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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

What to Watch for Tonight's Republican Debate; Obama Visits Pentagon; Giants Keep Playoff Hopes Alive. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired December 15, 2015 - 05:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: 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.

[05:00:10] This is the Venetian Theater at the lovely Venetian Las Vegas. That is the stage, nine candidates will walk on the stage, empty right now. Tonight it will be full of drama.

Center stage will be Donald Trump. He's out in front of the national polls. Beside him, Ben Carson, a new next door neighbor for Donald Trump would be Ted Cruz. Also up there, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, Chris Christie, John Kasich and Rand Paul.

As we said, Donald Trump is out in front, way out in front I in some cases in national polls. The CNN poll of polls shows him at 33 percent. Ted Cruz down there in second place. Marco Rubio in third. In some polls, as I said, Trump holds an even bigger lead, including this from Monmouth University.

Trump at 41 percent, 27 points ahead of his closest rival. That would be Ted Cruz. This was just one of many things that Trump was bragging about at the raucous rally in Las Vegas.

CNN's Sara Murray inside that loud hall.

(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.

Joining me to help figure out what this all means, the managing editor of CNN Politics Digital, Zach Wolf, is here with me.

And, Zach, for those who had the temerity to go to sleep last night, they may have missed yet a new poll, a newer poll from ABC News and "The Washington Post". The national poll, it shows Donald Trump again way out in front. He's at 38 percent in the poll. I think Ted Cruz at second place at 15 percent. Ben Carson and Marco Rubio tied for third at 12 percent.

Now, "The Washington Post"/ABC News poll, along with the Monmouth poll, which shows Trump at 41 percent, they were both taken completely after Trump proposed banning all Muslims from entering the United States.

Trump has seen a bump. He has seen a bump in national polls since that statement which was widely seen as controversial.

ZACHARY WOLF, CNN POLITICS, MANAGING EDITOR: You could say more than a bump. If you go from 33 to 38 or 41, that is showing that people and the message is resonating with even more people. So, it is once again proven political laws do not apply to Donald Trump.

BERMAN: And it's interesting. In that "Washington Post" poll, we don't have a graphic, but about 60 percent of Republican primary voters say they approve of the Muslim ban. So, he is playing to the base. Nationally, when you deal with Democrats and Republicans, it is the opposite. I mean, 60 percent against the Muslim ban. Republican primary voters, the one who will nominate their president, they support it.

WOLF: That's right, he fires up the base. This is the story for him, in the fall and winter. He fires up the base and gets them going. With Hillary Clinton in the same poll, he does do as well.

BERMAN: All right. We are inside the lovely Venetian Theater. Behind us is the stage where it happens tonight in less than 13 hours. Donald Trump, we just heard him there in Sara Murray's say, it will not be an evening in paradise for him here. Who do you think will guarantee it won't be paradise? Who goes after Donald Trump the hardest?

WOLF: Well, I think Ted Cruz might have found Trump's kryptonite, which is not going after him, but giving him a hug. He seems to be doing things where he doesn't criticize Trump. Trump is starting to come after Cruz a little bit.

[05:05:02] You know, he will say something, but he'll mock him or he is not doing what other people have done in the past.

BERMAN: Look, Ted Cruz rising to second place nationally, rising to first place inside Iowa. We have the CNN poll of polls out of Iowa, the first voting state. Ted Cruz up by two points in the CNN poll of polls. Other polls show him up by more there.

You know, Ted Cruz has been running a lot time. He's in every debate. But tonight will be more focus on him as a candidate than he has had yet. In some ways, it will be the first best chance for Americans at large to see Ted Cruz.

WOLF: That's right. He is somebody who has not been doing nearly as well in the polls. He has surged largely because in Iowa and other places, his social conservative message is doing well. So, it will be the first time for people to really get a look at him.

Another personal look at, Chris Christie. He is not doing nearly as well in the New Hampshire polls, but he might be seeing some movement -- I mean, in the national polls. He may see movement in New Hampshire. He is someone who needs to make a big move.

BERMAN: Yes, we have a poll of polls out of New Hampshire, too, just to give people a sense of what the landscape looks like right there. Trump out in front. It's a good state for Donald Trump at 26 percent. Marco Rubio is in second place in New Hampshire at 12 percent. Carson, Cruz and Bush. Christie is at 7 percent in the poll of polls. Better than he's been. It shows in a way what a tough slog it's been for Chris Christie.

Back to Ted Cruz, we talked about the Cruz/Trump dynamic. But a more interesting dynamic on this in this might be Ted Cruz/Marco Rubio.

WOLF: That's right. And these are two guys that a lot of political watchers, you know, beyond Donald Trump see could ultimately make a play for the nomination, between Cruz and Rubio. They are both young. They are both Hispanic. They both have interesting followings.

So, Rubio has been sort of, you know, mired there at about 12 percent nationally. He hasn't been able to see a bump. And this is the first time we see Cruz ahead of him. Now, these guys have a very different views on a lot of stuff. I would call Rubio more of a moderate and Cruz is probably one of the more conservative guys in the race. So, they have different messages, but other than that, it will be interesting to see what they have to say to each other.

BERMAN: There is a split on immigration. Cruz is going to go after Marco Rubio for supporting what Ted Cruz calls amnesty, the gang of eight in the Senate. Marco Rubio was part of that. Marco Rubio will go after Ted Cruz particularly on national security, saying that Cruz voted to stop the NSA intelligence gathering. Of course, that is at the forefront right now given what happened in San Bernardino.

WOLF: That is right. That mindset has taken a real turn in this country with the terror attacks. You see somebody like Rand Paul who was big early on. He has fallen off. That was his signature issue. So, that's something that could really come back to hurt Cruz.

BERMAN: It will be interesting to see, particularly with Donald Trump out in front, a lot of people, including Donald Trump saying it won't be an evening in paradise. He's expecting some incoming. But in some ways, these candidates might be better served going after not Donald Trump, going after people in second or third. Marco Rubio may need to knock off Ted Cruz. Chris Christie might need to go after Marco Rubio. The side battles may be more important.

WOLF: That's right. One person who you have not mentioned, he was the frontrunner earlier on, Jeb Bush. You know, is he finally going to come out and do the sort of presidential Bush level performance everybody has been waiting to see? I don't know.

BERMAN: Look, we have said that going into every debate, tht Jeb Bush needs to do more? Will this be the night that we see "X" from Jeb Bush? I'm not sure that that X-factor, or he needs to prove that it exists for him.

WOLF: Right, right. He needs to show everybody it's there. I think probably Chris Christie is the person to look at to really come out and have a moment here on the main stage against all these people. Then, you know, as you said with Cruz and Rubio, Rubio has done really well in these debate like settings. You know, it's a question of how he carries it further.

BERMAN: This is the last debate of 2015, the last debate before the Christmas holidays. How important is it to get yourself in the news in the next two weeks?

WOLF: Well, there are a lot of people will go home and have family conversations over the holidays. So, you want a good head of steam, I guess. BERMAN: Yes. Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Chris Christie and Donald Trump,

they all want to be in the stockings I think of Iowa and New Hampshire voters heading out of this debate.

Zach Wolf, always great to see you. Thank you so much for being here.

The action begins here at 6:00 p.m. Eastern. That is the undercard inside the Venetian Theater, 12 hours, 50 minutes and 40 seconds, 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time, that is when coverage of the main stage debate begins.

Wolf Blitzer will be the moderator. Dana Bash is asking questions. Hugh Hewitt asking questions.

It will be a big important event -- Christine Romans.

ROMANS: It will, John Berman. I wonder, there are so many choices for Republican voters. They look at the crowded debate stage still, these names, you know, many people on the stage with an awful lot of experience. Is there a point where that field starts to get smaller?

[05:10:03] When is that?

BERMAN: That's a great question. There's been a lot of speculation over the last several days that maybe some party leaders, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, will start having conversations with some of the candidates who aren't making a dent, saying you know what -- you know, maybe it is time for you to get out. There's no one singular force in the party. There is no one singular intervening factor aside perhaps than maybe money that should force anyone from this race.

I mean, Jeb Bush might be the obvious choice at this point because he can't really seem to improve things, but he's got a lot of money in the bank. So, he's not going to run out of money before Iowa or New Hampshire. So, there is nothing to force him out.

But there is emerging two groups of people. You have the four frontrunners with Trump, Cruz, Rubio and Ben Carson, and everyone else is way back in single digits, and unless they can vault up to that first group, it could be problems for them in the next few weeks.

ROMANS: True, Jeb Bush does have the money, though. And he has said he's going to do -- it is a long game and he will stick it out.

It's so fascinating for Republican voters with so many interesting choices this time around. And you're right. The rule book is out. There is no rule book. No guide book this time around. So interesting.

Thanks, John. We'll talk to you again in just a minute.

You know, President Obama trying to reassure Americans the battle against ISIS. What he says is working and what he says still needs to be done. I got that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROMANS: President Obama is calling on the American allies in the Middle East to do more in the war against ISIS.

[05:15:02] White House insiders say the president is growing increasingly frustrated with countries like Saudi Arabia. He wants the Saudis to help him form an Arab coalition of ground forces to fight the terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

We get more from CNN's Jim Acosta.

(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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Jim Acosta at the White House -- thank you, Jim.

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 30-year-old Mohamed Elshinawy, received at least $8,700 from several militant overseas backers. He was arrested Friday after a five-month FBI operation. Now, agents say they uncovered no specific plans for an attack by the suspect, but they consider the 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. When she was reviewed for her visa to come to the United States, no one asked about her political leanings.

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 prisoner swap for five Taliban inmates being held at Guantanamo. Bergdahl's attorneys claim their client was suffering from a mental defect when he walked away from his outpost.

Time for an early start on your money. Asian stocks fell overnight. European and U.S. stocks higher.

Three big stories in the markets today. The big show, later this morning, Janet Yellen and Fed officials sit down for a two-day meeting widely expected to finish with an extra rate hike, the first in the decade. In credit markets, a debate rages whether a crisis in junk bond may spread to the overall credit market.

The third big story, a short lived oil rebound overnight. It gave stocks a boost in Europe. Oil, as you know in the bear market, close to levels not seen since the financial crisis.

What is causing the oil drop? Well, there's a boom in supplies, weak demand globally and recently, concerns in the Iranian oil production as soon as next month when sanctions are lifted. Oil's plunge hurts oil companies. It destabilizes oil producing countries.

But it's great for drivers. Drivers paying $2.01 a gallon right now, the lowest average since 2009.

Monday night football, the New York Giants fighting for their playoff lives against the Miami Dolphins and when they needed a big play, the giants turn to Odell Beckham.

Coy Wire has the highlights in the bleacher report. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:22:41] ROMANS: All right. Despite having the losing record, the New York Giants are now tied for first place in their division. Coy Wire has more on the Monday night madness in today's bleacher report.

Hey, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.

Boy oh boy, the NFC East. Now, both the Giants and the Dolphins had this 5 wins to go with 7 losses coming into the game. So, playoff hopes were on the line. And this was pretty much a must-win for both sides. But the G-men would not be denied victory. Eli Manning would only

throw four incompletions into the Monday night. This guy was on fire. So was Odell Beckham Jr. He slipped past the secondary, score tied in the final quarter, 84 yards for the score.

He snagged two of Manning's four touchdown passes on the night. He kicks open the playoff door for the Giants who win 34-24. They are just 6-7, but tied with Washington and Philly for the division lead. The Dolphins, however, they are now mathematically eliminated from the playoff scenario. That is a record for the franchise, seven straight years not making it

Now, after Sacramento Kings star Rajon Rondo shouted some vicious homophobic slurs at 18-year NBA referee Bill Kennedy at a game earlier this month, Kennedy has revealed he's gay. The 49-year-old told Yahoo Sports, quote, "I am following in the footsteps of others who have self identified, in the hope that it will send a message to young men and women in sports, that you must not allow anyone to make you feel ashamed of who you are", end quote.

Now, Rondo sat out becoming the first to be suspended for voicing anti-gay slurs.

Finally, Pete Rose's bid to have his lifetime ban from baseball overturn was denied by Commissioner Rob Manfred. He said letting Rose back into the game would be a risk to the sports integrity because Rose admitted he still bets on baseball. Rose, the all-time hits leader, was banned in 1989 for gambling on games while playing for and managing the Cincinnati Reds. He's expected to address the media today at 2:00 Eastern.

Interesting note, the decision has no impact on Rose's eligibility for the baseball Hall of Fame, which is not run by the MLB -- Christine.

ROMANS: Let me tell you, Coy, I'm actually surprised when you are doing the story about the ref. I was really surprised. The guy only had to sit out one game for yelling gay slurs and insults, only one game

WIRE: I don't think that's the end we'll hear this, Christine.

[05:25:01] It's s a great point. Many people think it should have been more. And maybe moving forward, maybe similar actions will bring more game suspensions.

ROMANS: Well, you've got little kids playing sports, there is zero tolerance for that kind of behavior. You know, the big guys, big guys should be really held accountable, too.

All right. Thanks so much, Coy Wire. Nice to see you.

WIRE: You're welcome, Christine.

ROMANS: In just hours, Republicans take the CNN debate stage. New polls shaking up the race. We'll tell you who is gaining traction and who is falling fast. That's next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: In just hours, Republicans running for president take the CNN debate stage, 12 and a half hours from now. It is the last final, critical debate of the year. It's just weeks before early state voting begins. Who will come out swinging tonight?

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

ROMANS: I'm John Berman live in Las Vegas, inside the Venetian Theater, site of tonight's Republican debate. It's about 30 minutes past the hour right now.

And tonight is the night. Behind me is the stage. It is quiet right now. Yes, completely empty. But tonight, some 1,400 people will be in this hall. But more importantly, there will be nine candidates on that stage, the last debate of 2015. The first debate since the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino. And national security will be the focus inside this room.

Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, Chris Christie, John Kasich and Rand Paul.