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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Another Shakeup for Trump Campaign; Trump Law-and-Order Pitch to Black Voters; Congress Gets Clinton Email Details; Simone Biles Grabs 4th Gold. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired August 17, 2016 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:01] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The details of the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton e-mails now in the hands of Congress. And the Clinton camp pushing back, asking the entirety of the probe should go public. Will they get their wish?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: And Simone Biles leaving Rio the way she started on top. Another gold medal for the American phenom. More on her final show, stellar performance, coming up live from Rio.

Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm George Howell.

ROMANS: It's nice to see you, George.

HOWELL: Good to be here.

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It is Wednesday, August 17th, it is 5:00 a.m. in the East.

Let's begin with a political story. Breaking overnight, another huge shake-up in the Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Trump naming Breitbart executive Steve Bannon as chief executive. Pollster Kellyanne Conway is now campaign manager. Bannon is an ardent critic of both the House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Paul Manafort remains chairman but his power, many this morning are saying is likely diminished with these new moves, much more on that in a moment.

All of that taking the spotlight off of Trump's attempt to focus on policy. You know, overnight, Trump was in Wisconsin, making a pitch to African-American voters with this law and order message. He gave a speech near but not in Milwaukee, and this is just days after, remember, those violent protests sparked by police shooting of an armed black suspect. He called for more police, more police in poor communities. He targeted Hillary Clinton as anti-cop.

CNN's Jason Carroll was there. He has more from Wisconsin for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, George, make no mistake, this was a law and order speech here in West Bend, but it was also an attempt to reach out to the African-American community. Donald Trump when he took the stage here, he talked about the violence plaguing the inner cities. He said that the violence is an assault on all citizens who tried to live in peace.

He talked about most of the victims when we see things like what we saw in Milwaukee or in Ferguson or in Baltimore. He talked about most the victims being African-Americans. And he says that Hillary Clinton shares responsibility for the unrest that we've seen in American cities for what he called fostering an anti-police narrative, and says also for taking African-American votes for granted.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We reject the bigotry of Hillary Clinton, which panders to and talks down to communities of color and sees them only as votes. That's all they care about. Not as individual human beings worthy of a better future. They have taken advantage.

She and her party officials, there has been tremendous suffering because of what they have brought. The African-American community has been taken for granted for decades by the Democratic Party, and look how they're doing. It's time to break with the failures of the past. I want to offer Americans a new and much better future.

CARROLL: Donald Trump referenced the African-American community several times during his speech, which was delivered here in Washington County, which is a county that is overwhelmingly white, but having said that, the crowd really seemed to respond to Donald Trump's words. They even responded even more when he criticized Hillary Clinton saying that she does not have the, quote, "physical or mental stamina for the job, and he also pointed reference to her slogan, "I'm with her". He went on to tell the crowd, "I'm with you, the American people" -- Christine, George.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Jason, thank you.

Starting today, Donald Trump gets his first classified national security briefing. The briefing prepared by the director of national intelligence will mark the first time the Republican nominee gets access to classified intelligence. We also have some new information this morning about Donald Trump's TV ads, the Trump campaign saying it will roll out its first general election ads this weekend, targeting five battleground states where Trump is falling farther and farther behind in polls.

Congressional staffers now have access to secret documents and notes turned over by the FBI from its investigation into Hillary Clinton's private e-mail server. The bureau making the extremely rare decision to turn over the investigative material from a closed case, all in the name of transparency. Staff from the House Oversight Committee will have to review the material in a special secure room. It's material that cannot be publicly disclosed without the FBI's permission. But the Clinton campaign says it would rather see that material released to the public rather than have it selectively leaked by Republicans.

The resurgence of the e-mail issue, though, it is not slowing Clinton down on the campaign trail. The poll numbers show that she is pulling away from Donald Trump in these key swing states like Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

ROMANS: All right. Let's turn to today's political combat and bring in CNN politics reporter Tal Kopan, and Kristen Holmes, a CNN White House producer covering the campaign for us.

Nice to see both of you bright and early this morning.

Kristen, you're covering Trump for us this morning. Give us your sense of what's happening here in Team Trump in terms of the shuffling at the very, very top here.

[05:05:04] Is this Paul Manafort frustrated with the candidate or the candidate frustrated with Manafort or something else?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Well, sources are telling CNN that it was a little bit of both, you know, after weeks of negative headlines, after these polls that you all mentioned in key swing states, but also in states where they typically lean Republican, you're seeing closer and closer numbers between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Now, because of this, there was tension between Paul Manafort and Donald Trump, so much so that sources tell CNN that they felt that there might be a shake-up, that a shake-up was imminent. And that they heard that Paul Manafort and Donald Trump were both telling friends about the friction within their relationship, all leading to this shake-up.

And this is the second big shake-up that the campaign has had in two months. You know, it was just barely two months ago, we were sitting here talking about how Trump had ousted his campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. So, now, here we are again, we were told at that point that Paul Manafort would assume that role as well as chairman.

But now, he's brought in Kellyanne Conway as the campaign manager. She's a long time associate of Donald Trump and a long time adviser to Governor Mike Pence. And Steve Bannon, longtime associate of Donald Trump. So, people who are close to him who can help him in the next couple months.

HOWELL: I want to talk about just the snapshot of the Trump campaign as we're seeing it right now. Let's start with the numbers when it comes to African-American voters. You see there on the screen, Donald Trump at 1 percent with African-American voters.

Look at the state of Florida. Very key swing state there, in Florida, Hillary Clinton ahead 48 percent to Trump's 39 percent. Also in the state of Virginia, very important for Trump, 38 percent, though, and Hillary Clinton on top with 52 percent.

So, Tal, you know, we're hearing that with the shake-up at the top, Trump being Trump once again, as we saw Trump during the primaries, will that work in the general election to bring in these key, very important voters that would be needed to put him over the top?

TAL KOPAN, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Well, that certainly seems to be what he's hoping. You know, definitely TBD and I think there's a healthy amount of skepticism that he's going to turn the numbers around. They've been trending this way, holding instead since Hillary Clinton's convention bounce. Typically, you give those about a week.

We've had more polls come out since the convention, starts to put some distance behind him. The numbers are holding steady. She's got a good gap on him.

You pointed out the numbers with African-Americans, we've seen him hit zero percent in state polling among African-Americans. It's zero to 5 percent, to be generous. Those are abominable numbers for a group that typically doesn't do well with African-Americans but does better than that.

And, you know, consistently among polling, his core group seems to be white male voters often without a college degree that tends to be the only demographic he does better in. And so, you know, you see him trying new things in his message. But it's not clear that any of those things goring to turn around what seems to be fairly decided minds in the wrong direction for him at this point.

ROMANS: Let's talk about the new message that he is trying out here. You know, you look at that 1 percent of African-American voters. I mean, you know, that's just a shockingly low, low number. And yesterday, you had him in Wisconsin trying to rebrand again, you know, America's ills, as Hillary Clinton's fault.

You know, you heard him say that about is, calling her the founder of ISIS, she and Barack Obama. And now, he's saying that essentially Clinton's policies, the policies of Hillary Clinton has backed has actually caused problems in inner cities.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Hillary Clinton-backed policies are responsible for the problems in the inner cities today, and a vote for her is a vote for another generation of poverty, high crime and lost opportunities. I care too much about my country to let this happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Kristen, he's making a pitch, specifically, he's saying the Democratic Party has failed African-American voters. Will that resonate?

HOLMES: Well, it is a tough sale. You know, I've got to say, recent polling shows that Barack Obama is still highly favorable among African-Americans. And that they -- all tend to vote, majority of African-Americans do tend to vote Democratic. So, this is a tough sale for him to say the Democratic Party has abandoned African- Americans in general.

But, you know, he is working on this outreach for minorities. It's not just African-Americans. He has a huge problem with minorities in general, Hispanics as well as women. So, he is trying to hit these talking points to try to bring people to the Republican side to vote for him.

You know -- and I have spoken to a number of African-Americans at these Trump rallies who are supportive of Trump, who do believe that he's a great equalizer. And that he will bring voices to the African- American community. But obviously, with those poll numbers, as Tal mentioned, hitting zero in some states, he's not resonating with everyone.

HOWELL: You know, it's interesting, Trump's law and order message, it focuses on putting more police officers in these neighborhoods. I just remember from my time covering events in Ferguson, Missouri, you and noted that that police department was under investigation, and determined that the department has actually saturated that community with officers with aggressive ticketing campaigns to bring revenue into the city.

Many of the people that I spoke with in that community said, hey, that's not what we want more of. How would the Trump message of law and order relate to those voters?

HOLMES: Well, I mean I was in Ferguson as well, and I think it was quite an unique experience. And I think part of the problem, as you know, George from being there was the idea that the neighborhood itself was mostly African-American and they were bringing in mostly white police officers. So that caused friction in the community.

In general, the direction of law and order, these are things that African-American communities in general do not believe. As you said in Ferguson, they do not need more policing. So, you know, it's not quite clear how that will resonate and it will actually relate to voters.

ROMANS: All right. Kristen and Tal, nice to see you. We'll see you in a few minutes. Thanks for getting so early for us this morning.

Let's talk about the Hillary Clinton campaign for a moment here. Hillary Clinton traveling to Ohio today. Her mission to convince middle class voters that her tax plan would help them. Donald Trump wants to do the same.

Let's compare the two tax plans.

Clinton would essentially keep current tax rates the same. She would raise taxes on the wealthy. She would impose a minimum 30 percent tax on people making $1 million a year, and a 4 percent surcharge on people making $5 million.

She would create a sliding scale for the capital gains tax, raising it for certain investors. She would tax carried interest as regular income.

Trump is looking to cut taxes, simplifying the seven brackets to just three. Now, he did not give specifics on what levels the brackets cover. We don't know who exactly would get the biggest tax cuts. He would lower the business tax rate to 15 percent. Right now, it's 35 percent on paper.

Trump would also drop the carried interest deduction. He says that deduction is good for Wall Street, bad for American workers. And he wants to make child care expenses fully tax deductible.

He has revised his tax plan, frankly, George. More in line with Paul Ryan and House Republicans than his earlier proposals that he announced like a year ago.

HOWELL: Changing, pivoting now toward the general.

ROMANS: That's right.

HOWELL: A bizarre case we're following out of Mexico. The son of notorious drug lord El Chapo kidnapped. Was he targeted? How does that impact the war on drugs there? That story, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:17:37] HOWELL: Welcome back.

The son of jailed Mexican drug lord El Chapo has been kidnapped. Police say that the 29-year-old Jesus Alfredo Guzman was one of six men seized by a group of armed gunmen who stormed a restaurant on the beachside Mexican resort of Puerto Vallarta early Monday morning. The kidnapping is seen is as a blow to El Chapo who may be trying to maintain the Sinaloa drug cartel's dominance in that region from behind bars.

ROMANS: The State Department says Russia's use of an Iranian airfield to conduct strikes against targets in Syria could be a violation of a U.N. resolution. Russia used Iranian territory for the first time on Tuesday, launching long-range bombers to attack targets in three Syrian provinces in support of the Assad regime. Secretary of State John Kerry calls that unfortunate but does talks with the Russians to develop a joint military strategy against ISIS will continue.

HOWELL: I'm going to tell you about these wildfires, forcing more than 80,000 people out their homes in San Bernardino County, California, torching 18,000 acres so far in 24 hours. It's being called the "Blue Cut" wildfire and now threatens more than 34,000 homes.

The governor of that state, Jerry Brown, is declaring a state of emergency in the region. An unknown number of structures have already burned to the ground. Two key routes in and out of that area, Interstate 15 and Highway 138 both shut down at the moment, complicating the evacuation efforts.

ROMANS: All right. One last hoorah for Simone Biles. The American gymnast nabbing another gold in Rio. We're going to bring you the highlights, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:23:33] ROMANS: All right. Team USA's Simone Biles ended her Olympic competition in Rio very much the same way she started it, triumphantly. Biles topped the field in floor exercise to grab her fourth, fourth gold medal of the games.

CNN's Coy Wire has it all covered live from Rio.

The sun is rising behind you. You're having a great time there I bet, Coy.

HOWELL: We envy your rollout there, Coy. We'd love to be there.

COY WIRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm not taking it for granted, guys. I'm fortunate here.

Outstanding games. Outstanding Simone Biles, just 19 years I would, Spring, Texas, solidifying her status as one of, if not the greatest female gymnast ever. She ends her run in Rio with gold, in four of the five events she entered, the all-around, the vault, the team competition and finally the floor exercise yesterday. And guys, only three female gymnasts have ever won as many golds as Biles in a single Olympic Games.

And with that, check this out, Biles on a new "Sports Illustrated" cover with fellow GOATs Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky, all posing together with their medals around their necks and the caption "The Greatest."

Speaking of the greatest, Usain Bolt already with that hold in the 100 meters here in Rio, ran his 200 meter qualifying heat yesterday. Or shall we say, kind of ran. It was kind of like a saunter, at best for him. He's advancing to the semifinals. Those are today.

Let's take a look at the medal count for you here on EARLY START. U.S. still dominating, 84 now.

[05:25:01] But check out Great Britain making a run, now only one medal away from China in second place with 50.

Now, this next story, guys, is what the Olympic spirit is all about. Usually, we get caught up in the winners, losers, gold, silver, bronze and all that. But in the women's 5,000 meter heat, New Zealand runner Nikki Hamblin falls down, an American Abbey D'Agostino trips over her, injuring her knew, and D'Agostino gets up and Hamblin urges to go on but then D'Agostino tries to keep running and she realizes that her injury is worse than she thought it was. Her knee buckles. She goes down, this time, it's Hamblin stopping, helping D'Agostino back to her feet.

They finished in the last two spots, but both runners are being allowed now to compete in the final on Friday. Got to love to see.

Guys, 16 gold medals up for grabs today, including the women's 200- meter and 100-meter hurdles. The men's basketball players they're now in the knockout stage, they face Argentina, hoping to advance to the semifinals.

HOWELL: That is sportsmanship. Just to see that happen, despite the fact that it cost them time. It's amazing.

ROMANS: Awesome. Coy Wire, thank you.

WIRE: Yes, exactly.

HOWELL: Donald Trump pledging to be the law and order president. But here's the question, can he keep order within his own campaign? Another shake-up on the way. Details as EARLY START continues.

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