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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

U.S. Swimmers Held in Rio; Trump's Reboot Rollout; Clinton Mocks Trump Campaign Reboot. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired August 18, 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] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: There is a big Olympic controversy brewing in Rio. Two American swimmers yanked off a plane unable to leave Brazil amid questions about an armed robbery they reported days earlier. Why is there account in doubt and what are Olympic athletes -- what are the officials saying about it?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump's campaign reboot off and running. What his new top advisers are saying, and how soon we might see a new version of Trump being Trump on the campaign trail?

Good morning, everybody. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

HOWELL: And I'm George Howell. It is Thursday, August 18th, 5:00 on the East.

And breaking news to share with you overnight from the Olympics in Rio. Brazilian police pulling two American swimmers off their plane back to the United States and seizing passports, also attempting to serve a warrant on medal winner Ryan Lochte, only to discover he left Brazil.

And police are trying to find another teammate, James Feigen, whose exact whereabouts are unclear at this point. Authorities want to question all four Olympic swimmers about their report that they were robbed by gunmen who they say were dressed as police officers.

Investigators also questioning the truthfulness of the report based on the apparent set of inconsistencies in the statements and on surveillance video, purporting to show their behavior after the alleged robbery.

For the latest on what's happening here, let's bring in CNN's Nick Paton Walsh in Rio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine and George, this remarkable story has yet another extraordinary turn to it. Two of the swimmers who have not been questioned by Brazilian police who were involved in the incidents Sunday morning where they said they were robbed by men dressed as police as they left a nightclub. These two individuals, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger have been taken off a plane by to the United States by Brazilian police. Now, as far as we understand from a police source near the airport,

they have been questioned. Their passports have been taken from them. They are allowed to travel through Brazil, but it is not clear when the passports will be given back to them.

And this is yet another remarkable developments in this story. Earlier today, we learned from a Rio judge that Ryan Lochte, probably one of the most famous American swimmers here at the games, and his fellow swimmer James Feigen had given statements to the Brazilian police which the judge thought really weren't consistent enough and aroused their suspicions and caused this judge to issue a search and seizure for the men and their passports in theory to stop them from leaving the country as well.

Now, Ryan Lochte is back in the United States. His lawyer said he left as he was scheduled and it was before the warrants were issued. At this stage, nobody is reaching out to him to him to cooperate further.

But we are dealing with a confuse picture of what happened in the early hours of that Sunday morning. Many Brazilians and spokesperson we talked to today are wondering, how was it these men experienced an armed robbery, apparently by people dressed as police carrying weapons, but still emerged carrying their cell phones. If you look at the CCTV, which the judge cited in that court statement, pointing out how they seemed, in her impression, unshaken after the ordeal.

You see on that video, too, they are carrying some pretty high value items. That left many Brazilians and some police suspicious, how do you get through an armed robbery in Brazil and still keep things like that in your possession? It is adding to a growing number of questions the police have sought answers to. That led to the court papers this morning.

Now, two athletes taken off the plane, athletes at the top of the medals table right now. It is their word against Rio authorities. It seems at the moment. Simply questions asked right now. No suggestion of any major wrongdoing, but a very confusing and frankly bleak moment for the blighted games -- Christine and George.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Nick for us this morning in Rio -- thanks, Nick.

An attorney for Ryan Lochte defending the swimmer, speaking to CNN overnight. He pins the controversy on the host nation. This is what he said, "When you have one of America's athletes who comes out and says something happened to him, it happens to people there every day, that doesn't look good for the host city looking to have a successful Olympics."

The U.S. Olympic Committee confirms the swimmers' detention and release from a statement overnight, saying that Conger and Bentz will continue discussions with Brazilian law enforcement today. The USOC adding that James Feigen is also in touch with police and will make further statements today. The U.S. State Department says it is also on the case, but otherwise

tight-lipped frankly at this point. This is the statement from the State Department, "We have seen media reports of two U.S. citizen athletes were detained. We stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance."

We're going to have more from Rio on the games themselves, including the American sweep of the medal and the women's 100 hurdles. We'll have that later this half hour.

HOWELL: Absolutely. Also turning now to the race for president. The Trump campaign's latest reboot, it is under way, though they are pushing back, saying that it's not a reboot.

[05:05:00] There are also details coming to light to what led to the shake up, exactly how it happened. Sources telling CNN, Donald Trump's son in law, Jared Kushner, cut short his vacation, calling a meeting that included current campaign chair, chairman Paul Manafort, and two top officials who Trump is bringing, pollster Kellyanne Conway as campaign manager, and Breitbart News executive Steve Bannon to be Trump's new campaign CEO.

Sources say that Manafort is being, quote, "sidelined". Even so, he sent out a staff memo calling the revamp an exciting day for Team Trump.

For the very latest on what's happening, let's go to CNN's Sara Murray covering the campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning, Christine and George.

It is yet another reset for the Trump campaign. Now, the reason Trump did all of this sources tell us is because he was frustrated with the direction his campaign was taking. He didn't feel like he could necessarily trust the advisers around him and he felt like he was straying from the outsider image and trying to please the Washington establishment, particularly the Republican establishment.

Today, we get our first test of what this new leadership looks like. Donald Trump is campaigning in North Carolina. And some sources have said this new regime means that Trump can get back to basics. He can hold the big ruckus political rallies, he can go with his gut instinct, he can speak off the cuff. But when I spoke to Kellyanne Conway, the newly minted campaign manager last night, she added a note of caution to that.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: We are trying to remind people of two things. One, it is the issues that Americans want to hear about. They want to hear about combating terrorism, bolstering national security, doing better than Obamacare that Americans still don't support. Of course, talking about immigration and education in the next couple weeks. And number two, reminding everybody, there are two candidates in the

race. Not one. That this election is somehow becoming a referendum on Donald Trump, as if you are going to the ballot box and it's going to say, Donald Trump, yes or no -- it's not.

Hillary Clinton's name will be on the ballot, and I know her people and her supporters are protecting her by not allowing her to talk to the press. I'm happy to talk to you, but apparently, she doesn't respect you the way we do. She wouldn't even give you a press conference.

MURRAY: So, we will see if a new set of advisors will bring a different Donald Trump on the stump to turn around the unfortunate polling numbers for him right now.

And basically, all of the battleground states. Now, Kellyanne Conway says there is no reason to panic. It's only August. It's not October. But that might be cold comfort to a number of Republican establishment folks and Republican operatives who are getting increasingly worried about the direction of the polling.

Back to you, guys.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Sara for us.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton mocking the Trump campaign overhaul at a rally in Ohio, where she also targeted Trump's economic plans. She called it welfare fore the wealthy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I think it's fair to say that Donald Trump has shown us who he is. He can hire and fire anybody he wants from his campaign. They can make him read new words from a teleprompter. But he is still the same man who insults Gold Star families, demeans women, mocks people with disability and thinks he knows more about ISIS than our generals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Clinton laying out her own tax plans, spotlighting her proposal to tax the wealthiest Americans who she said have made all of the income gains in the last 15 years.

Some money news now, Target is spending $20 million to expand bathrooms options in all of its stores. This move comes after complaints and some small protests at some stores over Target's bathroom policy.

Target's bathroom policy is this, it lets transgender customers and employees use whatever bathroom they feel comfortable with. Some others are voicing support of that policy. Target's solution to the controversy is to make separate bathrooms for any customers who need more privacy. So, that's parents with small children, transgender people who don't want to use the public restrooms or anybody who is uncomfortable with the possibility of having a transgendered person with them in the bathroom.

Target says it's all about inclusion, wants every customer to feel comfortable in its stores. It will pay $20 million to make that happen. The stock yesterday down 6 percent yesterday. It was a big drop in sales last quarter that causes stock to fall. Target says there's no evidence that the bathroom controversy is keeping people from shopping there.

HOWELL: Back to politics. Story we're following with Donald Trump ready to hit the campaign trail for the first time since his reboot. The big shake up. Lots of the question, will we see Trump being Trump in Charlotte? That is the burning question.

EARLY START continues after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:14:06] ROMANS: Donald Trump hitting the reset button, bringing in a tough as nails posters and right wing media impresario (AUDIO GAP) draw jeers from Hillary Clinton in the process.

Let's break it all down this morning with CNN politics reporter Tom LoBianco in Washington.

Good morning.

You know, the campaign says this is not a reboot. This is -- this is natural progression heading into what will be debate season, right? But this is three times now, Tom, three times now you've seen a different sort of structure for the campaign. And when you talk to, you know, political science wonks, they say winning campaigns don't change the structure of their campaigns. This is something you do when you are coming from behind.

TOM LOBIANCO, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: You know, let's start from the window that we have to work with here. You know, we're less than 90 days away from the election day. This is not the primary anyway. This is the general election. And, you know, your chance to readjust, to move things and get on track, they become increasingly rare.

[05:15:06] You know, there is a great question whether there is enough time for something like this to even work. You know, whether this is squandered.

What's interesting about Trump is not having been in politics that long, not formally at least, not as a candidate for elected office holder, he lacks some of those deep relationships that most politicians tend to have. You know, inside Clinton world, they have been running with her eight years or longer, you know? So, they are deep trusted relationships there. And we are seeing a little bit of that now.

HOWELL: You know, Tom, it is interesting because we're seeing Trump now rolling out his new campaign saying basically there is a change. Noting the change, but saying, hey, this is not a shake up. At the same time, they held this round table on terror the other day.

We have video of that. You get a sense of what Donald Trump was doing in the room and what many of the people who will be there to help make the decisions when it comes to the fight against terrorism. We also heard Trump talking about terrorism on another network, let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You have an enemy that wants to do serious harm to us, OK, beyond what anyone has ever seen. This is like medieval times. We have to take them out. We have to take them out very, very swiftly and viciously if necessary.

Right now, they're fighting a politically correct war. If you were given your head -- just you go in and you got to get them, how long would it take to get them out? I'll tell you what, they are -- they are telling me they could do the job very, very rapidly.

Now, very rapidly is longer than you would like, but they could get the job done and get it done with precision and get it done. We have no choice, Sean. We have no choice. We have to take them out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: So the Trump campaign again, Tom, saying there is no shakeup here. They do note the change. We are seeing the Trump triple down I should say and now, it's focusing on terror.

Will this resonate with voters?

LOBIANCO: Well, that is a direction he needs to move in, focusing on the policy, focusing on the issues. The message that he wants to get out there. You know, what's notable for that, there were no stumbles like we have seen in the past with him.

So, there is no distraction coming out of that. That's a good thing. You know, he is getting back to basics. You have to get to basics before you can start building to the middle, to the moderates, to the independents, the people that you need.

You know, again, the polling on this is not looking good for him. You know, he is losing double digits nationwide to Clinton right now. He's looking key battleground states. They need to get to a point where they can start building to the general election. It's a deficit that they have to make up. That starts to look like it.

ROMANS: Tom, there are other players in this race, too, which makes it interesting here as you look at some of these numbers. CNN hosted a Green Party town hall last night. Jill Stein, that candidate, sort of brushing aside criticism that her name on the ballot helps Donald Trump.

Listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DR. JILL STEIN, GREEN PARTY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will have trouble sleeping at night if Donald Trump is elected. I will also have trouble sleeping at night if Hillary Clinton is elected.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: She's polling I think in Colorado 7 percent. In Iowa, 3 percent. Virginia, 5 percent. What's her impact here?

LOBIANCO: Well, if this were a different election, you could see her maybe swinging the race one way or the other. But I don't think that's going to happen this time. You know, Clinton has a strong lead in these states. It's unlikely that someone running from the left is going to move this. I just don't see that happening at this point.

ROMANS: All right. Tom Lobianco, thanks so much for that. Talk to you in a few minutes.

LOBIANCO: Thank you.

HOWELL: We head back to Rio next. How athletes are responding to the controversy with the American swimmers pulled off their plane in Brazil. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:23:55] ROMANS: American athletes reacting after two American swimmers are pulled off the plane and told to stay in Brazil. And their account of an armed robbery in Rio questioned by those authorities.

How will these mystifying developments effect morale for Team USA?

CNN's Coy Wire live in Rio with the sun coming up behind him on the beach.

What an interesting drama?

COY WIRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely, Christine. And no doubt about it.

And the thing I noticed is that in the wake of the alleged robbery, not much has changed as far as the athletes. Those who completed their competitions are still attending events in the evening, celebrating victories and medals, eating, drinking, having a good time.

Nobody I personally spoken to has had anything to say about the recent events other than it is crazy because not much is known at this point. So, from what I have seen and heard, it is not affecting those who are done competing. It is not affecting the American athletes competing.

American athletes added nine medals, bringing the U.S. total to a whopping 93 yesterday. Three of those, three of them coming in the women's 100-meter hurdles, when Americans made history.

Brianna Rollins, Nia Ali and Kristi Castlin taking gold, silver and bronze respectively. It's a first Olympic podium sweep ever in women's sprint hurdle. The best part of these stories, guys, they're all best of friends off the track. Now, the U.S. men's basketball team slaughtered Argentina yesterday by 27 points. That extends their Olympic win streak to 23 straight games, all the way back to 2004. They had close ones here in Rio, but rolled yesterday. Next up for them, tough team from Spain in the semifinals on Friday.

Let's get your early start medal count. Team USA leading the way as I mentioned, 93 overall. China in second with 54. Great Britain in third with 50.

And up today, guys, Usain Bolt going for that second Rio gold medal in the 200-meter final this time. American Ashton Eaton continuing his quest to repeat as world's greatest athlete. He is currently leading in the decathlon, Christine, George. He is looking for back-to-back Olympic golds in that event.

ROMANS: All right. Still a few days left. Thank you so much, Coy Wire.

HOWELL: Coy, thanks.

Well, it's not all fun and games in Rio. As we have been reporting, two members of the U.S. swim team taken off the flight by police. What's next for these athletes?

EARLY START continues after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)