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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Clinton Cancels California Trip After Pneumonia Diagnosis Revealed; Clinton: "Deplorables" Comment Was Wrong; Wells Fargo Employee Horror Stories; Ceasefire In Syria Scheduled For Sundown; South Korea Ready For "Worst Case Scenario". Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired September 12, 2016 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:06] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Clinton has now canceled her upcoming trip to California. What does all of this mean for her campaign?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we are watching Syria very, very closely. The ceasefire agreement brokered by the U.S. and Russia is set to take effect in just a few hours, but a very, very violent weekend there calling into question whether this will actually take place.

ROMANS: Is North Korea preparing to conduct another nuclear test? Why their neighbors to the south are preparing for what they call the worst case scenario. So much going on this Monday morning.

Welcome back to EARLY START, I'm Christine Romans.

BERMAN: Nice to see you, I'm John Berman. Thirty minutes past the hour right now. Up first, the situation surrounding Hillary Clinton and her health. The former Secretary of State canceled a two-day trip to California. She has pneumonia. She is home in Chappaqua right now.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

Her campaign confirmed the diagnosis last night after this. She stumbled -- you can see it happen right here -- losing balance. This is after leaving a ceremony commemorating 9/11. She left early. What will this do to the race right now? A lot of Clinton critics, up until this point, were already questioning Hillary Clinton's health, Hillary Clinton's stamina. Her doctor, this morning, has said she is recovering nicely.

Let's get more now from CNN senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, late Sunday the Clinton campaign canceled that multi-day West Coast trip. She was scheduled to leave this morning. This capped a day of intense scrutiny for the Democratic nominee after questions were raised when a video emerged showing her stumbling and unsteady with Secret Service agents having to help her into a van in her motorcade leaving Sunday's 9/11 memorial ceremony early. The campaign had earlier said she left the event after becoming overheated. Clinton then went to her daughter's apartment in New York. When leaving there she told reporters she was feeling great, waved to supporters, even signed an autograph for a young girl.

The campaign told us Mrs. Clinton was later examined at her home in Chappaqua. The doctor said she was overheated, dehydrated. And the campaign also revealed on Sunday that Friday she had been diagnosed with pneumonia, had been put on antibiotics, and advised to rest and modify her schedule. The campaign has not said why it did not disclose the illness before Sunday's incident.

Friday, by the way, was a long day for Mrs. Clinton. It was packed with events and activity. The day included a meeting with a bipartisan group of national security experts, a brief statement in which she took a few questions. She did an interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo. She did a fundraiser.

And we don't have an answer to why she didn't start cutting back, given the diagnosis, other than what we know. That this is a presidential campaign, a close race, and having covered her for a couple of decades, off and on, she has a tendency to try to keep going almost no matter what. Now the campaign definitely has more questions to answer as it's clear her health has become a major campaign issue -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Oh yes, it is clear it has become a major campaign issue. Thanks for that, Joe. Let's bring in CNN Politics reporter Eugene Scott. And I want to read to you what her doctor has said now. We know that this diagnosis, pneumonia, happened on Friday. We know the stumble happened on Sunday and she was still planning to go to a big trip to California as recently as last evening but now that has been canceled.

This is what her doctor has said -- her personal doctor. "Secretary Clinton has been experiencing a cough related to allergies. On Friday, during follow-up evaluation of her prolonged cough, she was diagnosed with pneumonia. She was put on antibiotics and advised to rest and modify her schedule. While at this morning's event she became overheated and dehydrated. I just examined her and she is now rehydrated and recovering nicely."

You know, we know pneumonia can be something that can hold you back for a week or so. It can be more serious, you know. When you look at the medical guidelines for infants or for anyone over 65 it can be more serious. She is over 65.

The issue here, many are saying, is not necessarily pneumonia but the fact that no one knew about it, and many wouldn't have known about it if she hadn't stumbled or had been caught stumbling on camera here. Is this a health issue or a transparency issue, or both?

EUGEN SCOTT, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Well, it's probably both. The reality is we were going to find out about it regardless. There are questions out there that remain about why the campaign didn't make it public on Friday, especially considering that this has been an ongoing issue or criticism of Clinton throughout this campaign. But what they will do from this point forward in terms of trying to clarify, for voters, her health, it's worth paying attention to. And it's also worth seeing how the Trump campaign responds.

BERMAN: Look, neither campaign has released as much medical information as some candidates have in the past. I mean, Donald Trump put out that letter that his doctor said he put together in five minutes. It's almost comical.

I can read you part of it right here. It's from Dr. Harold Bornstein. "His blood pressure, 110/65, and laboratory results were astonishingly excellent. His physical strength and stamina are extraordinary. If elected, Mr. Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency." That is not a health disclosure.

[05:35:00] Hillary Clinton put out a two-page letter offering more information, but still not as much as other candidates. Donald Trump still hasn't released his taxes yet. Transparency not a big part of this campaign.

But, Eugene, the transparency issues aside -- I mean, Trump allies, up until this point, had been questioning Hillary Clinton's health, had been questioning her stamina a lot. Some people say over- aggressively, like Rudy Giuliana. But the last few hours, astonishingly quiet.

SCOTT: Very much so. I think it's been said that Donald Trump has been uncharacteristically quiet following this situation. And the campaign supposedly told their surrogates and supporters not to comment on this publicly.

And there was also someone closely familiar with the campaign that said that there were some, perhaps, threats that if you did comment on it that there could be possible termination. But for right now, what's being communicated is that Trump campaign wants to be respectful and wish her a healthy recovery.

ROMANS: Well, as a campaign strategy, though, it also allows the story to be on Hillary Clinton. It allows Donald Trump to just let this storyline play out. And remember, it's a storyline that really started on Friday when Hillary Clinton called half of Trump supporters deplorable.

SCOTT: Right.

ROMANS: This basket of deplorables. If we have that sound, let's play that sound from Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: To just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. (Laughter, Applause) Right? The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic, you name it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: We now know that that was the day that she was diagnosed with pneumonia and she's still out there with a full -- pretty much a full schedule. She issued a statement later saying -- on Saturday she issued a statement saying that was "grossly generalistic and that's never a good idea". She regrets saying "half" but she's still talking about the deplorables as one sort of camp of Trump supporters, and I guess you'd call it the left behinds for the other camp that deserve -- that deserve empathy.

But Donald Trump not commenting on her health and not commenting in general. He did comment on this. He said that she -- it show that she misjudges --

SCOTT: Right.

ROMANS: -- his supporters.

SCOTT: Right. I saw a couple of different responses to that. One, I think people noted how quickly she came out and said that she was wrong. And compare that to how long it usually takes Donald Trump to admit he's wrong, if ever. Yes, if ever, when he's being criticized. But there are also people who made it very clear that the words were not charitable and they were not sympathetic to people, not only who are voting for Donald Trump but Independents who are considering Donald Trump.

ROMANS: She has said this on the views -- the deplorables characterization on the stump before, right?

SCOTT: It wasn't her first time.

ROMANS: This was not the first time.

SCOTT: Yes.

BERMAN: I want to say one thing about the pneumonia because a lot of people are talking about this online all weekend, and the taxes, too. No one's saying that pneumonia, in and of itself, is disqualifying to be president.

ROMANS: Right.

BERMAN: People get sick. We've both had pneumonia, you know. We got better.

ROMANS: And we have seen presidents on the world stage, you know, throw up in front of prime ministers, stumble down stairs.

SCOTT: Yes.

BERMAN: The issue is let voters know about it just so they can take it into consideration. More information is always better than less. Likewise, tax returns. There may be nothing in Donald Trump's tax returns of concern at all. They may show he's wicked rich and gives money to a lot of charities, but throw it out there. Let's voters look at it. Let voters decide.

And one reason Donald Trump may be being quiet right now is first of all, let the story play out, as Christine's saying, but also if you're going to get into an argument about transparency --

SCOTT: Right.

BERMAN: -- it may not be one where he always wins.

SCOTT: Yes. Neither of these candidates has escaped attacks about the absence of transparency in this campaign in different ways. And so, moving forward it will be interesting to see if there will be any significant changes. But it seems like it's a really difficult thing. You end up having to share things when you're running for president that as a private citizen you probably wouldn't even share with some of your friends --

ROMANS: Right.

SCOTT: -- and so it becomes difficult for people.

ROMANS: I've got to say even before this, for the past few weeks, I've been watching these candidates, both of them, and it's remarkable the stamina that you have to have to run for president. When you think of the number of events they're doing every day, you think of how many times they're in and out of an airplane, how many hands they've shaken all day long, how many smiles you have to do, how many hot hallways you're standing in before you go on and have to be on, it's remarkable to me the stamina it must take.

BERMAN: Well, Friday, Hillary Clinton did all of those things and she has pneumonia --

ROMANS: Right.

BERMAN: -- and it goes to show she can fight through it. Again, it's the disclosure that's --

ROMANS: You're expected to be because when you're running the free world, I guess --

BERMAN: Right. Last point, two days off the trail not good for any campaign in this stage of the game.

SCOTT: No. Have you see what she's going to miss? She's going to miss an interview on "ELLEN", she's going to miss a fundraiser with Lionel Richie, a fundraiser with K.D. Lang, a fundraiser in Diane von Furstenberg's house, an economic policy speech. That's just in two days. As of this second, she's expected to make her next appearance Wednesday in Vegas and give an economic policy speech then.

BERMAN: In Nevada. It will be interesting to see if she goes.

[05:40:00] SCOTT: We'll see. BERMAN: All right, Eugene Scott, great to have you with us. Up all night --

SCOTT: Yes.

BERMAN: -- working this story. We appreciate your hard work.

ROMANS: Big story this weekend. Thanks for that. All right, 40 minutes past the hour. Wells Fargo insists it has made changes following those revelations employees secretly created two million ghost accounts -- fake accounts -- unauthorized accounts.

More than a dozen former employees tell CNN Money they were under relentless pressure to meet sales targets. Some say management turned a blind eye when ethical and legal lines were crossed. This is what the bank tells CNN Money. It has made "fundamental changes to help ensure our team members are not being pressured to sell products."

For Wells Fargo, two big questions remains. What about the culture? What about the business model promoting cheating? And will any executives lose their jobs or give up bonuses? That's a question a lot of customers -- a lot of us in the press are asking.

A quick check on futures. Wall Street is bracing for more selling this morning. On Friday, the major averages lost more than two percent -- sorry to say -- the worst session since late June. Here's the problem. Investors are worried global central banks are going to start pulling back on stimulus and a Fed rate hike is looking more likely. But, indeed, that was a kind of an ugly day. All of sudden you looked up and it was down 300 points. You looked up, it was down 400 points.

BERMAN: I'm not used to that anymore.

ROMANS: No, it's been a very quiet summer --

BERMAN: I'm not used to that.

ROMANS: -- so I wouldn't say you should be surprised. But those days of using money are eventually going to be over, and when that happens it means the stock market has less of a -- I don't know -- an impotence to keep just going highs, highs, highs.

BERMAN: All right, 41 minutes after the hour. In just a few hours a ceasefire is set to begin in Syria. Will it? A surge of violence over the weekend puts this in jeopardy. We're live right on Turkish- Syrian border, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:45:50] ROMANS: A ceasefire is scheduled to take hold in Syria in a matter of hours. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russia's foreign minister hammering out that agreement last week. But the Free Syrian Army is warning the U.S. it has serious reservations about this truce after at least 90 people were killed over the weekend in a wave of devastating airstrikes. More deaths are being reported this morning with the attacks continuing.

CNN senior international correspondent Arwa Damon live along the Turkish-Syria border this morning. And it's always just so heartbreaking when you have the hopes of a ceasefire and this last frenzy of violence before the deadline happens.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It really is, Christine. I mean, what's happening in Syria is beyond tragic and has been that way for quite some time now. The deadliest of the attacks that took place over the weekend that killed around 60 people happened in a marketplace in the province where people were out shopping ahead of the Muslin holiday of Eid. That began today.

But this a country that for the better part of the last five years has seen no respite from the violence. And historically speaking, ahead of these ceasefires or cessation of hostilities we do traditionally tend to see an intensification and bombardment. And rebel groups and activists on the ground and residents will tell you that that is the regime's deliberate strategy, as they say, to try to kill as many people as they can before they are forced to silence their guns.

Now, this alliance of rebel groups does have, as you were mentioning -- there are very serious reservations about this agreement. They have not come out and rejected it but they are saying that they want to see more measures put into place to ensure the monitoring of it. They want to seek humanitarian aid not only reach Aleppo but other areas throughout the country that are under siege.

They want to see Shia militias that have been fighting alongside the Assad regime also branded terrorist organizations. And they're very concerned about this potential coordinated effort between the U.S. and Russia to go after the former -- the group that was formerly known as the Nusra Front that was affiliated with al Qaeda but then broke from that organization.

The targeting of it down the line, if this ceasefire does hold, is something that is of great concern to them because in a lot of areas these frontlines do tend to overlap. So their overlying concern -- underlying concern is that this agreement will actually benefit the regime on the battlefield.

ROMANS: All right, Arwa Damon for us this morning. Thank you so much for that, Arwa.

BERMAN: All right, a busy day on "NEW DAY" coming up. Chris Cuomo, who interviewed Hillary Clinton on Friday joins us now. Hey, Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": And there was no discussion about pneumonia then. John Berman, nice tie, by the way. Allow me to say that. Probably your best one. We had a long conversation on Friday before the actual interview. Pneumonia never came up. Allergy suffering did, the vagaries of the race.

So what should be the impact of what we all saw if you go on social media, in terms of Hillary Clinton having to be helped into her van? Did the campaign handle it the right way? Is this about their disclosure as well as it is about the Secretary's health? We're going to break it down. We're going to do it in terms of the politics.

But also, what should matter here, which are any legitimate health concerns. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be with us here. He'll break it down as only he can.

Now, in that interview that we did it was in respect of 9/11. What her experience was as a junior senator for New York. How she processed it. What it made her into as a public servant in her own opinion.

We also talked about the three big flashpoints for American foreign policy -- ISIS. North Korea now with those tests that signal, according to all experts, a speeded up timetable, John and Christine, of their ability to have a weapon that could reach the United States. And, of course, Russia, with Vladimir Putin as rogue as ever. What's her take on that? What's her idea to keep America safe? We'll give it to you this morning.

ROMANS: So, Chris, knowing now that when she was sitting down with you she was on antibiotics for pneumonia, did you -- in her voice could you hear -- did her voice sound like it was rough? I mean, in hindsight --

[05:50:00] CUOMO: No.

ROMANS: -- did anything seem amiss?

CUOMO: No. As a longtime allergy sufferer you see it on other people. And it is not unusual for people in positions of high pressure and trying to be kept on T.V., like we are, or in her position out on the hustings to have a barrage of drugs thrown at it you to deal with all the symptomatic problems with allergies, and we were discussing that.

She didn't say that she'd been diagnosed with pneumonia. We did the interview at about 6:00 at night. You would think that if there were a diagnosis it would have come by that time. But look, I've had pneumonia, too, so it depends if you've had walking pneumonia or if it's bacterial pneumonia. So, you know, why didn't they tell us? Why was this staging of different aspects of what it could have been? I think that's as big a question as anything.

BERMAN: I agree. Chris Cuomo, great to see you. Looking forward to the interview ahead.

ROMANS: All right, Tesla's self-driving software getting a major update, one that might have prevented a fatal crash. We're going to get an EARLY START on your money next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:55:15] BERMAN: Defense officials in South Korea now say that fear that North Korea may be preparing to conduct another nuclear test. They say they're getting ready for what they call the worst case scenario just days after the North claimed it tested a nuclear warhead. World leaders are condemning the test, with the U.S. calling for tough new sanctions. North Korea calls that threat laughable.

CNN's Will Ripley is tracking the latest developments for us. He is Tokyo this morning. Will, what's the latest on this?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John. Well, we are learning from South Korean analysts they believe that North Korea may already be ready for nuclear test number six and possibly even number seven. They just conducted their fifth nuclear test in the last decade but two of them have happened in the last year, and experts are saying the frequency of these tests could increase as the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, keeps trying to aggressively grow his nation's nuclear arsenal.

That's why you have, here in Japan, the prime minister meeting with his senior defense officials, saying that this situation is absolutelyunacceptable and unprecedented danger faced in this region, and South Korea and the Defense Ministry saying that this could be a worst case scenario. They have to prepare for a possible strike from North Korea. That's why the U.S. in installing those missile defense systems much to the chagrin of China, which is blaming all of this tension on the United States, John.

BERMAN: Will Ripley for us in Tokyo, just one of the countries there watching in Japan, watching this very, very closely along with the United States. Thanks so much, Will.

ROMANS: Let's get an EARLY START on your money this Monday morning. Summer is over. The easy summer over on Wall Street. Global markets under pressure. U.S. futures indicate more selling here today. You can see Paris, London, that's a big move. Stocks woke up from the sleepy July and August on Friday and the Dow tumbled 394 points. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 also lost more than two percent.

You know, investors are worried global central banks are finally pulling back on stimulus and a Fed rate hike is looking more likely by the end of the year. The S&P 500 is still up four percent on the year. The Nasdaq, the Dow are higher year-to-date, as well.

Tesla will update its autopilot software in the next two weeks following safety questions. The driver assistance technology is blamed for a fatal accident in May. The new version of autopilot will use radar, not just cameras, to identify objects. The electric carmaker says that would have prevented May's fatal crash when autopilot didn't see a white truck that was turning in front of one of these cars against a bright sky. Two federal agencies began investigating Tesla following that accident.

Apparently that software update is going to happen when the car is in park, which is so interesting to think that you're machinery is so complex. Just like your phone, your car is rebooting with an upgrade.

BERMAN: It is interesting. All right, a lot going on this morning. Hillary Clinton at home in Chappaqua with pneumonia. Canceled campaign events today and tomorrow. "NEW DAY'S" Chris Cuomo interviewed her on Friday apparently right around when that pneumonia diagnosis came. Stayed tuned for much more on that interview. Much more on the political developments this morning. "NEW DAY" begins right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Hillary Clinton has pneumonia. She has canceled two days of campaign trips.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a serious diagnosis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's clear that she tried to hide this and this is going to hurt her.

CLINTON: You could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables.

GOV. MIKE PENCE (R-IN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Hillary, I've got news for you. They aren't a basket of anything, they are Americans.

CLINTON: We will defeat ISIS.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is a woman that doesn't know what victory is.

CLINTON: There is phony strength and there's real strength. Donald Trump has made our job harder.

ROMANS: A number of NFL players staged protests during the National Anthem to highlight the problems of racial injustice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will support our players speaking out.

COLIN KAEPERNICK, QUARTERBACK, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS: There can be change and we can make this country better.

(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. It's Monday, September 12th, 6:00 in the East.

Up first, Hillary Clinton's pneumonia jolts the presidential race. The Democratic nominee facing questions now about her health after this video showing her stumbling into a van as she left the 9/11 memorial service early. Clinton now canceling a two-day trip to California as she recovers.

CUOMO: Now, we interviewed former Secretary of State Clinton on Friday. No mention of the pneumonia came up at about 6:00 that evening. Donald Trump defying expectations by remaining silent about her health scare. Fifty-seven days until the election, just 11 days until early voting begins in some states. The stakes could not be higher. The two candidates will face off in their first debate just two weeks from tonight.

We have it all covered. Let's begin with senior Washingtoncorrespondent Jeff Zeleny. He's near the Clinton home in Chappaqua, New York -- Jeff.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris. Hillary Clinton was set to leave on three-day West Coast swing today with stops in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas.