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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Super Tuesday: Clinton Clinches, Sanders Won't Back Down; Trump Stands By Criticism of Judge; Stephen Curry Out of Rio Olympics. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired June 07, 2016 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:10] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: EARLY START continues right now.

(MUSIC)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Hillary Clinton's historic moment securing enough delegates to become the presumptive Democratic nominee. So, when millions voting across the country today and a primary challenger who won't give up, nothing is certain in the race for president.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump refuses to back down after saying an American judge cannot be fair because of his Mexican heritage. There is new concern from within the Republican Party this morning and a new surprising conference call hosted by Donald Trump himself on that subject.

ROMANS: Interesting.

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

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is Tuesday. It is June 7th, 5:00 a.m. in the East.

Breaking news this morning: Hillary Clinton is the presumptive nominee. Something that could not be said yesterday at it time and not expected to be possible until maybe this evening. But with a strong showing in the Puerto Rico primary and newly added superdelegates from a CNN canvas, Clinton now has a total of 2,384 delegates. That is one more than needed to clinch the nomination.

This is an historic moment. Hillary Clinton is the first woman to become the major party's presumptive nominee. She is not celebrating yet. In fact, it is clear she did not want this moment to happen just yet. Not with voters in six states today casting their ballots in the final Super Tuesday of the primary season.

CNN's Brianna Keilar with the Clinton campaign in California has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine.

Hillary Clinton and her campaign are not saying "mission accomplished" about these reports. They want to make sure that voter turnout in support of Clinton is not dampened in New Jersey and California and other states that are voting today. In fact, she was asked about the reports seven times by CNN's embed reporter Dan Merica. He said she heard but did not response once.

And here's what she said before a crowd in Long Beach.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: According to the news, we are on the brink of an historic, unprecedented moment. But we still have work to do, don't we? We have six elections tomorrow. And we're going to fight hard for every single vote, especially right here in California.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

KEILAR: But it's also a fine line that Hillary Clinton is walking. Her campaign actually campaigning off this news, saying it's all thanks to you, seriously. But this primary isn't quite over. So, she wants to focus on New Jersey where the campaign is feeling good, and on California, where it really is up for grabs and so important for her to win this huge delegate haul of a state with 475 delegates, to show some strength moving into the general election especially as Bernie Sanders is saying that he is taking this fight all the way to the Democratic convention in late July -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right, Brianna, thanks so much.

Now, Bernie Sanders rejects the idea that Hillary Clinton is the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party. His campaign issued the statement late last night after all the media outlets said that Hillary Clinton has secured enough delegates. He said, "Hillary Clinton does not have and will not have the requisite number of pledged delegates to secure the nomination. She will be dependent on super delegates who do not vote until July 25th and who can change their minds between now and then. Our job from now until the convention is to convince those super delegates that Bernie is by far the strongest candidate against Donald Trump."

Sanders final rally in San Francisco. He made clear he was banking on victories today to carry him to the Democratic convention.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If there is a large voter turnout, if working people and young people come out in big numbers to demand a government that represents all of us and not just the 1 percent, we're going to win big tomorrow.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

And if we can win here in California, win in South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, New Mexico, do well in New Jersey, we're going to go into that convention with enormous momentum.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Some extraordinary developments on the Republican side of the race. Donald Trump is not backing down in the face of sharp criticism, much from within his own party.

Trump has attacked the federal judge in the Trump University lawsuit. Very much an American. He was born in Indiana. He is an American. He was appointed by a Republican.

Trump has called the judge, though, a hater, questions his fairness because of his Mexican heritage.

[07:05:06] Now, sources tell CNN that Trump held a conference call with surrogates and ordered them to turn up the attacks on the judge. Two sources were on the call said Trump made it clear he will not apologize. In fact, he lashed out at his campaign for circulating a memo suggesting that supporters refrain from comment on the matter.

Overnight, Trump was not apologizing one bit, maybe trying to re-focus the discussion on other issues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I don't care if the judge is Mexican or not. I'm going to do great with the Mexican people because I'll provide jobs. So, I don't care about Mexican. But we're being treated very unfairly, Bill. Very, very unfairly.

I want to talk about how lousy the economy is. I want to talk about how badly we're doing against ISIS, how badly we're going on the border. But every time I go and do the show, all they want to do is talk about Trump University.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Let's recall that Donald Trump was the one who first brought up the fact that Judge Curiel, he called him a Mexican, although he is an American. Criticizing his Mexican heritage. That was Donald Trump who did that, not all the shows that he goes on.

Let's talk about politics right now and all the developments, the big developments in the race.

Joining us now, CNN politics reporter Eugene Scott in Washington.

Eugene, overnight, Hillary Clinton secured enough delegates to be the presumptive nominee. Something she has worked, you know, some say, yes, some would say decades for this moment. But when she got to that moment overnight, she almost didn't want it. Not yet. Why didn't she want to lock it up last night? Why she want to wait?

EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Well, I guess it just shows how close things are and how the Democratic has been to unify. As you've seen before, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has been very vocal about the fact that he does not think the race is over. He is banking on the next month with a number of super delegates who are right now supporting Hillary Clinton and coming over to his side. Granted that has never happened at the rate he is hoping it will in history. But his approach to it seemed like it may have zapped a bit of confidence in Hillary Clinton's ability to respond to what happened last night, the way you would have expected.

ROMANS: Can you talk a bit about when the president was going to endorse Hillary Clinton? We know that it was a call between the president and Bernie Sanders. There are folks in Hillary Clinton world who are looking past, even though they want good voter turnout today, they are looking at unification phase in the Democratic Party to head to a general.

I want to listen to something Josh Earnest said on when the president would endorse the presumptive nominee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president was pretty clear, that once the voters in New Jersey and California have an opportunity to express their preference about who should represent the Democratic Party in the general election, we may be in a position where we have a much greater sense of the outcome is likely to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Technically, it could be tomorrow, maybe. Who knows, right?

BERMAN: Who knows?

SCOTT: Who knows? But we know that it is coming. I think the president would have liked to have made this endorsement before now.

But here we are. And, you know, it will benefit hopefully according to the president, the Democratic Party as a whole. The belief is that President Barack Obama will unify the party in ways no one else can.

Sanders supporters who have not been convinced by anything that Hillary Clinton has said regarding her desire to address issues that they brought to the table if she actually is the person in the general election. But maybe if President Obama tells them that he hears them and that he will encourage her to support their concerns, maybe he will bring them on board.

BERMAN: One of the reasons the president wants to be in the race, he is itching to take on Donald Trump. That is what, you know, White House aides say. Right now, there are members in the Republican Party who seem to be itching to take on Donald Trump, at least on this issue of Judge Curiel, the judge overseeing the Trump University case.

A lot of criticism from a lot of people in his party about how Donald Trump has attacked this judge's Mexican heritage.

SCOTT: Sure.

BERMAN: Most recently, listen to Marco Rubio. What Marco Rubio said about Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: I made a commitment during the race I would support the nominee of my party. This is not the choice I wanted us to have, obviously. I ran myself. And, look, I continue to have strong disagrees on him with a bunch of issues that I do not agree with and, in fact, quite frankly, I'm disturbed by the way he keeps referring to this judge, an American born in Indiana, who he continues to raise issues about. I hope he'll stop doing that. But that's what the voters -- this is the choice the voters have given us to this primary. And we'll see what happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Marco Rubio said he is not alone there. It is surprising, Eugene, that Donald Trump got on a conference call and said, I'm not backing down, I'm not apologizing, I want you guys to attack even harder.

[05:10:07] SCOTT: Is it really surprising, though? I mean, it would have been surprising actually if Donald Trump would have stepped back and said, you know what, I should rethink this. Maybe what I said was concerning.

He instead asked people to double down and he rejected the idea that former Arizona Governor Jan Brewer brought to the table there was a memo circulating saying surrogates way from discussing business. He said no, let's double down. Let's defend me. Let's show your loyalty to the concerns I brought about the judge that I think are valid. So, I think that's pretty consistent Trump. Despite the push back that you mentioned from Republican leaders.

ROMANS: Interesting. All right. Eugene Scott, thank you. So much happened overnight. We have the primary today. It will be a busy day for you and us.

BERMAN: Just give up sleep, that's fine.

ROMANS: Sleep -- it's an election year. We don't sleep during election year.

SCOTT: No.

ROMANS: Thanks, Eugene.

He is painfully aware of that.

Thanks, Eugene. Laughing, but crying inside.

Donald Trump says he wants to talk about a bad economy. But under a President Trump economy, the economy would tank, so says former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. In an op-ed in "The Financial Times", Summer writes this, if Trump is elected, I would expect a protracted recession to begin within 18 months. The damage would be felt far beyond the United States. Summer is a Democrat. He had high level jobs in the Clinton and Obama White Houses.

Trump also make another business headlines this morning. The web side BuzzFeed says it will not run any ads from the RNC's Trump for president campaign. The two sides inked a deal in April. That is now terminated. A BuzzFeed CEO says they don't cigarette ads because smoking is hazardous and it won't accept Trump ads for the same reason.

Another Trump stealing some of the spotlight. Ivanka Trump is writing a new book titled "Women Who Work: Redefining the Rules for Success". It will be released in spring of 2017.

All right. In just hours, new protections added at the Cincinnati Zoo where a 3-year-old fell into a gorilla pit. What prosecutors had to say about the child's mother? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:16:32] BERMAN: Happening today, the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo is set to reopen with a more secure barrier to keep visitors out. This comes after the zoo officials had to kill Harambe the gorilla to protect a 3-year-old boy who fell in the enclosure. Prosecutors have cleared the boy's mother for any fault. The barrier which had repeatedly passed inspections will now be 42 inches high. That's half a foot taller than before, with solid wood beams at the top and bottom, plus a knotted rope netting at the bottom as well.

ROMANS: The California serial killer known as the Grim Sleeper has been sentenced to death by a Los Angeles jury. Lonnie David Franklin will be back in court in August. An L.A. County superior court judge will have the final say in his sentence. The 63-year-old Franklin was convicted of murdering nine women and a 15-year-old girl over a 22- year period in Los Angeles.

Authorities believe the former mechanic and sanitation worker is responsible for more than two dozen deaths.

BERMAN: Outrage in northern California, and in fact across the country, over the six-month sentence given to former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner for raping an unconscious woman last year. Prosecutors had asked for a six-year prison sentence for the 20-year-old who was convicted back in March. A very powerful impact statement from the victim was read in court last week.

A recall effort was launched Monday to remove the judge who was a Stanford alum from the bench. Turner's father added fuel to the fire with his appeal for leniency. He told the judge his son had already paid a heavy price for, quote, "20 minutes of action."

ROMANS: Wow. All right. An inspector general's report is slamming the prison for chronic complacency and systemic failure that allowed two convicted killers, Richard Matt and David Sweat to escape. The report was released on the first anniversary of the breakout from the Clinton correctional facility. Matt was shot and killed after a three-week manhunt. Sweat was captured days later.

BERMAN: Gulf coast of Florida is taking a pounding from tropical storm Colin. St. Pete Beach with homes and streets under water there. Some of the worst flooding people have seen in decades. The winds so fierce the skyway bridge had to be shutdown, nearly 10,000 homes without power, 6,000 National Guard Members on stand by in case evacuations are needed.

BERMAN: All right. Steph Curry preparing for game three of the NBA finals. He is not preparing for the Olympics in Rio this summer. He is not going. He joins a list of folks not going.

Coy Wire with this morning's bleacher report. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:23:33] BERMAN: All right. The Pittsburgh Penguins now just one win away in their quest to hoist the Stanley Cup.

ROMANS: Coy Wire has more in this morning's bleacher report.

Hey, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine and John.

It's not looking good for those San Jose Sharks, now down 3-1 and one team in the history of the NHL has come back from that deficit. The 1942 Toronto maple leafs. So, you are telling me there's a chance?

Metallica rocking the shark tank in San Jose, performing the national anthem and it was almost "Enter Sandman". For Patrick Hornquest, he blocks the shot with his helmet in the second period. 100-mile-an- hour puck off the noggin, could have put him to sleep. But Patrick, what if it shots in the face?

Sharks trying to rally late, but oh, contrary. Look at this, throws it to the back of the net, Pens win 3-1. They can close it out Thursday in Pittsburgh.

Sad news to report on the martial arts world, guys. Kimbo Slice passing away as the age of 42. The fighter rose to fame when he was having his backyard brawls and those Internet videos that went viral, became so powerful in the early 2000s. A 5-2 professional record before his passing and now word yet on the cause of his death.

Let's go to the NBA. Warriors Steph Curry has withdrawn his name from the consideration for Team USA in the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio. The back-to-back NBA MVP said several factors and including "ankle and knee injuries", unquote, led him to the decision and he also needs to focus on getting his body ready for next season.

The Denver Broncos honored by President Obama at the White House yesterday. Now retired Peyton Manning got roasted by the president for all those TV commercials. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And then there's this guy from the commercials. It doesn't matter if you need insurance, pizza, a Buick. You can stack your whole household with stuff this guy's selling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Guys, he went on to praise Peyton. But one of my favorite moment, Bronco's defensive coordinator Wade Philips tweeted he knew the president was a Denver fan with a name like Bronco Bama.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: That's well done. All right. Coy.

ROMANS: Coy, thanks.

Hillary Clinton making history with enough delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination. But millions of people voting today across the country and the primary opponent just isn't giving up. The Democratic race for president isn't over yet.

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