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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Trump Blasts Cruz Slamming Cruz Over Campaign Tactics and False Claims; Clinton Pitches Black Voters; Sanders Stumps in Super Tuesday States; Republican Delegate Race, Trump Holds More Than Twice as Many as All Others Combined; Battle Over Obama SCOTUS Nominee; Kalamazoo Shooting Suspect Arraigned; Apple vs. FBI, Protests Planned at 40+ Stores Nationwide Against Court Order; U.S. and Russia Reach Syria Deal. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired February 23, 2016 - 05:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:30:28] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: What a night. Ted Cruz fires his top aide, John Kasich apologizes for a controversial comment about women, and Donald Trump unleashing a new level of attack. He says he wants to punch one of the people at his rallies. All this just before the Nevada caucus.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders -- they're just hours away from a CNN town hall. A last chance to make a last pitch to South Carolina voters. We'll talk about their new strategies ahead.

ROMANS: An Uber driver admitting to his role in a deadly shooting spree, killings he committed while on the job. New information about his possible motive ahead.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman. Great to see you.

Thirty-one minutes past the hour right now and Nevada, you are on the clock. In just a few hours Republicans vote in caucuses across your state. Donald Trump way out in front in the latest Nevada polling, but still working it hard. Overnight he held a raucous rally in Las Vegas taunting protestors, but more importantly, taunting Ted Cruz, calling him the biggest liar in politics, a basket case, even sick.

CNN's Jim Acosta with the very latest from Nevada.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, on the eve of the Nevada caucuses, Donald Trump delivered one of his most fiery speeches to date. The main focus of his lines of attack was Ted Cruz. Following up on the resignation of Cruz communications director Rick Tyler over a dirty trick, Trump branded the Texas senator a liar at this rally time and again. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'll tell you, so the evangelicals didn't vote for him. You know why? Because they don't like liars. They're really smart people. They don't want to vote for a liar. But it is true. I have an ad running right now -- it's a Cruz ad -- something to do -- and a couple of people tell me this, that I am backing the federal government to keep the land that's currently owned by the federal government, and we should give that land to everybody and divvy it up, or something. I'm saying to myself, well, it's not a subject I know anything about. It's a hell of an ad, but this is a Cruz ad. This guy is sick. There's something wrong with this guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: But Trump also sounded off on the Pope, who criticized the GOP front-runner last week for proposing a wall on the Mexican border. Trump said he wants to use the walls at the Vatican as his model. He also went off on a protestor in the crowd here, saying he wanted to punch the man in the face. John and Christine?

BERMAN: All right, Jim. Thank you so much.

A lot of people saying the last chance for these candidates to knock Donald Trump off his game. This Thursday night, the CNN debate in Houston, Texas, moderated by Wolf Blitzer. It is at 8:30 p.m. only on CNN.

ROMANS: This morning, Hillary Clinton making a big push for African- American votes before the South Carolina primary. She is speaking today alongside mothers whose children were killed by police. The mothers of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and Dontre Hamilton among them. Now, the Clinton campaign rolled out a new ad carrying a message of support for those families. An ad narrated by Morgan Freeman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN FREEMAN, ACTOR, NARRATOR: She says their names. Trayvon Martin, shot to death. Dontre Hamilton, unarmed. Sandra Bland did nothing wrong. And, makes their mothers' fight for justice her own. She speaks for a city poisoned by indifference.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need action now.

FREEMAN: And stands with the president against those who would undo his achievements.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Bernie Sanders is busy hitting states that vote on Super Tuesday next week. Today, he's in Virginia. Yesterday it was Massachusetts, where he claimed that Clinton has been stealing his ideas, and even his rhetoric.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am delighted that Secretary Clinton, month after month after month, seems to be adopting more and more of the positions that we have advocated. That's good. And, in fact, is beginning to use a lot of the language and phraseology that we have used. In fact, I think I saw her TV ad and I thought it was me. But it turned out it was Secretary Clinton's picture in the ad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: All right. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders come face-to- face with the voters of South Carolina and it's tonight right here on CNN. A Democratic town hall live from Columbia, South Carolina. It's tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern. It's moderated by Chris Cuomo, only here on CNN.

All right. So much to discuss this morning and we've got CNN political analyst Josh Rogin to do it with us. A columnist for a Bloomberg view. Good morning. Nice to see you.

JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Morning.

ROMANS: Let's talk first about this raucous rally last night in Las Vegas. Donald Trump surrounded by adoring fans -- potential voters, and he talks --

BERMAN: Who he wants to punch.

[05:35:16]

ROMANS: Right. There was somebody who was either protesting or someone in the crowd and this is what Donald Trump wanted to do to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Here's a guy throwing punches, nasty as hell, screaming at everything else when we're talking, and they walk him out and we're not allowed -- you know, the guards are very gentle with him. He's walking out like big high fives, smiling, laughing. I'd like to punch him in the face.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Added to the list of things that Donald Trump says that his fans adore and that only help him in the polls.

ROGIN: Right. This is another example of Donald Trump just playing by his own set of rules, and when he wasn't threatening to punch his people in his rallies, he was attacking Ted Cruz for doing what? For pushing out a social media story about Marco Rubio that wasn't true.

At the same time, the Trump campaign was pushing out a social media story about Marco Rubio that wasn't true, by saying -- questioning his birthright citizenship. So, Donald Trump can easily say don't do that, but those rules don't apply to me, and that's been the theme of this campaign. That's what frustrating all of his opponents.

BERMAN: Well, it's working. We just showed the Nevada polling from last week. You know, he's up ahead of Marco Rubio in the latest polls out of Nevada. Not necessarily the most reliable thing, but most importantly right now, he's ahead in delegates.

If you look at the delegate board, Donald Trump has 68 delegates pledged. Ted Cruz in second with 11. Marco Rubio in third with nine. And you now what? If he wins Nevada he'll build on that lead. March 1st states look favorable to Donald Trump. They awarded proportionately, but remember, South Carolina had proportional delegate allocation, too, and he won all of them.

ROGIN: Right.

BERMAN: So, if you look at his map on Super Tuesday, Donald Trump could end up with a ton of delegates.

ROGIN: So, here's how the Rubio camp is thinking about these delegates. So they understand that Donald Trump could win the majority, if not all the states of Super Tuesday, except for Texas. The problem is that there's a 20 percent threshold in a lot of these states. You have to get to 20 percent to win some delegates. If you don't get to 20 percent you get zero. So, if all the Rubio-Cruz numbers are somewhere around 15-20 percent, that's a problem.

That's why you see the Rubio camp really starting to push for John Kasich to get out of the race. That's the 7, 8, 10 percent that they really need to get over that threshold. The biggest enemy for Marco Rubio is not Donald Trump, it's the clock. He's going to start running out of time to stack up delegates, so he's got to get over that 20 percent threshold.

BERMAN: Good point.

ROGIN: He's got to get Kasich out of the race. He's got to start taking votes from Ted Cruz.

ROMANS: We're going to see this debate - the CNN debate -- later this week. This is going to be the time for these five to really -- if they're going take down Donald Trump, this is really kind of their last chance. What could take him down? I mean, I know George Will yesterday said it's time to start talking to conservative columnists and it's time to start talking about his taxes. Others have said barring any kind of explosion in his taxes, he's a foregone conclusion.

BERMAN: He was asked for his tax returns yesterday.

ROGIN: Yes. Talking to the campaign staff, they're not actually focused on taking down Donald Trump. They're still focused on taking down each other. Their calculation is simple. They think it's very hard to peel off Donald Trump supporters. If you're a Donald Trump supporter you're likely to stay a Donald Trump supporter.

They think it's much easier to peel off Ted Cruz supporters, Ben Carson supporters, John Kasich supporters, Marco Rubio supporters. So, you'll hear Marco Rubio talk about this all the time because if there's 30 percent of the Republican electorate for Trump, that means there's 70 percent against him. That 70 percent is what everyone's fighting for. That's where the game is, and that's where the action is.

ROMANS: And on the taxes I think he's been kind of managing -- massaging over the past few weeks, where Donald Trump has said, well, I don't like to pay a lot of taxes. I don't like what the government does with my money, so he might be --

BERMAN: But, you can see the establishment lining up against him when all of a sudden yesterday, from George Will to Hugh Hewitt, to people, you know, miraculously asked the same questions on the same date. Clearly it was an effort to derail them. We'll see if it works.

Let's talk about the Democrats right now. I think one thing is crystal clear, which is Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton now fighting for African-American votes ahead of South Carolina, which is Saturday. Ahead of the March 1st states, where a lot of states -- where there's a large number of African-American votes are in play. Overnight, Bernie Sanders picked up a radio ad from Spike Lee. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SPIKE LEE, DIRECTOR, PRODUCER, WRITER, ACTOR: Wake up. Wake up, South Carolina. This is your dude, Spike Lee, and I know that you know the system is rigged. I'm officially endorsing my brother, Bernie Sanders. Bernie takes no money from corporations. Nada. Which means he is not on the tape, and when Bernie gets in the White House, he will do the right thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, Bernie Sanders has a lot of ground to make up here. In Nevada, he lost the African-American vote three to one.

ROGIN: Right. So, similarly to Marco Rubio, Bernie Sanders is fighting the clock. You see his trends going up. In Nevada he closed the gap in the final weeks by about 20 points. In South Carolina he's still behind, but he's making ground. In Michigan he was down 35 points last. He's down 15 points this week.

The question is, can he make up that ground in time to actually win delegates to win the nomination, and most experts -- most people inside the campaigns, say no. They say Hillary Clinton supported the southern states, yields her big wins on Super Tuesday, she's going to stack up super delegates. Bernie Sanders can stay in. He's got plenty of money. He'll be around for a while. He's going to make a showing. He's already having an effect on Secretary Clinton's positions and the things she says on the stump. But, advocate --

ROMANS: He knows it and he says it. And you -- this is his own stump.

[05:40:32]

ROGIN: He says it, and that will have an effect on Hillary Clinton if and when she becomes the nominee. But as far the primary goes, the math just does not work out well for him. He's still got a very long way to go to have a real chance.

ROMANS: He does have a super delegate problem. I mean, people have talked about the super delegate advantage for Hillary Clinton for months now.

ROGIN: It's the real thing.

BERMAN: If you look at the map on the Democrats about those delegates going forward, it's all proportional representation like forever. So, even if you start winning states, if you fall behind in delegates it's very hard to make them up. Very, very hard.

ROMANS: Josh Rogin, so nice to see you bright and early this morning.

ROGIN: Thank you.

ROMANS: We love it that you get up so early. An early bird.

ROGIN: Happy to be here.

BERMAN: All right, let's talk about the Supreme Court. Two Republicans in the Senate breaking ranks with the party over President Obama's eventual nominee when he makes one for the Supreme Court. Senator Susan Collins of Maine says the president's nominee should receive a proper hearing. Senator Mark Kirk, of Illinois, says whoever the nominee is should actually get a vote on the Senate floor.

Now, Republican leaders in the Senate -- they vow to block any Obama nominee. Right now they're pointing to a speech made by then-Senator Joe Biden in 1992 that urged then-President George Bush not to submit a Supreme Court nominee during an election year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: President Bush should consider following the practice of a majority of his predecessors and not -- and not name a nominee until after the November election is completed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Well, you're going to see that a whole bunch of times today, and you're going to see people sending it around and Republicans pointing to that.

BERMAN: A lot of liberals say that Joe Biden said, ultimately though, if the president did send it on, he'd work with them to get them a vote. But still, that's pretty --

ROMANS: The timing of that -- that was at a later -- that was in the summer. BERMAN: It was in June in '92, which is later than this.

ROMANS: All right. An Uber driver admitting to having a role in a deadly shooting rampage while he was working. Why police are calling this case baffling and what Uber is saying about its security screenings for new drivers.

[05:42:32]

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[05:46:55]

ROMANS: This morning we're hearing from frightened passengers trapped in an Uber car with a killer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW MELLEN, PASSENGER: I was pleading for him to stop the vehicle so he could let me out. He was surprisingly calm the whole time. He was just stating that -- he was like, don't you want to get a ride to your friend's house? Don't you need a ride? And I was like, yes, yes, please just pull over and let me out. At that point he stopped and just kept driving really erratically.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Over lawns, over medians. That passenger was finally able to jump out of the vehicle driven by 45-year-old Jason Brian Dalton. Now, he is being held this morning without bail accused of killing six people in a weekend shooting spree in Kalamazoo, Michigan, while picking up Uber passengers in between those killings.

We get the latest now from CNN's Nick Valencia.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL REPORTER: John and Christine, the Kalamazoo shooting suspect made his first court appearance since being charged with six counts of first degree murder. He was charged with 16 counts in all, including attempted murder of a minor. That's, perhaps, the only time he showed any expression is when the judge read that charge. He appeared via videoconference wearing an orange jumpsuit, glasses, and he had his hands resting in his lap. He said only just about 10 words. When asked if he wanted to make a statement to the court, he said he would prefer to remain silent.

But in a probable cause hearing right before the arraignment, detectives said that even after being read his Miranda rights he admitted to "taking people's lives." Investigators seized no less than 11 weapons from his home. In conversations we had with neighbors they told us that he liked guns and cars, but mostly kept to himself. But investigators still don't know his motive. Those details may come out in his next court appearance scheduled for March 3rd. John, Christine?

BERMAN: All right, Nick. Thanks so much. Protests are planned for today in dozens in Apple stores across the country supporting Apple's fight against a federal court order requiring the company to help the FBI unlock an encrypted iPhone used by San Bernardino terrorist Syed Rizwan Farook.

Apple has until Friday to present its appeal. Now, Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg -- he voiced his support for Apple. Microsoft co- founder and former CEO Bill Gates says, though, that Apple should, in fact, unlock the iPhone for the FBI.

ROMANS: You know most Americans agree with Bill Gates. A new survey from Pew Research Center shows 51 percent of Americans say Apple should unlock the phone to help the FBI. Thirty-eight percent said Apple should not unlock that phone. Eleven percent don't have an opinion on it. Not really a difference among party lines either, by the way. Fifty-five percent of Democrats say Apple should help the government. Fifty-six percent of Republicans say Apple should help the government.

A quick check on world stock markets this morning. Stock futures here pull it back a bit, but it was a nice rally yesterday for the Dow and the S&P 500. Oil prices this morning are what are causing this pullback. Oil back below $33 a barrel after surging more than 6 percent yesterday. European stocks, you can see right now, are down a little bit. Tokyo closed a little bit lower, as well.

BERMAN: All right. Let's look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY". Chris Cuomo joins us now from Columbia, South Carolina, where big things are happening today. Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Big, big things, John and Christine. We know that the race changes when CNN holds one of these town halls, and the reason is very clear. It's different when a candidate has to talk to a real person living a problem as opposed to just dealing with a reporter like me, or even some pundit making pronouncements of opinion.

They have to look at somebody who's actually living, not just asking about it, and make a case. It makes it tougher to give a pat response. It makes it tougher to duck. You have to show that you can connect with people. All those qualities that make not just a candidate, but a leader. So we're going to take you through what's at stake tonight. What's the state of play?

We have to get our hands around the difference between votes, delegates, and super delegates. Why does Hillary Clinton have this presumption of the nomination coming her way because of the mathinvolved? We will tell you. We're also going to take you through the latest on both sides of this, as well as news from around the world because there's a lot going on.

[05:51:04]

But, John and Christine, I must say that it did smack familiar when we heard Donald Trump out in Nevada say that he was so pestered by this protestor that he wanted to punch the man in the face. John Berman said that to me when I first met him back at "ABC NEWS" some 16 years ago. ROMANS: He just said it about you in the break.

BERMAN: I know, and I was just going to say something nice. The difference between super delegates and delegates.

CUOMO: He was smacking me physically. People don't see him that way because of his quiz show genius, but he's actually a thug.

BERMAN: I was going to say super delegates versus delegates are like super anchors, like Chris Cuomo, and just regular anchors, like us.

CUOMO: You don't mean it.

BERMAN: I say something nice and that's why I --

CUOMO: You don't mean it.

ROMANS: You know what I started --

CUOMO: He'll say the same to you, Christine. He knows no boundaries.

ROMANS: All right.

BERMAN: All right, Chris Cuomo. Talk to you soon.

ROMANS: All right. The stock market's coming off a nice rally. Oil prices are still volatile. Is the worst over? We're going to look at the numbers next.

[05:56:43]

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BERMAN: U.S. and Russia say they will work together to make sure a new ceasefire agreement or cessation of hostilities takes hold in Syria by the end of the week. President Obama and Russian president Vladimir Putin sealed the deal on a phone call. The two sides agreed to set up a hotline to make sure the Syrian government and opposition forces comply with the terms of this truce. ISIS and al-Nusra not involved.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh with the latest from Amman in Jordan. Good morning, Jomana.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John, and according to this announcement, by midnight local Friday into Saturday all guns in Syria, or most guns, should fall silent. As you mentioned, al Qaeda's Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS not part of this deal. Airstrikes against these two groups can continue, carried out the U.S.-led coalition and the Russians and the Syrian regime.

Now, all other groups on the ground involved in the conflict have until noon local on Friday to confirm their participation in this cessation of hostilities. John, lots of questions about how this is going to be enforced. How it's going to be monitored with no neutral force on the ground. And, of course, lots of skepticism here in this very complex conflict on the ground. This multi-dimensional conflict with so many different regional and international players involved in the conflict.

A lot could go wrong here, but there is a lot of hope, too, from especially civilians after so many years of being caught in this bloodshed in the midst of this conflict, that there could be some sort of a pause in the violence so that this desperately needed humanitarian aid can reach so many people -- hundreds of thousands who are in desperate need of humanitarian aid, John.

BERMAN: Desperately needed. All right, Jomana Karadsheh in Amman, thanks so much.

ROMANS: All right, let's get an EARLY START on your money. Investors are taking a breather after a solid rally yesterday. Futures are down, but these losses are modest. Oil prices are in lock step with stocks and crude is slipping after a huge gain yesterday. Stock markets in Europe opening slightly lower. Tokyo and other Asian stock markets posting some slim gains overnight.

But, it has been a rally, recently, in stocks, and it has some market watchers saying the worst is over. Check out the S&P 500 in 2016. You can see the steep drop to begin the year. That was the worst start ever. But, since finding a bottom two weeks ago the trend has been higher. The S&P 500 still about 5 percent away from breaking even for the year, but has cut its losses basically in half.

What's causing the rise? Well, it seems investors no longer fear a recession here in the U.S. But, oil prices are really the driver in the stock market right now. Crude is rebounding, so stocks rebounding. When crude falls, stocks fall. It may take a while to change that.

Starbucks, by the way, changing its popular rewards program and some customers are not happy about the details. Do not mess with coffee drinkers. Instead of giving customers one star per purchase, it will now give two stars for every dollar spent. To reach gold status, it will take 300 stars. That's up from just 30 stars. The new free drink threshold is 125 stars, or about $63. Starbucks says the system, based on spending, has been a top request from customers. Some fans on Twitter, though, slamming it. They say it will now cost more to get the same rewards.

BERMAN: Starflation, you might call it.

ROMANS: Starflation. Don't mess with anybody's coffee. Morning coffee is nothing to be messed with.

BERMAN: All right, Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton just hours away from a big CNN town hall in South Carolina. Chris Cuomo is there and "NEW DAY" starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: This guy is sick.

JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We just got an army of people. Many women, who left their kitchens.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Every single day something comes out of the Cruz campaign that's deceptive.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Rick Tyler's a good man. This was a grave error of judgment.

TRUMP: It's a Cruz scam.

KASICH: Everybody's just got to relax.

RUBIO: If you vote for me I will unify this party.

SANDERS: Secretary Clinton seems to be adopting the positions that we have advocated.

CLINTON: No bank could be too big to fail. No executive too powerful to jail.

SANDERS: We are doing something fairly radical in politics. We're telling the truth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I said, you're not the shooter, are you?

BERMAN: And, an Uber driver accused in a shooting rampage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Motive remains unclear at this point.

MELLEN: He was running red lights, squealing the tires. I was yelling at him, please stop, please stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome to your new day. It is Tuesday, February 23rd, 6:00 in the east. We are live in Columbia, South Carolina because it is time. Sanders and Clinton making the case to voters here, and to you, in tonight's CNN Democratic presidential town hall. We are just four days before the primary in South Carolina.