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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Republicans Face Voters at CNN Town Hall; Trump Calls Pope's Slam "Disgraceful"; Syria Truce Set for Today Delayed? Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired February 19, 2016 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:12] CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Republicans running for president on CNN's town hall -- on CNN town hall stage. Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, John Kasich asking -- getting asked tough questions from voters. We're breaking down the big moments.

Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Cristina Alesci.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Boy, a big night last night. I'm Miguel Marquez. It is Friday, February 19th, 4:00 a.m. here on the East Coast.

Breaking overnight: Republican candidates taking on tough questions from South Carolina voters in a CNN town hall. Bush on whether he still has a chance to win. Kasich on whether his upbeat message works for an angry electorate. And Trump challenged on his fight with the pope after the pontiff criticized Trump's stance on immigration.

CNN's Phil Mattingly has more from South Carolina.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Miguel and Cristina.

A day filled with political clashes. Ted Cruz versus Marco Rubio. Jeb Bush versus Marco Rubio. Ted Cruz versus Donald Trump. Donald Trump versus the pope.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't like fighting with the pope. I don't think this is a fight. I think he said something much softer that it was originally reported by the media.

I think he is doing a very good job. He's a lot of energy. But I would say that I think he was very much misinterpreted. And I also think he was given false information.

If he would have heard our side, the side from people that live in the United States --

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Would you like to meet with him and talk to him about it?

TRUMP: I'll do it anytime he wants. I mean, I think it would be very interesting. No, I like him.

MATTINGLY: Trump, just one day after sending a cease-and-desist letter to Ted Cruz's campaign saying he would do much the same with other countries if he's in the Oval Office.

COOPER: So, as president, would you be sending cease-and-desist letters?

MATTINGLY: Yes, maybe to China. Oh, I would be -- I would be sending them to China to stop ripping us off. I would be sending them to other countries to stop ripping us off. I'd send them to Mexico. And when I say cease and desist, maybe it's equivalent, OK? Maybe I'd do it with my mouth.

MATTINGLY: Jeb Bush saying the talk of his campaign failing is premature.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I do have momentum if you look at the polls and you'd look the crowd sizes of our town hall meetings and the enthusiasm that exists.

MATTINGLY: And taking on criticism of being an introvert.

BUSH: You'll know this. You'll appreciate this because introverts set goals and grind.

COOPER: Yes, yes.

BUSH: And they're just like arr, they just go at it, you know? Which is a pretty good thing to be when you are running for president, when you've been written off over and over and over again.

MATTINGLY: John Kasich just hours after his poignant moment on the campaign trail continuing to push his message of community and positive campaigning.

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You have to celebrate other people's wins and sometimes you've got to sit with them and cry, because that's what we need in this country.

MATTINGLY: All three have one more day of campaigning in South Carolina. For Donald Trump, the clear frontrunner, all things look like they're on the glide path.

But the moment is now urgent, especially Jeb Bush, who stake much of the future of his campaign on a big performance in this state. For John Kasich, it's about proving the momentum following that second place finish in New Hampshire is for real -- Cristina and Miguel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALESCI: All right. Joining us to break this all down and the town hall political goings on, CNN politics reporter Tom LoBianco in Washington.

Good morning, Tom.

MARQUEZ: Up all night and here with us today.

ALESCI: Exactly.

MARQUEZ: Way to go. We love you.

ALESCI: Thank you for being up. What were the big moments last night? What did you take away from the town hall?

TOM LOBIANCO, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: I love that Phil Mattingly intro earlier. It sounded like an intro to a pro-wrestling or like "Monday Night Raw" or something.

(LAUGHTER)

MARQUEZ: "Game of Thrones."

LOBIANCO: That's exactly it.

ALESCI: We have to ask about Trump. For the first time, he was challenged on comments he made about the Iraq war. You know, he has been out there criticizing it a bit and criticizing the Bush record on it. Last night, he was confronted with the clip that was released on "BuzzFeed" that has him supporting the war once it started, of course. Was that a weak moment for him?

LOBIANCO: Absolutely. You could see he didn't know how to answer that. That was big news that broke yesterday.

When he's talked about the war in the past, you know, at rallies, he says he was right, which is very interesting in a Republican primary because, more often, the candidates tend to side with George W. Bush, the last sitting Republican president who made that decision.

But he very -- he goes after the Bush family. He goes after George W. on that decision. Here he is in September 11th, 2002, on the Howard Stern show saying it was good.

[04:05:00] And this is in the thick of the debate and the run-up to the war.

ALESCI: Tom, we have that sound for anyone that didn't pull an all-nighter like you did. So, let's take a listen to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: I literally was handed this. There is a report now out tonight on "BuzzFeed" that include -- I have not heard it -- includes an audio clip of what appears to be you on Howard Stern talking in the radio on September 11th, 2002. He asked you, "Are you for invading Iraq?" You said, "Yes, I guess so. You know, I wish the first time it was done correctly."

Is that accurate? Do you remember saying that?

TRUMP: No, but I mean, I could -- I could have said that. Nobody asked me. I wasn't a politician. It was probably the first time anybody asked me that question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: Boy, but a much more demure Donald Trump like we have never seen him. Clearly, sort of a frontrunner, not taking any pot shots. Not getting out there too far.

But there was a -- there was a big kerfuffle. And the pope of all people who went to the border and prayed at the border with immigrants and basically said that Trump was -- for somebody who talks about building walls, like Trump does, he is not a Christian. John Kasich addressed that during the debate last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: I don't question people's Christianity. That is the issue they have with their Lord and savior and themselves. So, I just don't think it's appropriate to question Donald Trump's faith. He knows what his faith is.

KASICH: I'm pro-pope, OK? Put me in the pro-pope column. We have a right to build a wall, but I've got to tell you, there are too many walls between us. We need bridges between us if we're going to fix the problems in Washington because all they do is have walls, and I just think we need to get this problem solved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: So Bush and Kasich weighing in on this. I found it shocking a couple of days when Bush -- when Trump started this with the pope and it's only gotten more intense as the pope left Mexico and spoke on the plane as he often does, with much more ease about what's going out there.

How -- what did you make of how this came off? Is this really -- is this going to hurt him in South Carolina taking on the pope like this?

LOBIANCO: Well, it is unclear how much this hurts anyone running for the conservative base in South Carolina. You know, I think there's general acceptance I guess that the pope is much more liberal than some of his predecessors, certainly on American social issues, economic issues.

And that plays well. If you are going to take on somebody who is a liberal, that plays well with the conservative base. Trump last night said he didn't agree with the pope. He said earlier, he said he would love to talk with him. He didn't back down from that comment.

ALESCI: So he did sound a little bit softer about it.

MARQUEZ: He did sound much softer.

On Cruz and suing Cruz, he is basically now looking at this situation in Indiana where Cruz may be sued. It doesn't sound like it's a real effort, but now, he is making a big deal about that. Still floating that idea that Cruz could face a lawsuit over being born in Canada.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: But a cease and desist? I mean, you're not going to sue him.

TRUMP: Well, you don't know that. But I like to send letters. I have a lot of lawyers. I have wonderful lawyers. I like to send letters.

I think he's got other cases. I think the wonderful case is going to be whether or not, and I understand he got sued today actually. He's going to be sued by a lot of people. He's going to be sued by the Democrats if he ever got the nomination, which I don't think he will, honestly. I don't think he will.

But if he ever he got -- I don't think -- I don't think he's got a very good chance of getting it. He was sued today on the fact he was born in Canada. It's a big problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALESCI: I've got to wonder how legal action how legal action plays with voters who aren't Trump supporters per se, who are undecided?

MARQUEZ: And taking the side of lawyers. Never a popular stand in the conservative side of America. This is confusing to me, Tom. Make it make sense.

LOBIANCO: You know, it's funny to watch Trump come back from this. It's such an effective line of attack for him. I think, if you are in Trump world, if you're a Trump supporter, or if you're on the campaign, what you're looking at is Cruz is someone who won't go away. This is not a guy who's disappearing.

After Iowa, after New Hampshire, you had other candidates fall off. You saw Marco Rubio stumble in New Hampshire at the debate. You know, Cruz has been there. It's kind of -- you know, right there just in second place in most polling.

You know, it doesn't look like anyone will beat Trump in South Carolina, but once you get out of South Carolina, once you start getting out to the Super Tuesday states, once you start getting out to the delegate fight that we see around the rest of nation, that's where it gets dangerous for him, especially if there is diluted field on the establishment side.

[04:10:04] The last thing he wants is a mano-a-mano Trump versus Cruz fight.

ALESCI: That's a good point. Tom, thank you so much. And we definitely have you back. Good luck this weekend, too. It's going to be a busy one.

LOBIANCO: Thanks, guys.

ALESCI: The White House says there's no plan for President Obama to meet with Fidel Castro on his trip to Cuba, but he will sit down with Cuban leader Raul Castro and raise concerns about human rights and freedoms for the Cuban people.

Now, the president and first lady will travel to Cuba next month. He will be the first sitting U.S. president to visit the communist island nation in almost seven decades.

Mr. Obama also plans to meet with Cuban dissidents and interact with entrepreneurs and members of the Cuba's civil society.

MARQUEZ: Now, today, President Obama and the first lady will pay their respects to the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. His body will lie in repose in the court's great hall.

In just a few hours, Scalia's loved ones and eight remaining justices will attend a private ceremony, followed by a public viewing from 10:30 until 8:00 p.m. tonight.

Critics have slammed the president for deciding to skip Scalia's funeral mass Saturday. The White House defending the move, citing security as a major factor.

ALESCI: And it's time for an early start on your money. The winning streak for stocks is over. The rally ran out of steam yesterday with the Dow dropping 40 points as the gains in oil faded. It was just the eighth time this year that blue chips didn't move more than 100 points in either direction.

But that put a small dent in the major rally over the past four sessions. The Dow is still up 750 points in the past week. Here is where the three major averages stand for the year. The Dow is off 5.8 percent. The NASDAQ is the biggest loser, down more than 10 percent. And the S&P 500 sliding 6.1 percent.

Stock futures right now slightly higher. Oil is down. Europe is mixed. And Asia finished lower.

MARQUEZ: I want stocks to get better. It would be nice.

ALESCI: You do? It's so exciting they are not going in one direction anymore.

MARQUEZ: Oh God, I'm little over the excitement.

ALESCI: Come on, I need to keep my job.

MARQUEZ: Yes, it's good work for you.

Donald Trump versus the pope. We are breaking down that controversy and new reaction this morning live from Rome.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:16:00] ALESCI: A few minutes ago, you heard Donald Trump firing back at the pope for criticizing him. Now, the pope is flying back from Mexico to Rome. Pope Francis was asked about Trump's plans to deport millions of undocumented immigrants and build a wall along the entire border with Mexico.

Here is the Pope's response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): A person who thinks only about building walls wherever they may be located and not building bridges is not Christian. This is not in the gospel. As far as what you said about whether I would advise to vote or not vote, I am not going to get involved in that. I say only that this man is not a Christian if he has said things like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALESCI: In good Trump style, he immediately slammed the pontiff's remarks as disgraceful, saying no religious leader, quote, "should have the right to question another man's religion or faith."

So, following the town hall, where do things stand with the Vatican this morning?

CNN's Rosa Flores is in Rome for us.

Rosa, has the pope ever injected himself in a race like this before?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Cristina, good morning.

We have not received a response from the Vatican regarding Donald Trump's comments post the pope's response to that question on the papal plane and, no, historically the pope has not injected himself inside a presidential election because he is the pope and leader of the Roman Catholic Church. And historically, he wouldn't endorse a candidate for example.

But I think the background and some context is very important here. Now, we got some of the background from the spokesperson of the Vatican, Fr. Lombardi, in Mexico, before Pope Francis made these comments.

And this was in response to a question from a journalist as well. He said, you know, a lot of the times, Pope Francis speaks about different topics and people might think they are political or social.

But Fr. Lombardi said, what Pope Francis is doing is he's speaking as a moral authority of the Roman Catholic Church. So, he could speak to presidents, for example, about solidarity, about creating an environment that's equal for everybody in that county, about the creation of jobs and opportunity, but that doesn't mean the pope is indeed making a political statement or that he's inserting himself into politics.

So, Cristina, that gives us context and also a little background to how the Catholic Church thinks about popes making comments like these regarding whether it'd be an election or not. But one of the things that is very important in Pope Francis's response that you just heard moments ago is that he said, "I can't tell you who to vote for or who not to vote for." What he is saying is anyone who talks about building walls rather than building bridges is not Christian -- Cristina.

ALESCI: Thank you so much, Rosa.

MARQUEZ: Pope Francis also weighing in on the spread of mosquito-borne Zika virus. He says, "Using contraception to avoid pregnancy could be seen as the lesser of two evils" -- surprising admission or discussion by the pope during the Zika outbreak. If women are concerned about having children with birth defects, microcephaly, the pope says abortion is a, quote, "absolute evil" and should not be considered, even if there is a chance the baby would be born with brain damage.

ALESCI: A cease-fire set for Syria. Refugees in dire need of help, but will Russia stop its air strikes? We're live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:23:40] MARQUEZ: The cessation of hostilities that is supposed to go into effect in Syria today probably won't. That's because the international diplomats and experts have apparently not yet met to work out the final details of the truce. Meantime, tens of thousands of new refugees fleeing the fighting and Russian bombing in northern Syria are now stuck at the border which recently sealed that border with Syria.

Monitoring this increasingly desperate situation for us from London is international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson.

Nic, is there any chance of even a modified agreement on some peace of that agreement?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You know, the U.N. is taking sort of some, if you will, sense of goodwill at least inside Syria at the moment because they have been able to deliver a humanitarian aid to about 80,000 people. They want to ramp that up.

But, of course, part of the agreement that was hammered out a week ago in Munich, Secretary of State John Kerry came out of that and said within a week, we'll have a military task force to agree the modalities of the cessation of fighting, the cessation of hostilities. The United States and Russia will lead that. It will involve members of all the 17 international Syria support group members who signed that Munich agreement.

[04:25:00] What have we seen since, one bilateral between Kerry and Lavrov. One phone call between President Obama and President Putin. There may have been behind the scenes talks and negotiations. We are not aware of those.

One diplomat I talked to today said he does expect this military task force to meet sometime later today. But at the moment, there's no time set for it. No one expects them to be getting a cessation of hostilities just off the back of one discussion that will happen today.

That cessation is not going to happen. And indeed, if you look at what has occurred in the past week, the situation is worse. Not just the refugees at the border, but you now have Turkey shelling across the border into Syria and the rebels in Syria, Kurdish rebels, according to Turkey, shelling back across the border. It's escalation. Not de-escalation right now.

MARQUEZ: The cross border shelling and increase in Russia air strikes.

Very quickly, is there any sense that those airstrikes by the Russians will decrease now that the Americans have said, hey, we are operating in these areas, tone it down?

ROBINSON: You know, the Russian Interfax News Agency, state news agency, today has said that it expects these talks, U.S., Russia, all of these representatives, to get going today. It says it expects there to be cessation of hostilities.

Reality on the ground and the air is if Russia wanted that, they could have be doing a lot more about it. So far, it doesn't look likely at the moment.

MARQUEZ: So frustratingly desperate. Nic Robertson for us in London -- thank you very much.

ALESCI: Shifting to the big story here. Republicans running for president fielding questions from the voters on the CNN town hall stage. What we learned about the candidates, in just a few.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)