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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Trump Wins Nevada Caucuses; Sanders & Clinton Battle for South Carolina Votes; Deadly Storms Tear Through South. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired February 24, 2016 - 04:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:31:13] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thirty-one minutes past the hour. Breaking news this morning: Donald Trump, a huge victory, a decisive victory in the Nevada caucuses. Another decisive victory for him.

Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz vying all night for second place. Marco Rubio, though, with a few hundred-point lead. It looks like he's going have second place. We're live.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, they battle it out in a CNN town hall, taking tough questions from the voters, showing perhaps each new strategy heading into the South Carolina primary.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It's very early in the east and very late in Nevada. Donald Trump winning big in the Nevada Republican caucuses.

Look at this: we now have 91 percent of the precincts reporting, and Donald Trump way out front, 45.9 percent. The question, who will come in second, it looks like we've got to the answer. Marco Rubio with a few hundred-point lead at this point, slight lead over Ted Cruz in third. Pulling up in the rear, single digits, Ben Carson and John Kasich.

Donald triumphing in nearly every county in the states. Entrance polls show Trump was hugely among voters who say they are angry, dissatisfied with the federal government. He scores very high with those who say they want someone to be an outsider, not experienced in politics.

In his victory speech late last night, Trump was ecstatic about his win across virtually all demographic groups.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We won the evangelicals, we won with young, we won with old, we won with highly educated, we won with poorly educated. I love the poorly educated. With the smartest people, with the most loyal people.

And you know what I really am happy about? Because I've been saying it for a long time. Forty-six percent with Hispanics, 46 percent. Number one with Hispanics.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

I'm really happy about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: That win in Nevada puts Trump well ahead of the delegate count. He now has more than twice as many pledged delegates of all the other candidates combined.

Now, they all look ahead to the biggest cache of delegates yet. That's Super Tuesday next week.

All right. Joining us to discuss these results, CNN politics reporter Tal Kopan in our Washington bureau.

You know, Tal, I think a lot of Republicans probably went to sleep last night, a lot of establishment Republicans went to sleep last night worried about what happen in New Hampshire and South Carolina. They're waking up to see Donald Trump with a huge win in Nevada and I think they're probably saying holy blank right now.

TAL KOPAN, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: I love that quote we keep playing. "I'm really happy." He certainly sounded really happy. Doesn't he? I mean, he loves big numbers and he loves to tout it. He can tout some of the major victories and he certainly is.

And, you're right. The Republican establishment is convinced if they could get down to one candidate, then they could find take on Trump. But I think that delegate graphic we keep putting up is the most important one here. It's all about delegate math at this point.

You know, we're talking about a fight for second place. Even if Rubio holds on to second place like he has and Cruz comes in third, if they're only a couple percentage points apart, they're going to end with the same number of delegates, and the bottom line is it's going to be a fewer than Trump ends up with.

ROMANS: Marco Rubio over the past few days has received a lot of new endorsements. I mean, the new endorsements have been flowing in for Marco Rubio. Interesting his strategy last night, he left, went to two other states -- Super Tuesday states and went to bed.

[04:35:04] So he's prepared this morning for a round of television interviews.

KOPAN: Yes, absolutely. You know, when we talk about anything besides delegate math, it's basically just spin, it's momentum, it's being able to claim the wind is at your back.

And, you know, Marco Rubio is going to be refresh and he's going to hit the morning show circuit and he's going to say he never intended to come in first in Nevada, he's in it for a long haul. Second place is a victory.

His team has been marketing it as coming off with a strong finish here in Nevada and that's probably what we're going to hear from Marco Rubio this morning. You know, he'll get those sound bites replayed over and over and that's what the viewers will hear, it's his attitude coming out of this.

Whereas, you know, Ted Cruz gave a speech last night and he came off a little tired, a little deflated, which is understandable at that late hour, but probably not the sound bite he wants replayed.

ROMANS: I mean, Marco Rubio this morning can try to say, hey, this is a victory for us, coming off a strong performance. But you have to add Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz to approach Donald Trump in his performance yesterday.

KOPAN: Absolutely. Again, there's a delegate math equation, I guess, that can put Marco Rubio ahead of Donald Trump in the end. You know, I wrote a story about this. It's about a "just have to hang in there" kind of strategy.

Yes, as the election proceeds, as we get into some later primaries, you have some winner-take-all states where you can wrack them up and we move into more and more moderate areas of the country.

So, there is a path for Marco Rubio. No one's ruling him out at this point, but it's looking less and less likely and at some point, you know, we have the admit what people have been saying. If any other candidate had had a second place, then first place and then first place and then first place finish, like Donald Trump, we'd be calling a nominee at this point.

BERMAN: Let's put up that Super Tuesday map if we can, because that is next Tuesday. A lot of delegates at stake there.

You know, you say there's some more moderate states, but there's Vermont. And in Massachusetts, I've seen polling that has Donald Trump way ahead in those states even. He can expect a pretty decent day in just six days, Tal.

KOPAN: Absolutely. You know, there's some questions about the polling that's out there. Some of it's old, some of it might not be reliable. But I haven't seen any that indicate that Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz are going to come away with a big delegate haul.

It is at this point for the two of them all about staying close to Donald Trump, hoping that at some point later in the game they can pull ahead. And it's really unclear if that's a strategy that's ever going to work, even with endorsements, even with money behind them. They have to start winning at some point, and that is the big question mark for both of their campaigns.

ROMANS: You have to wonder. So much time, money, and ad dollars have been spent training their fire on each other, trying to be the one who comes out as the challenger to Donald Trump, the alternative to Donald Trump. But only Donald Trump has benefitted from that strategy so far.

KOPAN: Absolutely. You know, we've reported in the past week about how some of the people in Ted Cruz's orbit are hoping that he stops attacking Marco Rubio at some point. The two of them have been slugging it out while Donald Trump kind of sits back and watches. It's very important for both of them that the other get out of the way and Kasich and Carson as well. They need them out of the race for any of their scenarios to come true.

But the longer they beat up on each other and fight for that second place victory as we keep calling it, the longer Trump continues to build on his support and momentum and just kind of enjoy the show.

BERMAN: All right. Tal Kopan, do you know when the next big moment in this campaign is, is tomorrow night, the Republican debate.

The five remaining candidates go head to head to head to head to head, I've got five heads there. It's in Houston. Wolf Blitzer moderates. This is a huge deal. I mean, this really could be the last chance for them to knock Donald Trump off his perch. There could be some serious fireworks tomorrow 8:30 p.m., only on CNN.

ROMANS: All right. Thirty-nine minutes past the hour. So much to get through. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton with new strategies to win over voters on the CNN town hall state. We're breaking down what changed, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:42:59] ROMANS: Breaking news at this hour. We're following election results from the Nevada caucuses live. Right now, right now, 92 percent of precincts are in. Donald Trump, the clear winner by a mile. Let's call it ten miles.

And it's becoming clear who's come in second place. Marco Rubio now a couple of thousand votes ahead of Cruz. Ben Carson and John Kasich languishing in single digits there. We're going to be following the Nevada caucus results closely as they come in, we're going to bring you more information as we get it live.

BERMAN: All right. Also breaking overnight: Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton making the case for their candidacies at a CNN Democratic town hall in Columbia, South Carolina. Both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, they confronted racial issues in a state where African-Americans will play a major role in the outcome of the Democratic primary, which is on Saturday.

Right now, the polls show Hillary Clinton with a solid lead, nearly 2- 1 there.

One tense moment at the on the hall came when Chris Cuomo asked Secretary Clinton why she has not heeded Sanders' call and the call of a lot of people out there to release transcripts of the paid speeches she gave to Wall Street banks. Senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny with more on that from

South Carolina.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, Wall Street is one of the major issues of this Democratic presidential campaign, at least when it comes to some critics of Hillary Clinton.

Now, the topic of her paid speeches to Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street firms has been one of the issues throughout the course of this campaign. It was no exception that that Democratic town hall on Tuesday night here in South Carolina, major differences between how Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton address this.

Take a listen to what Bernie Sanders said about the paid speeches he has or hasn't given during his career.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look, I've not had a paid speech. It's against the law to give paid speeches. I have given some speeches and money was donated to charity way, way back. I got a few dollars. If I can find the transcripts, I'm very, very happy to do it.

But what Secretary Clinton said, I will do it if other people do it. Well, I am very happy to release all of my paid speeches to Wall Street.

[04:45:03] Here it is, Chris. There ain't none.

ZELENY: Hillary Clinton said a different standard is being used for her. She said that she would onto give up her transcripts if Republicans did the same.

Listen to how she explained.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All the more reason to move this as an issue. You know everybody is not going to bring up their transcripts. There will be --

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Why is there one standard for me and not for everybody else, Chris? I mean, you know, at some point, at some point -- you know, look, I'm on record. I have a record.

It certainly is far different from the Republicans because they think actually and have said the cause of the Great Recession was too much regulation on Wall Street, which is an absolute joke. I have been up fronted and strong on this issue for a long time, as strong I would argue as my esteemed opponent.

So, you know what? If people are going to ask for things, everybody should be on a level playing field and I'm happy if that were the case.

ZELENY: Now, this is just one of the issues driving this Democratic campaign. Of course, a lot of Bernie Sanders supporters are concerned about this, but overall Hillary Clinton has a commanding lead here in South Carolina.

Issues of race also were front and center during the Democratic town hall. It's hard to believe any minds might have been changed by this Democratic town hall. Bernie Sanders is going to be campaigning in Super Tuesday states. Hillary Clinton is going to stay in South Carolina looking for a strong finish on Saturday -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right. Thanks to Jeff for that.

Let's talk about this more now, bringing back CNN politics reporter Tal Kopan.

Tal, I think one of the most interesting things last night was to watch Bernie Sanders and his approach to Barack Obama. Hillary Clinton now for a couple of weeks has really been trying to wrap herself in the Obama presidency, saying that she's really the one that carry on the Obama legacy. Well, last night, Bernie Sanders seemed to try to nudge up a little closer to the president. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: Literally, literally, it turns out on the day that Obama was inaugurated, Republicans came together and said, what are we going do? And what they conclude is we're going to obstruct, obstruct, obstruct, make it as difficult as he could to do anything.

Now, we have had to fight through that, and I've been at the president's side time and time again. And this is on top of this birther issue which we heard from Donald Trump and others, a racist effort to try to delegitimize the president of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: This is a change for Bernie Sanders. I mean, not suggest he hasn't supported the president in the past, but to make it an issue during this campaign, as much as he did last night.

KOPAN: Absolutely. I mean, the question that he was asked that led to that exchange was actually about the Supreme Court nominee, and I believe it was what justice in the past he truly admired, which he got to at the end. It was Thurgood Marshall.

But, yes, out of the blue he sort of brought up President Obama and what he claimed were racist attacks against him.

There are two things you have to keep in mind here, what we call oppo, or opposition research and demographics.

Bernie Sanders has had a lot thrown at him, that he doesn't support President Obama, that he sought a primary challenger for him in 2012, that he penned a little blurb on a book that criticized President Obama, and he's really suffered for that a bit because President Obama, of course, is still wildly popular in the Democratic electorate.

And in demographics, he's really suffering with minority voters, especially African-American voters. Hillary Clinton is beating him with that group and he really needs to make inroads with them and that's what's behind some of those comments.

ROMANS: Yes, he made a comment about how nobody's ever asked for his birth certificate, maybe it's because he's white. I don't know. That's what Bernie Sanders said.

There's also an exchange with Hillary Clinton on race. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My question to you is what do you intend to do to fix the broken racial relations in our country?

CLINTON: We have serious challenges and I think it's important for people and particularly for white people, to be honest about those, and to recognize that our experiences may not equip us to understand what a lot of our African-American fellow citizens go through every single day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Hillary Clinton supporters are pointing to that as a strong exchange for the secretary of state.

KOPAN: Yes. It was probably one of her best moments of the night. The questioner actually began by saying she's recently started wearing her hair naturally and feels people treat her differently because of that, and Hillary Clinton told her, of course, it's her right to wear her hair however she wanted it, and made a little joke about her own scrutiny for her hairstyle overtime.

But in the course of the answer, she spoke fluently about race relations, the importance of understanding other's experiences and honesty, and she also asked some women in the audience, to stand, the mothers of the movement.

[04:50:01] These are women who have lost their children to gun violence, either random gun violence, or at the hands of police. And she paused for a moment to talk about them as well and some of them have endorsed her or been on the trail with her. And so, it really was a powerful moment for her, an answer that packed a lot of punch.

BERMAN: You know, Bernie Sanders has been inspiring a lot of young voters throughout this whole campaign. Last night, you know, he talked about sort of the inspiration in a different way. He used the word "hope" which again harkens back to President Obama. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SANDERS: Kids come up to me and say, you've given me hope, and you've rekindled my interest in democracy and in politics. If I let those people down who have faith in me, that's a scary thing, when people have so much faith in you and believe you can do so much. So, it scares me very much if I ever let those people down. It would be a terrible, terrible thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: You know, there's such passion among the young voters for Bernie Sanders right now and they can make a difference if they vote.

KOPAN: Yes, absolutely. You know, it's always a question of can you inspire young people enough to overcome the fact that people in older demographics are much more reliable voters.

You know, it was a good answer for Bernie Sanders and he did find his moments to connect with the audience. I still think his best moment was in Jeff's package where he said, "there ain't none." That's probably his most memorable moment from last night.

He also gave a really interesting answer about his spirituality and believing that we're all connected and when you hurt, I hurt. And this answer that you just played as well, he found some moments to really connect with the audience and show why his message is really resonating with so many people.

But, again, you know, he hasn't been able to drive turnout at a rate that has outpaced Barack Obama's record-setting turnout in the Democratic primary in 2008. So, he's not getting all of those people to the polls.

ROMANS: It is critical. They're running out of time. Just a few days really, Super Tuesday. Every exchange with voters really, really matters.

Tal Kopan, thank you so much for that.

And Donald Trump -- huge victory in the Nevada caucuses. Look at this. Dead heat for second place. Marco Rubio pulling ahead here. Marco Rubio really was number two. We're tracking it live all morning long.

But, first, a deadly storm barrels across the south. The damage done, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:55:34] BERMAN: All right. The breaking news this morning, we're counting votes in the Nevada caucuses and they are adding up for Donald Trump in huge way. A blowout win in Nevada right now, 45.9 percent of the vote, with 94 percent reporting.

I want you to look at some of the math right there. Marco Rubio plus Ted Cruz less than Donald Trump. They're in a tight battle for second place. But even if you add up their numbers. It doesn't equal what Trump has. We'll be talking about that all morning. Ben Carson and John Kasich way back in single digits. Again, votes are still coming in. We will bring to you live as they report.

ROMANS: Ninety-four percent of precincts in right now.

Breaking news now, deadly storms barreling to the south. More than a dozen tornadoes reported in three states with one fatality confirmed in Mississippi, two others in Louisiana.

This is the destruction in Pensacola, Florida. A tornado ripped apart town homes and an apartment complex. Six people injured, with reports now of leaking gas overnight.

At this RV park near New Orleans, devastation. More than 160 mobile homes mangled by an apparent twister. Two fatalities reported, seven others critically injured. Residents here enduring a horrific evening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was lying down on the bed with my dog and, all of a sudden, I heard a big rumbling dog. The whole entire house started shake and I just knew that it was a tornado. And so I ran to go to the bathroom, and my mom's fiance was already running into the bathroom and his parents were. I got in the bathtub with my dog. They were praying, and I was crying, and I was so scared. I mean the house would not stop shaking the whole entire time. I mean, it was just -- it was terrible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: In nearby Prairieville, Louisiana, this is all that's left to the Gold's Gym there. Listen to the customer who was working out when the severe weather came barreling through.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When the weather gets so bad, the roof of your gym and the wall just blows off. It's awesome, especially when you're doing curls here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: More devastation in Lamar County, Mississippi. A 73-year-old man was killed when his trailer was crushed by a still unconfirmed tornado. And just look at the size of the hail that neighborhoods two hours west of San Antonio, Texas, more than 10,000 homes without power, hundreds of reports of broken windows and damaged rooftops.

BERMAN: U.S. health officials are investigating 14 new cases of Zika virus that may have been spread through sex. All of the cases involved men who visited the country with the Zika outbreaks before returning home and possibly infecting their partners. More than 80 cases of Zika had been diagnosed in the U.S. All of them involving people who travel to regions with outbreaks. ROMANS: All right. Time for an early start on your money this morning. Dow futures down after a rough day yesterday. Oil dropping further, now below 31 bucks a barrel. Stock markets in Europe are lower. Shares in Asia closing with losses overnight.

Oil has a choke hold on the stock market and the correlation between the two has never been closer. So far this year, oil and the S&P 500 have moved together 87 percent of the time. In just the last two weeks, we saw the market hit a bottom and rebound sharply. The correlation between stocks and oil, 97 percent.

This is not normal, folks. Over the past decade, that number has been near zero. Oil and stocks usually do not move together. Until this relationship ends, you can expect more wild swings for both stocks and oil. One analyst says there's nothing on the planet that is more volatile right now than oil prices.

BERMAN: Except for your temperament.

ROMANS: I was going to say politics. But I'll take that.

BERMAN: All right. EARLY STARTS continues right now.

(MUSIC)

ROMANS: Donald Trump with another big victory, this time, Nevada, dominating the state's caucuses, winning almost every vote or demographic. The big question this morning, is the Republican front- runner now unstoppable?

BERMAN: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders with new strategies on the CNN town hall stage. So, what changed during that event late last night? We'll break it down coming up.

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. Nice to spend the morning with you, folks. It's bright and early, Wednesday, February 24th. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East.

Breaking news this morning, Donald Trump wins big in the Nevada Republican caucuses, with 94 percent of the precincts now reporting, 94 percent. Donald Trump way out front, out front by a mile, out front by ten miles, 45.9 percent of the vote.

The real question, who will come in second?