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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Trump Unleashes Fury at Hillary Clinton; Iraqis Slow Advance Into Fallujah; Verizon Strike Could Spoil Jobs Data. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired June 03, 2016 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:31:00] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN HOST: Breaking overnight, Donald Trump unleashes his fury at Hillary Clinton, leveling new attacks after the Democratic front-runner delivered her scathing critique of his foreign policies and temperament. Protests break out as the race for president reaches this new level of intensity.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN HOST: Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Miguel Marquez in for the lovely John Berman.
ROMANS: Nice to see you this morning.
MARQUEZ: Thank you very much. Nice to be here.
ROMANS: It is Friday. I'm Christine Romans. Thirty-one minutes past the hour. You know, it's getting pretty ugly out there, folks. There's kind of a new page here in this election drama. Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump lashing out at each other on the campaign trail in California.
Trump hoping to turn the traditionally blue state red in November. He just picked up a key endorsement from Paul Ryan. That's right, Paul Ryan has now officially endorsed him. The House Speaker announcing he is voting for Trump in the fall after an uncomfortable three-week courtship.
Meanwhile, more protests at a Trump rally in San Jose last night. American flags and "Make American Great Again" hats set on fire. Pro- and anti-Trump demonstrators -- they were separated by riot police. Let's get more now on the bitter battle between these candidates from CNN senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta.
(BEGIN AUDIOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Miguel, in response to Hillary Clinton's fiery foreign policy speech, Donald Trump blasted right back accusing the former Secretary of State of delivering a political address that had little to do with world affairs.
In her speech, Clinton said that Trump is so dangerous he should not be allowed near the nation's nuclear codes. Trump called those jabs pathetic. Here's more of what he had to say at a speech in San Jose.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I watched Hillary today. It was pathetic. It was pathetic. It was so sad to watch. You know, she's up there and it was supposed to be a foreign policy speech. It was a political speech. Had nothing to do with foreign policy. She made a political speech tonight, folks, and it was pretty pathetic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Trump also told the crowd here in San Jose that Clinton should go to jail over her Email scandal at the State Department. He did not comment on the judge handling the Trump University case, but he told "The Wall Street Journal" that Judge Gonzalo Curiel has a conflict of interest, he said, because of his Mexican heritage.
Trump did start the event, though, here in San Jose telling the crowd "we love the Hispanics" -- Miguel and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ: All right, Jim Acosta for us. Thank you very much. Hillary Clinton was meant to deliver a big foreign policy address on Thursday but it felt more like a "Dump Trump" rally. Clinton mocking her Republican rival, warning Americans not to let him anywhere near the nuclear codes.
The former Secretary of State unveiling an aggressive new persona four days out from the California primary. We get more from CNN senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar. She is in San Diego.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine and Miguel. This was a character speech, perhaps more than it was a foreign policy speech -- a roast, almost at times. Hillary Clinton eliciting boos and cheers and guffaws from this audience here in San Diego as she took aim at Donald Trump on, yes, some foreign policy, but mostly his temperament.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now, imagine Donald Trump sitting in the situation room making life or death decisions on behalf of the United States. Imagine him deciding whether to send your spouses or children into battle.
Imagine if he had not just his Twitter account at his disposal when he's angry, but America's entire arsenal. Do we want him making those calls? Someone thin-skinned and quick to anger, who lashes out at the smallest criticism. Do we want his finger anywhere near the button?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: The timing of Hillary Clinton's speech coming as Donald Trump has criticized her on foreign policy, repeatedly using the two words 'bad judgment' to talk about her involvement in Libya, her vote on the Iraq war, and also beyond foreign policy, her handling of Emails while she was Secretary of State -- Christine and Miguel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[05:35:00] ROMANS: All right, Brianna. Let's bring in CNN senior media and politics reporter, Dylan Byers. He is live for us this morning again from Los Angeles. We had such a brisk conversation a half hour ago. We brought you back, Dylan, because look --
MARQUEZ: We couldn't get enough.
ROMANS: We can just never get enough of Dylan Byers. Let's talk about Clinton's speech. It looks like it aimed at Democrats who are looking nervously at some of those general election polls, a matchup between her and Donald Trump. Donald Trump gets so much attention when he goes out off the cuff. Gets so much energy from his followers.
Clinton's speech aimed at really showing them and Republican national security folks -- people who -- Republican voters who care about national security one after another, painting this picture of an incoherent policy of bad temperament from Donald Trump.
DYLAN BYERS, CNN SENIOR MEDIA AND POLITICS REPORTER: Yes, that's absolutely right, and she was far more aggressive in this speech than she has been to date, which is what many voters, especially many Democrats, have been waiting to see from Hillary Clinton and hoping to see from Hillary Clinton.
And that's a side of her that I think we can expect to see for the next five or six months, all the way through November. I think what Hillary Clinton and her team saw looking at the Republican primary is that you can't sit by and let Donald Trump dominate the conversation. You have to take him on. You have to go out there and hit him head on.
But that doesn't mean necessarily taking the low road that we associate with so much of what the Republican primary was about. It's not the sort of Marco Rubio strategy of deciding you're going to go after him for the size of his hands or something like that.
You have to offer a clear, a concise alternative to what Donald Trump is, and you have to tell voters why Donald Trump would be such a bad decision, and in terms of foreign policy that's what she did with her speech. And look, I think it was very powerful, I think it was very effective.
Donald Trump's rebuttal that it was a political speech and not a foreign policy speech -- that may be true but again, as we were talking about earlier, he needs to come forward with a really strong and coherent foreign policy plan if he wants to win over voters who aren't the sort of voters who are just going to trust him to make everything great and safe in the world again just because he says he'll do it.
MARQUEZ: I take it that the Clinton camp is trying to figure out what is going to work against Donald Trump, given how difficult a time the Republican nominees -- the other Republican nominees had trying to best him. She used his words against him in making her own arguments. It did seem like a very sort of powerful way to get at it, but is this likely to work?
BYERS: Yes. Well look, there's nothing that Hillary Clinton or anyone can do or say to shake the Trump faithful, and those are the people who are so sick of the system and so sick of the establishment. Certainly don't really love the Democrats and certainly don't even love anyone who's been in Washington for a while. They love Trump and they like his bravado and his attitude.
But yes, does it work with the larger general population to hold his own words against him? I think it does and I think there's actually a wealth of material there, not just on foreign policy but in terms of things he's said regarding domestic policy, attacks he's made on other people, attacks he's made on certain groups, attacks he's made on women, on Mexicans. The list goes on and on.
In terms of how Hillary Clinton's campaign is thinking about the general election ahead, there's always opposition research on the candidate sitting on the other side of the aisle. When it comes to Donald Trump there are treasure troves of it. The question is knowing what's going to stick.
And on foreign policy, the fact that he is such an unknown quantity, the fact that he would not necessarily be a steady hand on the wheel, or at least, Hillary Clinton's ability to make that case, I think is going to prove very effective.
ROMANS: Could we talk about Latinos for a moment here. You talked about insulting Mexicans. You talked about some of the things -- what sticks on Donald Trump. Listen to what he said at the San Jose rally last night. He began that San Jose rally saying he loves Latinos. Let's listen to him say it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Latinos for Trump, that's what I like. I love that. Latinos -- we're doing well with Latinos. Nobody knows about it yet. We're bringing so many jobs in. You watch what happens. The Hispanics -- we love the Hispanics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Is there any evidence anywhere in the universe that he's doing well with Latinos?
BYERS: No, and in fact, as you guys brought up earlier, the latest "FOX News" poll his unfavorability rating with Latinos at 74 percent. Look, Hillary Clinton has very high negatives, too, among the people that don't like here. But the negatives that Donald Trump has, especially with minority groups, and again, Latinos being one of the key groups, and also let's not forget the fastest-growing voting bloc in this country, that is a real issue.
[05:40:00] And if you look at the alternate strategies that each candidate has here for expanding the map, Donald Trump continues to play to his base. He continues to play to the frustrated, middle- class, primarily white American voter who feels disenchanted with Washington.
Who feels disenfranchised and disconnected from the global success story that candidates -- President Obama and a candidate like Hillary Clinton is trying to tell. There's not a lot of room to move the map or expand the map with that constituency.
If you look at what Hillary Clinton's dealing with, she's dealing with this broad Democratic coalition that includes all of these minority groups. There is a lot of people she can get to turn out. So again, it baffles me that Donald Trump isn't making a stronger pivot to try and be more inclusive and bring in more of the groups, even some of those groups that he alienated over the course of the 10 months of the Republican primary.
MARQUEZ: As we all know, the American election is won down that great center of the electorate. Thank you, Dylan Byers.
ROMANS: All right, breaking overnight --
BYERS: Thank you, guys.
ROMANS: -- five soldiers killed, four more missing in these floodwaters just inundating parts of Texas, and there's more rain on the way, next.
[05:41:15]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:45:25] MARQUEZ: Breaking news out of flood-ravaged Texas. The bodies of two more missing Fort Hood soldiers have been found. That brings the number of casualties so far to five. The soldiers were killed after their troop carrier overturned during a training exercise Thursday morning. Search teams are now combing the scene looking for four more missing soldiers.
Evacuations are underway in several neighborhoods. (Video playing) This Houston suburb surrounded by water. Folks say, there, is it is the worst flooding they've ever seen.
ROMANS: All right, more rain expected this weekend. Meteorologist Allison Chinchar, live from the CNN weather center. They've got a few more days of this trouble, don't they?
ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Indeed, they do, which is why we still have a lot of our flood products in effect, including flood watches, flood warnings, flash flood warnings in effect. And again, a lot of these will carry through the weekend because that's how long it's going to take before we finally see some relief in Texas.
We've had this low-pressure system kind of slowing making its way through the state. And all it's really been doing is just pulling all of that warm, humid air from the Gulf into Texas, and that's what's been providing a lot of the real good moisture, the necessary ingredient for a lot of the flooding.
Going forward we expect still about one to two inches of rain widespread. But notice, especially right there along the Gulf, you could pick up an additional four to six inches of rain. Again, four to six inches is a lot of rain in and of itself, then you have to think about all the extra rain that's already fallen.
Now again, the low will finally begin to push out. We've got this front that's associated with this system bringing severe weather to the Midwest and then the Mid-Atlantic. That front finally begins to edge that low out of Texas, but it's going to be at least a few more days before it finally does that. So again, guys, we've got to get at least through Sunday before we finally see some relief.
ROMANS: All right, so everybody be careful out there. We're still looking at these search and rescues underway. Thank you so much for that, Allison.
Now, from weather to money. It's time for an early start on your money. Can oil prices hit $60 a barrel this year? Saudi Arabia's new oil minister thinks so. Crude trading now about $49 a barrel, so that would be an $11 rise. At a meeting yesterday, the world's largest oil producing nations again decided not to boost price with a cut in production. Here's how Saudi Arabia's top oil man, though, explained that decision to CNN's John Defterios.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KHALID AL-FALIH, MINISTER OF PETROLEUM, SAUDI ARABIA: We came into the meeting feeling very good about the trend of the market supply and demand rebalancing. And we think that the right thing to do is for OPEC to monitor the market and to let that trend continue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Translation, OPEC will keep pumping oil and hope prices rebound. Sixty dollars a barrel is what they say. That might be more wishful thinking than real confidence in a volatile oil market.
So what would $60 barrel oil actually mean for you? Well, if it happened, higher gas prices. The national average right now $2.34 a gallon, the highest price this year. The average up 12 cents in the last month. Well below what drivers, though, were paying this time last year.
MARQUEZ: Amazing. Let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY". The lovely and talented Alisyn Camerota -- she joins us. Hello, there.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Beautiful, Miguel, just as I wrote it for you in the prompter -- well delivered. So, Hillary Clinton used both barrels to go after Donald Trump on foreign policy. She calls him dangerous and temperamentally unfit to be president, but did she mischaracterize some of his policy positions? We will fact-check them.
Trump, meanwhile, continues to hammer the judge in the Trump U. case. We will fact-check his claims, as well.
Also, what we now know that killed superstar Prince. We will talk to an addiction expert about the powerful drug that he was on and how easy it is for someone to get their hands on that.
So, a lot to get to when we see you in about 11 minutes.
ROMANS: All right, Alisyn. Nice to see you. Thank you.
CAMEROTA: Thanks, guys. Happy Friday.
MARQUEZ: Have a good Friday.
ROMANS: All right, big government jobs report due in just a few hours. Maybe a big worker strike could spoil those numbers? We're going to get an early start on your money, next.
In the retail world that's typically brick and mortar stores versus online stores in the battle for the bottom line, but one E-commerce company is trying to bridge the gap by doing both. "CNN MONEY" Vanessa Yurkevich goes inside Warby Parker.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VANESSA YURKEVICH, DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT, "CNN MONEY": Online shopping is expected to reach almost half a trillion dollars in the next three years, but brick and mortar stores still bring in 10 times that. So how do you appeal to the shopper of today and tomorrow? Be in both places at the same time.
DAVID GILBOA, CO-CEO & CO-FOUNDER, WARBY PARKER: We're finding that customers are really responding and voting with their wallets when we open a store. And then it also creates awareness and drives business to online sales, as well.
[05:55:00] YURKEVICH: Neil Blumenthal and Dave Gilboa started Warby Parker out their New York apartment six years ago. Today, the company's been valued at more than $1 billion. And in just three years they've opened 31 stores in the U.S. and increased online sales.
NEIL BLUMENTHAL, CO-CEO & CO-FOUNDER, WARBY PARKER: All of our sales associates have iPad minis and they're using software that we've written to help you check out seamlessly and that sales associate can take a picture of you wearing the glasses -- several of them. Send you a nicely-formatted Email with a click "add to cart" and you can shop out once you get one.
YURKEVICH: So, you're essentially making it very difficult for people not to buy your product.
GILBOA: We're trying to use technology to enhance customer experiences and really rethink the way that glasses are sold.
YURKEVICH: According to Warby, 85 percent of people who go to their stores have been to their Website first and their online sales are still more profitable. But by the end of this year Warby says they plan to open 15 more stores in North America.
GILBOA: In a few years I don't think we're going to think about these businesses in terms of distinct channels and online and offline because it's so integrated.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[05:51:25]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:55:45] MARQUEZ: Now to the bloody fight to liberate Fallujah. The Iraqi military releasing new video of airstrikes pounding ISIS targets, but the ground offensive to retake the city has been slowed with over 50,000 civilians caught in the crossfire and ISIS using many of them as human shields. Military officials are struggling to avoid a massacre.
CNN's Ben Wedeman is live in Baghdad for us. Ben, does the Iraqi military have the luxury of time on their side? They have been operating around the city for some time now.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The offensive now is two weeks old, Miguel. And what we've seen in the past is that retaking towns and cities that have been controlled by ISIS is a time- consuming operation. This could go on for weeks, but certainly they're trying.
And what we saw this morning, according to Iraqi intelligence, that there was a coalition airstrike on what they're describing as a command center in southeastern Fallujah where they believe there was a meeting of leaders of ISIS, including the so-called Amir or prince of -- or the military commander of ISIS forces in Fallujah.
They say that airstrike -- that coalition airstrike resulted in dozens of ISIS people being killed, including possibly this commander of the ISIS forces. So certainly that is progress as far as the Iraqi forces go, but they still have to tread carefully because of these 50,000 civilians still stuck inside the city -- Miguel.
MARQUEZ: Such a difficult place in a city that's seen so much. Ben Wedeman for us in Baghdad, thank you.
ROMANS: All right, let's get an early start on your money this Friday morning. Dow futures holding pattern right now ahead of a very big report. The government's monthly jobs report comes out at 8:30 eastern time. No reason to place any big bets on the markets right now until you know what that number is.
Stock markets in Europe and Asia, solid gains. Oil rising a bit here. Now, you've got some economists warning today's jobs report could be a little funky, but don't worry. It would be a one-time thing. Funky is a technical term.
Thirty-six thousand Verizon workers were on strike for six weeks demanding better pay, improved working conditions, and job security. That strike ended last Friday after the labor secretary stepped in to help reach a deal. Now, the lapse in work could mean a smaller job creation number.
There is a whiplash effect, though. Back in August 2011, Verizon workers were on strike then. The economy added to kind of a limp 107,000 jobs that month, and a deal was reached in September. Look at that. A total rebound.
MARQUEZ: Amazing.
ROMANS: It's bad timing, though, for the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve is going to be closely watching today's report. The Federal Reserve trying to decide whether now is the time to raise interest rates, and wages and job creation are two very, very important ingredients in that formula.
MARQUEZ: Amazing that a single company can have that big an effect.
ROMANS: Oh, yes, absolutely.
MARQUEZ: Now, Donald Trump firing back at Hillary Clinton after her scathing critique of his foreign policy ideas. "NEW DAY" starts now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: This isn't reality television, this is actual reality.
TRUMP: And lying, crooked Hillary.
CLINTON: He is temperamentally unfit.
TRUMP: Four more years of this stuff and we're not going to have a country left.
CLINTON: It's not hard to imagine Donald Trump leading us into a war because somebody got under his very thin skin.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A female was located in a residence with a gunshot wound. A list was located. That list has been described as a kill list. He went there to kill two faculty from UCLA.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Five soldiers dead as floods ravage parts of Texas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We urge all citizens to take these evacuation notices seriously.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's cars floating down the street.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: Good morning. Welcome to your new day. It's Friday, June 3rd, 6:00 in the east. Ana Cabrera along our side. ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Friday.
CUOMO: Thank you. Friday's, it's true. So, we have the big headline from Clinton's foreign policy speech. You ready? Here's the headline. Trump is thin-skinned and a danger to the U.S. Clinton did lay out ideas for several levels of strategies on foreign policy, implying Trump doesn't even have a plan.
Trump replied by saying Clinton should be in jail because of her use of a private Email server while she was Secretary of State.
