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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Sanders Calls Clinton Unqualified; Trump Stumps in New York; 2016 Masters Tournament Starts Today. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired April 07, 2016 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: And they have continued to climb overall in the first quarter, though. Again those March sales were weak. So many of the economists looking at March and saying, what happened there?
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Mixed picture right in the middle of this grand transition of the presidency.
ROMANS: Yes. You're right. You're right.
MARQUEZ: It's amazing.
EARLY START continues now.
ROMANS: A bitter battle brewing between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Sanders calling the Democratic frontrunner not qualified to be president.
MARQUEZ: And Donald Trump blasting Ted Cruz at a late-night rally. Can the Republican presidential frontrunner recover from his bruising loss this week?
Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Miguel Marquez.
ROMANS: Nice to see you again today.
MARQUEZ: Very good to be here.
ROMANS: Always fun to have you around. I'm Christine Romans. It is Thursday, April 7th. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East.
Breaking news overnight. Bernie Sanders targeting Hillary Clinton with his toughest attacks yet. At a huge rally in Pennsylvania some 10,00 people there, Sanders repeatedly calls the Democratic frontrunner not qualified to be president.
CNN's Brianna Keilar has the very latest from the Sanders campaign.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Bernie Sanders, before a crowd of more than 10,000 here in Philadelphia at Temple University, pushing back on the some of the recent charges from Hillary Clinton and her campaign, where they've taken issue with some of his recent answers and certainly some of his struggles to explain some of the key parts of his campaign promises.
Here's what Bernie Sanders said to Hillary Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And she has been saying lately that she thinks that I am, quote-unquote, "not qualified to be president."
Well, let me just say in response to Secretary Clinton. I don't believe that she is qualified if she is --
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
SANDERS: If she is, through her Super PAC, taking tens of millions of dollars in special interest funds. I don't think you are qualified if you have voted for the disastrous war in Iraq. I don't think you are qualified if you've supported virtually every disastrous trade agreement which has cost us millions of decent paying jobs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Pennsylvania, a very delegate-rich state, a must-win for Bernie Sanders if he is going to have a pathway to the White House. Right now he's hoping to build on momentum from a string of recent wins, push towards the New York primary, and then onward to Pennsylvania, as well as California -- Miguel and Christine.
MARQUEZ: Brianna Keilar, thank you for that.
Hillary Clinton's camp returning fire overnight. Her press secretary tweeting, "Hillary Clinton did not say Bernie Sanders was not qualified. But he has now absurdly said that about her. This is a new low."
What Clinton did do in an interview on CNN was question whether Sanders was ready to be president. She criticized Sanders for being unable to answer journalists' questions on just how he would go about breaking up the big banks, something that's been a cornerstone of his campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In the interview it seemed unclear as to whether he understood how Dodd-Frank works, how we would go about breaking up banks that were posing risks to our economy. So I was, I think, a little bit surprised that there didn't seem to be a lot of substance to what he was saying.
I think the presidents who are successful know what they want to do and they know how to do it and they hit the ground running, able to do every aspect of the job, both as president and as commander-in-chief.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Now Clinton and Sanders also battling over ties to the NRA. Sanders tweeting, "Only one Democratic candidate takes gun lobby money to fund her campaign." That attack, a reference to a fundraiser last month co-hosted by former NRA lobbyist Jeff Forbes. Clinton firing back at Sanders, "Only one Democratic candidate has voted for the NRA's most important piece of legislation in 20 years. You," meaning Sanders.
ROMANS: All right. Helping us assess this race, the battle between the Democrats and everybody's pivot toward New York, CNN Politics digital reporter Eric Bradner.
Good morning. Nice to see you.
ERIC BRADNER, CNN POLITICS DIGITAL REPORTER: Good morning.
ROMANS: I've been thinking, a lot of us are not going to be on planes for the next couple of weeks because everything seems pretty focused right here in New York.
MARQUEZ: Everything is here.
ROMANS: I want to talk about -- I want to listen to something -- a moment on CNN yesterday of the Sanders campaign manager suggesting that Clinton's ambition will destroy the Democratic Party. This was a comment made Tuesday. This is the response from the frontrunner Hillary Clinton. And I want to get your thoughts on the other side, Eric.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF WEAVER, SANDERS CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Don't destroy the Democratic Party to satisfy the secretary's ambitions to become president of the United States.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Response to that idea.
CLINTON: I mean, it's just ludicrous on the face of it.
[05:05:03] You know, I have been campaigning for Democrats, fundraising for Democrats, recruiting Democrats to run and win for a really long time. I think about 40 years. And Senator Sanders by his own admission has never even been a Democrat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: What is so interesting to me about that exchange and about sort of that tact from the Sanders campaign is that -- you know, the Hillary Clinton campaign has been pointing out there are down ticket candidates. There are -- you know, politics is you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. People help themselves get elected. Who is Bernie Sanders going to help get elected in the Democratic Party?
BRADNER: Yes. That's absolutely a great question. There is some irony in what Jeff Weaver was saying given that Bernie Sanders has up until now been an independent in the Senate.
Now let's be a little fair to Sanders. He has played a role in Democratic Senate fundraising. He has helped other Democratic Senate candidates. But when you look at the exit polls, Hillary Clinton is the candidate who does best among loyal Democrats. That's because she is seen as a team player. The Clintons have long been party builders, whereas Bernie Sanders is the one bringing a bunch of independents into the process, bringing new voters in.
That is a key distinction as we go into New York and some of the East Coast states because unlike Wisconsin, for example, they are closed primaries. That means only registered Democrats can participate. So that's why the sort of party loyalty and who, you know, carries the most down ballot benefits for other Democrats is such a key question because now the race is going to be decided by loyal Democrats who are interested in not just a movement at the top of the ticket, but seeing results all the way down the ticket.
ROMANS: Yes.
MARQUEZ: The energy that Sanders has had throughout the country is certainly being felt here in New York. But Hillary Clinton's lock on the state seems so significant. Can he bite into her -- I mean, here's one of our polls here, 54 for Clinton and 42 for Sanders. I mean, she has to win by big numbers here. Does she seem to be track for that?
BRADNER: Well, Sanders has a few things going for him. First of all, he has beaten better poll numbers before. Michigan was quite a shock. So those poll numbers are not really indicative of a Clinton blowout of something that she can sort of lockdown and move away from two weeks before New York's contest. Bernie Sanders has a couple of advantages. A big one is fundraising. He outraised Clinton $109 million to $75 million over the last three months.
That's the kind of thing that can help him start to close the gap. He obviously is from Brooklyn. He lived the younger parts of his life in New York. So he does have some ties there. The Clinton campaign is certainly a lot more focused on New York than they hoped to be at this stage in the race. So Hillary Clinton does need a win and a clear win there to sort of shut things down and leave Democrats feeling a lot more confident. And in the five more eastern states the following weeks. But Bernie Sanders has closed gaps like this before. He has the momentum of the six wins out of the last seven states.
ROMANS: Right.
BRADNER: And he has a fundraising advantage.
ROMANS: Yes. I mean, he has the momentum, but Hillary Clinton still has the super delegates. And again I keep going back to those folks down the ballot. I mean, it's all about getting people in your party elected.
MARQUEZ: Right. Sure.
ROMANS: Let's talk about the Republicans here because Donald Trump had a remarkable event in Bethpage on Long Island yesterday. A lot of people. There are protesters outside, too. A lot of people in there and he came in loose and off -- didn't mention Wisconsin. Came in loose and talked about -- he kind of hit Ted Cruz on the New York values issue. Let's listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Do you remember during the debate when he started lecturing me on New York values like we're no good. Like we're no good. I've got this guy standing over there looking at me, talking about New York values with scorn in his face. With hatred -- with hatred of New York. So, folks, I think you can forget about him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Forget about him.
ROMANS: Forget about him. And then look at the cover of "The Daily News." You know, he -- he had to cancel an event in the Bronx, right, yesterday.
MARQUEZ: Can we say that on air?
ROMANS: There is an F train. I don't think there is a U train. My knowledge of the subway system there is no U train.
MARQUEZ: No, I don't think do.
ROMANS: But can we listen to what, you know, Ted Cruz clarifying or refining sort of why he's going after New York values.
MARQUEZ: Well, trying to find some space.
ROMANS: Listen to what Ted Cruz said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let's be clear. The people of New York know exactly what those values are. They're the values of liberal Democratic politicians like Andrew Cuomo, like Anthony Weiner, like Eliot Spitzer, like Charlie Rangel.
[05:10:10] All of them Donald Trump has supported, given tens of thousands of dollars throughout the years. If you want to know what liberal Democratic values are, follow Donald Trump's checkbook.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right. So what do you think of that? Is that going to work? Is that going to fly in New York?
BRADNER: Donald Trump sounded like a candidate who is with his crowd, who knows he's got his footing back. Cruz's comments are going to hurt him in New York. He's always known that would be the case. But the most important race going on in the Republican contest right now might be taking place inside Donald Trump's head. He can win all 95 delegates in New York and then he can do really well in East Coast states the following week. And it's still not clear he can get to 1237 delegates that he needs to clinch the Republican nomination. So the question is whether Trump, in addition to getting back on his
feet after Wisconsin and really winning a blowout in New York, can also make the changes behind the scenes to start sort of tweaking his campaign so it's more focused on the delegate race. He is bleeding delegates in rural states. In small states. A few at a time because he hasn't been focused on the procedural aspect, the rules. If Trump at the same time he's holding these big rallies in New York can sort of reengineer his campaign so it can focus on the delegates, too, then he can really turn this into a big advantage in the next couple of weeks.
ROMANS: Right.
BRADNER: But if he can't, he could be in trouble.
ROMANS: All right. New York state of mind.
MARQUEZ: Eric Bradner.
ROMANS: New York state of mind.
MARQUEZ: He's a font of knowledge at 5:00 a.m. Impressive.
ROMANS: That's why we have him on.
MARQUEZ: Thank you, Eric.
ROMANS: All right, thanks.
BRADNER: Thank you.
MARQUEZ: More states drafting religious freedom laws that critics say legalize discrimination. The chaos surrounding the controversy next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:16:12] MARQUEZ: Major corporations and human rights activists are blasting a new religious freedom law in Mississippi. New states, cities and corporations instituting travel bans in the state following the passage of the law. The measure allows business owners to deny service to LGBT community. But critics say the law is nothing more than a license to discriminate. Several advocacy group have filed lawsuits challenging its legality.
ROMANS: Mississippi not the only state to pass or consider a religious freedom bill. In Tennessee the House just approved a measure that would allow mental health counselors to turn away patients based on their personal principles. The Senate still has to vote on the bill. Critics call it an unprecedented attack on the counseling profession and the LGBT community.
And a South Carolina lawmaker has just introduced a so-called bathroom bill that would require members of the transgender community to use public restrooms that correspond with their sex on their birth certificate. Not the sex with which they identify. MARQUEZ: Lawmakers in Alabama moving forward with plans to impeach
embattled Governor Robert Bentley. They'll meet later this morning to figure out how. That's because the state's laws on impeachment are vague.
On Wednesday, Governor Bentley held a news conference but refused to answer questions about an alleged affair he had with a former female aide.
ROMANS: All right. The U.S. government shining sunlight on the dark corners of shell companies and secret accounts. New rules reportedly coming that will close a loophole that allows owners of shell companies to stay secret.
The rich, the famous, the well-connected, this is all amid the outrage over the soc-called Panama papers, a document trove outing thousands of shell companies and wealthy individuals. The allegation they are hiding money overseas to avoid huge tax bills.
The Panama law firm at the center of the accounts denies doing any illegal. Still under the current rules in the U.S., if you open a bank account, you have to prove who you are. It can't be secret. But the owner of a shell company can remain secret in many cases. The U.S. Treasury Department moving to close that loophole.
MARQUEZ: No illegality amazingly enough. But all legal.
ROMANS: Yes.
MARQUEZ: All eyes on Augusta this morning. Jordan Spieth looking for his second green jacket. But can he pull that off --
ROMANS: Look at that cute kid.
MARQUEZ: Cute, cute, cute. Hold off from a red hot rival from down under?
ROMANS: Is that the rival?
MARQUEZ: No. That's coy wire. Look at him. He is all ready for us. He has the "Bleacher Report" coming up next.
Hey, Coy.
ROMANS: Nashville is known as the capital of country music. So even if you're there for business and have limited time, there's still a way to hear the sounds and see the sights of music city USA.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm Jean. This is Jesse. And welcome to the Music City Rolling Jamboree.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The jamboree is a tour of Nashville, but it's also live comedy and live music. And it becomes a sing-a-long. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You'll see the normal things like the rhyming
and music row. But mostly the show is on the inside of the bus mostly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We let people take part and sing along like they've always wanted to, to their favorite country songs. And make them laugh.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do have some non-country fans but we've got bar classics that everybody will know. We get people from everywhere. We get them from the northern part of the United States. Australia, Scotland. We've had some Swedes on here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We always like to find something different and fun to do in a different city. You get entertainment with comedy at the same time you get historic places in Nashville.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the best city in the whole world. It's got this great, creative energy and at the same time it's got that really great small town feel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[05:19:46]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARQUEZ: We love golf. You like golf? Really happy day. It's a big day for golf fans around the world. The opening round of the Masters tees off in just three hours.
ROMANS: Coy Wire has more on this morning's "Bleacher Report." Hey, Coy.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine and Miguel. We are so close to the most prestigious tournament in golf getting underway in Augusta, Georgia. When the players are going to get locked in and zoom focus. But yesterday was all about the par 3 contest. And all about having a good time. Usually it's the golfers' kids that steal the show. Yesterday was no different.
Lots of cuties including Soren Kjedsen's son who sinks the puck then goes Happy Gilmore bucking bronco. Giddyup, young fellow. We also a record-breaking nine-hole-in-one. He may not be the newest kid on the block but 80-year-old Gary Player still got the right touch. Baby, baby we sped up a little bit because it was a slow roller but holly molly, hole in one. And then another cool moment on the fourth hole, where Rickie Fowler, partner Justin just hit a hole-in-one, will now hole and knocks one for a back-to-back aces only to be followed by the not so sure. Should we high five? Should we hug? What's going on there?
[05:25:11] But check out the celebration pick from Fowler's Snapchat. Very cool moment there from those two fellows. Jordan Spieth tees off at 9:48 Eastern today. In his quest to win back-to-back green jacket. Other notable tee time, lefty Phil Mickelson tees off at 10:43 and the world's number one rank golfer, Australian Jason Day tees off at 1:06. Day is hotter than a $2 pistol right now, winning his last two tournaments.
Speaking of red hot, Rockies rookie Trevor Story, what a story. This shot yesterday made him the first player in Major League Baseball to hit homeruns in his first three games since 1900. The Rockies beat the Diamondbacks, 4-3. And what's more on Monday, Story has become the first player to hit multiple homeruns in a debut on opening day. My goodness, Trevor Story is rolling.
MARQUEZ: Wow.
WIRE: Quick note, guys, the Warriors host the Spurs tonight. They have to win all four of the remaining games on a schedule to eclipse the '94-'96 bulls for most wins ever in a season.
ROMANS: All right.
MARQUEZ: A big story. Story what -- can he keep this up all season? That's amazing.
ROMANS: Yes. He's got to be on cloud nine.
All right. Thank you so much. Nice to see you, Chad.
WIRE: Welcome.
MARQUEZ: Coy.
ROMANS: Coy.
MARQUEZ: Whatever. Close enough.
ROMANS: Why call him Chad?
MARQUEZ: Well, he seems like a Chad. Chad-ish.
New escalating attacks in the race for president. Late last night Bernie Sanders calling Hillary Clinton unqualified for the job. The latest drama next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
