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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Trump Warns of Riots If He Doesn't Win; Obama's SCOTUS Nomination: Dead on Arrival?; Deadly Flooding Swamps the South. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired March 17, 2016 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:12] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump warns there could be riots if he doesn't win the Republican nomination. We have new reaction to the comment this morning.
In just hours, President Obama's Supreme Court nominee heads to Capitol Hill. New developments on just who will meet with him and what it all means.
Deadly flooding in the South. And this morning, it is only getting worse.
Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman. It is Thursday, March 17th. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East.
And breaking overnight: Donald Trump says he is sure that he will be the Republican nominee for president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I started off, there was 17 people, all smart, all tough, all cunning. And, you know, it's down to three, if you want to say three.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Trump also told "NEW DAY" that he thinks there could be riots in Cleveland at the Republican convention if he is somehow blocked from getting the nomination.
Late last night, Trump's closest competitor, Ted Cruz, condemned Donald Trump for suggesting that there might be violence. But now, Trump supporter, Ben Carson, agrees with Trump about potential riots.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No one should be surprised that Donald Trump is trying to stir up riots. I wish we had a presidential candidate that was bringing us together, instead of encouraging such things.
DR. BEN CARSON (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's no question there would be a lot of turmoil if the establishment tries to thwart the will of the people, recognizing that millions of new voters have come into the Republican fold, largely as a result of Donald Trump. And it's very unlikely those people would maintain their enthusiasm if, in fact, some shenanigans resulted in someone else being the nominee.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: All right. Other new developments, Ted Cruz mocked Donald Trump for pulling out of the debate next week. That debate has now been canceled. John Kasich said he's not going either.
CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine.
Well, Donald Trump is making it very clear that he is looking ahead, that he really wants this GOP nominating process to come to a close. Trump says that he will not show up for the scheduled next debate in Salt Lake City, Utah. Instead, he says he'll be giving up a policy speech in Washington, D.C. to the pro-Israel organization AIPAC instead. Now, after that, John Kasich says, "If Trump is not debating, I'm not going to either."
And all of this forced FOX News, the host of that debate next week, to cancel it outright.
Now, the Cruz campaign is hoping to capitalize a bit on all of this, coming out with a statement saying, quote, "Donald Trump is scared to debate Ted Cruz next week. Mr. Trump, if you won't debate in Utah, we'll bring the debate to you."
CRUZ: I guess he doesn't like when anyone challenges him. You know, he was saying just a week ago that he was eager to get one-on-one with me. Well, this debate, the field is narrowed even more and he could have had a direct debate with me and yet, Donald apparently is ducking. He's afraid of being challenged.
SERFATY: And the Cruz campaign says that Ted Cruz campaign will appear at the same speech on Monday where Donald Trump is speaking. He intends to draw clear contrast at that speech with Donald Trump -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: All right. Sunlen Serfaty, thank you so much.
John Kasich, the governor of Ohio, claims -- is dismissing claims that he is only playing a spoiler role in the battle for the nomination right now. He insists that he is trying to win. After a victory in his home state Ohio, Governor Kasich drew a big crowd in a town hall meeting near Philadelphia. He says he expects to be a viable candidate come convention time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTAIL CANDIDATE: It is unlikely that anybody is going to achieve enough delegates to avoid a convention. And for those who worried about a convention, it could be right in the open. I mean, there's no closed rooms. There's nothing but a total transparency, and I think at that convention, they're going to look at two or three things if that what happens and it's likely to.
I -- politics is so crazy. You never know what will happen. But they're going to look at somebody who can actually be president of the United States, who has a record of accomplishments, not just talk. And secondly, they're going to wonder about who can win a general election, who can win Ohio. And I can tell you, those folks can't.
(CROSSTALK)
KASICH: They don't have the right tone or philosophy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Governor Kasich picked up the endorsement of Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe last night. The senator had previously backed Marco Rubio. Nikki Haley, the governor of South Carolina, though, says she now supports Ted Cruz. She, too, had supported Marco Rubio.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton's campaign is trying to capitalize on her string of victories this past Tuesday, with a statement that calls her lead over Bernie Sanders in pledged delegates now nearly insurmountable.
Bernie Sanders campaign says that's not the case. They say the race is far from over. And they are outlining a path of victory that moves through the west. Today, Bernie Sanders is doing a rally in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Senior Washington correspondent Joe Jones now has more from Phoenix.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, the Sanders campaign was using sports analogies. They say this is halftime and at the end, they will win the game. They say that's because the electoral map as it expands out to the West works in their favor in states like Arizona, Wisconsin, even California.
The Sanders' campaign said this is still a race for delegates even as Hillary Clinton's campaign was enjoying enormous victories in multiple states. For her part, the former secretary of state took Wednesday off even though her campaign did not. They issued three new television ads including one featuring former Arizona congresswoman and shooting victim Gabby Giffords.
GABBY GIFFORDS, FORMER ARIZONA CONGRESSWOMAN: We have a gun violence problem. So, I'm voting for Hillary Clinton. She's tough. She will stand up to the gun lobby.
JOHNS: Joe Johns, CNN, Phoenix, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: Our thanks to Joe for that. On top of the TV ads, Hillary Clinton built on her wins this past Tuesday with a cameo on a sitcom last night, Comedy Central's "Broad City". The show is very popular with young women, a demographic that Hillary Clinton has had some trouble with in the campaign so far.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: We need to drum up some excitement for the campaign. Do everything that we possibly can. You know what I'll do?
Look at that.
I thought this would be really good for office morale. Isn't she great?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of course. We assumed it was a he.
CLINTON: Oh, no, no. It's a she.
UIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Definitely a she.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Hillary Clinton has no public appearances on her schedule for the rest of the week. Hoping for more cameos just like this one, though. She will do a bunch of fund-raisers. She's going to be in Connecticut tomorrow for just such an event.
New developments this morning, the controversy surrounding President Obama's pick for the next Supreme Court justice, Merrick Garland. The federal judge visits Capitol Hill today. He will meet with two Democratic senators. Now, a handful of Republicans have agreed to meet with Garland eventually, but none on the schedule today.
Let's get more now from CNN White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John and Christine.
Right, so you have the perfect springtime day in the Rose Garden, unexpectedly emotional, but you knew just outside, this perfect political storm was only getting bigger. And right away, we heard from Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and others, even some Republicans who supported Merrick Garland back when he was confirmed to the federal bench here in D.C. years ago, saying this should not happen now.
McConnell is saying it's not about the person. It's about the principle. That president shouldn't be putting forward a nominee in this environment, somebody who is going to shift the balance of the court right before a presidential nomination, saying, let the people decide.
The White House wants to present Garland as the kind of perfect consensus nominee, somebody so moderate with such stellar credentials that Republicans would look as bad as possible, even if indeed they're not even going to consider him. The White House wants to apply pressure, even coming from the outside, coming from the public, to try to convince Senate Republicans to at the very least give him a chance. And if they won't, then, of course, the White House would love to see maximum political damage coming out of this.
And the president was pretty clear in the Rose Garden, saying that if Republicans go down this road of obstruction, it would reduce confidence in the Supreme Court and judicial system as a whole that democracy in America would suffer from this fight. And as the White House press secretary put it, we're just looking for a bit of fairness -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: All right. Michelle, thanks so much.
Attorneys for Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl just released documents from this case to the public, claiming they did it to counteract all the negative publicity facing their client. The documents show that Bergdahl has been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder by an army sanitary board. Bergdahl claims he wandered from his post in Afghanistan in 2009 to draw attention to what he called bad decisions being made by his superiors. He believes his actions were self sacrificial. Bergdahl faces desertion charges at a military trial this summer.
All right. Deadly flooding hits the South and governor of Texas is warning this disaster could get worse. We have new developments, next.
(COMMERCIJAL BREAK)
[04:13:47] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Flooding still a major problem in parts of Louisiana and Texas. More rain is on the way. Record high floodwaters have left entire neighborhoods submerged. Thousands of people forced from their homes. A family in Orange, Texas, surrounded by water is now living on the roof.
Torrential rain turns Interstate 10 into a river. It was close at the Texas-Louisiana border. Look at that. The severe weather blamed for five deaths now. Texas Governor Greg Abbott after a helicopter tour of areas inundated by flooding warned people the danger is far from over.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R), TEXAS: It's important that I emphasize that listen that the rising waters are not over yet. People need to remember about the possibility that the water could continue to rise for another day or two.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Abbott declared an emergency. He requested federal disaster aid.
BERMAN: And more rain ahead for Texas and Louisiana later today. I want to bring in meteorologist Derek Van Dam for the latest.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right, John and Christine. More rain forecast for an already saturated environment. You see, the ground is like a sponge that's reached its full water capacity. It cannot hold anymore water content and unfortunately, there's more precipitation in the forecast later tonight.
In fact, we highlighted that area where you see the shading of green and yellow, that's where we could have stronger storms, especially near the border of Texas and Louisiana.
[04:15:06] In fact, that's our hot spot for the flooding at the moment. The Sabine River, this is an area that separates Texas and Louisiana. And records have fell at the river gauges that stood well over a century.
Now, in other weather news, we've had a nice warm up along the East Coast. Don't get used to that. Our forecast into this weekend and early next week calls for the potential of a nor'easter, believe it or not. Some of our computer models indicating a few inches of snow for places like New York City, as well as Boston.
Back to you.
BERMAN: That's no good.
All right. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder will be on a congressional hot seat this morning. He testifies before the House Oversight Committee over Flint. The governor is expected to blame the poisoning of the Flint water supply on a failure of government at every level, local, state and federal. Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and others have called on Governor Snyder to resign over his handling of the contamination crisis in Flint. EPA Chief Gina McCarthy also scheduled to testify today.
ROMANS: Schools in Newark, New Jersey, will begin testing some 17,000 students for lead poisoning. Officials are responding to a state environment report being released publicly today that found water samples from nearly half of the city schools, half of the schools, contained elevated lead levels for years. They've already shut off faucets and drinking fountains of 30 of the 65 Newark school.
BERMAN: The Washington, D.C. subway system is set to reopen within the hour. This is after a day-long shutdown for emergency inspection of the high voltage power system. Transit officials say the 26 defective cables were found. At least 18 of them have been repaired. They say some of the 91 subway stations may remain closed if repairs are not completed by the scheduled reopening time, that is about 45 minutes from now.
ROMANS: All right. Five North Carolina sheriff's deputies are facing suspension for apparently looking the other way when a man was attacked at a Donald Trump rally. The Cumberland County sheriff says three of the deputies were demoted and suspended without pay for five days. All five will spend the next year on probation. Video shows an African-American man led away by deputies this month when he was attacked. The 78-year-old white assailant was charged with assault and disorderly conduct.
BERMAN: The driver accused of fatally shooting six people during a rampage in Kalamazoo in Michigan taking his former employer to court. This guy is suing Uber for $10 million in a handwritten civil rights lawsuit blaming the ride sharing service for ruining his life. The accused continued to make pick ups during the five-hour shooting spree. The company says he alone is responsible for his actions.
ROMANS: All right. Time now for an early start on your money.
Dow futures are pointing higher. Oil is up after a big gain yesterday. Stock markets in Europe are rising. Shares in Asia climbed overnight. The Federal Reserve has new concerns about the strength of the global economy and how that may affect the U.S. The Fed Chief Janet Yellen keeping interest rates unchanged. That was expected after that two-day meeting.
But the Fed is dimming its economic growth outlook here in the U.S. It forecasts that GDP, economic growth, will rise 2.2 percent this year, compared with its 2.4 percent outlook that it issued in December.
Policymakers expect to raise interest rates two more times this year. That's going to depend on the economy. The Fed says it could return rates to zero in the effect of a shock, in the event of a shock in the financial system. Investors like all this because it shows the Fed is being cautious and will not raise rates in a volatile economic environment.
So, pushing off more rate increases, stock investors at least think is good for the economy and good for them.
BERMAN: All right.
ROAMNS: Happening now, a new problem with the peace talks trying to end the crisis in Syria. We are live, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:23:06] ROMANS: A glimmer of hope in the Syria peace talks unfolding in Geneva. A leader of a self-described opposition group made of Syrian expats praising Russia's willingness to take part in the talks and meeting with the U.N. special envoy. Can they hammer out a deal and will it stick?
CNN's international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson tracking developments live for us from London. Good morning, Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, good morning, Christine.
We're talking here about the Moscow/Cairo group who are invited to the U.N. peace talks in Geneva. They are not the principle parties, if you will that are there to negotiate. You have the Syrian government on one hand and you have the high negotiating committee, the principal opposition group.
These are the two parties that the U.N. is trying to bring together. But what the U.N. special envoy is doing here and the reason he met with this other group. He has said that he is free to invite other people to come so he hears other voices, other Syrian voices. He met with a Syrian women's group at the weekend.
This group is a strong political group, the group he met, with the Moscow/Cairo group is a strong political group. There are figures in there. Jihad Makdissi, a former spokesperson at the Syrian foreign ministry, went into exile three years ago. Significant politician representing the Christian population who feel marginalized and not sure who to trust in Syria right now.
They have a voice, believe they have a voice. The U.N. believes that they have a voice that needs to be heard at negotiating table. They're not part of these negotiations, but it is clear they want to keep them on board, keep ideas involved. They put forward a seven- point plan as we've seen other groups do, put forward their plans and initiatives, the U.N. special envoy.
We are at the beginning of the long process. The fact that it's up and running, diplomats I talked to in Geneva say this is a good thing.
[04:25:03] The fact this group, Moscow/Cairo group, is there in Geneva, that's also a positive thing they say.
The reality is, this is so much at the beginning. It's very hard to know which way to go. One western diplomat I talked to yesterday said we're still not even quite clear yet Russia's intention with that drawdown of troops is creating a better atmosphere, but nobody yet clear what it's all going to mean -- Christine.
ROMANS: Oh, interesting.
All right. New questions there. OK, thanks so much, Nic.
BERMAN: New U.S. sanctions against North Korea this morning. The White House order in part freezes the North's government property in the U.S. It also greatly expands the U.S. government's power to black lists anyone, including non-Americans dealing with North Korea. The action comes after North Korea's test and satellite launch in the last couple of months which violate existing U.N. sanctions.
ROMANS: So, will violence erupt if Donald Trump doesn't win the Republican nomination for president? A new reaction to the frontrunner's warning, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: New reaction this morning to a warning from Donald Trump that there could be violent at the Republican convention.
