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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

CNN Republican Debate Tonight; Kerry in Moscow to Meet with Putin; Obama Visits Pentagon. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired December 15, 2015 - 04:30   ET

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

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[04:30:47] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: In just 13 hours, nine Republicans who want to be president take the CNN debate stage. It is the critical final debate of the year, just weeks before early state voting begins. Who will come out swinging? Who needs to emerge tonight?

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. I'm in New York.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Berman, inside the Venetian in Las Vegas, Nevada, site of tonight's CNN Republican debate. About 30 minutes past the hour right now.

And tonight is the night. This is the room. The Venetian Theater at the lovely Venetian Las Vegas. You can get a look at the stage behind me right now. It is empty in the wee hours in the morning inside this casino resort.

But tonight, in 13 hours and 28 minutes and some 33 seconds, it will be full of drama. Nine candidates take the main stage. Donald Trump will be there. On one side, Ben Carson, on the other side, Ted Cruz, surging in some polls. Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, Chris Christie, John Kasich and Rand Paul, they round out the stage.

Donald Trump is out in front, way out in front in national polling. The new CNN poll of polls which covers the last several weeks shows at 33 percent, Ted Cruz in second, Marco Rubio in third. You can see the margins there. Quite large, some polls have it even larger, including this one from Monmouth University which shows Trump at 41 percent. I think 27 points ahead of Ted Cruz.

That was just one of many things that Trump was bragging about in a raucous rally here in Las Vegas overnight. CNN's Sara Murray inside the loud hall -- Sara.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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

Just hours before the CNN debate, campaigning here in Las Vegas, Nevada, last night, Donald Trump approached Ted Cruz with kid gloves. But he could not help but mention a Monmouth University poll has him ahead, hitting 41 percent to Ted Cruz's 14 percent.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I heard today when they announced the poll, 41 to 14. And I like Cruz, good guy, but I heard, here is how they announced. Cruz surging.

(BOOS)

So what I heard is, this was on television, Cruz surging. I said, oh, I don't know, that sounds bad to me. Coming up, Cruz surging.

Then they say the Monmouth poll was just done. Cruz is surging, Trump 41. Cruz, 14. I said, wait a minute, what's going on?

MURRAY: Now, even though there have been sharper elbows between Trump and Cruz, lately, Trump brought none of that last night, even calling Cruz a good guy. We will have to see if that carries over to the debate stage tonight, though. Donald Trump was not sticking his head in the sand. He said he fully expects his competitors to come after him.

TRUMP: So, we are watching television before and we're hearing all these announcers saying, well, who's going to take on Trump tonight. Who will hit him hard? I would say, bring them on, who cares?

But I would say it won't be an easy -- this will not be like an evening in paradise for me. Do we agree?

MURRAY: After a speech that went on for nearly an hour and interrupted by protests in which Trump tried to cast himself as the toughest on national security. That's how he left it, with a crowd of cheering fans waiting to see him on the debate stage tonight.

Back to you, John.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right. Our thanks to Sara Murray for that.

You heard Donald Trump talking about it. He knows his newest foe, his newest rival in this race probably Ted Cruz, his newest next door neighbor in fact on the debate stage. The Texas senator surging in polls, even jumping out in front in some Iowa polls. You can see CNN's poll of polls in Iowa with Ted Cruz with a two point advantage there.

New Hampshire is a little bit of different story. In the poll of polls there, Donald Trump is out in front. But it is Marco Rubio in second place in New Hampshire.

Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, they have their own problems, namely each other. They are two young senators, two sons of Cuban immigrants. Will they get in their boxing match while Donald Trump stands back to watch?

[04:35:04] CNN's Jeff Zeleny outside the Venetian with more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: John, of all the things to watch the debate tonight, one of them is Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. The two freshmen senators going head-to-head on a variety votes on substantive matters. For all of the bluster in this campaign, we are going to hear a reassessment of the voting record of both of these candidates.

Senator Rubio was trying to take on Senator Cruz, saying he's not tough enough on national security. He's not tough enough on surveillance programs. He'll be calling his votes into question.

Now, at the same time, Senator Cruz is going to be challenging Marco Rubio on his immigration votes. But it is these two Republican senators, one from Texas, one from Florida, that really are the future of the party.

[04:05:02] And that's what Marco Rubio talked about last night here in Las Vegas.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is our turn. The time for us to act is now from what we have before us is the opportunity to be the authors of the most extraordinary chapter in the most amazing story of America.

ZELENY: And that bit of biography is something Marco Rubio offers again and again. He calls himself the next generation of Republican leaders. He believes he is the person that usher in a new era for this party.

But Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are about the same age, in their early 40s. Donald Trump is some 25 years older than them. He, of course, will say they are not experienced enough to be president. But if Republicans are looking for a way forward, a new generation, a new path, Marco Rubio says he is that type of candidate.

So, for all of the dynamics to watch on stage tonight, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are certainly among the top -- John.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Trump, Cruz, Rubio, just some of the story lines to follow here on the debate stage. But there are so many more. Chris Christie, he has seen a bump in some New Hampshire polls, enough to put him back on the main stage after a detour at the undercard debate.

Christie picked up an endorsement in New Hampshire. He earned the backing of the former head of the state VFW. Jeb Bush who has slipped a lot in most national polling, he was in Las Vegas early. He had a new attack on Donald Trump. He sat down with the editorial board of the general review newspaper.

Bush said that Trump exploits voters' disgust with Washington for his own political advantage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He is not a serious person. He is a masterful politician. He, as I described it, he uses dog whistle language to divide the country. I cannot imagine Donald Trump becoming president because he would never win. He would never win. Hillary Clinton would clean him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right. What about Carly Fiorina? She had some strong debate performances early on. But she, too, has slipped in polling. She has a couple of events here in Nevada around this debate. Then she heads to another swing through Iowa this weekend. That will make the eighth week in a row she has campaigned in Iowa. She is currently about 2 percent at the polling there.

All right, the action is tonight. I'm looking at the screen, 13 hours, 22 minutes and 4 seconds inside the Venetian Theater. The undercard debate, 6:00 p.m. with those four candidates. The main stage action at 8:30 Eastern Time. It is only here on CNN.

As we said, this is the final Republican debate of 2015. That's the Republican side. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton is going after her Republican rivals, mainly for positions on immigration. The Democratic front runner called out Marco Rubio in a speech to the national immigration conference, describing his use in her words as extreme and out of step with most Americans. She also blasted Donald Trump without really even mentioning his name.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They promised if elected to round up and deport millions of people, build a mammoth wall, militarized the border, tear families apart. And after the terrorist shootings in San Bernardino and at a time when a lot of Americans are fearful about future attacks here at home, some candidates are even stoking those fears more and turning people against Muslim-Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Clinton says she favors a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. She is calling for expanded health care access regardless, she says, of their legal status.

And, Christine Romans, this is the last Republican debate of 2015. Traditionally, what happens is over Christmas and New Year's, candidates, they pull back a little bit. Things settle in to place. If that plays out the way it has in the past, that makes this debate even more important. These candidates, they want to get their message out one last time before people, you know, open up presents.

ROMANS: I'll tell you, though, John, the folks in Iowa are not expecting any kind of vacation from the bombardment they have had over the past six months.

[04:40:02] They are expecting to continue to have these candidates on the ground all through the holidays because it is so important. Let me say a couple of words here. Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Rick

Santorum, there are other names that have emerged at this stage of the calendar before only to fade. What is the risk of peaking too early? Some of these candidates just want to peak. They want to peak against Donald Trump.

But also at this stage of the game, it's very unpredictable, isn't it?

BERMAN: Look, it is. I think a lot of people have looked at the past and said, you know, Rudy Giuliani was out in front in 2007 at this time. In 2008, he disappeared.

This campaign feels different, I mean, all together. Everything about this race so far is different. It is hard to compare a little bit to the past.

But you have seen Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz in particular be patient. They have been waiting. They have wanted to make sure that as it gets to actual voting in Iowa and New Hampshire, that is when they go out in front.

So, you could make the case that Ted Cruz is peaking early than he would have thought ideally. But you know what? You take what you can get when you can get it. He has strong grassroots support in Iowa.

And most people I talked to in Iowa think he has the organizational power to maintain his position there all the way to February 1st.

ROMANS: I'll tell you, you get out of the airport in Des Moines and take a left on Floeur Drive, all you see are billboards for Carson country. And he has really moved downward in the polls. So, just showing you how fascinating this timing is and how important it is even for Ben Carson tonight.

John, we'll check in with you in just a minute. You know, polls show -- Republicans are anxious about the economy, too. So, who would manage it better? The billionaire brand master Donald Trump or his emerging challenger Ted Cruz?

Well, here is the score from the Tax Foundation think tank which favors low taxes. On job creation, Trump has the edge. The Tax Foundation sees 5.3 million jobs over the next decade. Cruz is not far behind with an estimated 4.9 million added.

But Cruz wins according to the Tax Foundation on taxes. Cruz has the simplest plan in the GOP field. He would scrap the seven income tax brackets and establish 10 percent rate for everyone. He would kill the corporate and switch to a 16 percent value added tax, which is a fee on sales and wages.

Trump on the other hand would move to three tax brackets, and reduce the corporate to 15 percent. Tax Foundation says Cruz's plan is one of the best for boosting growth, it doesn't add to the deficit as much as Trump's.

Forty-two minutes past the hour. President Obama trying to reassure Americans in the battle against ISIS what he says is working and what he still needs to be done, next.

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ROMANS: President Obama is calling on America's allies in the Middle East to do more in the war against ISIS. White House insiders say the president is growing increasingly frustrated with countries like Saudi Arabia. He wants the Saudis to help form an Arab coalition to fight the terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

We get more this morning from CNN's White House correspondent Jim Acosta -- Jim.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, with the public growing action about his plan to destroy ISIS, President Obama stopped by the Pentagon where he offered up a commander in chief image with some wartime rhetoric to match. The president met with nearly every member of his national security team for a deep dive into the military campaign to defeat ISIS.

So far, Mr. Obama said the U.S.-led coalition delivered 9,000 airstrikes against ISIS, targeting its oil infrastructure and forcing the terror army to give up 40 percent of its territory. While the president acknowledged progress is not coming fast enough, he did sharpen his message on ISIS, warning leaders of the group they will be destroyed.

Here's what he had to say.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are hitting ISIL harder than ever. The point is ISIL leaders cannot hide and our next message to them is simple -- you are next.

ACOSTA: Another part of the White House approach is tolerance, something senior advisors preached on the conference call with Muslim and other religious leaders, in response in part to Donald Trump who has blasted the president for not condemning radical Islamic extremists. The president will stay on that theme of tolerance when he attends a ceremony to naturalized new U.S. citizens here in Washington later today and he will return to that sales pitch on ISIS later in the week when he visits the nation's counterterrorism center on Thursday -- John and Christine.

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ROMANS: All right, Jim. Thanks for that.

A Maryland man arrested by the FBI for allegedly taking thousands of dollars from ISIS operatives overseas to fund a terror attack here in the U.S. Authorities say this man, Mohamed Elshinawy, received at least $8,700 from several militant overseas backers. He was arrested Friday after a five-month operation. Agents uncovered no specific plans for an attack by the suspect. But they consider this case significant because of his terror contacts. New details about critical clues missed by law enforcement in the case of San Bernardino shooter Tashfeen Malik. Authorities say Malik sent at least two private Facebook messages to friends in Pakistan in 2012 and 2014 expressing support for Islamic jihad. She told them she hoped to join the fight as a jihadist. On the day of the San Bernardino massacre, Malik and her husband declared their allegiance to ISIS on Facebook.

Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl will face a court martial. He is charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, could be sentenced to life in prison. Bergdahl spent five years in captivity until the Obama brought him home in this controversial prison swap for five Taliban inmates who are being held at Guantanamo. Now, Bergdahl's attorneys claim their client was suffering from a mental defect when he walked away from his outpost.

Bill Cosby striking back against the women who accused him of sexual assault. The comedian counter-suing seven women who sued him for defamation, claiming they defamed him. He is seeking unspecified damages. The actor said his reputation is marred so badly, the accusations cost him a deal with NBC. More than 40 women have accused Cosby of sexually assaulting them over four decades.

All right. A return to seasonal, that means cold temperatures. What that could mean for your week ahead from meteorologist Pedram Javaheri -- Pedram.

[04:50:02] PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Christine, I think we are all ready for the cold air to come in, at least some people are ready for the cold air to come in, as the wintry weather is upon us, at least for a couple of days. The cold air aspect of it dives right in from Friday into Saturday, pretty expansive area of cold air, more seasonal this time of year. That's going to be short lived. Beyond that, we warm right back up by early next week, into a period of Christmas Eve timeframe.

But take a look at New York City, from the 60s, drop into the low 50s, gets to about 44 degrees, which is right in line with what you should be this time of year, a gradual warming trend toward next week, but easily pick up the 20s and 30s behind this line. Chicago yesterday was 61. Today, 44.

Still sitting at 64 degrees this morning, that is already 21 degrees warmer than what is normally a high temperature for this time of year is what we are sitting on before sunrise in New York City. By the afternoon hours, temperatures drop a bit. I know this says high temperature.

That's happening right now. It's one of the days where the front comes in later in the day and temperatures go downhill. We are looking at 60s. And again, the cooling trend continues into the weekend, Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Thanks for that, Pedram Javaheri.

If you've got a hoverboard on your shopping list, listen up. The danger associated with this year's must-have hot item. That's next.

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[04:55:00] ROMANS: Secretary of State John Kerry in Moscow this morning. He's trying to reach a plan to end the civil war in Syria. Kerry sitting down with his counterpart Sergei Lavrov earlier this morning. There's the handshake. He meets with President Putin in about five hours.

Now, the situation in Syria not the only item on Kerry's agenda. Russia's military incursion in Ukraine also a topic of conversation. It's also on the table this morning.

I want to go live to Moscow and bring in Jill Dougherty of the International Center for Defense and Security.

Jill, you know, the handshake shows the two parties are talking. There is so much work to do. Where is there common ground here between the United States and Russia on the Syria issue?

JILL DOUGHERTY, INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR DEFENSE AND SECURITY: Well, I think you have to say the common ground is to have some type of political transition in Syria and end that war by putting the transition together, having the Syrians write a new constitution. Eventually have elections.

I mean, it all seems very much in the future because, right now, the country is deeply at war. But that's the task.

So, Secretary Kerry has been meeting with Minister Lavrov and then this afternoon, the very important meeting with President Putin, sitting down eye to eye talking about President Putin's vision of where they should go. As you said, there are numerous issues.

I would point out one, what about the opposition? The opposition have been fighting the Assad regime. Now somebody will have to sit down and work on some type of transition. So, who will they be?

Russia is very critical of the opposition for a long time. Now they are saying their airstrikes are helping the free Syrian army, which is one of the main groups. You have a lot of flux right now. I would say that's one of the key issues. Who sits at the table?

ROMANS: Who sits at the table and whether Bashar al Assad has a place anywhere at the table in the future. That is a sticking point between the U.S. and Russia.

DOUGHERTY: Absolutely. The Russians are very adamant. There is a lot of criticism that you see from the Russian government, which kind of fleshes out the anger that you get here in Moscow. And they think, essentially the United States want regime change, that the U.S. is not interested in any type of democratic process. This is all coming from Russian media.

But behind the scenes, I think it really is true that Sergei Lavrov and John Kerry know each other very well. They will try to figure out some of the details, but the decider is President Putin.

All right. Jill Dougherty for us in Moscow this morning, thank you for that, Jill. Keep us posted as those meetings go on.

Let's get an early start on your money. Three big stories in markets. The big show, there she is, Janet Yellen, later this morning, and Fed officials sit down for a meeting widely expected to finish with an interest rate hike, the first in the decade.

In credit markets, there's this raging debate about whether a crisis in junk bonds will spread. And the third big story, oil is in a bear market. What is causing the drop? A supply boom, weak demand, and most recently, concerns about this coming surge in Iranian oil production once sanctions are lifted.

Rising interest rates won't stop home buyers. According to a new survey from Zillow, 70 percent of those looking to buy a home would not change their plans if mortgage rates rise to 4.5 percent. About half would, however, look for a smaller home or a less expensive option. Zillow finds in several markets the increase would be about 25 bucks or less. Next year is expected to be a pretty good year for home buyers, with rates still low, rising but still low, more inventory on the market next year, more new homes on the market as well.

Are hoverboards on your Christmas list? Good luck finding one on Amazon. The online retailer stopped selling most hoverboard models after reports they were catching on fire. Amazon wants sellers to improve their hoverboards are up to safety standards. Meanwhile, the government is investigating 11 reports of fires in 10 states. If you are brave enough to still buy one, eBay, Walmart still sell certain models of hoverboards.

EARLY START continues right now.

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ROMANS: All right. In just hours, Republicans running for president face-off on the CNN debate stage, just 13 hours exactly. Will Donald Trump be able to hold on to his frontrunner status or will those climbing in the polls behind him, will they get their breakthrough moments finally?

Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. I'm here in the studios in New York.

BERMAN: And I'm John Berman live in Las Vegas inside the Venetian Theater. The site of tonight's CNN Republican debate. It is Tuesday, December 15th. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East.

And as you can see, we are ten seconds away from cracking that crucial psychological barrier. Thirteen hours until the debates all begin here tonight at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time.