percent, Trump, 19 percent, Rubio, 17 percent, Carson, 13 percent, Bush, 6 percent.
In Iowa, Cruz is edging past Donald Trump, Zachary.
WOLF: That's right. Well, in that poll, CNN had a poll that came out a little bit later in the day that showed Trump well ahead. So, there's kind of a divide there in those two polls. The sample size for a technical reason was maybe a little suspect in that Monmouth poll. So, you know, we prefer the CNN poll that showed him still up.
You know, there's no doubt that Ted Cruz is on a surge in Iowa. That state with its religious grassroots is a lot more tailored to Ted Cruz who has religious backing as opposed to Donald Trump who, while he says, you know, while he is religious, has not made that the forefront of his campaign. So, I wouldn't say that he does less well in Iowa, but I think the jury is still out.
ROMANS: I want to look at our polling that shows which GOP candidate would handle ISIS best. It is a fear of ISIS that is real. I mean, when you look at the San Bernardino shootings last week, the mass killings last week, I mean, the American public is concerned about self radicalization and about radicalization inside American shores. Who would best handle ISIS among Iowa Republicans? Donald Trump far and away leads this one, Zachary.
WOLF: That's right. And he's got the most bravado when he talks about, he talks about, you know, bombing ISIS and doing all these other things.
You know, we are already doing some of those things. It is not clear what Trump says exactly what he would do differently than the current administration or other Republicans. But he says it with such force. Maybe that's what's resonating with people.
ROMANS: Maybe that's what's resonating with people. Zachary Wolf, thank you so much. We'll talk to you again very soon. Thanks for getting up so early for us this morning on a very big interesting news morning in the political arena. Thank you.
You know, Donald Trump will get a chance to explain his Muslim exclusion policy in the 7:00 hour of NEW DAY. He will be here to talk about that at 7:00 a.m. So, don't miss that.
New information on the shooters this morning in the California terror attack. What those who knew them are now saying, how long they had been radicalized, what was motivating them. We've got new details. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:13:32] ROMANS: Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
I want to bring you some new information this morning on the couple behind the San Bernardino massacre. The FBI is making progress step by step as it investigates the husband and wife killers, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik. Now, officials are telling us still unclear who radicalized whom.
But it was not a recent development. They had been following a radical strain of their religion for some time. There are new questions also this morning about the original buyer of
some of the guns they used. He's a former neighbor of the Farook family. He used to work on cars with the husband.
CNN's Ana Cabrera has the latest from San Bernardino.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, we are learning a lot more about the shooters in this massacre. We've learned that both had been radicalized and they had been for quite some time according to the FBI. They also tell us that both had been practicing target shooting at a local gun range and they had done so just days before the shooting.
Now, authorities have confiscated five guns, including two pistols and three rifles. Three of those guns we're told were purchased directly by Syed Rizwan Farook, but two of the assault rifles were purchased by another man now identified as Enrique Marquez. Investigators have interviewed him. He's not facing any charges at this time, but authorities say they still don't know how those guns ended up in the hands of the killers.
The FBI is calling this a massive investigation and they are trying to be extremely methodical as they work to get answers.
[05:15:04] We know they've collected 320 pieces of evidence, many of those sent to the FBI crime lab. They've also interviewed some 400 people, contacts of the killers, including Farook's parents who we know were interviewed individually for several hours.
Authorities here say they're also working with intelligence and their counterparts overseas, trying to track the couple's movements that any contacts they may have had there.
What's really slowed them, though, is trying to track the digital foot print. Of course, that could be crucial in this investigation. We know the couple destroyed their cell phones. The hard drive was missing from the computer. And the FBI insisting they're not going to leave any stone unturned -- Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Ana Cabrera for us -- thanks, Ana.
Some other details and developments on the California shooters. You might recall the couple left behind a 6-month-old daughter. They dropped the baby with a relative. We know the older sister of the husband is seeking to adopt this now orphaned baby girl. No long-term decisions were made at the custody hearing held Monday.
We are learning that Pakistani security forces have raided a home once occupied by the father of the female attacker, Tashfeen Malik. A security source tells us the troops broke the padlock of the door of the unoccupied home and removed some items there. Also, a school in Pakistan says Malik studied the Koran at its branch in the city of Multan but she left before completing her degree. She moved to the United States to get married.
The Department of Homeland Security plans to tweak its terrorism alert system. Under the current system, there are two threat levels, imminent and elevated. Now, the department plans to add a third level to cover less serious threats, in order to provide general advisories to the public when necessary. No word when that new level takes effect or when it will be called.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid filling in the president's pledge to destroy ISIS with new plans to introduce legislation that will create an ISIS czar. Reid says the plan would help unify the federal government's efforts in fighting ISIS. Democrats will also push for sanctions aimed at cutting off the terror group's ability to receive funding.
Time for an early start on your money this morning, 17 minutes past the hour.
And ugly morning for stocks around the world. Asian stocks closed much lower. European stocks, U.S. stock futures, they are down too. The problem here is pretty much a crash in the oil market. Oil prices plunged nearly 6 percent yesterday. That's a seven-year low. Look at that.
OPEC did not reduce output despite a huge supply glut. OPEC pumping oil. Plus, a slowdown in global demanded adding to the drag on oil. It is bad news for oil companies and great news for drivers. Gas could soon fall below $2 a gallon nationwide for the first time since 2007. The average is $2.03 compared to $2.67 a year ago.
One stock moving lower before the bell. Chipotle. Watch this one this morning -- Boston College said more than two dozen students, including members of the men's basketball team got sick after eating at Chipotle. This comes amid an E. coli outbreak linked to the chain. It has made people sick in at least nine states.
All right. Eighteen minutes past the hour.
Four and eight is great or good enough anyway. The Dallas Cowboys still alive in what's being called the NFL least after a wild finish Monday night. Andy Scholes has this morning's bleacher report, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:22:54] ROMANS: All right. The Cowboys and Redskins renewing their rivalry on Monday night football. Despite their records, both of these teams are still in the playoff hunt.
Andy Scholes has more in this morning's bleacher report.
Hey, Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning.
Yes, NFC East is such a bad division this year. No team has a winning record, it looks like 7-9 might actually win the division at this point. But nonetheless, the finish to last night's game was exciting.
Under a minute to go, Kirk Cousins to Jackson for the touchdown. Jackson (INAUDIBLE) being for fumbling the ball away just minutes earlier. That gave the Redskins the lead, but the Cowboys get a kick return and are able to get Dan Bailey in position for a 54-yard field goal. He nails it. Cowboys win, 19-16 and improve to 4-8, which is just one game out of first place in the NFC East.
All right. We now know the three finalists from the Heisman Trophy, Alabama running Derrick Henry, Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson will be making the trip to New York this weekend. Henry and McCaffrey are trying to end a five-year streak of quarterbacks winning the award. The winner of the Heisman will be announced Saturday night.
All right. LeBron James is going to be sporting Nike for life. King James inking a lifetime contract with Nike, which is believed to be the richest deal in the company's history. That means it is worth more than the ten-year $300 million contract Kevin Durant signed with Nike earlier this year. That means more versions of LeBron shoe than any other athlete than Michael Jordan.
All right. And finally this lucky lady had a chance to win $250,000 if she makes the half-court shot.
What do you think, Christine? Does she make it?
ROMANS: Yes, yes, she makes it. She makes it.
SCHOLES: Not only does she not make it, it may be the worst attempt in human history. Come on, $250,000 on the line. You've got to come up with a better plan than that.
ROMANS: There's a lot of people watching. I mean --
SCHOLES: Heave it. Throw it backwards. Do something. But not --
ROMANS: Let me tell you, Andy, I thought for sure you were going to give me an uplifting video of a woman who makes it and gets the money and it changes her life, and look.
[05:25:05] SCHOLES: Yes, sorry. Instead we have that.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: All right. Thanks for that, Andy.
SCHOLES: Have a good one.
ROMANS: Twenty-five minutes past the hour.
Donald Trump proposing to ban all Muslims from entering the U.S. a new religious test for entry into the United States. All the reaction from the campaign trail and around the world coming in this morning. We have that for you next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: New controversy in the already controversial race for president. Donald Trump proposing a ban on all Muslims entering the United States, a complete ban. New reaction from his presidential rivals and from around the world.
New information about the shooters on the California terror attack, when they were radicalized and how they got their guns.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. It is 30 minutes past the hour. John Berman has the morning off.
Let's start with this earthquake that has shaken the world of presidential politics, after Donald Trump calls for a religious test banning all Muslims, all Muslims from entering the United States.
