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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Sources: Trump Staff Feel Like "They're Wasting Their Time"; Trump Not Endorsing Top Leaders Like Paul Ryan & John McCain; CDC Issues Historic Travel Advisory For Pregnant Women and Partners; Olympic Organizers Face Polluted Water, Zika Virus, Doping Scandal. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired August 03, 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] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump at war with the GOP, refusing to endorse fellow Republicans and sources reveal mounting frustration from staffers inside Trump's campaign.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A new prominent Republican backing Hillary Clinton. That, as the Clinton campaign rakes in a whole ton of money.

ROMANS: New cases of the Zika virus in Florida. Mosquitoes spreading that virus to new parts of Miami.

Welcome back to EARLY START. A very busy morning folks, I'm Christine Romans.

BERMAN: It is bonkers --

ROMANS: It is bonkers.

BERMAN: -- how busy it is over just the last few hours. I'm John Berman. Thirty-one minutes past the hour. Breaking news this morning. What a morning it is. Word to CNN from Donald Trump's campaign staff. Sources telling CNN, from inside the campaign, they are increasingly frustrated. That, as the campaign says that Donald Trump continues to get pulled off message.

Republican sources tell CNN that campaign staffers feel "like they are wasting their time". Among these staffers, apparently, campaign manager Paul Manafort. The distractions that they cite include Trump's fight with the Gold Star parents of a Muslim-American Army captain and his unprecedented snub of high-profile party leaders.

This morning, Trump is refusing to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan in Ryan's primary campaign. He's heaping praise, Trump is, on Ryan's underdog opponent. This is on top of new criticism by Trump of Sen. John McCain, and that is on top of at least one new high-profile Republican coming out overnight saying flat out she's going to vote for Hillary Clinton. And if you wait just a few more minutes, we have an early morning revealing tweet from Donald Trump, as well.

But first, Jason Carroll, bring us up to speed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is really a stunning development. We'll have to see how this plays out across the GOP landscape. Donald Trump saying in an interview with "The Washington Post" that he is not ready to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan in his upcoming primary election.

Trump saying, "I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country. We need very strong leadership. We need very, very strong leadership and I'm just not quite there yet. I'm not quite there yet." If that language sounds familiar it's pretty close to the same language Ryan used when he waited to endorse Trump.

Trump also saying he's not supporting Sen. John McCain in his primary bid in Arizona. Trump saying, "He has not done a good job for the vets and I've always felt that he should have done a much better job for the vets, so I've always had a difficult time with John for that reason because our vets are not being treated properly." Trump did not stop there. He also took aim at Sen. Kelly Ayotte, calling her a weak and disloyal leader in New Hampshire.

For his part, Trump involved in another controversy. This, after he talked about a Purple Heart recipient at his rally yesterday in Virginia.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Something very nice just happened to me. A man came up to me and he handed me his Purple Heart. Now, I said to him -- I said to him, "Is that like the real one or is that a copy?" And he said, "That's my real purple heart. I have such confidence in you." And I said, "Man, that's like -- that's like big stuff. I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. This was much easier."

CARROLL: Trump already under fire for comments he made about the family of a slain Muslim-U.S. soldier, Humayun Kahn. Trump telling a local reporter late yesterday he has no regrets about anything he has said about Kahn's family. Both Ryan and McCain did release statements defending the Khan family. It should also be noted that Chris Christie also spoke out in defense of the Kahn family. Clearly this is something that, so far, has not set well with Trump.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, joining us to break down Donald Trump's wild day, senior media correspondent Brian Stelter, host of CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES". And in Washington, CNN politics reporter Tom LoBianco.

And Brian, Donald Trump is up early this morning and he is watching -- hi, good morning. He's watching everyone report --

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, yes.

ROMANS: -- on what looks like turmoil inside the campaign.

STELTER: Chaos, and he says it's not. His tweet even earlier than usual this morning. He's saying "There is great unity in my campaign, perhaps greater than ever before. I want to thank everyone for your tremendous support."

BERMAN: "Perhaps greater than ever before" -- the unity, he says.

STELTER: Paul Ryan had no immediate comment, shall we say.

[05:35:00] BERMAN: Well, the Ryan, the McCain, the Kelly Ayotte thing, that's a separate issue in certain ways than what CNN was hearing overnight from Republican officials, hearing that there's frustration from within the campaign staff, itself. That's what Donald Trump is addressing right now with staffers, including and up to Paul Manafort, saying they feel like they're wasting their time because Trump is not campaigning with any discipline.

STELTER: And that is a -- is a sign of real dysfunction inside the campaign. You don't get these leaks in normal campaigns. There have been other periods of turmoil certainly within Trump world but this does feel different. And I think when the history books are written, no matter what they say about the election in November, this is going to have been a turning point in the campaign process with, of course, three months to go until Election Day.

ROMANS: Tom LoBianco, something that's so interesting about this -- all of this drama in the last five hours, the last five days, and the last seven days is that it takes the attention and the focus away from Hillary Clinton. It takes it away from sort of the disarray within the DNC. Some new resignations or some firings in the DNC, right --

STELTER: Got three of them yesterday.

ROMANS: -- three of them yesterday, to maybe inconsistencies in her statements about what she heard from Jim Comey, from the FBI, about the truthfulness of her statements and the like. It just takes all the focus away from what Republicans want to be talking about.

TOM LOBIANCO, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: You know, what's interesting about this is one of the things that the Clinton reporters -- and our own Dan Merica points this out pretty routinely -- is that Clinton doesn't gaggle, or if she does it's incredibly infrequent.

And you look at that and then you look at the dynamics here and you understand why. It's because all she has to do in this situation is step out of the way and let Trump lose the election if he continues along this course -- the chaos inside his own campaign, the inability to unite firing shots at top party leaders.

You know, what's going on inside the Democratic Party right now in any other cycle, in any other situation, would just be absolutely disastrous. I mean, the WikiLeaks -- think about this for a second. Let's put this in context. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, her name was on the badges. Every Democratic pass holder at the Democratic Convention, there was Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

She was not allowed to gavel in the Democratic Convention while still serving as chair because just a few days earlier they had come out with the WikiLeaks emails showing that there was favoritism to the Clinton campaign inside the DNC, and the just absolutely damning emails that were coming out there.

So, you know, stack this among the innumerable things that are remarkable.I mean, we haven't even talked about the baby that was kicked out of the Trump campaign rally yesterday.

STELTER: Kicked out or just asked to leave. Let's -- you know, let's be fair.

BERMAN: I mean, there was a baby crying. Donald Trump made a joke about it, then asked that the baby be taken out. This, on top of everything else that got a lot of press. There were some people who laughed, some people said the horror, the horror. But I think that is --

ROMAN: The tempest and his sippy cup.

BERMAN: Yes, that is awesome. That's different than Donald Trump suggesting that he may not endorse Paul Ryan.

STELTER: And going out of his way to do that.

BERMAN: And going out of his way in an interview with "The Washington Post" saying that you know, I'm just not there yet, mocking the words that Paul Ryan used a month and a half ago to CNN's Jake Tapper when Ryan said he wasn't ready yet to endorse Donald Trump. This is Donald Trump deliberately -- deliberately -- not just stirring the pot but deliberately, really, politically insulting the leadership of his own party at a time when he may need them more than ever, Tom.

LOBIANCO: Yes. You know, when you walked out of the Republican Convention it looked unified and that -- you know, you had that great bump in the polling for Trump. He delivered his message strong. He was on point. He only fell off the teleprompter a few times. Everything looked great and now you're right back to these old battles.

I mean, Paul Ryan has constantly distanced himself. And, you know, the Gonzalo Curiel comments really seemed to be a high-water mark at that time for so many Republicans. You know, the Speaker of the House, inside his own party, saying that at that point the presumptive nominee had made a racist comment. Now, he distinguished that he did not think that Trump, himself, was racist. At that point, Curiel was the high-water mark.

Well, Kahn is the new high-water mark and you have to wonder is there going to be another one? And, again, time is running out here and that's the big problem right now. If the Republicans can't get together -- if you keep on losing top people like Sally Bradshaw -- I mean, this isn't just a low-level staffer that we're talking about. This is a known quantity inside the Republican Party going to bat for Hillary Clinton now.

This fracturing, and it's reaching all the way up into the Trump campaign apparatus itself, it almost guarantees a loss in November.

ROMANS: And, Brian -- STELTER: I would just say the caveat, though, it is only August 3rd. September will matter more than August. We're going to have presidential debates, we're going to have plot twists from the reality T.V. star at the center of this. But I do wonder, you know, talking about today and looking forward to today, are we going to hear from other Republicans trying to back away from Trump?

BERMAN: That's the big question.

ROMANS: Yes.

[05:40:00] STELTER: That's the story now. "The New York Times" overnight saying that Meg Whitman was privately approached by the Clinton campaign, persuaded to come out and say she's going to vote for Clinton. We know there must be other women and men like that in the party that are about to say the same thing. So when will they say, how will they say it, how forcefully will they say it? I think that becomes the story now. And then, of course, how does Trump respond to all of that?

ROMANS: All right, guys, very interesting stuff. Tom, thank you so much. Brian, nice to see you this morning bright and early. We love having you guys on early, thank you.

LOBIANCO: Thanks.

ROMANS: Time for an EARLY START on your money. Donald Trump says he pulled his money out of the stock market and warns of "very scary scenarios ahead for investors". He made those remarks on Fox Business Network.

The stocks have been rising for years. Stumbles here and there, but always recovering since 2009. This is now the second longest bull market on record and the third biggest in terms of gains. The stock market's up more than 200 percent, look at that. And more recently, the Dow is on a quiet 7-day losing streak, down 254 points over that time after a nice string of record highs.

Now, for the record, Trump says he has never been a big stock market investor. His empire is real estate, not stocks. Why sell stocks, then? Well, he was asked what it means for the average investor -- should they be in the market? For the average investor, he says he doesn't like what he sees. Low interest rates, what he calls free money, illegal immigration, and Syrian refugees. That's why he's telling individual investors to get out of the stock market.

OK, Goldman Sachs, a big investment bank on Wall Street, it does have a kind of a similar warning. It doesn't mention Syrian refugees or illegal immigration. They say stay out of stocks for the next three months. They say the run-up has been incredible. Stocks are too expensive given flaw earnings growth this quarter. So, you know, Goldman Sachs, Donald Trump see eye-to-eye on something there, sort of.

BERMAN: All right, the Zika virus in new areas of Florida. This, after unprecedented health warnings already issued. We'll give you the latest developments, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:46:25] ROMANS: All right, health officials are confirming a new case of the Zika virus in South Florida. The number of infections from local mosquitoes rising now to 15. The latest case is outside the Miami-Dade County neighborhood where active transmission has already been identified, so a new location.

The state health department will now begin aerial spraying of a 10- mile area in an effort to contain the virus, but there is concern about just how effective it will be. Let's get more on this from CNN's Nick Valencia in Miami.

(BEGIN AUDIOTAPE)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Florida governor and the CDC both saying to expect even more cases of the Zika virus to be locally transmitted in Miami. Part of the issue, according to the CDC, is that mosquitoes in this area may be resistant to the insecticides that are being sprayed by health officials.

Here on the streets of Wynwood, which is ground zero for the local transmission, just north of downtown Miami, reaction is mixed, even among those who should be most concerned, pregnant women.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We recently went on vacation and we didn't travel to the Caribbean because of this Zika just so I wouldn't get exposed to it. But, I mean, I live here. I'm not going to move so -- I'm not going to stop living my life, so bug repellant it is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wasn't aware of it jumping to 14. I know this is ground zero for the initial four cases.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that's completely nerve-racking. It's scary. I don't know what to say about it. It's just -- I don't know what to do.

VALENCIA: In an interview earlier with the director of the CDC, Dr. Tom Frieden, I was told that that reaction is not uncommon in areas that have been affected by the Zika virus. Of the cases that have been announced here so far, in South Florida, some of them were discovered by random door-to-door community surveys. State officials and the CDC has a team here and they expect to continue those surveys in the days ahead.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, Nick Valencia. Thank you, Nick. The Delaware Supreme Court declaring the state's death penalty law unconstitutional. The court ruling that judges rather than juries are given too large a role in imposing death sentences and it violates requirements laid out by the U.S. Supreme Court. The state can appeal this decision but legal experts say that's unlikely. Capital punishment has already been abolished in 18 other states. Authorities in central California are investigating the deadly crash of a charter bus that went off a highway and into a sign post. Five people killed, more than a dozen others injured. The pole sliced the bus nearly in half. Police have been unable to speak to the driver because of his injuries. The bus company has been cited for more than 40 violations over the past couple of years, seven of them specifically for the very bus that crashed.

Officials in California also are blaming an illegal campfire for setting off a deadly wildfire. Authorities say this fire was apparently built around July 22nd in a state park and then abandoned. The person or persons responsible for this blaze could face criminal and civil penalties. The flames scorched more than 43 acres near the Big Sur area. A bulldozer driver died in that fire. At least 57 homes were destroyed.

No relief today for those firefighters. Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, John and Christine. You know, when you think about California and this region in particular, around the Monterey Peninsula, among the most challenging landscapes for firefighters to be working in when it comes to the mountains there and over 44,000 acres of land consumed.

If you look at the number of large fires in the last couple of decades, that has steadily increased up until 2012 with the latest data indicating we're seeing an increase in 1,000-acre lost or larger fires every single year.

Another story we're following, what's happening down across portions of the Caribbean. Earl sitting out there as a tropical storm forecast to become a hurricane with landfall around Belize Thursday morning. Again, not a big-time wind maker. Plenty of rain, though, if your travel plans take you across that region.

And speaking of rain, along this frontal boundary this afternoon some strong thunderstorms could begin to pop up. And notice this, high pressure wants to set up shop around portions of the Gulf. As it does, we get a nice, strong surge of southerly flow here.

Moisture content is up there and also the temperatures are up there. In Dallas, 102 degrees by Thursday afternoon. Atlanta into the mid- 90's. Even Washington makes it up into the mid-90's. The place to be, once again, around New York City -- upper 70's, low 80's, guys.

(END AUDIOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, we'll take that. Thanks, Pedram. The Dow on a quiet 7-day losing streak. What's going to happen today? We'll get an EARLY START on your money, next.

[05:50:45] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: In just a few hours the Olympic torch will arrive at its final destination in Rio de Janeiro, site of the 2016 summer games.

[05:55:00] The torch is expected to circulate through the city over the next two days, leading up to the opening ceremony on Friday.

Meantime, the first Olympic events begin today. CNN's Christina Macfarlane is there for us. She is live in Brazil. The sun rising behind her on the beautiful beaches. Good morning.

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine, that's right. The sun is up and the games are about to begin. In just a matter of hours we're about to see the first of the women's football events get underway. Six group matches scheduled for today. The first will be Sweden against South Africa, and then later today we'll see the reigning World Cup and Olympic gold medalists, the USA, take on New Zealand.

Now football is, of course, the only sport that's being played in venues around Brazil, making use of those venues that were in place for the 2014 World Cup. And I can tell you the organizers here are more than happy for this sport to get underway because this has been an Olympics like none other that has been dominated by bad headlines. And some of the chief concerns among them have been the Zika virus. Remember, we've seen a wrath of top athletes pull out of these games, including the top four golfers in the world.

And, of course, pollution has been another big issue here, especially in the bay area, and it could still be a concern as we head into those sailing and rowing events which get underway on Monday, even though the organizers have said to us that the water is at an internationally acceptable level.

And then, in the past 24 hours, there's been one more issue. The Olympic torch, which you mentioned there, has been hit by another protest, the third during its long relay here to Rio. But all being well, that torch should arrive in a matter of hours, carried on a boat by the Brazilian sailing team, which should be arriving where you can see just behind me here. I must tell you, the organizers don't want any more issues today so let's hope it happens all on time, Christine.

ROMANS: I know. As they say, let the games begin. All right, thank you so much. Nice to see you, Christina, have fun.

Let's get an EARLY START on your money this morning. The Dow on a quiet 7-day losing streak and Dow futures are falling again, really plodding here through a blah earnings season. Stock markets in Europe are lower. Asian stock markets lower overnight despite a big stimulus measure announced in Japan. Oil is up, but still below $40 a barrel.

Jobseekers in Massachusetts will no longer have to divulge their salary history in job interviews. It's meant to end the gender pay gap, making it illegal in Massachusetts to base pay on previous salaries. It also protects paid family leave for pregnancies, taking care of sick relatives.

Employers will now have to wait until after they extend a job offer -- a job offer that includes compensation -- before they can ask about salary history. The law goes into effect in July of 2018. It also allows workers to openly discuss their salaries without retaliation from their employers. Just one state, but maybe a start and one way to try to address gender pay disparity in the workplace.

All right, 58 minutes past the hour. Is there trouble inside the Trump campaign? That's the big story of the morning. The Republican nominee says no, but his staffers are telling CNN another story. "NEW DAY" picks up that now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Republican nominee is unfit to serve as president.

TRUMP: He's a terrible president. For him to be calling me out is almost an honor because he truly doesn't know what he's doing.

BERMAN: There's increasing frustration inside the Trump campaign.

TRUMP: We're running against a rigged system. I don't regret anything.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He has been digging a deeper and deeper hole.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: To honor the families of those who have served and those who have sacrificed.

TRUMP: I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. This was much easier.

KHIZR KAHN, FATHER OF FALLEN MUSLIM-AMERICAN SOLDIER: You dodged the draft and now you want an easy Purple Heart in your pocket. You should have been pinned that back to that veteran's chest.

(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. John Berman's just still getting ready because we have so much news this morning.

BERMAN: It's everything -- like, every minute there's some more developments that we have to report.

CAMEROTA: I know, I have it all right here. It's Wednesday, August 3rd, 6:00 in the East. Chris is off, John Berman joins me. Great to have you. Up first, Donald Trump's campaign reportedly in disarray. Sources tell CNN that top aides, including his campaign chairman, are growing increasingly frustrated with the Republican nominee's behavior of picking battles with opponents and with allies.

BERMAN: All right, Trump has spent days since the Democratic Convention battling with the father of a Muslim-American soldier killed in Iraq. Beyond that, Trump has ignited a new firestorm, refusing to back the House Speaker, Paul Ryan, in his primary battle or John McCain in his primary battle.

Now, more Republicans -- new prominent Republicans -- have jumped ship, including one big donor, big fundraiser, now saying she will back Hillary Clinton. Let's begin our coverage with Manu Raju, live in Washington. Manu, I'm afraid because I got in the elevator, I feel like something else happened on my way up here.

MANU RAJU, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: It's very -- quite -- it's quite possible, John. You know, just two weeks ago Republicans left their nominating convention saying they were more united than ever in their quest to defeat Hillary Clinton.