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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Trump Unleashes New Insults At Clinton For Attacks On Trump University; Clinton Foreign Policy Address To Focus On "Dangerous" Trump Plans; President Slams GOP Economic Policies; Payday Loan Overhaul; Gorilla Killing: Mother's 911 Call Released; Murder-Suicide On UCLA Campus; Texas Gov. Declares State of Disaster; Iraq's Fight For Fallujah Moving Cautiously. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired June 02, 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] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Is California big enough for Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in full battle mode? Today, Hillary Clinton going after Trump on foreign policy. Why this is happening, right now.
Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Nice to see you, everybody. Thirty minutes past the hour this morning. Let's begin here. Happening now, police in San Jose, California on alert, preparing for the unexpected when Donald Trump holds a rally there tonight.
In the past some Trump events, like this one in Albuquerque, New Mexico, have been hit with protests, fights, arrests, so San Jose police have been holding tactical meetings to be ready just in case.
Last night, Trump attacking Hillary Clinton, unleashing a barrage of new putdowns. Trump retaliating for Clinton's description of Trump University and Trump, himself, as a fraud. CNN's Sara Murray traveling with the Trump campaign. She has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning, John and Christine. On a day when Donald Trump took some harsh incoming fire, he fired right back. Hillary Clinton went after Trump for Trump University, calling him a fraud. He was trying to scam America.
And here in Sacramento last night Donald Trump opened his speech unleashing a series of counterpunches against Hillary Clinton, calling her crooked Hillary and saying she was one of the worst Secretaries of State in history.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: She's not qualified because she has bad judgment. Now, who said that? Bernie Sanders said it about Hillary. She's not qualified. So here are seven points that I've marked down which I think are important and they talk about Hillary and her incompetence. She's one of the worst Secretaries of State in the history of our country. Now she wants to be our president. Look, I'll be honest, she has no natural talents to be president. This is not a president. They talk about me. Actually, a lot of people think I look extremely presidential, if you want to know the truth. But do you really believe that Hillary is presidential? This is not presidential material.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY: Now, Trump swiping Hillary Clinton over foreign policy comes as she prepares today to deliver what she and her campaign are billing as a major foreign policy address. As for Donald Trump, he's back on the campaign trail once again in California, today in San Jose. Back to you guys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: All right, Sara. The major foreign policy speech Sara Murray was just talking about that Hillary Clinton will give today is going to focus extensively on Donald Trump. Senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan tells CNN that Clinton will reel off a list of what Sullivan calls dangerous policies that Trump supports. These are policies related to nuclear proliferation, war crimes, NATO, banning Muslims.
All this while Hillary Clinton is keeping her eye on Bernie Sanders in California. They are neck-and-neck in a string of new polls. Clinton flew there last night following a rally in New Jersey. It's another big state that holds a primary next Tuesday. CNN's Jeff Zeleny was there. He has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, Hillary Clinton going after Donald Trump in some of the most pointed and personal ways yet, saying that he's committed a fraud and he's been scamming the American people all of that controversy at Trump University.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: His own employees testified that Trump U -- you can't make this up. That Trump U was a fraudulent scheme where Donald Trump enriched himself at the expense of hard-working people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: Now as Hillary Clinton focuses squarely on Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders is out in California trying to win over voters. Hillary Clinton is flying to California today, as well. She realizes that it's a very tough race and a new poll shows it's dead even. She's only slightly up by about two points. Bernie Sanders took a bit of delight in that Wednesday as he campaigned there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- and I'm shocked. You know why? Because you all told me the campaign was over. I wonder why Secretary Clinton and her husband, Bill, are back in California?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: Now, Hillary Clinton does not need to win California but she certainly would like to. It's the biggest delegate prize of all, some 475 delegates, next Tuesday. That's why she'll be spending the next five days there campaigning. But also going after Donald Trump, including at this foreign policy address later today in San Diego, trying to present Donald Trump as unqualified and unfit for the presidency -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[05:35:00] ROMANS: All right, Jeff Zeleny, thank you so much. Joining us to assess Clinton's two-front battle with Trump and Sanders and the rest of the political battlefield, CNN Politics digital managing editor, Zach Wolf, in our Washington bureau.
Good morning again, Zach. So she's going to try to say that he's unqualified and unfit, as you just heard Jeff Zeleny say. She's going to reel through a whole bunch of things, including nuclear nonproliferation and a whole bunch of other stuff. And you know, Donald Trump almost, I guess, preempting this speech and saying give me a break. He's already trying to insult her before she's even made this speech.
Listen to something he said last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: -- and she made a speech and she's making another tomorrow, and they sent me a copy of the speech and it was such lies about my foreign policy. They said I want Japan to nuke. I want Japan to get nuclear weapons. Give me a break.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Well now, one of the things that the Clinton team is going to try to show, I think, is that he has been imprecise or chaotic in some of his policies and comments on foreign policy. Listen to something Trump said in a "FOX" interview from April 3rd about why he says Japan should have nukes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: North Korea has nukes. Japan has a problem with that. I mean, they have a big problem with that. Maybe they would, in fact, be better off if they defend themselves from North Korea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With nukes?
TRUMP: Maybe we would be better off -- including with nukes. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: So last night he said give me a break if she's going to try to say I want Japan to have nukes. But on April 30 he said Japan could have nukes. Is this the kind of stuff that Hillary Clinton is just going to drill right into?
ZACHARY WOLF, CNN POLITICS DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR: Yes, Donald Trump is impossible to nail down on many, many policy issues and foreign policy issues, in particular. So she is going to say that he's unfit, that he's dangerous. These are all things, I think, that are a good preview for the general election coming where she tries to look presidential, trade on her own experience as Secretary of State.
There's probably no one more qualified, from a foreign policy standpoint, to stand with other world leaders than a former Secretary of State and first lady, so she can make those arguments. But I think even Trump supporters, even his most ardent supporters will admit that he doesn't have much foreign policy experience, because it's true. And then, when you start to drill down and look for his foreign policy it's very difficult to actually figure out what it is.
BERMAN: Why, Zach, is Hillary Clinton giving a foreign policy speech on Donald Trump when the California primary against Bernie Sanders is less than a week away?
WOLF: Well, she wants to do two things. She wants to pivot to the general election. She needs to start talking Trump. But on the other hand, she still has to fight Bernie Sanders and more and more that's becoming a fight of who can beat Donald Trump.
Foreign policy is an issue that will help her. She's making the speech in San Diego where there's a really large veteran population. It's one of the more conservative parts of the state so all of those things kind of help her, I think, fight this two-pronged war between her primary opponent, who she has almost -- she is most likely to get the delegates she needs just before or in the California primary, so she still needs to do that.
But then, she also needs to turn around and start looking at Donald Trump. So here, she's potentially killing two birds with one stone.
ROMANS: And then, the president said yesterday, in Elkhart, Indiana, someplace --
BERMAN: The current one.
ROMANS: The current president -- the current president. He couldn't bring himself to say the name Donald Trump but I think he was talking about him. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When somebody says, like the person you just mentioned who I'm not going to advertise for, that he's going to bring all these jobs back. Well, how exactly are you going to do that? What are you going to do?
There's no answer to it. He just says well, I'm going to negotiate a better deal. Well, how exactly are you going to negotiate that? What magic wand do you have? And, usually, the answer is he doesn't have an answer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: And then, Donald Trump on the campaign trail last night at the same speech -- that speech that we just showed you a minute ago -- he just blasted Obama, saying oh, he's going to get involved now? Gee, I'm scared. Do you think the president's going to start injecting himself more into this or is he going to wait until California's done?
WOLF: I think, potentially, when Hillary Clinton becomes nominee Clinton that Barack Obama will start using the words Donald Trump more often, and at that point he can officially move on. He said, I think yesterday, that the Democratic nomination is about over. The numbers clearly favor her from the delegate count so I think everybody, when that happens, will more squarely set their political sites --
BERMAN: But --
WOLF: Go ahead.
BERMAN: But, Zach, the real question for Barack Obama is when he will jump into this race in support of a specific candidate, right? If Bernie Sanders stays in this until the convention, even though Hillary Clinton may go over the top when you combine the pledged delegates and the superdelegates that say they're going to vote for her -- that if Bernie stays in the race, do you think the White House and Barack Obama will come out and say you know what, in my mind it's over? That's a big question.
[05:40:00] WOLF: It would be hard to imagine that they wouldn't at that point. Once Hillary Clinton has the delegates she needs, you would think that they would do everything they can. That every Democrat on the planet is going to want to try and start moving towards Donald Trump. So it's hard to imagine that they wouldn't after she reaches that delegate count, which should come next Tuesday.
ROMANS: All right, Zach Wolf, nice to see you bright and early this morning. Thank you, Zach. Have a good day.
New this morning, a big overhaul for the payday loan industry. The consumer financial protection bureau proposing overnight to protect these borrowers. Payday loans are typically tied to a borrower's next paycheck. The CFPB says the average annual percentage rate is 390 percent.
BERMAN: I think that's ridiculous.
ROMANS: The loans are often used to cover basic living expenses like rent or utilities, so people -- a lot of these people don't even have bank accounts, right? Here's what the government wants Payday lenders to do. First, make sure the borrower can afford the payments on the loan. Second, end the debt trap cycle, making it harder for lenders to refinance existing loans. The CFPB says 80 percent of loans are reborrowed within a month.
Finally, regulate penalty fees. Many Payday lenders have access to borrowers' checking accounts. They directly withdraw payments on due dates. If there aren't enough funds available this can lead to huge overdraft fees for borrowers, so watch this space there. You know, it's remarkable, 390 percent. To borrow ahead you own money at 390 percent interest rate is just unbelievable.
BERMAN: Forty-one minutes after the hour right now. Dramatic 911 calls released from the mother whose 3-year-old boy fell into the gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo. You will hear this call next.
[05:41:55]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:46:05] BERMAN: The mother of the 3-year-old boy who fell into the gorilla habitat at the Cincinnati Zoo made a frantic call to 911 moments after she discovered her son had fallen inside. The audio recording has now been released as Cincinnati police wrap up their investigation. No official word yet on whether or not charges may be filed against the boy's mother. Let's get more now from CNN's Jessica Schneider.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, it was 90 seconds of helpless horror from that mother as she called 911 dispatchers while simultaneously trying to calm her toddler son. She was just one of several people calling 911 on Saturday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE GREGG, MOTHER OF SON WHO FELL IN GORILLA HABITAT: "Hi, my son feel in the zoo at the gorillas. The Cincinnati Zoo, my son fell in the with gorilla. There's a male gorilla standing over him. I need someone to contact the zoo please.
DISPATCHER: OK, we do already have that started. We do already have help started there, OK? How old is your child?
GREGG: OK -- be calm. Be calm. Be calm. Be calm. He's dragging my son. I can't watch this. I can't, I can't, OK. I can't watch.
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: It slammed it against the wall earlier.
DISPATCHER: OK, can you -- is any of the zookeepers next to you right now?
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: Oh God, oh God, he's got his pants. He's taking the baby.
DISPATCHER: OK, ma'am, listen to me.
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: He's taking the baby. He's taking the baby into the cave. Oh my God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHNEIDER: The imminent danger of Harambe possibly taking that toddler into his cave may shed some light on why the dangerous animal response team moved in in those 10 tense minutes and decided to eventually shoot and kill Harambe -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: Remarkable. The UCLA professor who was killed in a murder- suicide that put the campus on lockdown is being remembered this morning as a brilliant scholar and a caring teacher. Thirty-nine- year-old William Klug, a biomechanics professor, a little league coach, father of two -- he'll be remembered tonight at a candlelight vigil. The man who killed him left a note behind. Police still have not released his identify or a motive.
BERMAN: That's so sad. Severe flooding prompting the governor of Texas to declare a state of disaster across dozens of counties. (Video playing) This is Lubbock, Texas. You can see there are inflatable boats being used to get to people who are just stuck in the water.
In Houston, neighborhoods there pretty much submerged. A flood warning is in effect in the region until Saturday. Evacuation also underway in the city of Spring. Authorities rescuing hundreds of people. One man there says the situation is dire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is real serious. Do not play with this. You see what we're going through and thank the Lord for good friends and family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Good advice.
ROMANS: Yes.
BERMAN: All right, let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY". Chris Cuomo joins us now.
ROMANS: Hey, Chris.
BERMAN: Good morning.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Hello, John. Hello, Christine. Trump versus Clinton -- that's the headline it seems every day, right, but there has been a change. We're looking at some new highs or maybe new lows. Trump calling Clinton a liar with no talent, and saying the Clintons are crooked people. That came after Clinton called him a fraud and said Trump University lawsuits are evidence of scamming America.
Today, Clinton is making a major policy speech. A what? Yes, policy speech. We don't hear of many of those these days, and she is supposedly going to cast it in the context of why Trump would be dangerous for America.
We're also hearing for the first time the 911 call that set off the situation at the Cincinnati Zoo. We all know it so well now, ending in Harambe, the gorilla's, death. So we'll take you through that and see how it adds to our understanding.
BERMAN: Christopher Cuomo, your tie is slightly askew but your heart, not one bit.
CUOMO: Well, J.B., I'm going with a different knot today, the Half Windsor knot. They say it's easier to make but, you're right, it is a little off. But if I bend my head like this it's fine, right?
BERMAN: All right, watch for three hours to see Christopher Cuomo with his head like this. See you in a minute.
ROMANS: Thanks, Chris. Uh-oh, a week of strong economic news and then a speed bump. What it means for your 401(k). We'll get an EARLY START on your money next.
[05:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:54:20] BERMAN: New developments in the Iraqi push to free Fallujah from ISIS control. Iraqi government forces say they are concerned about doing harm to civilians, including an estimated 20,000 children.
We want to get the latest from CNN's Jon Jensen monitoring the situation for us from Abu Dhabi right now. Jon, the Iraqi forces there, they've been battling on the outskirts. They have yet to go inside the city. Why?
JON JENSEN, CNN REPORTER: Well, that's right, John. They have, essentially, dug their heels in on the outskirts because they faced such stiff resistance from ISIS fighters on the outskirts of Fallujah. At the same time, as you mentioned, there is a desperate, dire humanitarian crisis unfolding on the inside.
[05:55:00] Now, the Iraqi forces facing ISIS fighters have encountered a number of deadly counterattacks, including roadside bombs, snipers, even booby trapped houses. Still, the Iraqi prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, says there will be no halt on their advance into Fallujah.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation is approaching catastrophe. That's according to aid groups. Now, keep in mind this city has been under siege for some six months so there is little food, there are little medical supplies. And the 20,000 children you mentioned are part of 50,000 residents
that are believed to still be trapped inside. Now the concern is that these children could be used as human shields or even be forced to pick up arms and fight for ISIS.
The other big concern, John, is the water supply. We understand from human aid groups that the water stores are contaminated and the U.N. believes that a cholera outbreak could be imminent. Very dire, indeed -- John.
BERMAN: Dire, indeed, and a lot of people caught right in the middle. Jon Jensen, thanks so much.
ROMANS: All right, let's get an EARLY START on your money this morning. Dow futures just slightly lower. The average ticked up two points yesterday. Wow, what a move, right? Stock markets in Europe have turned higher this morning. Shares in Asia finishing mixed overnight.
Big, important OPEC meeting today so oil is higher -- a little bit higher. Buzz that OPEC may cap production, but we've heard that before so let's wait and see what happens.
We're getting a pretty extensive look inside the American economy this week. June, starting with a ton of econ news. Strong readings on consumer spending. Strong home sales to start the week. But auto sales hit a speed bump yesterday. GM suffered an 18 percent decline in May. Toyota slipped nine percent. Ford posted a six percent drop. Fiat Chrysler managed to post a small increase because of strong demand for its Jeep vehicles.
SUV sales are a bright spot this year following the drop in gas prices. Some analysts are saying the slump in May probably signals that auto sales have peaked. The industry sold a record number of cars and trucks last year.
Some of those new cars may have defective Takata airbags. New cars with defective airbags in them when they roll of the assembly line. That's according to a new Senate report. How in the world is that possible? Well, tens of millions of the older versions of these airbags have already been recalled. The newer versions being installed today are expected to be recalled as well, but likely not until 2017 or 2018.
BERMAN: That's crazy.
ROMANS: Yes.
BERMAN: They're installing airbags that they know will be recalled.
ROMANS: Yes, that they know they're going to have to recall. And critics -- Takata critics are upset. The bigger problem is supply. Takata can't make enough new airbags to replace the old ones. It's having trouble finding other supplies to help replace the estimated 30 million recalled airbags. It shows you as the industry -- the entire industry relies on this one big supplier, in some cases, and so there's not a diversification of airbag supplies and that's what happens here.
BERMAN: So just beware. When you're buying a new car know that you have something that sooner or later will be recalled.
ROMANS: Might be recalled.
BERMAN: All right, Hillary Clinton. She plans to give a major speech today with some major new attacks on Donald Trump. "NEW DAY" picks that up right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Hillary is a person with absolutely no natural talent.
CLINTON: Trump took advantage of vulnerable Americans.
TRUMP: These are crooked people. Look at that foundation.
CLINTON: He is trying to scam America.
OBAMA: He just says I'm going to negotiate a better deal. What magic wand do you have?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have had an on-campus shooting. There are two deceased.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People are crying and they're shaking.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I closed and barricaded the doors and turned off the lights.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our primary goal right now is to review all of our security procedures.
GREGG: My son fell in the zoo at the gorillas.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's dragging him from one end to the other.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my God.
GREGG: He's dragging my son. I can't watch this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No mother should ever have to watch that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It's Thursday, June 2nd, 6:00 in the east. Ana Cabrera is with us. Great to have you here on this Thursday.
Up first, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump exchanging attacks on each other in a way that can be condensed in a very simply fashion. Trump sums up Clinton as Secretary of State and her character as crooked. He says you're crooked. CUOMO: And she said back to him, you are a scammer.
CAMEROTA: And he said you have no talent.
CUOMO: And she said you are a fraud.
CAMEROTA: There you go.
CUOMO: That's basically what happened yesterday and, of course, they were trying to provide some context. Trump was saying if you look at her record this is what you get. If you look at her line this is what you get. Clinton was saying if you look at Trump University and his business dealings, that's where you have it. That's the state of play going on today.
The good news is we are supposed to hear policy from Hillary Clinton today, right?
CAMEROTA: Absolutely, foreign policy. So, she's going to project Trump as a dangerous person and unfit to be commander in chief. This, as President Obama enters the 2016 fight, taking on Trump's economic proposal.
