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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Trump Warns of "Riots" at Contested Convention; Obama's SCOTUS Nomination: Dead on Arrival?; Deadly Flooding Swamps the South; Syria Peace Talks Broaden. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired March 17, 2016 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:07] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: New reaction this morning to a warning from Donald Trump that there could be violence at the Republican convention if he is somehow blocked on his way to the nomination.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: In hours, President Obama Supreme Court nominee heads to Capitol Hill, but does Merrick Garland has any chance of filling the court vacancy?
BERMAN: There's deadly flooding this morning in the South. Damage done and the forecast that doesn't look so good.
Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. Nice to see you all this morning. It's St. Patrick's Day. It's also 30 minutes past the hour.
Breaking overnight, Donald Trump is making it clear that he is now sure 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)
ROMANS: Trump even told "NEW DAY" he thinks there could be riots if he is blocked from getting the nomination.
Late last night, Ted Cruz condemned Trump for suggesting there may be violence. But now, Trump supporter Ben Carson agrees with Trump about potential unrest.
(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)
ROMANS: Cruz mocked Trump for choosing not to attend a debate next week. That debate is now being cancelled.
CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has the latest for us.
(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, he is dismissing claims that he is only playing kind of a spoiler role as he continues to run for president. He insists he is trying to win. After the victory in his home state of Ohio, Governor Kasich drew a big crowd at a town meeting near Philadelphia. He says he expects to be a viable candidate come convention time. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL 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.
REPORTER: Why don't you think Cruz can't?
KASICH: Because they can't. They don't have the right tone or philosophy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: So, Governor Kasich says it is unlikely to declare a first ballot victory at the convention. It's actually impossible for Kasich, mathematically impossible for him to have enough delegates. He is required to have at least a convention fight.
We showed a picture of James Inhofe, Republican Senator from Oklahoma. He says he is now endorsing John Kasich. He was supporting Marco Rubio.
Nikki Haley, who was supporting Marco Rubio, says she's going to vote for Ted Cruz.
ROMANS: Yes, interesting.
All right. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton's campaign capitalizing on her string of Super Tuesday victories. The statement that calls her leads over Bernie Sanders in pledge delegates, easy for me to say, now nearly insurmountable.
Sanders campaign begs to differ, saying the Democratic race is far from over and outlining a path to victory that winds through the west.
[04:35:05] Today, Sanders headlines a rally in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns 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: So, on top of the TV ads, Hillary Clinton built on her Super Tuesday wins 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 trouble with.
(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: You laughed. I guess I don't get all of it --
ROMANS: I guess I'm like a 19-year-old woman. It goes right to my demographic.
BERMAN: Hillary Clinton has no public appearances on her schedule for a few days. She will do fund-raisers, including one in Connecticut tomorrow.
ROMANS: All right. New developments this morning in the controversy surrounding President Obama's pick to be the next Supreme Court justice, Merrick Garland. The widely respected federal judge visits Capitol Hill today. He will meet with two Democratic senators, a handful of Republicans will meet with Garland eventually, but none are on his schedule today.
We get more 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)
ROMANS: All right. Michelle Kosinski, thank you for that.
So, just who is Merrick Garland and why did the president pick him for the most intense Supreme Court battle in recent memory?
Justice correspondent Pam Brown will be back with the answers in just about ten minutes.
BERMAN: Attorneys for Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl released documents to the public. They claim they did it to counteract the negative publicity facing their client. The documents show that Bergdahl had been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder by an army sanity 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. He faced a desertion charges at a military trial this summer.
ROMANS: All right. Deadly flooding slams the South. Texas governor is warning the disaster will get worse. We've got that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:44:06] BERMAN: Flooding is a major problems in Louisiana and Texas this morning. More rain is on the way. Record high flood waters left neighborhoods submerged. Thousands of people forced from their homes. A family in Orange, Texas, surrounded by water. You can see right there. It's now set up camp on the roof. Torrential rain turned I-10 into a river and closed at the Texas/Louisiana border.
The governor in Texas, Greg Abbott, declared it a disaster. He's seeking federal aid after a helicopter tour of areas inundated by the 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: More rain ahead for Texas and Louisiana. More rain. Let's bring in meteorologist Derek Van Dam for the very latest.
[04:45:01] DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right, John and Christine.
Unfortunately, more rain forecast for an already extremely saturated environment, especially across northern Louisiana and to Arkansas and border of Texas. That's where we have the potential for some stronger storms developing later today.
But keep in mind that this area is almost like an extremely saturated sponge. It just has no more water capacity to it and that means the water will eventually start to sink its own level. We have several tributaries, rivers, streams, all feeding into one another. The Sabine River, for example, near the border of Louisiana and Texas currently are shattering records that have stood for over a century in terms of flood stages.
Now, along the East Coast, we have a nice day today. Look at the temperature trend into New York, as well as the nation's capital, really starting to go downhill. In fact, some of our computer models picking up on the potential of a nor'easter, believe it or not.
Look at the forecast snowfall totals into next week. Perhaps four to eight inches in the Big Apple? Winter not done yet. Back to you.
ROMANS: What? What?
BERMAN: I was not expecting that.
ROMANS: Looking at the cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C. All right. Happy spring.
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder will be on a congressional hot seat this morning when he testifies before the House Oversight Committee on the water crisis in Flint. Snyder 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 and others have called on Governor Snyder to resign over his handling of the contamination crisis in Flint. EPA Chief Gina McCarthy is also scheduled to testify today.
BERMAN: 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.
ROMANS: The Washington, D.C. subway system is set to reopen within the hour after a day-long shutdown for emergency inspection of the high voltage power system. Transit officials say 26 defective cables have been found and at least 18 being repaired. They say some of the 91 subway stations may remain closed if prepares are not completed by the scheduled reopening time at 5:00 a.m. Eastern.
BERMAN: Five North Carolina sheriff deputies are facing suspensions for looking the other way when the man was attacked at a 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.
The driver accused of fatally shooting six people during a rampage in Kalamazoo in Michigan taking his former employer to court. The alleged shooter is suing Uber for $10 million. In a handwritten civil rights lawsuit, he blames 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 for your early start on your money. Dow futures are higher, thanks to rising oil prices. European stock markets are higher. There were solid gains in Asian stocks. The world's top oil producers will meet and talk about their problems.
Sources tell CNNMoney that OPEC members and others countries will gather in the Middle East next month. The guest list isn't set. Just talking about meeting helped oil surge 6 percent, rising close to $40 a barrel. Crude is now up an amazing 34 percent in the past month. Investors have been anticipating a freeze.
The glut of oil has been a driver of lower prices. Also, you have slowing demand in China and other developing nations.
BERMAN: All right. Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland says being picked to replace Antonin Scalia is the greatest honor of his lifetime. But he knows he has to survive a fierce political fight. Is he ready for this? How did this Harvard Law School grad find himself within reach of a seat in the highest court of the land? CNN justice correspondent Pamela Brown has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, John and Christine.
After much anticipation, Merrick Garland has been announced by the president as his pick to replace Antonin Scalia on the high court. Garland was well known to the White House. He has been on the short list before, but he lost out to Justice Kagan and Sotomayor. He's highly regarded on both sides of the aisle. He's considered by many as centrist who doesn't view his job as legislating from the bench. He's a graduate of Harvard and Harvard Law School where he earned high honors. And he worked as a shoe clerk and tutor to pay his way through school and then went on to serve in private sector, as well as the government as a federal prosecutor.
He is 63 years old, which is on the older side for a nominee. But that, of course, could be something that helps with the GOP since he wouldn't serve on the court as long. This is also seen as his last shot for the seat and the fact he has less to lose than other potential nominees.
[04:50:03] Republican senators, though, are already coming out and vowing not to hold a hearing, even senators who voted for him back in 1997. They say they still like him, but staying true to the party line. Merrick Garland will be on the Hill soon meeting with Senators Leahy and Reid. This will push. The White House is hoping that Republicans will change course, change their mind and end up holding the hearing after public pressure -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Pamela, thank you for that.
Fifty minutes past the hour.
It's been a nerve wracking year for investors. But the Dow Jones Industrial Average nearing a milestone that could lead to a better return for your 401(k). That's right. You can look again, folks. You can look. I'll tell you how close it is, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:55:01] BERMAN: 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. The question is, can they hammer out a deal that will stick?
CNN's international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson tracking these developments for us.
Good morning, Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, good morning, John.
So, late last night in Geneva, we had a meeting with the Moscow-Cairo group and the U.N. special envoy. This is a group that is politically significant, and it has support from Moscow. They are sort of seen as, if you will, a moderate opposition. They don't have rebel groups among them. But they are at these talks in a sort of consultative advisory capacity.
The U.N. special envoy is dealing with two principal groups. Syrian government and main opposition made up of rebel groups, some hard liner Islamist to the prime minister. These are the two groups. So, what the special envoy is consulting with other Syrian voices, that's how he puts it. He met with the women's groups met over weekend.
But the overall atmosphere in Geneva, that the talks at the moment is reasonably positive. Western diplomats I was talking to last night still question Russia's motivation for its drawdown. Is this significant drawdown? Will it last? Will it hold? What does it mean? All these questions.
But the talks themselves are beginning to get under way. This is four days in. It's a beginning of a long process. But that group last night, the Moscow/Cairo group last night and two main groups, Syrian government and a large opposition delegation have put their points about what they like to achieve to the U.N. special envoy. And now, it's his job to kind bring those together, trying to merge some of them, bridge the gap, some other issues.
But this is the process that everyone's been waiting to see happen and get under way. There's still a lot of questions and a huge distance to go. The government delegation yesterday was kind of kicking out of the opposition delegation. They're big, big gaps there, John.
BERMAN: The process in of itself is a beginning. Nic Robertson for us, thanks so much, Nic.
New U.S. sanctions against North Korean. 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 nuclear test and satellite launch violating existing U.N. sanctions.
ROMANS: All right. Let's get an early start on your money this morning.
Stock futures are higher. Oil prices helping those gains. Oil climbing again this morning, now trading above 39 bucks a barrel. Stock markets in New York and Asia are up.
Check out where the major averages stand for 2016 so far. Solid gains for stocks pushed the Dow 99 points away from positive for the year. That rise came courtesy of the Federal Reserve. Federal Reserve is holding interest rates steady right now and lowering its economic growth target for the year. How can that be a good thing if it's lowering growth targets? Well,
investors like that move because it signals the low interest rate environment will continue. That will keep things like mortgages, credit cards, car loans cheaper for many Americans.
Time is running out for you to fill out your NCAA tournament bracket. You probably won't win your office pool.
BERMAN: Come on.
ROMANS: But Americans will spend billions of dollars trying, $9.2 billion into gambling around the NCAA tournament men's basketball tournament. Fans will fill out 70 million total brackets with the average entry fee of 29 bucks.
BERMAN: That's the average?
ROMANS: Yes.
BERMAN: That's expensive.
ROMANS: I think so, too.
The top industry playing this year. More than one-third of financial services employees plane to join in office poll. It's also popular among sales team. Twenty-six percent of IT and transportation workers fill out brackets. If you want to stack your bracket up against John Berman or mine, you can go to CNN.com/bracket.
BERMAN: I'm already losing. I'm already losing. It hasn't started yet, and I'm losing bad.
ROMANS: You need to pay me the $29 for the entrance in the CNN pool.
BERMAN: EARLY START continues right now.
(MUSIC)
BERMAN: Donald Trump warned that there could be riots if he is somehow blocked to the Republican nomination. New reaction to that claim this morning.
ROMANS: In hours, President Obama's Supreme Court nominee heads to Capitol Hill. New developments on who will meet with him and what it all means.
BERMAN: Deadly flooding in the South. This morning, reports that it will only will get worse.
ROMANS: Wow.
BERMAN: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.
ROMANS: Happy St. Patrick's Day. It -- I'm Christine Romans. It is Thursday, March 17th. It's 5:00 a.m. in the East. Breaking overnight, Donald Trump making it clear he is now sure 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)
ROMANS: Trump told CNN's "NEW DAY" he thinks there could be riots at the Republican convention in Cleveland if somehow he is blocked from getting the nomination.
Late last night, Trump's closest competitor Ted Cruz, condemned Trump for suggesting there might be violence.
