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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

New Hampshire Primary Voting Begins; Obama Asks for $1.8B to Fight Zika Virus Spread; U.N.: Syria "Exterminating" Its Citizens. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired February 09, 2016 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:13] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now: Voters in New Hampshire have begun casting ballots in the first in the nation primary. Candidates campaigning hard across the state, making their last minute and last second pitches to voters there. We are live in New Hampshire.

Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Berman live in Manchester, New Hampshire, this morning. It is Tuesday, February 9th. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East.

It is here. In fact, it has started. While you were sleeping, they voted in three tiny towns of the northern end of the state. Dixville Notch, they were a total of nine voters. On the Republican side, John Kasich prevailed over Donald Trump, 3-2. Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton, 4-zip. A total of nine votes cast so far in the New Hampshire primary. The rest of the polling places opening in a couple of hours across the state.

As for things right now, Donald Trump maintains his lead in the CNN/WMUR poll. You will remember that he led in the Iowa caucuses, the Iowa caucuses before ended up losing to Ted Cruz there.

Cruz was a target at a Trump rally last night. Trump was criticizing Cruz for being unwilling to waterboard terrorists when a woman shouted a vulgar term for wimp. Trump repeated it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She said a terrible thing. You know what she said?

Shout it out because I don't want to --

(EXPLETIVE DELETED)

TRUMP: OK. You're not allowed to say and I never expect to hear that from you again. She said -- I never expect to hear that from you again. She said he's (EXPLETIVE DELETED). That's terrible. Terrible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: You may not be able to tell what he said there. Go online if you want to. But it was a vulgar term.

Trump has also been ridiculing his other rivals. CNN's Jim Acosta has more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, along with the snow here in New Hampshire, there's been a blizzard of insults and put-downs between Donald Trump and Jeb Bush. At one point, Trump referred to Bush as a child and Bush called Trump a liar and a whiner.

But the Trump campaign is confident about what we're going to see later on this evening. The Trump campaign told me they see a big difference between Iowa and New Hampshire. Inside that campaign, they believe Iowa was more about explaining the confusing caucus process to Iowans, whereas New Hampshire's pure getting out the vote. That's why you saw the big splashy rally in Manchester where Donald Trump actually went after Marco Rubio and his performance at the weekend debate.

Here's what he had to say.

TRUMP: I'm standing at the debate. I'm watching Marco sweating like a dog on my right. Honestly, Marco was having a hard time. And he's a nice guy. He's a nice guy.

I mean, again and again and again, after three times, you know, I have a very good memory. After three times, I said he said that about three minutes ago. Then I said, wait, wait, wait. He said that two minutes ago. After the fifth time, I said what the hell's going on over here?

ACOSTA: And Trump's closing argument is essentially what it has been all along. He is hitting the lines the audience sees every time. He is vowing to build that wall along the Mexican border, escalate the war on ISIS, and scrap Obamacare and the Iran nuclear deal -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right. Our thanks to Jim Acosta for that.

So, Marco Rubio tried to explain his repetitive, some might say robotic debate moment. He was speaking to FOX News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEGYN KELLY, FOX NEWS: Is there a system by which you memorize answers? I mean, is that how you do it?

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, I know what I believe. KELLY: Or is it repeated over and over so much on the campaign trail it becomes robotic (ph)?

RUBIO: It could be part of that. I mean, obviously when you said something because you are answering the same questions over and over again from people over time. But in the end, it's what I believe.

People want to brag their experience, you've got to look at the report and the results they got. Chris is a governor with a state downgraded nine times in seven years. That is part of his record. You have to answer for.

But in the end, my campaign has never been beating up on the other Republicans, because in the end, we've got to bring this party together.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When you repeat something over and over again, that is a canned phrase and it validates a belief that you're not ready to be president. This started remember when he himself struggle about his accomplishments have been.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's got a lot of talent, not a lot of experience. You need to have both if you are going to be an effective president. I think that showed on Saturday night on the stage.

SEN .TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Listen, Marco had a tough night. There's no doubt about that. But I think every voter is assessing each of the candidates and not just in any one debate, throughout the course of the entire campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: It is always nice when every one of your opponents goes out of his way to say you had a tough night in the debate.

[04:05:02] On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders is way out in front in the latest CNN poll, 61 percent. Hillary Clinton is at 35 percent. Sanders himself is confidently predicting a very, very good night.

As for the Clinton campaign, it has a new problem -- trying to explain away a political report that Hillary and Bill Clinton are upset with the quality of the campaign operation and says they are planning changes. Insiders say Bill Clinton is complaining of the campaign's lack of imagination and that the campaign is playing it too safe. Hillary Clinton denied the report saying, quote, "We're going to take stock, but I'm very confident in the people I have."

CNN's Joe Johns with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, Hillary Clinton's closing argument came here in a high school auditorium in Hudson, New Hampshire. She is down in the polls, but she was surrounded by a large crowd. Also in attendance, former President Bill Clinton and her daughter,

Chelsea Clinton. Bill Clinton has said he is concerned the campaign has lacked imagination so far. But, tonight, Hillary Clinton called on the people in the audience to imagine the world her campaign is all about.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I really want you to imagine with me, imagine what we can do together. Imagine an economy that does work for everybody again.

Imagine we finally get to universal health care coverage so that every single man, woman and child has access to the quality health care that he or she needs. This is a huge, huge issue. To me, personally, it's also one of the contrasts between me and Senator Sanders.

JOHNS: One question is about how weather could affect turnout. There was a heavy snowfall on Monday. It was expected to end on Tuesday. Still there could be messy roads. That could be a factor -- even in a state where the voters take the responsibility in the first in the nation primary very seriously -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right. Joe Johns, our thanks to you.

Let's talk about the state of play this morning with nine votes already cast in the New Hampshire primary.

Joining us is Kayleigh McEnany, editor in chief of the conservative website, "Political Prospect", and a Donald Trump supporter.

Kayleigh, thanks for being with us.

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, POLITICAL PROSPECT: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: I want to talk about the Democratic race and I want you to put on your political analyst hat, not Republican Trump supporter hat right now.

I want to talk about the political report of a campaign shakeup for Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton trying to explain it away. Listen to what she told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: I have no idea what they are talking about or who they are talking to. We're going to take stock. But it's going to be the campaign that I've got. I'm very confident in the people that I have. I'm very committed to them. They're committed to doing the best we can. We're going to take stock, what works, what doesn't work. We're moving into a different phase of the campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: What does it is about the campaign that they are answering questions about the campaign staffers the day before an important primary?

MCENANY: That they are in crisis mode, and if not crisis mode, worry mode. You'll recall this with Ben Carson. When campaign staffers start to talk, that means that there is internal dissent within the campaign. People are worrying and they start leaking things.

You know, I think it was David Axelrod who tweeted out last night, you know, maybe their problems are at the top. When you have multiple campaign staff with the same problems, and we saw the same problems in 2008 when Hillary underestimated the strength of Barack Obama, it makes you ask, are the problems at top rather than underneath?

BERMAN: That said, there is a long history of campaign shakeups, even for successful campaigns.

MCENANY: Sure.

BERMAN: Ronald Reagan fired his campaign manager. John Kerry shook things up before he ended up getting the nomination. John McCain had a purge too.

I mean, you can right the ship even if you have problems in the organization, yes?

MCENANY: There is no doubt about it. And, look, Hillary is still a strong candidate. You look at the South, that's her fire wall. She does exceedingly well among African-American voters.

You know, people start to worry when there is a minor stumble in the campaign. And we certainly see a minor stumble here. But she's got a long of strength going forward. Bernie's campaign really needs to worry about what's ahead.

BERMAN: She does. But not the story you want on primary day for the Clinton campaign.

Let's talk about the Republican side of the race right now. We are listening to Marco Rubio explain away his reputation. We saw his opponents pouncing on him. Yet, yesterday, again at the event, there was another sort of robotic moment. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIO: We are taking our message to families that are struggling to raise their children in the 21st century because as you saw, Jeannette and I are raising our four children in the 21st century. And we know how hard it's become to in instill our values in our kids, instead of the values they tried to ram down our throats. In the 21st century, it's become harder than ever to instill in your children the values they teach in our homes and at our church, instead of the values that they try to ram down our throats in movies, in music, and popular culture.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:10:00] BERMAN: So, you saw it again. The ram down our throats thing, part of the same event, part of the same very moment right there.

Look, you do repeat yourself on the trail as part of your getting your message out. The problem for Marco Rubio is that everyone is talking about it.

MCENANY: Absolutely. And you know, you watch that debate and you got to ask yourself, was it the right strategy to come out of that and have Marco Rubio say this was an intentional, concerted strategy? I mean, it's very evident I think when you watch that debate. That wasn't a strategy. It just was a mistake.

Sometimes, it's better to come out and say, hey, it wasn't my strongest, but look at all my other performances. I've won several of the debates, or came in second. I think Donald Trump won most of them. You know, sometimes it is best to say, I stumbled and move on, rather than say this is what I intended to do.

BERMAN: But he, too, has plenty of time to recover. Look, you know, by the end of today, who knows where he'll finish? If he finishes second or third, he's going to laugh this off and go after the media like there's no tomorrow.

MCENANY: John, you're absolutely right because when we're in the media world, it is easy to think one bad debate and you're over. But this is a broad narrative. Marco Rubio has been a strong candidate. Voters love him.

This is just a little stumble. He's got a long way to go before he's out.

BERMAN: All right. The Republican frontrunner continues to be Donald Trump. He is going into today's primary with the big lead in the polls and he's going to the primary swinging at all of his opponents. He seems to relish going after Jeb Bush more than anyone.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He's a desperate person. He's a sad and, you know, he's pathetic person. He doesn't use his last name in his ads.

He is a sad person who has gone absolutely crazy. He is a nervous wreck. Jeb is having some kind of a breakdown.

You know, look, he is an embarrassment to his family. He has to bring his mother out and walk his mother around at 90 years old. I think it's a very sad situation that's taking place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, what is the expectation bar for Donald Trump? He is leading in the polls by a lot. He was leading in the Iowa polls too before the election day there, which he ended up losing.

How much does he need to win by here? MCENANY: I think he wants to win by double digits. That would be great. You look back in 2012 and Mitt Romney was constantly polling in the 20s. He won by 18.

So, if Donald Trump could pull off even an 8-point lead, so something three to four points under where he is now, I think that's a huge victory. But as you heard Donald say yesterday, if he wins by one voter, that's a victory. He's learned the game of expectations and he's learned, don't heighten them, lower them.

BERMAN: If he is close to 5 percent or less, you might it would be a bit disappointing.

MCENANY: It would be a bit disappointing, I think so. Yes.

BERMAN: All right. Kayleigh McEnany, great to have you here with us this morning. Thanks for getting up.

Christine Romans, back to you in New York. You know, it's always fun to wake up in New Hampshire on primary and see Dixville Notch already voted. I covered a lot of campaigns.

You know, I remember the Bush campaign actually deployed resources. They had George W. Bush calling the voters in Dixville Notch, because you don't want to take anything for granted. It's not that you need every vote, although every vote counts, is that you don't want the morning shows here in New Hampshire blasting Bush the big loser in Dixville Notch when people are heading out to the polls across the state.

ROMANS: I think it's fair to say it's still wide open and we got weather heading up there, you know, maybe that could have -- these people in New Hampshire are hardy. I mean, they're going to get out to vote no matter.

John, the other big story overnight, you know, Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire, telling "The Financial Times", he indeed is thinking about running. He said he finds the level of discourse and discussion distressingly banal and an outrage and insult to voters. He said the public deserves a lot better.

Here's what I think is interesting about this Bloomberg mulling a run, John -- you have a hatred, a populist hatred of Wall Street that is infusing both campaigns, the Republicans and Democrats. Here is a guy who made all of his money on Wall Street saying he wants to get in. Interesting, right?

BERMAN: Yes, it is hard to see great success running in the Wall Street lane right now in the American political landscape. But that's what Michael Bloomberg wants to do. Look, he is to the left on some cases of the Democratic Party on many social issues, but he's pro-Wall Street than either party. That's tough. It's tough to straddle those conditions.

ROMANS: Well, it just shows you what an interesting campaign season this is, no question. All right. John, we'll get back to you in just a second. You know,

voters there where you are in New Hampshire enjoy one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, 3.1 percent. Can you believe that?

That is well below the falling national average of 4.9 percent. That rate below 5 percent for the first time since 2008. Now, the economy is better than it was in the Great Recession, but there's still this feeling that it is not good enough.

And that feeling is resonating and infusing these campaigns. Here's one reason why a smaller share of the adult population is working, 62.7 percent. That's the lowest since the 1970s.

Now, one reason why, baby boomers are retiring, thousands of them every day, so you've got that share of the adult population working is shrinking.

Also, there's a number of people still looking for jobs who can't find one, almost double the rate during normal teams.

And the third reason, wages aren't going up. Slow wage growth has been a real problem here. The typical take home pay is about the same today as it was 20 years ago.

So, even though right there in New Hampshire, you're looking at 3.1 percent unemployment, an unemployment rate nationwide that's falling.

[04:15:00] Those are some of the factors that are sort resonating in this campaign, why people keep talking about the economy and it still keeps ranking so high on the list of things they like to improve.

All right. Fifteen minutes past the hour.

President Obama taking new action to prevent the spread of the Zika virus in the U.S. Why the White House is now so concerned. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: President Obama asking Congress for $1.8 billion in emergency funding to fight the Zika virus and the mosquitoes that carry it. The request coming as the Centers for Disease Control steps up its response, moving the emergency operations center to level one status. That's the highest due to risk of transmission in the U.S. It means the agency will work around the clock on multiple levels to contain the fast spreading virus.

Homeland security and FBI officials confirmed they are investigating a data breach that exposed sensitive information about nearly 30,000 of their staff members. We're talking names, titles, contact information released online by the hackers.

Accompanied by a pro-Palestine slogan, the identities of more than half the FBI's employees now in the public domain, half the FBI's employees now out there. The hacker claims to have penetrated the DHS and FBI files through a Justice Department computer. President Obama sent his eighth and final budget proposal to Congress

today. It's already dead on arrival. The plan includes a $10 a barrel tax on oil for green infrastructure and transportation projects, also includes money for cancer research and opioid abuse programs.

[04:20:03] But the Republican chairman of the House and Senate budget committees, they refuse to even grant the usual hearing to the president's budget director.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder declining an invitation to appear before a Democratic House committee investigating the water crisis in Flint. Snyder insists he cannot testify at Wednesday's hearing because he has a budget presentation to make to his state legislature. The Republican governor says that presentation will include significant resources to help people of Flint. The Democratic steering and now policy committee does not have the power to subpoena Governor Snyder.

Tens of thousands of Syrians begging, begging for safety at the Turkish border. They are desperate to escape their war-torn country but they are unable to get out of the country, stuck at the border.

We are live with that story, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Tens of thousands of Syrians desperately fleeing to the Turkish border to escape what the U.N. is now calling extermination. Syrian government forces backed by relentless Russian air strikes are driving them from their homes in Aleppo. And now, a U.N. report accuses the Assad regime of inhumane actions against civilians, Syrian civilians.

[04:25:07] I want to bring in senior international correspondent Arwa Damon live along the turkey/Syrian border.

Good morning, Arwa.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

And another important aspect highlighted in that U.N. report is that more people, civilians, have been killed by the Assad regime than by ISIS or any of the other opposition groups or by any of the Russian and coalition airstrikes. Tens of thousands already gathered here on the other side of the border crossing, awaiting for Turkey to decide that the condition will allow them to cross through.

What does this mean? Well put simply, Turkey says it cannot take anymore refugees. It already has more than 2.5 million. It is providing shelter, food, water for them on the other side.

But those who are stuck are really just begging with the authorities to have mercy and let them through, because they don't necessarily care about having a tent over their heads. What they want so desperately is the sense of security in the face of what many are describing as the most intense bombardment of the Syrian civil war. That is the bombardment by Russian jets that are providing significant air cover for Assad's forces clearing out not only areas in the Aleppo countryside, but also advancing what was once Syria's largest city.

ROMANS: All right. Arwa Damon, thank you so much for that. Arwa Damon on the Turkey/Syria border for us this morning, where all of those people are just caught. Thank you.

Happening now, New Hampshire voters heading to the polls. This is the nation's first presidential primary. Oh, yes, it's here. Candidates there making a flurry of last minute attacks. We've got that next.

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