Return to Transcripts main page
Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Trump Escalates War on News Media; Clinton Returns to California to Fight Sanders; Fierce Fighting in Falluja. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired June 01, 2016 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[04:30:44] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think the political press is among the most dishonest people that I've ever met. This sleazy guy right over here from ABC, he's a sleaze in my book. You think I'm going to change? I'm not changing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump unleashing fury at the media, and that's not all. What has the presumptive Republican nominee for president so upset?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: On June 7th, no candidate, unless I am very, very mistaken, no candidate will end up with the number of pledged delegates need to win the nomination.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Bernie Sanders promising now a floor fight at the Democratic Convention, but does he really have a chance at winning the nomination?
Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.
ROMANS: Nice to see you this morning, the first day of a new month. I'm Christine Romans. It is 31 minutes past hour.
This morning, Donald Trump says it's all our fault.
BERMAN: My fault?
ROMANS: Your fault in particular. Yes.
The presumptive Republican nominee lashed out at reporters, reporters who are asking basic questions for most of a 40-minute news conference in the lobby of Trump Tower. The event had officially been called to unveil a list of veterans groups that benefitted from a Trump fundraiser in January. Now, instead, Trump devoted most of the time to attacking the journalists assembled there.
CNN's Jim Acosta has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, Donald Trump will be in California later today after a fiery news conference that was supposed to be about the millions of dollars he raised for veterans causes. Instead, Trump lashed out at the news media for asking questions about his fundraising efforts, which generated $5.6 million for charity organizations that assist veterans.
Trump said the scrutiny was another example of the media trying to derail his campaign. Here's what he had to say.
TRUMP: I will say that the press should be ashamed of themselves. On behalf of the vets, the press should be ashamed of themselves. They're calling me and they are furious because I sent people checks of a lot of money. We're going to give you the names right now, which is what you want.
And instead of being like, thank you very much, Mr. Trump, or, Trump did a good job, everyone says, who got it, who got it, who got it? And you make me look very bad.
I have never received such bad publicity for doing such a good job.
ACOSTA: The presumptive GOP nominee also took questions about Trump University, a real estate school he founded that is now embroiled in a legal battle, facing accusations of defrauding students.
Just days ago, Trump noted the Hispanic heritage of the judge handling the case. But when asked about that at his news conference, Trump did not answer the question -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: Donald Trump, we should also say, called Jim Acosta a real beauty and said he had seen a lot of Jim's work.
ROMANS: He's a good looking guy.
BERMAN: He's a good looking guy. I don't think Donald Trump meant it as a compliment, but it was still one of the insults that he was throwing at that event yesterday.
Potential big development overnight. Magazine editor Bill Kristol confirmed the name of a white knight candidate he hopes will launch a bid for president.
David French is a conservative writer, lawyer, and Iraq War veteran, awarded a Bronze Star. He may not be well known to many Americans, but Kristol has described him as impressive, with a real chance of winning. Until a week ago, French had been calling for Mitt Romney to jump in
to the race. Overnight, Romney put out a tweet praising French.
As to the man who Kristol, French and Mitt Romney all want to stop, Donald Trump, well before French's came up, Donald Trump blasted Kristol has a dummy and his third-party effort as a spoiler campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: These people are losers. He's trying to make you -- he's trying to drive you guys a little bit nuts. If they do an indie, assuming it's decent, which I don't think anybody with a reputation would do it because they'd look like fools. But what you're going to do is you lose thee election for the Republicans, and therefore you lose the Supreme Court.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right. Now on the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton is in New Jersey today. The other big state that has a primary next Tuesday. She'll be joined by the Garden State's own Jon Bon Jovi who will appear with her in Boston at a private fundraiser. Clinton is also adopting some of Donald Trump's own tactics in her fight to defeat him.
Latest on that now from CNN's Brianna Keilar.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine.
The Clinton campaign is feeling pretty good about New Jersey.
[04:35:00] California is a tighter race, but her campaign thinks she's leading there too. They are, though, emphasizing that she doesn't need to win California or even New Jersey to be the nominee.
But make no mistake: the campaign knows it's very important that she projects strength going into the general election. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton continuing her recent Trump-style practice of call-in interviews, this one with CNN as she promised she'll do everything she can to unify the Democratic Party and said her campaign is talking to the Sanders campaign.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via telephone): Once the primaries are over as of next Tuesday, we will begin talking in more detail about what we can do to unify the party because as I've said many times and as Senator Sanders has said, we both are going to do everything we can to prevent Donald Trump from getting anywhere near the White House.
KEILAR: So, what about the ultimate unification of the party, a Clinton/Sanders ticket? Bernie Sanders wouldn't dismiss that idea when asked. He has said should he not be the nominee, Clinton needs to pick a liberal running mate, not a moderate, trying to influence the ticket as well as the party platform.
Hillary Clinton recently told CNN that talk of a Clinton/Sanders pairing is something down the road -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: All right. Our thanks to Brianna for that. Bernie Sanders is in California today as part of his bid to try to block Hillary Clinton.
California Governor Jerry Brown has endorsed Hillary Clinton. A lot of history between the Clintons and Jerry Brown, but Brown says he's behind Clinton.
He says, "The stakes couldn't be higher. This is no time for Democrats to keep fighting each other. The general election has already begun. Hillary Clinton, with her long experience, especially as secretary of state, has a firm grasp of the issues and will be prepared to lead our country on day one."
Bernie Sanders says he's been fighting the Democratic establishment in every state and that he believes he can win California and the nomination with or without Jerry Brown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I really have not heard what the governor has to say, and I like Jerry Brown, but people can make their own choices. But again, what we have had to do we've done pretty well in every state in this country, taken on Democratic governors, taken on Democratic senators, taken on Democratic members of the House, Democratic mayors, and all of their political apparatus. Yet, we've won in 20 states, and I think we're going to win here in California.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: The Clinton campaign showing it may be a little nervous about California. It's changed Hillary Clinton's schedule. She's going to spend five days in California from tomorrow right up until Tuesday when that state holds its primary.
ROMANS: All right. New testimony has been released in the lawsuit over Hillary Clinton's use of a private e-mail server. A long-time Clinton aide, Cheryl Mills, said in a deposition last week that after Clinton stepped down as secretary of state, Mills discussed the server with a technical aide who helped had set it up. Mills' lawyers stopped her from speaking in detail about the work of that technician Brian Pagliano or whether he was employed by Clinton at the time.
BERMAN: Transportation Safety Administration taken to task over potential security flaws at U.S. airports. TSA data showings an average of 2,500 security breaches a year at perimeters and key access points. Government Accountability Office blames the TSA for failing to update security standards for the airports to follow. A symbolic visit for the president today. He returns to Elkhart,
Indiana. You can see him there way back in 2009 looking a little younger. It was his first trip as the new president.
Today, he's expected to highlight his economic policies that he says have helped the area improve since the recession. New businesses have struggled to take root there, but White House officials say the county is better position for the next economic downturn.
ROMANS: Remember what the economy was like then? February 2009 was the middle of a terrible recession. Markets were crazy.
All right. Time for an early start on your money. American consumers are spending more and dropping cash on big-ticket items. Consumer spending climbed 1 percent in April. Doesn't sound like much, but that's the biggest monthly jump in nearly seven years. Sales of large, expensive items known as durable goods up 2.2 percent. Consumer spending makes up the majority of U.S. economic activity, so that's a good sign.
When people are spending money, it means they're confident enough to open their wallets, especially when it comes to stuff for their homes. Speaking of which, the housing market is strengthening. The latest reading on home prices, look at this. Home prices up 5.2 percent from a year ago. These are some of the hottest markets with increases of more than double that rate.
Portland, Seattle, Denver, San Francisco. Inventory is tight. The overall percentage of homes for sale is the lowest level since the 1980s. So people are reaching into their pockets to buy stuff, especially for their homes, but that's a sign of confidence in the labor market, confidence in the economy, and that's what you're seeing in some of these numbers.
BERMAN: Let's hope it continues.
ROMANS: Big jobs report on Friday. We'll see that says, too.
[04:40:00] BERMAN: Death toll is rising -- the death tool is rising as rain floods parts of Texas. It's not over yet. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: Authorities are investigating the family of the 3-year-old boy who fell into a gorilla habitat at the Cincinnati Zoo. There is growing outrage over the decision to shoot and kill the silverback gorilla Hrambe in order to save the child's life. Although, there are plenty of people who feel the other way. Animal rights activists and some others are calling for criminal charges against the little boy's mother.
Let's get more now from CNN's Jessica Schneider.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, Cincinnati police are delving into the details about what transpired on Saturday, specifically they say they're investigating the parents and the mother to find out what happened in the minutes before that 4-year-old came face to face with that gorilla.
The mother in particular has come under intense scrutiny on the Internet.
[04:45:02] Twitter abound with criticisms about her, saying she should have kept a closer watch on her son. There's also a petition circulating online that garnered more than 400,000 signatures, people saying she should be investigated.
Now, at this point, we don't know a lot about the family. They've only released a statement saying that their child is safe and that they're grateful to the zoo. We also know that the mother works at a day care right here in Cincinnati.
Now, as for the zoo itself, police say they're not investigating it because it falls into the purview of the USDA. The zoo was last looked at and inspected by the USDA in April. They did have a citation in March for leaving a door open where a polar bear then got out, and went into an employee room, but there's never been a citation against the zoo concerning that gorilla enclosure -- Christine and John.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Jessica for us in Cincinnati -- thank you.
Doctors in New Jersey confirm the birth of a baby girl who is suffering from microcephaly caused by the Zika virus. The 31-year-old mother came down with the virus in her home country of Honduras. She was taken at an emergency at Hackensack University Medical Center on Friday, while vacationing in the United States. The child is the first to be born in the New York tri-state area with the Zika-linked brain disorder.
BERMAN: The federal government is suing to block a life insurance payment of more than $250,000 to the family of San Bernardino terrorist Syed Rizwan Farook. Authorities are seeking to seize the death benefit, alleging the proceeds from Farook's two insurance policies are the result of a terrorist act. Farook and his wife opened fire on San Bernardino County workers at a holiday party last December, killing 14 people, injuring 22 others.
ROMANS: Former Illinois police sergeant, Drew Peterson, has been found guilty on two counts of solicitation of murder for trying to hire a hit man to kill the prosecutor who sent him to prison. Peterson is already serving a 38-year-old prison sentence for killing his third ex-wife. Prosecutors say he tried to arrange the murder of a state attorney from behind bars between 2013 and 2014.
BERMAN: Four years in prison for the Oklahoma reserve deputy who shot and killed an unarmed man last year claiming he mistook his gun for a taser. Seventy-four-year-old Robert Bates was caught on video shooting Eric Harris during a sting operation last year in Tulsa. That incident raised questions out training standards for volunteer deputies. Harris was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter last month.
ROMANS: All right. The transgender bathroom debate could be headed to the Supreme Court. This is because a federal appeals court is refusing to review a ruling by a three-judge panel. The appeals panel ruled that a Virginia high school discriminated against a transgender teen by not allowing him to use the bathroom corresponding with his gender identity. The dissenting judge in the appeals court calls the case momentous and says the issue deserves an open road to the Supreme Court.
BERMAN: Mandatory evacuations under way this morning as seven people are killed in record-breaking floods that have hit parts of Texas. Look at this right now, rain is just coming down so hard there.
Local authorities in San Antonio say the storm system dumped up to 22 inches of rain in just a few hours. Some streets just simply covered with water. The swollen Brazos River in Richmond has risen to levels not seen since 2013. Meanwhile, officials in Ft. Bend County just southwest of Houston say they've made more than 120 water rescues.
ROMANS: Those levels the highest since 1913.
BERMAN: What did I say?
ROMANS: 2013.
BERMAN: Wow, it's a lot longer when it's 1913.
ROMANS: I know. Well, it's only 4:48 in the morning and --
BERMAN: That's a big difference.
ROMANS: You're forgiven.
The rain, potential flooding are not over yet. Meteorologist Derek Van Dam has more.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Unfortunately, John and Christine, more rain expected for central and eastern Texas. This is the water vapor satellite imagery. Anywhere you see that shading of green, that is thick cloud cover that has settled in across the state. That's really drawing in moisture from the Gulf of Mexico as an upper-level low settles into Texas. It's going to allow more showers and storms to develop this afternoon and right through the workweek.
In fact, the national weather service has issued flood watches for much of the state. A few flood warnings out there as we speak. That's likely to be expanded because this is a very saturated environment. An additional 3 to 5 inches of rain over the next few days means that flooding is still a concern for Austin into Houston and outside of Dallas.
Elsewhere across the country, lots of sunshine throughout the Northeast. We have mild temperatures across the upper plains. Really starting to heat up across the interior of the western half of the U.S.
Let's talk temperatures for the eastern parts of the United States, 81 for New York City today. Temperatures slide a bit into the rest of the workweek. D.C., more of the same. Look at Atlanta, temperatures in the 90s.
Back to you.
BERMAN: All right, Derek. Thanks so much.
For the first time in ten years, the death rate in the United States is going up. Preliminary numbers from last year show the increase in the number of people dying from things like drug overdoses, suicide, guns, and Alzheimer's disease. Even deaths of heart disease ticked up slightly, bucking a long-time trend.
[04:50:00] Flipside of that is cancer -- death rates from cancer are declining.
ROMANS: The suicide rate is something people have been watching closely, particularly among young people, young women in particular. People looking at those suicide rates and wondering what's going on here.
All right. Fifty minutes past the hour. ISIS is turning to taxes. Why the terror group is being forced to impose hefty fees on its own followers. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: Civilian death toll is rising in Fallujah. Fierce fighting right now between Iraqi security forces and ISIS militants at the southern edge of the city. Fifty thousand Iraqis are believed to be in the middle of that city right now.
In northern Syria, thousands of U.S.-backed fighters are preparing for an offensive to retake a critical region from terrorist control.
CNN's senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen is watching the developments for us from London.
[04:55:02] And, Fred, it seems like a lot of forces right now arrayed against ISIS trying to take back territory.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely, it's on multiple fronts, John. Certainly in the north of Syria, that appears to be shaping up, something that "Reuters" says has been in the works for a very, very long time and appears to be aimed at pro-U.S. forces or U.S.-backed forces trying to choke off ISIS from the border crossings that it still has with Turkey.
We know that ISIS has been getting foreign fighters into the area that it controls through Turkey. And that's something the U.S. and its allies in northern Syria want to choke off. Then, you have Fallujah, which right now is certainly the most intense battlefield in the fight against ISIS. There the biggest concern is for the many civilians that are still trapped inside that city.
You've mentioned there's fierce fighting going on. The Iraqi forces are trying to get into Fallujah. So far they haven't been managing to penetrate those defenses that ISIS still has out there. ISIS has some fierce fighters and is launching some counteroffensives.
The U.N. now says they believe that some 20,000 children are still trapped inside of Fallujah, and many of them, John, at risk of becoming human shields. Also, of being forced by ISIS to go to the front lines and fight for the militants there.
So, certainly the U.N. saying it has grave concern for the 50,000 civilians that are still in there, for the 20,000 children among them, because they've been cut off from food, from water, from medical supplies for a long time, and now at risk of being used as human shields and being forced to fight and, of course, also just being there in that battlefield. Very dangerous as well, John.
BERMAN: And, of course, that city caught in the middle of conflict really since 2003.
All right. Frederik Pleitgen, thanks so much.
ROMANS: All right. The number of migrants killed at sea in the past week now climbing above a thousand. These numbers from the International Organization for Migration citing accounts from survivors. Rickety boats overloaded with hundreds of people are sinking despite calm waters in the Mediterranean. Smuggling gangs are also using riskier tactics to prey on people desperate to leave the Middle East and North Africa.
The business model here, John, is not even to get to shore. Smugglers are piling people on to these boats and just leaving them out to sea, hoping the Italian military or others will come get them.
BERMAN: Callous deception is the business model there.
A warning from the State Department to all Americans planning to visit Europe this summer. The risk of a terrorist attack is high with sporting events, tourist attractions, restaurants, and shopping centers the likeliest targets. U.S. travelers are also being warned to be vigilant when using mass transportation and being prepared for additional security screenings and an unexpected travel disruption. Euro 2016, big soccer tournament, an area of very large concern.
ROMANS: All right. Despite falling oil prices and constant airstrikes on its infrastructure. ISIS still has a $2 billion empire thanks in part to new taxes. That's according to a new report from the Center for the Analysis of Terrorism, which will be released today. It says ISIS made $2.4 billion in 2015.
That's down $500 million from the prior year, but ISIS remains the richest terrorist organization in the world. Now, the main reason why is taxes. The Islamic state's extortion of the people living inside its territory in Iraq and Syria, that now accounts for 33 percent of its revenue. Oil makes up 25 percent. The rest is from various sources.
In recent months, ISIS has cut fighter salaries in half. It also has lost about 40 percent of its territory. That's according to the U.S. military. But ISIS still has about 8 million people under its control.
BERMAN: ISIS has held Mosul, the second biggest in Iraq for more two years now. It's setting up a government. It's effectively there. It's sort of beyond occupying to literally controlling.
ROMANS: And now, they're trying to take Fallujah back from ISIS. And that will be just devastating for those civilians.
Let's get an early start on your money here. Dow futures looking sluggish this morning. It's the first trading day of June. Stock markets in Europe, they're down right now. Shares in Asia finishing with losses overnight. The gloomy sentiment was tipped off by a weak manufacturing report in China and falling oil prices.
But this morning may be a good time to check your 401(k). Wall Street closed the books on may with modest gains for all three major averages. The Dow up just a fraction. But check out the NASDAQ, up 3.6 percent this month.
The S&P 500 up about 1.5 percent. The S&P now one big rally away from an all-time high. That all-time high reached last May. Crossing that mark could be a challenge as volume usually weakens heading into this summer.
BERMAN: Let's get it done. Let's get it done.
ROMANS: We have a lot of data this week. You're going to get. Auto sales today, they're expected to be good. You have personal spending, very good. Home prices, good. Jobs report on Friday. So, there's a lot of data this week. It could suggest the Fed might be ready to raise rates this summer.
BERMAN: Like Christmas in June for Christine Romans.
EARLY START continues right now.
(MUSIC)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think the political press is among the most dishonest people that I've ever met. You're a sleaze because you know the facts, and you know the facts well. I've watched you on television. You're a real beauty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Donald Trump unleashed with a new stinging attack on the media, as we learn information this morning on the fraud case leveled against his university.
