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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Trump Wins Major Endorsements; Trump Declines to Disavow KKK Leader; Rubio Slams Trump After KKK Dust-Up; Oscar Preview, Host Chris Rock Courts Controversy, Taking On #OscarsSoWhite Draws Some Gasps From Audience; Leonardo DiCaprio Wins Best Actor; U.S. Student Detained in North Korea Confessing to "Hostile Act". Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired February 29, 2016 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:30:22] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump in new controversy this morning, attacked for failing to denounce a KKK leader in an interview on CNN.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders sprinting across the country just a day before Super Tuesday. Bernie Sanders trying to increase the intensity of his comments about Hillary Clinton, but is it too late?
ROMANS: And speaking about intense comments, the Oscars, honoring Hollywood's best. The big winners, the big moments, and the big controversy, Chris Rock. Chris Rock, right there -- really interesting stuff last night at the Oscars.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BERMAN: I'm John Berman. Thirty minutes past the hour. Welcome to the biggest week of the entire election season. It is here. Just 24 hours now until Super Tuesday where Republican candidates will fight over nearly half the 1,237 delegates required to secure the nomination.
Overnight, front-runner Donald Trump -- he picked up an important new endorsement -- Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, a fierce critic of illegal immigration. He is now backing Donald Trump. He joins New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie from the other end of the Republican geographic and political spectrum who backed Trump on Friday.
But this morning Trump is also facing some new controversy -- questions over how he handled questions surrounding another endorsement. This one from former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke. Donald Trump told CNN's Jake Tapper that he didn't know enough about Duke to disavow this endorsement, despite having disavowed the endorsement on Friday and back in 2000 -- some 16 years ago, having Duke by name while explaining that Duke's involvement with the Reform Party was one reason why Trump had decided not to run for that party's nomination.
CNN's Chris Frates is with the Trump campaign and has the latest from Alabama. CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning,
John and Christine. Donald Trump got an establishment endorsement here in Alabama on Sunday when Sen. Jeff Sessions threw his support behind Donald Trump. Sessions, long a hardliner on immigration, was the first sitting senator to get behind the billionaire's campaign. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R-AL): At this time in America's history, we need to make America great again. I am pleased to endorse Donald Trump for the president of the United States. I believe a movement is afoot that must not fade away. It has the potential to have the American people's voices heard for a change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRATES: Also on Sunday, Trump refused to disavow the support of former KKK grand wizard, David Duke, saying he didn't have enough information to make a decision.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't know anything about David Duke, OK? I don't know anything about what you're even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists, so I don't know. I mean, I don't know -- did he endorse me, or what's going on? Because, you know, I know nothing about David Duke. I know nothing about white supremacists, and so you're asking me a question that I'm supposed to be talking about people that I know nothing about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRATES: And after that interview, rival Ted Cruz took to Twitter to criticize Donald Trump for not disavowing David Duke's support. Trump later tweeting that he does, in fact, disavow it, but this is an issue that's unlikely to go away as both Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz continue to hit this issue going into the Super Tuesday primary which is just hours away now. Back to you guys.
ROMANS: All right, Chris Frates, thanks for that.
Helping us break down the weekend's political action -- and there was a lot of it -- CNN political analyst, Bloomberg View columnist, Josh Rogin. Good morning.
JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, COLUMNIST, BLOOMBERG VIEW: Morning.
ROMANS: Let's start with this KKK controversy. Donald Trump given numerous chances in that interview with Jake to denounce it -- disavow it. And then he just said look, I don't know anything about it. You heard it there. And then, Rubio really jumping on that controversy. They're looking for whatever -- Rubio's looking for whatever he can to really attack this front-runner. Let's listen to what Rubio said about the KKK thing. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Should the head of the conservative movement -- should the Republican nominee be someone that today, like Donald Trump, refused -- refused to criticize the Ku Klux Klan? He was interviewed on CNN and asked to disavow the Ku Klux Klan. He refused to do it. He was asked to disavow and criticize David Duke. He saidI don't know who that is. He knows exactly who that is. He knows exactly who that is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: You know, Donald Trump has sort of disavowed David Duke in the past, 16 years ago when he said he wouldn't run on the Reform Party ticket because of David Duke. Does this work for Rubio? Does this hurt Donald Trump?
ROGIN: Yes, I think if this were anybody but Donald Trump, it would be a clear case. Everyone would agree. It's just political malpractice. If someone asks you, if you're for running for office, if you disavow the KKK, you say yes, right? That's not a complicated answer.
[05:35:06] But for Marco Rubio, the benefit here, really, is that he's able to sort of control the news cycle -- this crucial news cycle -- one day before the Super Tuesday contest. That's the game. He realizes that Donald Trump has just been dominating coverage with his narrative. Any day he can take away from that, and any day he can put the focus back on Donald Trump and put Donald Trump back on the defensive, that's a good day for Marco Rubio.
So, you'll see this added to a long litany of issues that Marco Rubio is going to focus on. We're talking about the Trump University scandal --
ROMANS: Right.
ROGIN: We're talking about illegal immigrants working on Trump buildings. We're talking about the fact that Donald Trump refuses to release his tax returns. They've been going after Donald Trump on his lack of knowledge of foreign policy.
So, they're throwing everything against the wall to see what sticks. Donald Trump gave them another easy one to attack him with as we head into Tuesday. It's not clear whether or not it's going to be enough. It doesn't seem like it's going to cause Donald Trump to actually lose any states.
BERMAN: Donald Trump picked up an endorsement last night. He now has a U.S. senator, Jeff Sessions, backing him. Ted Cruz, I don't think, has any U.S. senators backing him. So, you get Chris Christie from New Jersey -- a sort of moderate or middle-of-the-road governor from New Jersey -- on Friday.
You get Jeff Sessions, as conservative as they come, from Alabama on Sunday night. This is cracks in the establishment wall right now. This is people starting to come around saying Donald Trump may be the nominee.
ROMANS: Right.
BERMAN: We want to get on that train.
ROGIN: Right. Well, you're looking at two different things. Chris Christie, who most people view as taking an opportunist chance here to really throw in with Trump. Jeff Sessions, who has really been supporting Trump for months. But, then if you look at Congress you have a number of congressmen, including California Rep. Duncan Hunter, coming out for Trump, and then a number of congressmen and senators saying they will never vote for Trump.
And what you're seeing is just a real existential crisis -- a divide at the heart of the Republican Party -- as people come to terms with the fact that Trump is likely right now, according to the people who are voting, to have the best chance of becoming the nominee and everyone's sort of being forced to take sides.
And that's something the Republican Party has not figured out how they're going to deal with. How can you have a prospective candidate where some people in the party, including Republican senators and congressman, say they will never support him and some saying that OK, it's fine. If he's going to be the standard bearer then we have to get behind him. It's a crisis and they're panicked, and there's no other real way to look at it and they really haven't figured out what to do.
ROMANS: Josh, we have brand new polls coming up in just a few minutes at the top of the hour, says the clock -- brand new polls. But I can tell you that the polls to date have been very consistent. Donald Trump on top again and again. And when you run the delegate math it looks like Super Tuesday is going to be super good, delegate-wise, for Donald Trump unless something unusual happens in what has been a very unusual campaign. The only consistency has been that Donald Trump dominates.
ROGIN: Yes. I mean, I think one great way to look at how the candidates are looking at Super Tuesday is to look at where they're spending their time, right? So, you have Ted Cruz spending all of his time in Texas, right? He's supposed to win Texas, so if he was really confident he wouldn't be spending his Monday there. This shows that he's really on his back foot and he really is worried about losing the only state that he really thinks he can win.
You can look at Marco Rubio. He spent the whole weekend in northern Virginia. This tells us that he's focusing on northern states. The Rubio people tell me that they think they can maybe win Minnesota. But, he's focusing on urban and suburban areas. That's where he thinks his Republican voters lie.
If we look at Georgia, where Ted Cruz was showing well only about a month ago, now looks to be a total Trump win. So, as you look across the map there's just no other way to read the polls. Donald Trump looks to pick up a ton of delegates, and after Super Tuesday will have almost 600 delegates out of the 1,200 that he needs to get the nomination decided.
That's a momentum that will be tough to stop no matter how many times he fails to disavow the KKK or fails to explain why he can't release his tax returns. There is a growing concern and consensus that the Trump momentum is getting to the point where it may be unstoppable and that's the story here.
BERMAN: And on the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton going into Super Tuesday with a whole lot of momentum, but Bernie Sanders picking up overnight, the endorsement of Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii, who will be on "NEW DAY" in just a little bit. Josh Rogin, great to have you with us this morning. Thanks so much.
ROGIN: Thanks, John.
ROMANS: He loves to get up early for us. He is a fellow early bird. Thanks, Josh.
BERMAN: He's a man. He's a good man.
ROMANS: Yes, he sure is.
BERMAN: All right. A big, big night in Hollywood. Glitz, glamour, intrigue. The Oscars honor Hollywood's best and we saw some of the best commentary I've seen in a long, long time. Chris Rock just knocking it out of the park. Brian Stelter will knock it out of the park when he joins us live to talk about the Oscars next. How do you like that?
[05:40:34]
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[05:45:38] ROMANS: Yes, there was glitz and glamour last night but there was also an awful lot of controversy at the Oscars. "Spotlight" picked up best picture. Leonardo DiCaprio finally winning an Academy award, but the focus squarely on social issues, particularly the lack of diversity among the nominees. Host Chris Rock did not shy away from -- in fact, he endorsed and mocked this whole #OscarsSoWhite firestorm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS ROCK, ACADEMY AWARDS HOST: It's the 88th Academy Awards. It's the 88th Academy Awards, which means this whole no black nominees thing has happened at least 71 other times, OK? You've got to figure that it happened in the 50's, in the 60's. You know, I remember like when I was in the 60's one of those years Cindy didn't put out a movie, I'm sure there were no black nominees some of those years. Say '62 or '63, and black people did not protest.
Why? Because we had real things to protest at the time, you know? We had real things to protest. We were too busy being raped and lynched to care about who won best cinematographer. You know, when your grandmother's swinging from a tree, it's really hard to care about best documentary foreign short. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: I've got to tell you, watching those faces in that crowd, some people didn't know when to laugh, if it was appropriate to laugh, could they laugh? But some of it was just so funny.
Helping us break all of this down, glamour and controversy, senior media correspondent and host of "RELIABLE SOURCES", CNN's Brian Stelter. This was really --
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT, HOST OF RELIABLE SOURCES: Yes, there were moments where it was almost like a test, especially for the people in the audience.
ROMANS: Exactly.
STELTER: Would they laugh or not?
ROMANS: Exactly. You know, it wasn't about hair or dresses. You always hear in Hollywood that so much is made about the glamour. This was really about substance last night, wasn't it?
STELTER: It was, beginning with the #OscarsSoWhite controversy and then extending into other issues as well. There were a couple of jokes that made me a little squeamish as someone watching Chris Rock on stage. But, it was a very direct commentary on the issue. People say it's about diversity. It might be the wrong word. It's about inclusion or exclusion, and he framed it very well by saying we just want opportunities. Leo DiCaprio has an opportunity every year for a possible Oscar nomination.
ROMANS: Right.
STELTER: He wants his colleagues, he wants his friends to have the same opportunities. And it's not just black actors in Hollywood. It's also Hispanic actors and others in the industry, as well.
ROMANS: It's interesting because he both endorsed this #OscarsSoWhite and mocked it at the same time.
STELTER: Yes. He was having it all ways. There's always been a conservative strand in his commentary. I think at the night, after suggesting there isn't anything as serious to be protesting, he ended the night by saying black lives matters from the stage.
ROMANS: Right.
STELTER: So, I think in some ways Chris Rock was having it all ways. You could argue he actually went too far and talked about it too much. He kept bringing up the issue time and time again. I think it got to a point where you almost forgot this was supposed to be a celebration of Hollywood.
ROMANS: Right.
STELTER: But even later in the evening as we moved on to other issues -- as other topics came up on the stage -- there's was very serious strands to the night.
ROMANS: So let's talk about a couple of those things. Leo finally won -- DiCaprio finally won a best actor and he used the stage to talk about climate change. Listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEONARDO DICAPRIO, ACTOR: Making "The Revenant" was as about man's relationship to the natural world -- a world that we collectively felt in 2015 as the hottest year in recorded history. Our production needed to move to the southern tip of this planet just to be able to find snow. Climate change is real. It is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STELTER: That is an example of -- from Leonardo DiCaprio. Not necessarily surprising because we know he's an outspoken liberal -- someone who has been advocating for this for years.
ROMANS: Right.
STELTER: But he had a stage in front of probably 40 million people to talk about it last night.
ROMANS: The director of his film, "The Revenant" -- it was the second year in a row he has won. Listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEJANDRO INARRITU, DIRECTOR, THE REVENANT: I'm very lucky to be here tonight, OK? But, unfortunately, many others haven't had the same luck. There's a line in the film that says -- Glass, to his mixed race son -- "They don't listen to you. They just see the color of your skin." So what a great opportunity to our generation to really liberate ourselves from all prejudice and, you know, this tribal thinking, and make sure for once and forever that the color of his skin becomes as relevant as the length of our hair.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STELTER: A strange moment, by the way, with the music, and his message was really important and yet the band was trying to play him off. It's one of those moments where I think it's better just to go ahead and have the show run long. People always hit on how long the Oscars runs, but in that case you want to let these people who have thought about their speeches for months, actually give their speeches.
ROMANS: And he was not just thanking a laundry list of people who helped make him famous.
STELTER: No.
ROMANS: He was talking about something incredibly important.
STELTER: You rarely hear about indigenous peoples on stage -- ROMANS: Exactly.
STELTER: -- but Leonardo DiCaprio and the director bringing that up last night.
ROMANS: Quickly, I want to listen to this sound about Joe Biden. The vice president was there. Listen to this quickly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Too many women and men, on and off college campuses, are still victims of sexual abuse and tonight I'm asking you to join millions of Americans, including me, President Obama, the thousands of students I've met on college campuses, and the artists here tonight to take the pledge -- a pledge that says "I will intervene in situations where consent has not or cannot be given." Let's change the culture.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STELTER: Take four minutes this morning. Google Lady Gaga's performance that followed Joe Biden's speech. It was an incredible performance and I think, the most moving moment of the night as sexual abuse survivors came out on stage as she was singing -- as she was performing. You know, Mo Rocca said it best last night. He said the Oscars are now more political than politics, and politics are more entertaining than the Oscars.
ROMANS: Whoa.
[05:52:04] STELTER: It was that kind of night in Hollywood. And by the way, "Spotlight" winning best picture. A movie about journalism. Perhaps, that also, an example of a protest by the voters --
ROMANS: That's right.
STELTER: -- saying they want good investigative journalism.
ROMANS: That's deep. All of it very deep. All right, thanks so much Brian Stelter. Nice to see you.
STELTER: Thanks.
ROMANS: Let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY". Alisyn Camerota joins me this morning. Hi, Alisyn.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Hey, good morning, Christine. Great to see you. So, we're one day away from the biggest day so far in the 2016 primary. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton picking up steam ahead of Super Tuesday. New CNN polling, out at the top of the hour, will tell us where the race is today, so we'll break down those numbers and we'll look at the delegate map. And we'll also speak with Ohio Gov. John Kasich about his chances.
Also, as you've been talking about, some big surprises at the Oscars, both with the awards and with the controversy. Chris Rock got right to it, so if you missed any of it we'll play you all of the highlights. Michaela is live in Hollywood for us this morning. We'll see how the night went for her out there, Christine.
ROMANS: All right, thanks, Alisyn. See you in just a few minutes.
CAMEROTA: Great.
ROMANS: Stock markets around the globe off to a bad start to the week as last day of the month. An early start on your money next.
[05:53:21]
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[05:56:45]
ROMANS: The world is getting its first look at Otto Frederick Warmbier, the University of Virginia student being detained in North Korea. In a videotaped press conference released by Pyongyang, the 21-year-old Warmbier apologizes to all North Koreans, saying he was lured into his criminal act by the United States.
CNN's Will Ripley tracking the latest developments live from Beijing for us, and Will, you have been there, you have talked to some of these people who've been detained before. It's very hard to know what is real and what is scripted, and what the North Koreans are trying to do by showing this sobbing college student on television.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you're right, Christine. We certainly don't know if Otto Warmbier was making this televised confession under duress. This 21-year-old college student's hostile act against the United States allegedly was trying to steal a political banner from his hotel and pack it in his suitcase.
But the North Koreans, in information they supplied to CNN, are saying that this was motivated by the CIA in cahoots with his university and his hometown church. Both the university and church deny this, but Warmbier was seen making this really emotional, dramatic confession. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OTTO FREDERICK WARMBIER: I wish that the United States administration never manipulate people like myself in the future to commit crimes against foreign countries. I entirely beg you, the people and government of the DPRK Korea, for your forgiveness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIPLEY: Warmbier, now, yet another detained that North Korea can use as really a valuable political pawn at a time when they're about to face even stronger sanctions as a result of their nuclear test and satellite launch earlier this year -- Christine.
ROMANS: Just such an odd story. I'm sure his family's working hard and the American people trying to figure out how to get him how. Thank you so much for that. Will Ripley for us in Beijing. Fifty- seven minutes past the hour. Let's get an early start on your money this morning. We're seeing a global slump in stocks right now. Dow futures are down, oil dipping below $33 a barrel. Take a look there at stock markets in Europe -- they are lower. Also losses in Asia overnight.
The U.S. stock market slowly trying to claw back all those losses from earlier this year. The Dow now down at 4.5 percent for the year. That's the best performance of the three major averages. The Dow had been down more than 10 percent just a couple of weeks ago for the year. There are some winners, though, among the Dow 30. If you have 401K or exposure to blended funds you could be benefitting from these that have gained.
Verizon up more than 10 percent this year. Walmart at more than 8 percent, 3M also posting solid gains. Exxon Mobil rising nearly 5 percent despite oil's big drop. All right, last trading day of the year. We'll see if they can pull out a gain.
A brand new CNN poll showing which presidential candidates have the best chances going into Super Tuesday. "NEW DAY" has those brand new polls right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUBIO: Donald is not going to make America great. He's going to make America orange.
TRUMP: He's not cool, he sweats too much, and I don't want him negotiating for us.
RUBIO: Donald Trump refused -- refused to criticize the Ku Klux Klan.
TRUMP: You wouldn't want me to condemn a group that I know nothing about.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We don't need to make America great again. America has never stopped being great.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're looking to the future, not looking back.
CLINTON: I will stand up and fight for you.
ROCK: I'm here at the Academy Awards, otherwise known as the white People's Choice awards.
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: The glitz, the glamour, the controversy.
ROCK: Want the black actors to get the same opportunities and what else? That's it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news. CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. We do have a lot of news for you. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Monday, February 29th, 6:00 in the east. Chris is off this morning. John Berman joins me here. Great to have you. And Michaela is in L.A. covering all of the Oscar excitement for us. Mic will be back with you in a minute.
But we begin with breaking news in the 2016 race. A new CNN national poll shows Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton pulling way ahead of their challengers heading into Super Tuesday tomorrow. Trump and Clinton now widely expected to become their party's nominees. Donald Trump continues to expand his commanding lead with roughly half of Republican voters supporting him. Marco Rubio is second with 16 percent. That's more than 30 points behind Trump. And, Ted Cruz with 15 percent. If you add up all of Trump's competitors, they still cannot match him.
BERMAN: Yes, that is the key point. So much for a winnowed field and consolidation.
