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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Trump Warns of Riots at Contested Convention; Trump Won't Attend Next Debate; SCOTUS Nominee Garland On Capitol Hill; Campaign Puts Out New Ads; Record-High Flooding Swamps Texas & Louisiana; Flint Water Crisis Hearing. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired March 17, 2016 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:00] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: New reaction this morning to Donald Trump's warning of violence if he doesn't win the Republican nomination for president.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: In just hours President Obama's Supreme Court nominee heads to Capitol Hill. We will tell you who he is meeting with and who he is not, and what it all means.

ROMANS: Deadly flooding slams the south. The damage done and what's still to come. More rain ahead, folks.

Welcome back to EARLY START this morning. I'm Christine Romans.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman. Nice to see you. Thirty minutes past the hour right now.

Breaking overnight, Donald Trump -- he says he is certain that he will be the Republican nominee and he seems to scoff at the notion that anyone else is even under consideration at this point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When I started off there was 17 people, all smart, all tough, all cunning, and it's now down to three, if you want to say three.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: On "NEW DAY", Trump suggested there could be riots at the Republican convention in Cleveland if he's somehow blocked from getting the nomination. Late last night Ted Cruz, who's running a second right now to Donald Trump -- he condemned Trump for that notion. But Ben Carson, now a Trump supporter, agrees.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But 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.

BEN CARSON (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's no question that 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 that those people would maintain their enthusiasm if, in fact, some shenanigans resulted in someone else being the nominee.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Ted Cruz mocked Donald Trump for choosing not to attend a debate next week. That debate has now been canceled. CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has the latest.

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 week's debate in Salt Lake City, Utah. Instead, he says he'll be giving a policy speech in Washington, D.C. to the pro- Israel organization, AIPAC, instead.

Now, after that, John Kasich says if Trump's not debating, I'm not going to either. Now, 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, "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."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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 has 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And the Cruz campaign says that Ted Cruz will appear at that same speech on Monday where Donald Trump is speaking and he intends to draw a clear contrast at that speech with Donald Trump -- John and Christine.

ROMANS: All right, Sunlen, thank you for that. New developments this morning in the controversy surrounding President Obama's pick to be the next Supreme Court Justice, Merrick Garland. The federal judge visits Capitol Hill today. He's going to meet with two Democratic senators. A handful of Republicans have agreed to meet with Garland eventually, but none on the schedule today.

We get more this morning from CNN White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John and Christine, right. So you had this 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 saying it's not about the person, it's about the principle. That President Obama 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 this kind of perfect consensus nominee. Somebody so moderate with such stellar credentials that Republicans would look as bad as possible 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 inflicted coming out of this.

[05:35:00] 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 the judicial system as a whole. That democracy in American would suffer from this fight. And as the White House press secretary put it, we're just looking for a little bit of fairness -- John and Christine.

ROMANS: All right, thanks, Michelle.

BERMAN: All right, let's talk about all the political madness happening -- this March madness. Joining us, managing editor of CNN Politics Digital, Zachary Wolf. Zach, nice to see you this morning. Donald Trump sent shock waves, yet again, through the political world with comments he made right here on "NEW DAY".

Of course, the question right now is is there going to be a contested convention? Will the establishment try to block Donald Trump from getting the nomination? And, Donald Trump warns that if someone does try to block him there could be dangerous repercussions. Listen to what he said on "NEW DAY".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think we'll win before getting to the convention. But, I can tell you -- if we didn't and if we're 20 votes short, or if we're 100 short, and we're at 1,100 and somebody else is at 500 or 400 -- because we're way ahead of everybody -- I don't think you can say that we don't get it automatically. I think you'd have riots.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: There's two questions here, Zach, right? Can people block Donald Trump from getting the nomination if he doesn't get the majority of delegates, and should they try to block Donald Trump? Should they get in the way of what the plurality of Republican voters say, and that's what Donald Trump seems to be harping on right now.

ZACHARY WOLF, CNN POLITICS, MANAGING EDITOR: Well, yes, he's a little more than halfway to the number of delegates he needs -- that 1,237 delegates. He's a little more than halfway there or more than halfway through the states that have voted, so he would have to improve his winning. He'd have to win by more than he has been in order to get there. So, can they block him? Yes.

If Ted Cruz and John Kasich get enough delegates, and it certainly looks like they could, then we would get to the convention, nobody would have an outright majority, and then you'd see this horse trading start. You'd see these different rounds of elections and people deciding who they're going to back, and it would be one of the fascinating political stories to cover of our time.

On the other hand, I think a lot of these new Republicans who have supported Trump would look at it as though the party -- we're trying to take away the will of the people, and he's right. It will be fascinating.

ROMANS: Let's listen to what John Kasich said about this. The terminology is now open convention. Not contested or brokered convention, but open convention which means all of this would happen with lots of sunshine on it. Listen.

(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 that worry about a convention, it will be right in the open. There's no closed rooms. There's nothing but total transparency. I think at that convention they're going to look at two or three things if that's what happens, and it's likely to.

Politics is so crazy you never know what'll happen. But, they're going to look at somebody who could 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?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: And that's the entire John Kasich strategy right there, right?

WOLF: Well, he said it's unlikely that anybody's going to get to Cleveland with the number of delegates. It's mathematically impossible for John Kasich to get to Cleveland with the number of delegates he needs. So, if there's one person out there who absolutely wants to have a contested convention, it's John Kasich. That's the only way he can become president.

BERMAN: And he says it's all out in the open. That's not exactly the case. There's this whole rules committee that meets the week beforehand, which has some stuff that can easily happen behind closed doors. There's district level conventions happening right now. This is not the kind of stuff that's broadcast 24 hours on TV, so there will be a lot of gamesmanship. Not illegal, but there will be gamesmanship between now and July to be sure. Let's shift to the Democrats right now because Hillary Clinton -- she had four, maybe five, victories this last Tuesday. She's trying to get her name out there, her face out there for some voters who haven't been that warm to her, namely the kids -- the young kids. And they love these wacky new comedy shows on Comedy Central and Hillary Clinton appeared on "Broad City" last night.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: 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.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Definitely a she.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: So, Zach, we're assured by people younger and hipper than we are that A, this is funny, and B, that this is a show that does appeal to a younger demographic, particularly women, and Hillary Clinton does need to make inroads there.

WOLF: She does. She's lost young people, I think in pretty much every contest, so they clearly seem to like Bernie Sanders more -- the youngsters -- so she needs to make inroads there. She has this kind of difficult situation for her where she's almost assuredly the Democratic nominee at this point because of her delegate lead, but she doesn't want to make the Bernie Sanders' supporters mad in the coming months. So, she has to walk this line of convincing them that she's the person, while at the same time not saying Bernie needs to go away. I'm not exactly sure how she's going to do that, but we'll see.

[05:40:00]

ROMANS: All right, Zach Wolf, nice to see you this morning. Thanks for getting up early for us.

WOLF: Thank you.

BERMAN: Thanks, Zach.

ROMANS: All right, 40 minutes past the hour. Deadly flooding slams the south. It is not over yet. What's still to come, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:45:00]

BERMAN: Flooding a major problem in parts of Louisiana and Texas, and more rain is on the way. Record-high floodwaters have let entire neighborhoods submerged. Thousands of people forced from their homes. We see these pictures of a family in Texas, their house surrounded by water. They're now living on the roof.

Torrential rains turned interstate 10 (video playing) -- look at that -- flooded right there. It was closed to the Texas-Louisiana border. The severe weather blamed for five deaths. The Texas governor, Greg Abbot -- after a helicopter tour of areas inundated by flooding, the governor warned people the danger is far from over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R), TEXAS: It's important that I emphasize that, listen, 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)

BERMAN: Abbott declared an emergency. He has requested federal disaster aid.

ROMANS: Michigan governor Rick Snyder will be on the congressional hot seat this morning. 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 the failure of government at every level -- local, state, and federal. Hillary Clinton and others have called for Snyder to resign over his handling of the lead contamination crisis.

BERMAN: Schools in Newark, New Jersey will begin testing some 17,000 students for lead poisoning. Officials responded to a state environmental report being released publicly today. They found water samples from nearly half the city schools contained elevated levels of lead for years.

ROMANS: All right, time for an early start on your money. Dow futures are higher thanks to rising oil prices. The European stock markets posting solid gains overnight in Asia. The world's top oil producers -- they're going to meet and they're going to talk about their problems. Sources tell "CNNMONEY" that OPEC members in other countries will gather in the Middle East next month. The guest list has not been set.

Oil prices surged 6 percent on just talk of a meeting and talking, rising close to right about $40 a barrel. Crude is now up an amazing 34 percent over the past month. Think of that? That spike comes as investors have been anticipating a freeze in production levels. A global glut of oil has been a driver of lower prices, also slowing demand in China and other developing nations have helped drive prices down. But, boy, that big pop recently is something, isn't it?

BERMAN: Let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY". Michaela Pereira joins us now. Good morning.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Hello, friends, how are we?

ROMANS: Good. PEREIRA: Tomorrow' Friday, so you should be better than good -- come on. All right, so obviously this morning there's all sorts of fallout over Donald Trump's assertion there will be riots if he is denied the Republican nomination at a contested convention. Those comments that he made here on "NEW DAY" taking on new life as the chances of a contested convention gain steam. We're going to get into that. We're going to have a look at what exactly happens if there is no nominee by the end of the primaries.

President Obama names his Supreme Court nominee, but Merrick Garland's road to the high court -- it's not going to be easy. Republicans already lining up against him. We will talk about the confirmation hopes and the 2016 race with White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough. We've got a big day today.

ROMANS: Yes, you sure do. OK, thanks.

PEREIRA: You got it.

ROMANS: Nice to see you, Michaela. It has 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 401K. I'll tell you how close it is, next.

Celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Gwyneth Paltrow are known for their stunning physiques. The woman responsible for getting them into shape, Tracy Anderson. "CNNMONEY" goes inside her pricey masterclass and shows how she's bringing fitness to the masses.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNNMONEY DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: It costs $900 a month to be here working out with famed fitness trainer, Tracy Anderson, and that's after you've paid a $1,500 initiation fee and spent up to a year on a waiting list. But it costs just $90 a month to be here, watching online. Why was it important for you to get your classes online?

TRACY ANDERSON, FOUNDER, TRACY ANDERSON METHOD: Access. I did not set out to have a high-end boutique fitness model. That's not why I did my life's work. I don't want people to say oh, I want that person's workout but I can't have it because I'm in Ohio, or Ican't have it because Ican't afford $900 a month. That has bothered me for years, so my CEO is like hey, stick a GoPro up in your masterclasses and then they can have it -- and they have it.

YURKEVICH: Anderson's online classes have proven profitable, but for a viewer there are some drawbacks. Do clients care about the quality of the videos that they're watching?

ANDERSON: I did not expect it to be as popular as it's been, so now I'm like wow, this is a really popular product. I think we can up the quality of our camera a little bit. However, if you want to come right into my here and now -- right into my real process to where I don't have people cueing me on either side of the camera. If you want to be in the moment, then I need a certain degree of tolerance. (END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, for more on the multi-billion dollar fitness industry and an inside look at the companies that are spinning your sweat into huge profit, go to cnnmoney.com/bloodsweatprofit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "CNNMONEY" Access, brought to you --

[05:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: A glimmer of hope in the Syria peace talks which are unfolding right now in Geneva. A leader of the self-described opposition group made up of Syrian Expats is praising Russia's willingness to take part in the talks and meeting with the U.N. special envoy. What will this do to the discussions right now? CNN's international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is tracking these developments for us this morning. Good morning, Nic.

[05:55:00]

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, that's one of the big conundrums of the moment, John. What is the impact as Russia moves to downsize its troops? Well, a Western diplomat I talked to last night told me well, we really don't know what Russia's firm intentions are here. Is this really about just posturing or is there really some substance in it?

For the opposition, this has given them a real feeling that yes, these talks are different from the last go-round. This is some initiative we need to put pressure on the Syrian government to remove President Bashar Al-Assad. Of course, last weekend the Syrian foreign minister said no way -- Assad stays. No one's pushing him out.

I asked that question to the head of the Syrian government delegation two days ago -- precisely that. What does this Russian move mean? Does it mean you're willing to get rid of Assad? Well, he completely didn't answer that question on Assad, and he just talked about the Russian initiative. He says we're doing it in coordination with them, but this is a step. They can come back, et cetera, et cetera.

So, I think from the government perspective they're trying to play down the Russian move. From the international perspective, everyone's trying to figure out what does it mean? Is it real? And the opposition are saying hey, here's something we can hold onto and it looks good for us right now. Of course, they're being cautioned by those diplomats. Just chill -- just wait and see how this goes. It's a long road ahead.

BERMAN: So the process, in and of itself, may be a beginning. Nic Robertson for us. Thanks so much.

ROMANS: All right, 56 minutes past the hour. Let's get an EARLY START on your money. Stock futures are higher, oil prices helping the gains. Oil climbing

again, now trading above $39 a barrel. Stock markets in Europe and Asia are up. Check out where the major averages now stand for 2016. The Dow and the S&P 500 at their highest levels of the year. The Dow is just 99 points away from turning positive -- a little more than half of one percent.

A gain yesterday came courtesy of the Federal Reserve, which is holding interest rates steady. The Fed lowering its economic growth target for the year. Investors like that because it signals the low interest rate environment will continue. That will keep things like mortgages, credit cards, and car loans still pretty cheap for many Americans.

Time is running out for you fill your NCAA tournament bracket. Literally, time is running out. You probably won't win your office pool, but Americans, you're going to spend billions -- with a B -- trying to -- $9.2 billion will pour into office pools, sports books, and illegal gambling, yes, around this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament. Fans will fill out 70 million total brackets with an average entry price of $29.

BERMAN: That seems high to me.

ROMANS: Yes, I didn't pay that much. The top industries playing this year -- more than one-third of financial service employees plan to join an office pool. Also popular among sales teams. Twenty-six percent of I.T. and transportation workers will fill out brackets also. And also, 100 percent of CNN anchors will be filling out brackets. If you want to see how your picks stack up against Berman or mine you can go to cnn.com/brackets.

BERMAN: Here's a hint. They stack up well. At least mine stinks.

ROMANS: I picked all of mine yesterday between exit polling, so I was like exit polls --

BERMAN: Every one of your picks has the word Iowa in it somewhere. There were like 14 schools named Iowa in there and you picked each and every one of them.

ROMANS: Oh, well, I gave same love to the Iowa teams -- I did.

BERMAN: All right, new reaction this morning. This after Donald Trump warns there could be riots if he doesn't win the Republican nomination. "NEW DAY" starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think we'll win. If we didn't, I think you'd have riots.

CRUZ: I think the people would quite rightly revolt.

CARSON: There's no question that there would be a lot of turmoil.

CLINTON: This may be one of the most consequential campaigns of our lifetime.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am nominating Chief Judge Merrick Brian Garland to join the Supreme Court.

MERRICK GARLAND, SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: This is the greatest honor of my life.

MITCH MCCONNELL (R) KY: Give the people a voice in filling this vacancy.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The dangerous drive to Aleppo. Four airstrikes have hit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They say that the plane is in the sky. We can hear it. Everybody out. Let's go, let's go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Here, hold this in front of you real quick.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: No, I have my shoes that are green.

CUOMO: Oh, are they? All right.

CAMEROTA: A little nod to green.

CUOMO: Guess what we're talking about? Good morning. Welcome to your new day. Happy St. Patrick's Day. It's Thursday, March 17th, 6:00 in the east. Donald Trump making headlines in a way that he's not going to be comfortable with this morning. Under fire for things he said right here on NEW DAY when he offered that there could be riots if the GOP denies him the nomination this summer.

CAMEROTA: So, Trump's latest firestorm relates to the possibility -- the real possibility of a contested convention. Trump also sharpening his attacks on Hillary Clinton, releasing a new video that shows her barking like a dog.

Let's begin our coverage with CNN's Phil Mattingly. He's live in Philadelphia. Good morning, Phil.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Alisyn. Well, Tuesday's GOP primary results reiterated in a big way that Donald Trump is the clear front-runner. He's using that status to set the terms of a debate schedule, but it's his tone, once again, that has the Republican Party riled and concerned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think you would have problems like you've never seen before.

MATTINGLY: Donald Trump warning his supporters could riot if he's denied the Republican nomination in a live interview on NEW DAY.