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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

GOP Rivals Scramble to Block Donald Trump; Mitt Romney Raises Questions on Donald Trump's Taxes; Ceasefire in Syria Set for Saturday; Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired February 25, 2016 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:50] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Republicans running for president just hours from taking the CNN debate stage. Donald Trump on top, but will any of his competitors be able to take him down?

Welcome back to EARLY START this morning. I'm Christine Romans here in New York.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Berman in Houston. About 31 minutes past the hour. This is the University of Houston where just hours from now the five remaining presidential candidates, they face off in that CNN debate.

This is such a pivotal moment in the campaign. Take a look at the university. What a beautiful college campus this is. Oddly enough no students around and about at 3:31 a.m. local time. However, all four candidates not named Donald Trump they will be more than out and about tonight. They know this could be their last best chance to knock Donald Trump off his perch, to slow his momentum.

Now in the national polls, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, they've been running behind Donald Trump in second place and third place, and John Kasich and Ben Carson behind in single digits but it's not the national polls that even matter lately. Donald Trump has won three state contests in a row. He is pulling ahead and most due to vote on Tuesday. That's next Tuesday. Super Tuesday to political insiders.

All the other candidates swear that they could beat Donald Trump if only, only, they could get him one-on-one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald is formidable. People are ticked off. They're furious with Washington. They're furious with politicians in both parties that have been lying to them. And I think Donald's support is a manifestation of that. But what the polling data also shows is that head-to-head, Donald against me, we beat Donald handily. We beat him by 16 points, 56 to 40.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our tactics are not going to dramatically change. I think the biggest change in this campaign is going to be when the people not named Donald Trump -- the choices begin to narrow and we start to give the Republican voters a clearer choice of who they want to get behind. BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: With fewer candidates, I

think maybe there's a possibility -- I'm not sure it's going to happen, but there's a possibility that people may actually start getting interested in the real solutions to the problems.

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: By the way, for those that wonder about Donald Trump, if I go head-to-head with him in Ohio, I beat him by 18 points.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: They all want Trump alone. But not likely to happen anytime soon. As of right now, Donald Trump isn't just dealing with the current competition. He is also battling Mitt Romney. More on that in just a moment. Because right now Donald Trump looking ahead a little bit to the general election.

CNN's Phil Mattingly was with Trump in Virginia.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine. Donald Trump taking a bit of a victory lap after his sweeping victory in the Nevada caucuses and maybe looking forward a bit with attacks on Hillary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Boy oh boy, she's become like a marshmallow. She's become -- everything he does, oh, it's wonderful. Whatever he wants to do. It's wonderful. The president -- man, I tell you, it couldn't be -- her life could not so easy, but she -- what she's done is so wrong and it's so unfair. And it looks like she'll be the nominee and it looks like nothing will happen, but it will be something that will be discussed, I promise you. It will be discussed often, often, often.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Now Donald Trump will be traveling across the Deep South in the days ahead, a nod to that Super Tuesday SEC primary where 25 percent of available delegates will be up for grabs.

Now if you talk to GOP operatives across the different campaigns there's a very real concern now that Donald Trump has momentum that can't be halted. Still, it's early. Not only is the SEC primary coming up, also winner-take-all events coming up on March 15th. You're talking about states like Ohio and Florida, places where Governor John Kasich of Ohio or Florida Sen. Marco Rubio still think they have a shot to strike. So there is time left, but guys, there is an urgency coming about the campaign right now.

One thing to keep an eye on is the CNN debate in Houston occurs tonight. Full frontal attacks on Donald Trump, look towards Ted Cruz, look towards Marco Rubio. The two battling it out for second place trying to make a statement tonight. Very wary donors and very wary supporters wanting that move to happen quickly. Tonight may be the night -- John and Christine. [04:35:06] BERMAN: All right. Phil Mattingly, thanks so much.

This morning an awful lot of talk about Donald Trump versus Mitt Romney after the last Republican nominee called on the current frontrunner to be the next Republican nominee. Romney called on Trump to release his taxes.

This morning, Donald Trump has what seems to be a new stance on the issue. The billionaire businessman now leaving open the possibility he will not release his taxes. He told Anderson Cooper overnight that he'll make the determination over the next couple of months. This did come in response to the speculation from Romney that Trump could have something to hide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Frankly, I think we have good reason to believe that there's a bombshell in Donald Trump's taxes.

NEIL CAVUTO, HOST, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK: What do you mean?

ROMNEY: Well, I think there's something there. Either he's not anywhere near as wealthy as he says he is, or he hasn't been paying the kind of taxes we would expect him to pay, or perhaps he hasn't been giving money to the vets or to the disabled like he's been telling us he's been doing.

And I think that's the -- the reason that I think there's a bombshell in there is because every time he's asked about his taxes he dodges and delays and says, well, we're working on it.

TRUMP: My returns are extremely complex and I'll make a determination at the right time. I'm in no rush to do it. Nobody has been bringing it up except for Mitt Romney. And the reason he brings it up is that he lost in the last election, and lost very badly, so I don't know why he's bringing it up. But tax returns are very complicated. I have many, many companies.

I have, you know, tremendously -- you know, I have a very complex system of taxes and frankly I get audited every single year. So, you know, my -- unlike everybody else who never gets audited, I get audited every single year, which I think is unfair. But I got through large audits and that's the way it is. But we'll make a determination over the next couple of months. It's very complicated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: He'll make a determination over the next month couple of months. What about tonight, the big CNN debate tonight right here at the University of Houston? Let's talk about this with CNN Politics reporter Tom LoBianco who joins me from Washington.

Tom, let's quickly talk about this issue of Texas. Do you expect this to be a subject that the candidates seize on in tonight's debate? TOM LOBIANCO, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: It's a good one. It's hanging

out there. We heard Ted Cruz talking about it a little bit, too. It's a -- you know, it's an easy one for them to seize on. And it sure sounds like the establishment, the Republican establishment has found something that might be an effective tact against Trump.

BERMAN: Let's talk about what every other candidate in this race wants. They want Trump one an one. Not going to happen today. Not going to happen tomorrow. Not going to happen at least for a little while. Donald Trump, though, says, you know what? Bring it. Listen to Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Yes, I think I would do very well with, you know, one-on-one. I'd almost like that. It would be -- it would really be a simplification. You know, when you get up to 46 percent and 47 percent, and that's in a five-person field. So that's a very, very high position. And you know, I laugh at the pundits when they say, well, you know, if you add up all of the rest, it's 53. Well, when people leave, I pick up a lot of votes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So every candidate has been waiting for this magical holy grail of the election season. The winnowed field. I think one of the reasons is that Nevada, the results in the Nevada caucus has shocked everyone so much, Donald Trump got awfully close to 50. You add up Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio in Nevada. It still doesn't equal Donald Trump.

Does Trump have reason to believe that he could pick up votes from some of these candidates as they drop out?

LOBIANCO: Well, what's interesting about Trump is that in the -- we kind of saw this before any of the contests and the polling. And we've seen it proven in the entrance polling, in the exit polling. His support is across demographic groups. You know, he made a very big deal of course out of the winning Latino vote in Nevada. But he wins among older voters, younger voters, men, women. As he put it on Tuesday night, poorly educated.

He wins -- it's not one single group. You know, it's very concerning for Ted Cruz at this point is that he's also winning with evangelicals. That was supposed to be Cruz's bulwark. And that's why it looks like, yes, if someone does drop out, there is a good portion of that that probably would accrue to Trump.

BERMAN: And that's why it's so, so complicated for each and every one of them to go after him. It will be complicated tonight when they take the debate stage here at the University of Houston.

One of the biggest questions in this campaign for months now has been the dynamic between Donald Trump and Marco Rubio. I say dynamic, there has been no dynamic because they've all but ignored each other over the last several months. Now Donald Trump is winning primary after caucus after primary. And Marco Rubio seems to be running in second place. And the question has become when will these two men take on each other.

[04:40:05] Listen to what Donald Trump told Anderson overnight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: You are gearing up obviously for the CNN debate tomorrow night in Houston. What do you see as Senator Rubio's biggest vulnerability?

TRUMP: Well, I think I'll save that for tomorrow night. So we have to keep some good action for tomorrow night. But we'll be -- you know, we'll be totally prepared. And you know, people have not done very well against me. So far everybody that's attacked me has gone down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Donald Trump promising some good action tonight on the debate stage. But what about Marco Rubio? Why has he been hesitant to talk about Donald Trump during these debates? And do you think you will see him perhaps take a more aggressive tone tonight against Donald Trump?

LOBIANCO: Well, you know, as we talked about earlier, it's Cruz and Rubio fighting for the mano-y-mano. And if he does take him on there's the chance that Rubio does take on Trump directly. There's the chance that he loses, he loses out to Cruz. If he starts to slip, if he becomes a target, if he starts to slip away, then Cruz becomes that person potentially. So, you know, there's some danger. They've all seen it at this point. You know, and Trump has -- they all have, but Trump in particular could hit him very easily on immigration. His work on the Gang of Eight. That's the Trump go-to. You know, whenever it gets to Trump, we hear him coming back to immigration as hugely with his supporters.

BERMAN: Tom, we're running out of time. Just about 15 seconds left. I want to ask you quickly about an endorsement on the Democratic side. Harry Reid, the Senate minority leader from Nevada, endorsed Hillary Clinton. We're just two days now before the South Carolina Democratic primary. You think that endorsement makes a difference?

LOBIANCO: Yes, it does. You know, I think it shows to a lot of folks that we need to start rallying around Hillary Clinton. That's a big thing. He does not want a drawn-out contest. I think Democratic establishment wants this tied up long before the July convention.

BERMAN: Tom LoBianco, in Washington, great to have you here with us where all the action is. In Houston tonight the five remaining Republican candidates, they meet head-to-head-to-head-to-head-to head, I guess, that's five, on the debate stage here. Wolf Blitzer moderates the CNN presidential debate. Again, this might be the last chance for any of these candidates to shake Donald Trump's momentum. It all begins at 8:30 tonight only here on CNN -- Christine Romans.

ROMANS: John, you just cannot overstate how important that is for those other four candidates here.

BERMAN: No.

ROMANS: Because every day Donald Trump's position gets stronger. Every day no matter what he says, no matter what he does, his position gets stronger. And at this point, at this point, how many scenarios are there for one of those other four to be the leader, to be the nominee, John?

BERMAN: Well, almost all of those scenarios include some kind of shakeup at the debate tonight. You know, the starting point for any chance to shake Donald Trump is tonight at this debate. Then after that, if they have a strong debate, maybe Ted Cruz wins Texas, where I am right now, his home state. He wins in Texas, he picks up a heap of delegates.

You know, John Kasich and Marco Rubio are in the same boat. They have to win their own home states and then and only then can they start to claw back into the race. But that's no guarantee.

ROMANS: Yes.

BERMAN: And it's hard. In Tuesday, Super Tuesday, there's a lot of states that look good for Donald Trump. So it will be interesting to see.

ROMANS: It is fascinating. We're so glad you're there for us.

John Berman, in Houston, we'll talk again very, very soon. Meantime --

BERMAN: You're just glad to get rid of me.

ROMANS: Yes. Actually, yes.

New information this morning that President Obama's pick to fill the Supreme Court vacancy could be someone Republicans will have a tough time refusing. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:47:33] ROMANS: President Obama wants to make it clear, despite stonewalling by Senate Republicans, he will put up a candidate for the vacancy on the Supreme Court. The president is said to be consulting with legal experts and members of both political parties before announcing a nominee in the weeks ahead.

CNN has learned one of those being vetted right now is a Republican. Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, also from Nevada, he knows the governor well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID (D), MINORITY LEADER: I don't pick the justices, but I know if he were picked I would support the man. He's a good person, he has a great record, and he has been a tremendously good governor. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: GOP leaders in the Senate have said they will not consider any election year nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court.

New details emerging about the Uber driver charged with killing six people in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Police say they removed a total of 15 firearms from the home of Jason Brian Dalton. Eleven long guns, four handguns. A close friend described Dalton as a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment and says he was concerned recent mass shootings could lead to gun control.

Not guilty pleas from 25 men and women charged with the armed occupation of a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon. They each face up to six years in prison. Defense lawyers were complaining they still have not received any of the evidence against their clients. At a hearing on Wednesday, the judge ordered prosecutors to turn over all the materials by the end of next week.

Three pregnant women in Florida have now tested positive for Zika virus. State health officials confirmed all of them recently traveled outside the country. Their names and locations are being kept private.

Zika is now in 46 countries. And the World Health Organization says the outbreak will get worse before it gets better. They are calling the mosquito-borne virus a bigger menace than any recent epidemic.

Forty-nine minutes past the hour. Time for an EARLY START on your money. Stock futures are down. But it's all about oil. Crude prices have stabilized after two wild swings earlier in the week. Stock markets in Europe are higher. There was a big drop in the Shanghai stock market overnight. More than 6 percent there.

This is the cause of all the craziness in the stock market this week. Oil prices have been volatile. A major rally early in the week as it looked like a production freeze among the world's largest oil producers was a done deal. Iran's oil minister called that agreement a, quote, "joke." That sent prices plunging 6 percent back near $30. And then more optimism yesterday. It's a good thing there. It's all within a $4 swing for crude. So it seems at least the prices may have found a bottom.

[04:50:07] The deadly storm system that slammed the south is now battering the East Coast killing at least four people in Virginia, including a 2-year-old boy.

Just look at the destruction in Waverly about 50 miles south of Richmond. A tornado tossing a mobile home to the air into a church, killing a family of three inside. Lives and possessions ripped apart in an instant for thousands in the area.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was seeing my garage was gone, my camper was gone, my mother's garage was gone, and I was just catching this in the corner of my eye when I was running to her house to make sure she was OK.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Her roof's gone?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her roof is gone. And I stepped up in what was left of her house, and I said mom, are you OK? She said oh, my gosh, son, I'm OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Major damage also being reported in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. An apparent tornado toppling buildings and tearing off rooftops. There are even reports of a collapsed barn with animals still trapped inside.

If you are flying today, check with your carrier. The storm system has caused thousands of cancellations, 300 and counting already preemptively canceled today.

The stormy weather continues in the northeast today. Let's bring in meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: John and Christine, good morning. Yes, we're watching the line of severe weather. The inclement weather that's pushing in across portions of the northeast.

(WEATHER REPORT)

ROMANS: All right. Pedram Javaheri, thank you for that.

So I showed you the crazy swings in the oil market, but what's that done to the stock market over the past week? Why it pays not to panic. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:55:44] ROMANS: A temporary truce in Syria is set to start Saturday and it's still not clear how it will be implemented or what even happens next if it doesn't take hold. The U.S. and Russia trying to hammer out the final details by Friday. It's a complicated agreement and inside the Pentagon, there is mistrust when it comes to Moscow's motives.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is tracking the latest developments. She joins us live from Amman, Jordan. Good morning.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine. In about 24 hours time from now, that is the deadline that's set for the various groups fighting on the ground in Syria with the exception of ISIS and al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra to confirm their participation in this cessation of hostilities that is set to take -- to go into effect at midnight Saturday local time.

But as you mentioned, there are still more questions than answers at this point. About how it's going to be implemented and enforced, who's going to be overseeing it. Lots of details that are still missing. And of course one major component of a situation like this is trust. And it's something that is extremely lacking obviously in this conflict.

And also, we are hearing this, Christine, from U.S. officials. The Pentagon also voicing real suspicion, skepticism when it comes to Russia and its intentions here. What Russia is doing publicly, working with the United States to get this cessation of hostilities in place versus what Russia is doing behind the scenes, what it's doing on the ground with U.S. officials saying that they have been seeing evidence over the past few weeks of Russia backing the regime, backing various groups on the ground and making advances on the ground. So lots of skepticism when it comes to the Russian role, which is a major role, when it comes to the cessation of hostilities agreement.

Now what happens if this agreement fails? If this cessation of hostilities does not work out with lots of skepticism around it. We heard Secretary of State John Kerry speaking to -- at the Senate hearing on Tuesday saying that there would be a plan B in this case. But U.S. officials are saying this plan B is not real options that are there right now. It is more of ideas that are being discussed. Things like putting more pressure on Russia like more sanctions.

And, of course, Christine, we heard President Obama yesterday saying we need to be cautious here not to raise expectations and no expectations are going to be higher than those of the civilians who are trapped in this conflict waiting for that truce.

ROMANS: Yes. They're just waiting for humanitarian aid as the diplomacy -- the wheels of diplomacy grind just so slowly as they always do.

All right, Jomana, in Amman, Jordan, thank you so much for that this morning.

Let's get an EARLY START on your money. A kind of a mixed picture for investors this morning. Dow futures falling slightly with the price -- slipping price of oil. You can see oil back below $32. Yes, some stabilization in the oil market but not much. Meanwhile, nice gains in London, Paris. European forces are up. But Shanghai closed down 6 percent. So there you go. That's the mixed picture there.

Oil prices driving the stock market really right now. And the swings can be scary. It pays never to panic. And here's why. This is the last five trading days for the Dow. Two slim losses to end last week then a big rally, followed by a big drop. Look at that. And more gains yesterday. There it is. After all of that, the net change for the Dow is just plus 32 points. That's it. Stocks recovering right now. Some analysts say the worst may be over.

While the market is very closely tied to volatile oil prices. If you sell and get out, you'll miss the run-up on the other side and possibly some cheap deals on stock prices. So be careful. You can't time the market, folks.

America's most hated retailer is Abercrombie & Fitch. It was ranked dead last in the annual American Customer Satisfaction survey. Abercrombie has struggled to rebuild its image following the departure of its CEO at the end of 2014. It's the first time Abercrombie & Fitch was last in retail with more than 10 points below the average score. 65 score out of 100. Wal-Mart finished second worst. On the flip side, customers love Costco, Nordstrom, Amazon and Wegman's, that's the supermarket chain. Those companies all have the highest scores among retailers.

All right, 49 minutes past the hour. EARLY START continues right now.

ROMANS: In just hours, Republicans running for president take the CNN debate stage. Only five competitors remaining. Frontrunner Donald Trump, boy, he has --