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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

CNN Democratic Debate: Clinton Versus Sanders; Trump Ramps Up Attacks Against RNC; Kobe Bryant's Epic Finale; Warriors Break NBA Record. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired April 14, 2016 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:01] ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The former drummer for the Beatles is cancelling his June show in Cary, North Carolina. Starr said he hates to disappoint his fans but he has to stand against hatred. His decision follows Bruce Springsteen who also canceled a show there. PayPal and Deutsche Bank, they also stopped expansion in the state because of the law.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Alison, thanks so much.

KOSIK: You got it.

BERMAN: EARLY START continues now.

(MUSIC)

BERMAN: We are just hours from the bashing in Brooklyn. The big debate there. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, they face-off on the debate stage days before the critical New York primary.

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: No charges for Donald Trump's campaign manager, accused of assaulting a reporter. But Ted Cruz telling CNN the Republican frontrunner is inciting violence on the campaign trail.

BERMAN: A Hollywood ending for Kobe Bryant. The Laker great, he played the final game of his NBA career. Wait until you hear how many points he scored.

Plus, the Warriors, they hit a big number, too -- 73. They rewrite the record books.

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.

KINKADE: And hello. I'm Lynda Kinkade, in for Christine Romans. It's Thursday, April the 14th, 5:00 a.m. in the East.

The battle in Brooklyn is just hours away. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton ready to face-off today in a debate that you can see right here on CNN. And the stakes could not be higher. The New York primary is now five days away. And if Sanders can pull off an upset, the Democrats could be facing a contested convention.

The latest Quinnipiac poll suggests that Sanders has an uphill battle, trailing Clinton by 13 points. But the Vermont senator says he is up for the challenge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: It's a big debate. There's been a lot of hot talk. What do you expect on that stage tomorrow night? What's going to be different?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think there will be a good debate in which Secretary Clinton and I discuss the very strong differences of opinion that we have about how we go forward in this country. And if that takes place, I will be very happy and I'm confident that the vision I am bringing forth is a vision that will be supported by the vast majority of the people in New York.

CUOMO: It will be different from what we've been hearing in the last few days?

SANDERS: Well, I'll tell you about it tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Senator Sanders there speaking to our Chris Cuomo.

In less than 17 hours, candidates take the debate stage. We get more now from CNN senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: John and Lynda, the Democratic presidential campaign sounding more like a rock concert. I'm here in Washington Square Park Wednesday night. Bernie Sanders supporters rallying by the thousands.

Now, Hillary Clinton supporters are also gathering in the Bronx. But they are all building up to that debate tonight in Brooklyn. It will be the first time the candidates are coming face-to-face in five weeks, coming at a critical moment in this campaign.

Now, Bernie Sanders believes a win in New York could elevate him forward and really change the course of this race. The Clinton campaign believes the math is on their side. But no question when they come face-to-face tonight at that debate, it is one moment, one opportunity for Bernie Sanders to raise some of those questions in person he has been raising behind the scenes.

Now, Hillary Clinton will be making the argument that Bernie Sanders is untested. Bernie Sanders will raise questions about Secretary Clinton's judgment. That's why tonight in Brooklyn, so important this final debate before next week's New York primary -- John and Lynda.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Jeff Zeleny at a packed Washington Square Park last night.

Another man who was there, Ron Brownstein, CNN senior political analyst. He is here with us now.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, guys.

BERMAN: Ron, big debate.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

BERMAN: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. They have not been on stage together for five weeks. The final debate before the New York primary.

Bernie Sanders here, the big question is how far is he willing to go?

BROWNSTEIN: I think you saw he will go a lot further than four or five months ago when we were commenting on how Las Vegas where he said, I'm sick and tired of the damn e-mails seems like a lifetime ago. That was an incredible last night. I mean, there were well over 20,000 people there. It was a reminder of how far he has come from where he started.

If you look at the exit polls, he has now one white voters in every state outside of the South except for Iowa, the first state and Ohio. He won most caucuses. What he has not done yet and was kind of clear again last night, he really has not cracked the African-American community. Best he has done is trail 2 to 1. The best results in the Midwest. Elsewhere it is higher.

He is trailing with partisan Democrats, right? If you look at national polling and exit polling, she is winning people who self identify as Democrats as opposed to independents by 15 to 20 points. His problem, John, as you know, is those two lines converge in the Northeast. You have close primaries that are opened to Democrats and also have a significant African-American population. That's the equation in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland.

So, those are all going to be tough places for him as they recognized.

[05:05:00] KINKADE: And now, Ron, after the debate tonight, Sanders is not going to stick around and campaign. He is leaving the country. Heading to the Vatican.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, amazing.

KINKADE: Is that a wise move?

BROWNSTEIN: Look, you know, these are national campaign. I mean, you know, obviously, it matters when you are in a state and you're getting attention. That is an extraordinary opportunity and forum. It probably does make sense.

Don't forget that one of the things they have to do is improve their performance among Latino voters, right, who have been much more open to them than African-Americans, but not nearly as open as younger voters and white voters. So, I think that's -- you know, spending time in the orbit of this pope, given who he is trying to appeal to, it is good use of his time. BERMAN: Look, I talked to the Sanders campaign about this. They

think their message lines up with what Pope Francis talks about. There are a lot of Catholic voters in New York, in Maryland, in New Jersey, in Delaware going forward. They don't think there will be lost days in this campaign.

BROWNSTEIN: No. And, of course, in California, which is the big -- you know, if you look at the fur big states, Sanders' problem has been that the very biggest states or the mega states, and on the Democratic side, are all diverse. And Hillary Clinton has won all of them except Michigan. She won Texas, she won Florida, she won Illinois, she won Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia.

You've got four left: New York, Pennsylvania this month, and New Jersey and California on the final day. All of them are diverse states. And I think of those four, you would have to say, today, California is his best shot at actually beating her. And again, that is a place where if he is going to do it, he will do it with gains of Latino voters.

And I don't think spending time with the pope will hurt on that front.

KINKADE: Looking at the polling in New York, Sanders has complained about the way the system works, voter registration. He says that independents can't vote in a Democratic primary. His wife also weighed in. She complained about how the super delegates work. Let's take a listen to what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANE SANDERS, WIFE OF SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS: You have to admit, the way that they're doing things in terms of super delegates and in terms of how delegates are put out there. It doesn't make a lot of sense to the average person. We're saying it's wrong. We're saying it's not a democratic way to carry out an election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Ron, what do you make of the system? Is it stacked against them?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, first of all, I mean, in the end, I think you have to get voters in the party to vote for you if you want to be the party nominee. If it should be open or closed is a philosophical question. All of the primaries Sanders has won have been open, to one degree or another. I mean, you know, Michigan, New Hampshire, Vermont, et cetera.

So, I mean, in the end, you have to get Democrats to vote for you. Super delegates is another question. They are designed to do what they are doing. They were created after McGovern and Carter, '72, '76 and '80, basically to give party leaders a veto in case someone ignited a popular movement, but not seen as a general election nominee. That is in essence what they are, you know, that is an essence the judgment they are making now. What the Sanders people hope if they can win out and win most of the

contest in May and do it -- do what Gary Hart tried to do but failed in 1984 -- sweep New Jersey and California on the last day, maybe they can make the case that as Democratic voters have more time to look at it, they chose me and you should as a super delegate switch.

And the fact is Bernie Sanders is rising to tie her, as you know, in national polls, which is pretty much unprecedented for the candidate trailing in the delegate count at this point. So, he's got some argument, but he's got to do some winning down the stretch.

BERMAN: The Clinton campaign points out they are leading in the vote count by a lot right now.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: I want to shift to the Republicans right now. Ted Cruz did a town hall. The stars were the two daughters who were adorable, objectively, non-politically adorable last night, let's just say that.

But plenty of politics, too. Ted Cruz mixing it up with Donald Trump. The idea and Trump saying the system is rigged. Ted Cruz criticizing Trump and his campaign for the tactics, they are using, complaining about the system. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They are acting like union boss thugs. In Colorado, I spoke yesterday to the chairman of the Republican Party in Colorado. Trump supporters put out his home address, put out his phone number. He got thousands of phone calls. He got death threats. Trump supporters were telling the supporters, go to his house and bring their guns.

Look, violence doesn't belong in democracy and the Trump campaign encourages it over and over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Now, violence is one thing. But what you are seeing from the Trump campaign is complaining about the system right now because it hasn't worked for him recently. But it's also a strategy going forward. It does set up that "I am not the establishment" line.

BROWNSTEIN: It sets up the "us" against "them", kind of back against the wall mobilization that has worked so well for him with his voters, but that whiff of violence and that air of do whatever it takes is a problem for him in terms of expanding where he is -- you know, Trump has, you know, a legitimate complaint that the process is outside of the primary sometime seem a little chaotic.

The idea it is specifically rigged against him, though, is, you know, absurd. They have genuinely failed to master the details of the organization. I would say if Trump had followed the trajectory of other front runners, in many ways, this would be irrelevant. [05:10:02] You know, most frontrunners at this point were moving from

pluralities to majorities. Trump is not. Yes, in New York, he might have 50 percent of the vote. That would be the first state where he's reached 50 percent.

Generally, he has a bigger piece of the party than anybody else, but it's been stuck in that 38 percent to 43 percent range. He is a plurality frontrunner and that is what put him on the nice edge of whether or not he's going to get to that 1,237 number.

BERMAN: Ron Brownstein, stick around. A lot more to ask you, coming up. Thanks so much for coming in this morning.

KINKADE: Thank you.

Well, still to come, new details about the moments leading up to shooting death of former NFL star Will Smith. What the prosecutors are now revealing about that case. That's just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:15:15] BERMAN: New details this morning in the death of former New Orleans Saint star Will Smith. Lawyers are now sparring over a loaded gun that was found in Smith's SUV. It says the attorney for the alleged shooter questions over why it took police days to find additional weapons.

CNN's Jean Casarez has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Lynda, the Orleans Parish coroner released their report, saying that Will Smith actually was shot eight times. Seven of the shots were into his back and the other was into his left side.

The family attorney for Will Smith also spoke yesterday for their first time saying that Racquel, his wife, had actually been shot two times. Once in the right leg which broke her femur and the other in the left leg that went through her thigh.

The family attorney also wanted to talk about and agree with the police saying inside the vehicle of Will Smith, there was found a .9 millimeter handgun. It was fully loaded. None of the shots had been fired in that gun at all.

The family attorney also said that they wanted to clear up what they call lies and distortions perpetrated by the defense counsel for Cardell Hayes. They said first of all that Will Smith did not have the gun in his hand or brandishing a firearm at all when he was shot those eight times and secondly, in that initial encounter, what the defense is calling a hit-and-run, that no one in the car of Will Smith believed their Mercedes SUV touched in any way the Hummer in front of them.

So when they left that scene, they were not fleeing a scene of an accident because there was no accident.

Finally, Racquel Smith is still in the hospital at this point. The attorney says that they believe her physical wounds eventually will heal, but the emotional trauma may last a lifetime -- John and Lynda.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Jean Casarez, thanks so much.

Joining us now for an early start on your money, Alison Kosik.

Good morning.

KOSIK: Good morning.

Looking like a mixed picture today. Markets are mixed around the world. Asian markets ending higher.

But I'm seeing red arrows for European markets. U.S. futures are lower. But it was a great day for Wall Street yesterday. The Dow, NASDAQ and S&P all closing at their highest levels for the year. The Dow jumped 1 percent gaining 187 points. We will see if that rally continues today.

Verizon's CEO calling out Bernie Sanders. He says the Vermont senator is, quote, "disconnected from reality." Sanders spoke to striking workers Verizon workers yesterday, and hasn't paid its fair share of taxes and is shipping jobs overseas.

Of course, Verizon is disagreeing about all this, saying they paid billions of dollars in taxes in just the last two years and that wireless is taking over landlines and to stay competitive in the industry, it had to shift call centers abroad.

Just last week, General Electric's CEO criticized Sanders for being out of touch. Sanders, of course, is calling out GE while he was in an interview, saying that General Electric is ruining the fabric of America.

BERMAN: The fight he is happy to have in the primary right now.

KOSIK: Yes, lots of attention.

BERMAN: Alison, thanks so much.

KOSIK: You got it.

BERMAN: All right. History making night in the NBA. What a night in the NBA. Golden State Warriors, they knocked the Bulls down one rung in the record books. A new single season record for wins.

Andy Scholes with this morning's bleacher report, next.

KOSIK: If you're looking to add a little excitement to your next business trip to San Francisco, here is a quick way to get your adrenaline soaring. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BENJAMIN AGUSTIN, IFLY: I'm Benjamin Augustin. I'm a senior flight instructor at iFLY in San Francisco. iFLY is a vertical wind tunnel. It's an indoor skydiving facility.

And what we do here is we simulate actual free fall.

Most of our customers are non-skydivers. A lot of times what I hear from people is, I'm too scared to jump out of the plane, but I'll try this. And this is the next best thing.

We're going to teach you everything you need to know about flying. You do that by having four huge fans on top of the building that recirculate the wind through the bottom. There is one instructor inside the tunnel with the flyer. And there's going to be another instructor on the outside actually controlling the wind.

We have corporate group tourists, business travelers. Usually, they're looking for something that is out of the ordinary and exciting adventure. Definitely, we have that for them, but also keep it very safe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you need a break from your monotonous day, this is the place to spend it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:24:07] BERMAN: What a way to go out. Man oh, man. Kobe Bryant put on the performance of the ages in his final NBA game ever.

KINKADE: Andy Scholes has more in this morning's bleacher report. What a night.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes, it was, guys. You know, an epic performance. Kobe going out like we wanted to see Kobe going out, scoring 60 points.

And as you can imagine, the atmosphere at Staples Center last night was absolutely electric.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: For the final time, number 24, off the floor, five-time world champion, Kobe Bryant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Kobe had his eyes set on going in style. He took a career high 50 shots. It was vintage Kobe late in the fourth. Kobe, the step-back three. Pulls the Lakers within one. Jay-Z and all the celebs in the house going crazy.

And Kobe wasn't done yet. Down one, he pulls up, knocks down a game- winning jumper one last time.

[05:25:01] Lakers win. Kobe finishes an amazing career with an unbelievable 60-point performance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOBE BRYANT, LOS ANGELES LAKERS: No words can describe how I feel about you guys. Thank you, thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you, guys.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you. And what can I say? Mamba out.

(CHEERS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Now, Steph Curry would have taken 50 shots last night, he may have scored 100. Warriors easily beating the Grizzlies, 125-104, breaking Michael jordan's bulls records for all-time wins in a season. Now, Curry was unreal on this one, he hit 10 threes and had 46 points and he didn't even play in the fourth quarter.

Curry is the first player ever to hit 400 three-pointers in a season. The Warriors on top of that mountain alone with the best record ever, 73-9.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN CURRY, FIRST TO HIT 400 3-POINTERS IN A SEASON: We love to compete. We love to push ourselves. That's what pushed us to the opportunity we had tonight. Hopefully we will continue this weekend once we get the playoffs started. You know, we need 16 wins. It's nice to be able to focus on that goal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: You know what? The saying is records were meant to be broken; 73-9 will never been broken. No one will ever go 74-8 in an NBA season.

BERMAN: You say no? It could have been the Warriors. The Warriors could have won 74 or 75 easy. They dumped two games, including to my Celtics that they should have won.

SCHOLES: But that's how incredible this season was, that they were able to go 73-9. I just cannot imagine 74-8. Everything has to go perfect for you. I can't see it happening.

BERMAN: All right. Andy Scholes --

KINKADE: It would be hard one to break.

BERMAN: I believe you, because you are right about everything.

Thanks, Andy. SCHOLES: All right.

BERMAN: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders hours from taking the CNN debate stage. We're going to tell you the new strategies they will deploy. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)