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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Republicans Face Voters at CNN Town Hall; Trump on Cease and Desist Demands; Bush Defends Campaign Momentum; Kasich Keeps to Upbeat Message; Final Farewell to Justice Scalia; Trump Calls Pope's Slam Disgraceful. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired February 19, 2016 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:52] MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN HOST: It's 52 seconds past the hour. Breaking overnight, presidential hopefuls in the Republican Party taking on the tough questions from South Carolina voters in a CNN live town hall event. 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 it all from South Carolina.

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.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't like fighting with the Pope, actually. I don't think it's the fight. I think he said something much softer than it was originally reported by the media. I think he's doing a very good job. He has 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

TRUMP: Yes, maybe to China. No, 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: And taking on criticism of being an introvert.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

COOPER: Right. Yes.

BUSH: Yes, it's like grrr and they just go at, you know --

COOPER: Right.

BUSH: -- which is a pretty good thing to be when you're running for president when you've been written off over and over and over again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: All three have just one day of campaigning in South Carolina. For Donald Trump, the clear frontrunner, all things look they're on a glide path. But the moment is not urgent, especially for Jeb Bush, who has staked 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?

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN HOST: Thanks, Phil. Joining us right now to dissect the town hall and all the day's political goings-on, Wall Street Journal, White House Correspondent Colleen McCain Nelson in Washington. Good morning.

COLLEEN MCCAIN NELSON, WALL STREET JOURNAL, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

ALESCI: Now, what was really interesting is that we saw Trump kind of go softer in some places when it came to the Pope, when it came to calling Jeb a liar. All of that. But he did not go softer on Ted Cruz. He kept with his line of suing him over his eligibility, over advertising. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: But a cease and desist letter? 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, and 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 got the nomination -- I don't think he's got a very good chance of getting it. But he was sued today on the fact that he was born in Canada. It's a big problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALESCI: Now, is this a sign that Trump is really threatened by Cruz? That he keeps at this particular point of eligibility and being sued over being born in Canada?

NELSON: Well, Cruz is certainly posing the biggest challenge to Donald Trump at this point. And so, you heard Donald Trump going, as you said, full bore at Ted Cruz, and he said Ted Cruz puts his hand on the bible and tells lies. And so he doesn't hold back when he talks about Ted Cruz, and Ted Cruz is not likely to win South Carolina but there's polling showing that the race is tightening. That Cruz is pulling closer to Trump. And there are some states ahead that could tougher for Trump, and so he sees Cruz as the biggest threat at this point and he is directing all of his fire at Cruz. He still can't help himself. He still throws some punches at Jeb Bush just for good measure because he just thinks it's fun. But, in general, he's aiming his punches at Ted Cruz.

MARQUEZ: Clearly, they are looking at the same voters coming out for them. Another interesting thing about last night was it was sort of a kinder and gentler town hall session, certainly from John Kasich, who has sort of been in that middle ground the entire time. Earlier in the day he was at an event where one of the voters he was talking to said he was having problems. And, they not only hugged -- this wasn't just like a man hug they had. They hugged it out like almost to the point where it was uncomfortable.

[05:36:08]

ALESCI: Whispering in his ear, even, I think.

MARQUEZ: I mean, it was a very, very sweet moment and a very telling moment. And then last night he addressed his parents having been killed by a drunk driver.

(BEGIN VIDEO PLAY)

JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: At the age of 35, I got a phone call that they wouldn't be able to get home. I went into a black hole with just a little pinprick of light, but I had people come to me. I don't care -- you know, you don't have to agree with me, or like it, or whatever, but it's really where I found the Lord. And I've spent 29 years of my life working on that, and I'm here to tell people that. And look, life is -- it's so rocky, it's so fragile. We have to build our homes -- our lives, our homes on solid granite, not on sand. And I have found that even though the pain still comes, there's where I have to go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: He seems like such a solid, decent, moderate human being. It is so different from everything we see on the Republican side. But in South Carolina such tough politics. Will it play there?

NELSON: It doesn't appear that it's playing there. It seems strange when you say he seems like such a solid, decent guy, and then to say well, voters don't like that. But in South Carolina the Republican electorate is very evangelical. More than half of the voters are expected to be evangelicals on Saturday and they're gravitating toward Ted Cruz and Donald Trump.

But, John Kasich certainly did himself some good last night. This is a format he's very comfortable in. On the campaign trail he does town hall meetings almost exclusively. He loves taking questions from voters and this was just kind of a revealing moment for him last night, and you don't get that from the debates. He's often just kind of shouted down during the debates and so voters who maybe aren't as familiar with the Ohio governor got to see a little bit of his humanity. And really, it shouldn't hurt to be a decent, solid guy, as you say.

MARQUEZ: All right. Colleen McCain Nelson, thank you very much. Thanks for watching the debate. Thanks for staying up for us. Thank you for being here. Really appreciate it.

NELSON: Thank you. The campaign never stops.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN HOST: Get some more coffee. 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 at the court's great hall. In just a few hours Scalia's loved ones and the 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 on Saturday. The White House defending the move, citing security as a major factor. ALESCI: Time for my favorite time in the morning. It's an early start on your money. The Dow snapping its 3-day winning streak yesterday, but futures are slightly up right now despite a drop in oil prices. Stocks in Europe are higher. Asian markets finished lower. Wall Street is closing the books on the worst quarter for corporate profits since 2009. The 500 largest publicly-traded companies saw earnings drop 4 percent last quarter. Sales were bad too, down 2.5 percent.

Now, energy companies were hit hardest. That's no surprise as crude oil prices started crashing. Besides oil, there are other things behind these bad results. Weak global economic demand presents a big challenge and the strong U.S. dollar also hurt. When the dollar gains, U.S. products become more expensive overseas, making it harder for them to sell to foreign buyers.

Donald Trump versus the Pope. The Pope calling Trump not a Christian. Trump firing back. What's behind the unprecedented fight, next.

[05:41:24]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:44:58]

ALESCI: We have new details this morning on the fight between Donald Trump and the Pope. Flying home from Mexico, Pope Francis was asked about Trump's plan to deport millions of undocumented immigrants and build a wall along the entire border with Mexico. Here's what the Pope said.

(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 to vote, I am not going to get involved in that. I say only that this man is not Christian if he has said things like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALESCI: Now, Trump immediately slammed the Pontiff's remarks as disgraceful, saying no religious leader "should have the right to question another man's religion or faith." CNN's Rosa Flores was on the Pope's plane. She joins us from Rome. Help us put this into context. What did the Pope say on the flight back?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning. Context is very important, as you know Cristina, and here's how that question was posed to the Pontiff. A journalist on the plane asked him, you know, you have been speaking very eloquently about immigration in Mexico, but you know, just across the border there is a very important presidential election going on. The GOP frontrunner, Donald Trump, vows to build a wall. He vows to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants. And so, the actual question to the Pope was this. Would you recommend for American Catholics to vote for this man?

[05:46:40]

And then we see the response from Pope Francis saying, you know, I wouldn't tell anybody to vote or not to vote for this man, but here is what I can tell you. And the Pontiff saying that someone who vows to builds walls is not Christian. This answer was in Italian, the question was in Italian, and the Pope mentioned not Christian twice within that answer. But, Christina, it's also important to note that Pope Francis didn't say Donald Trump's name. He wasn't exactly pointing the finger at Donald Trump. He was speaking, you know, generally. Anyone who speaks of building walls is not Christian. Cristina?

ALESCI: Really interesting to know that he didn't say Trump's name, but he was not afraid to, essentially, criticize him. Thank you, Rosa.

MARQUEZ: And Pope Francis also weighing in on the spread of the mosquito-borne virus. He says using contraception to avoid pregnancy could be seen as the lesser of two evils during the Zika outbreak. If women are concerned about having children with the birth defect microcephaly, the Pope says abortion is "absolute evil" and should not be considered, even if there's a chance a baby will be born with brain damage. Interesting.

ALESCI: Help is on the way for the people of Flint, Michigan. The Michigan House of Representatives approving $30 million to help residents and businesses in the city pay the bill for their contaminated water. Also Thursday, Gov. Rick Snyder, who's been criticized for not acting fast enough to address the crisis, said Flint is getting an additional $2 million in state funds. The money will go towards a plan to begin replacing lead-contaminated pipes as early as next week.

MARQUEZ: California officials say an underground gas well near Porter Ranch that's been leaking since October is now permanently sealed and is safe for displaced residents to return. The well at the SoCal gas store's facility has been taken out of service. Utility still hasn't determined what caused the leak. The flow of natural gas leaking from the well was stopped last week. Last month, California Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in the area.

ALESCI: No surprise. More Silicon Valley support for Apple and its privacy fight with the FBI. Facebook is standing by the company which is fighting a court order to help the feds access encrypted data from an iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters. A Facebook statement saying it creates a "chilling precedent". Google and Twitter have also come out in support of Apple CEO. Tim Cook contends the demand threatens the security of all its users, and says the company is prepared to take the fight all the way to the Supreme Court.

MARQUEZ: Well now, let's take a look at what's coming up with our friends over at "NEW DAY". Michaela, my love, how are you?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN HOST: Well, well, well. Hello.

MARQUEZ: Happy Friday to you.

PEREIRA: Well, you know, you just know how to charm a lady, don't you, Miguel?

ALESCI: Sort of. A little bit.

PEREIRA: Unless you go sideways on it. All right. Well obviously, there are two big political races shaping up for tomorrow. We have the latest on both. Donald Trump well out in front in South Carolina where Republicans vote tomorrow. He is raising eyebrows, though, once again walking back now critical comments that he made about the Pope about a dust-up Thursday. How will voters weigh that as they get reading to vote? Don't mind Chris' hand. He's just putting his suit on this morning.

Also, we're going to recap the latest CNN town hall and speak with Republican candidate John Kasich. A tighter horse race shaping up for Democrats in Nevada. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders slinging mud in all sorts of directions. Can Clinton win another nail-biter, or will Sanders pick up some more momentum? So many questions to answer, and this is also going to happen.

MARQUEZ: So many questions.

ALESCI: Awe, that's sweet.

MARQUEZ: Hi, Chris. He just can't help himself, can he? You know, I actually -- I've raised my eyebrows, I pulled a head muscle.

PEREIRA: Careful. Stretch it out, Miguel. Stretch it out.

ALESCI: He's falling apart over here.

PEREIRA: We'll see you guys in a bit.

ALESCI: Thanks, Michaela. The Dow's winning streak is over, but it's still up almost 450 points this week. Will it add to that total? We'll get an early start on your money next.

[05:51:56]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:54:01]

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

Monitoring all this increasingly desperate, desperate situation for us from London, international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson. Nic, it seemed like a lot of the fighting going on there and the bombing from the Russians was ahead of this possible cessation of hostilities. Do we at least expect an abatement -- a decrease in that level of violence now?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, Miguel. I mean, when you look at it, as soon as you set a deadline in a battle then anyone who thinks they're getting the military advantage on the ground. And right now that's the government and the Russian forces. They're going to try and press ahead and take everything they can get. Throw into that mix the Kurdish elements. You know, they're throwing to that, as well.

Turkey is allowing free Syrian army fighters, moderate rebels, to move from part of Syria through Turkey into another part of Syria to join the fight. Everyone is looking at that deadline and saying, hey, we need to hold ground, we need to take ground. We can't afford to lose any less. This is what we want to get. So, in a way, you can read this as, you know -- it leads to the possibility of a ramping up of violence. That's what we've seen.

[05:55:18]

Will it diminish tonight? It kind of seems unlikely because there isn't enough diplomatic momentum there. What we are seeing is word now from the German foreign minister. I'm hearing from diplomats -- various different nationality diplomats -- that they do expect a meeting in Geneva convened by the U.N., chaired by Russia and the United States. A task force to talk about this cessation of hostilities.

Apparently there was a late night meeting last night in Geneva between U.S. and Russian military officials. But, it's against this backdrop, as you say, of increased hostilities and it's not clear that anyone is satisfied with their position on the battlefield. And therefore, whatever's discussed in Geneva translating that into a diminishment of the battle seems unlikely, but that's the aspiration, Miguel.

MARQUEZ: Sounds like a complex situation, only getting more complex and more desperate by the hour. Nic Robertson for us in London, thank you. New fears that ISIS may be plotting to build a radioactive dirty bomb. Authorities in Belgium found the video at the home of a now- detained terrorist suspect linked to the November massacre in Paris. A spokesman for the Belgian federal prosecutor says it contains about 10 hours of surveillance of a top nuclear official. There's speculation ISIS could be plotting to kidnap nuclear experts to gain access to secure facilities.

ALESCI: Let's get an early start on your money. Dow futures up just a fraction right now after snapping that 3-day winning streak yesterday, but oil is down so we'll have to see if it holds. Europe has turned slightly lower and Asia finished with losses.

Now, great news for workers. Two developments on the jobs front will have more workers making more money. Last night, Oregon lawmakers voted to raise the minimum wage statewide. It's currently $9.25 an hour, already much higher than the federal rate of $7.25. Over the next five years, though, wages will increase to $14.75 for workers in Portland. Other counties in rural areas will get nice increases as well.

And, regardless of location, many Wal-Mart works are getting a raise this weekend. One million of them. The world's largest retailer will hike wages for almost all of its employees on Saturday. That will cost the company $1.5 billion this year.

And, if you haven't refinanced your mortgage or you're thinking about buying a home or a closet in the West Village, like Miguel is, now is the time to do it. The average for a 15-year fixed rate mortgage is now 2.95 -- almost 3 percent nationwide. The 30-year fixed is at 3.65. We haven't seen numbers that low in more than a year. Mortgage rates are tied to 10-year treasury bonds which has been a popular safe haven investment during this recent market downturn. But as stocks stage a recovery, investors could move out of those investments and that will likely send mortgage rates higher. Plus, the fed will eventually raise rates. Again, that might not happen until later this year or even next.

MARQUEZ: Well, I'm going to buy that burned out car in Queens that I -- the $3.2 million dollars in New York. A deal. Republicans running for president taking questions from voters on the CNN town hall stage. "NEW DAY" starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KASICH: I'm pro-Pope, OK? Put me down in the pro-Pope column.

TRUMP: He also talked having a wall is not Christian, and he's got an awfully big wall at the Vatican.

BUSH: I just don't think it's appropriate to question Donald Trump's faith.

TRUMP: He has a problem with the truth. He holds up the bible and then he lies.

BUSH: I would be ready to serve on day one as commander in chief.

TRUMP: Going into Iraq may have been the worst decision any president has made in the history of this country.

BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We will not allow the Trumps and others of this world to divide us up.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am going to fight for you.

SANDERS: I do not represent the billionaire class.

CLINTON: I know what I'm against.

SANDERS: I do not represent Wall Street or corporate America.

(END VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: Big drums like the Lion King this morning. Welcome to your new day. It is Friday, February 19th, 6:00 in the east. Alisyn is off, J.B. is here, and we have a lot of news for you this morning. We are now just hours away from the next two contests in the 2016 race. Six republican hopefuls making this final push in South Carolina ahead of tomorrow's all-important GOP primary. So you had Trump, Bush, and Kasich last night with Anderson Cooper, delivering their closing arguments to voters at the town hall. All of it was overshadowed by Trump's war with Pope Francis after his holiness was suggesting what makes someone Christian versus not Christian. And that putting up walls and --