Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Clinton: Damage Control On Health; Trump Turns Tables On Clinton; Chances Of A Fed Rate Hike Slip; Sky High View Of The Windy City; Syria Claims It Shot Down Israeli Warplane; Police: Florida Mosque Fire Deliberately Set; NCAA Pulls Championship Events From North Carolina; Kaepernick Kneels Again During National Anthem. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired September 13, 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] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump insisting that Hillary Clinton apologize for saying that half of his supporters fit into a, quote, "basket of deplorables"This, as a violent scuffle breaks out at his rally.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The Syrian military claiming it shot down Israeli warplanes, which Israel denies. All of this less than 24 hours into Syria's fragile ceasefire. Welcome back to EARLY START, I'm Christine Romans.

HOWELL: And good morning, I'm George Howell. It is 30 minutes past the hour and breaking overnight, Hillary Clinton doing some damage control while recovering from illness, calling into Anderson Cooper's show Monday night after taking the day off the campaign trail to rest.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

Clinton addressing significant new concerns about her health and a lack of transparency in her campaign. The campaign waiting two days to reveal that the Secretary -- the former Secretary -- was suffering from pneumonia, only disclosing the pneumonia diagnosis after the video that you see here came to life showing Clinton stumbling, struggling to get into her motorcade while leaving Sunday's service at Ground Zero.

Her husband escalating the controversy, telling CBS that something like this has happened more than once before -- listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Rarely, but on more than one occasion over the last many, many years the same sort of thing has happened to her when she just got severely dehydrated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Now, both Clinton and Trump under pressure, pledging to release more detailed medical records. CNN's Joe Johns has the very latest in Chappaqua, New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JOE JOHNS, SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: George and Christine, it's expected to be another day of rest for Hillary Clinton here in Chappaqua, New York. Her husband, the former president, is expected to fill in for her at a fundraiser in the Los Angeles area she was expected to attend tonight.

On Monday she also stayed at home, in Chappaqua, recovering from that diagnosis of pneumonia that she got on Friday, which was only revealed after she was caught on video stumbling into a van after leaving the 9/11 memorial service in New York City early. She said she was overheated.

In a telephone interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper the former Secretary of State said she'd just spoken with Democratic New York senator Charles Schumer who told her he also was recovering from pneumonia.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I just didn't think it was going to be that big a deal, you know. I know Chuck said today he didn't tell anybody. It's just the kind of thing that if it happens to you and you're a busy, active person you keep moving forward. And, you know, I think it's fair to say, Anderson, that people know more about me than almost anyone in public life.

JOHNS: While former Sec. Clinton continues her recuperation her husband, Bill Clinton, is expected to fill in for her at another event in Nevada on Wednesday. She says she wants to get back on the campaign trail in the next couple of days -- Christine and George.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Joe Johns, thank you. To talk more now about the fallout from Clinton's illness and the rest of the day in politics CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein, also a senior editor at "The Atlantic". Ron, it's always great to have you.

ROMANS: Good morning.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST, SENIOR EDITOR, "THE ATLANTIC": Good morning, it's great to be back in New York.

ROMANS: Love it.

HOWELL: Let's talk, first of all, about Hillary Clinton calling into Anderson Cooper's show. She's off the campaign trail but not really off the campaign trail in the age of calling in by phone --

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, right.

HOWELL: -- and basically talking about transparency, but turning the tables and focusing on Donald Trump. Let's listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

H. CLINTON: You've got a medical report on me that meets the same standard as Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. Donald Trump's doctor said he'd be the healthiest president in history. That's just not even serious. And I've released nearly 40 years of tax returns, he hasn't released one. This is a man with unknown numbers of partners and investors who says he's doing 120 foreign deals. The American people deserve to know what he's up to and what he is hiding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: So as the questions come up about Hillary Clinton's health she now focuses on Trump's. He had that statement -- that bizarrely written statement --

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

HOWELL: -- written about his health, the business deals that he's involved in, his tax records. Is he also under just as much pressure?

BROWNSTEIN: First of all, isn't calling into Anderson Cooper kind of like answering email from work on your sick days? Look, I think it was a mistake for Hillary Clinton not to disclose the diagnosis on Friday. I think the presidential candidate being diagnosed with pneumonia is something that should be shared with the public, but she has a point.

As on many issues in this campaign the comparison with Donald Trump is her greatest asset because the amount of information we have about him -- what he has not disclosed -- is remarkable compared to former presidential candidates. The one-page letter from his doctor was kind of meaningless. It was kind of a cloud of words -- the healthiest candidate ever.

Teddy Roosevelt had been in combat a few years earlier before he was president. And the fact that we don't have his tax returns, above all, is, I think, truly a violation of the norms that we have seen in presidential campaigns.

Now, there,I think Hillary Clinton's instinct, too often, is to pull closer to the vest and not provide the information until absolutely pressed to do so. But there's no question that the comparison to Donald Trump on that -- if that's the only comparison, yes, she has been relatively transparent.

[05:35:00] ROMANS: You know, you and I were talking earlier about how the policy has been lacking in this campaign.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

ROMANS: I mean, this has been a personality choice.

BROWNSTEIN: Right.

ROMANS: This has been a -- really a persona-driven election. But Donald Trump, last night in Asheville -- yesterday in Asheville -- he says no, no, he's got the policies and that she is hate-filled. Let's listen to this fourth sound bite, guys.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our vision of hope stands in stark contrast to my opponent's campaign of hate. Hillary Clinton has been running a hate-filled and negative campaign with no policy, no solutions, and no new ideas -- true. By contrast, I've been going around the country offering very detailed plans for reform and change. All of these reform plans are available on our Website and they're extensive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWNSTEIN: You know, this is why Donald Trump challenges conventional journalism because so many of the things he said in just that 30 seconds are completely wrong and absurd. First of all, Trump has put out some policy on taxes, on immigration, to some extent on energy. You go beyond that you have to look very hard to have any idea what he would do on --

ROMANS: His policies have changed to that moving target.

BROWNSTEIN: Right, are moving targets. And second, I mean, a hate- filled campaign. I mean, this is when a candidate who started by calling Mexican -- undocumented immigrants rapists. Who said that a U.S.-born federal judge could not do his job because of his Mexican heritage.

Who has kind of spoken with a very broad brush about Muslims. Who has made very inflammatory comments, retweeted inaccurate information about the rate of black -- crimes committed by African-Americans against white victims. I mean, there is a lot of division that has been intrinsic to his campaign.

Now, what Hillary Clinton said about his supporters -- to be grossly generalistic, candidates never want to immune the motives of people who are voting for the other side. It is never a good idea. But the idea that she has been a hate-filled candidate and he's been kind of a uniter is just -- there's just nothing to support that. If anything, his campaign has been as divisive as any since George Wallace in 1968.

ROMANS: There is -- there is no question that her basket of deplorables comment on Friday after she had been, by the way, diagnosed with pneumonia and still out there campaigning, that handed him campaign ad material and handed him stump material, no question.

BROWNSTEIN: And it -- and it energizes his voters who feel, to begin with, that there are elites that look down on him. But on the other hand, if you think about how modern politics works the central dividing line in our politics is culture, not class.

ROMANS: Right.

BROWNSTEIN: The Democratic coalition is composed of the groups in American society that are most comfortable with the demographic and cultural change we're living through.

And one thing that Hillary Clinton's -- you know, that argument did -- is it did portray her to someone who will stand as -- to our coalition as someone who will stand up for those values against someone -- a candidate they view as uniquely threatening to them. So it is not only on the negative side of the ledger, I think, for her. In fact, it just kind of deepens our cultural polarization.

HOWELL: That comment, as Christine pointed out -- it does energize Trump supporters but at the same time opens the door for the evil comparison of all the things that Donald Trump has said.

ROMANS: Yes. All right, Ron --

BROWNSTEIN: Sixty percent of voters consistently say in polling that they view Trump as biased against women and minorities. And those numbers are even higher among the key groups in the Democratic coalition.

ROMANS: Ron Brownstein, so glad to have you here.

HOWELL: Ron, thank you.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.

ROMANS: Nice to see you this morning. All right, 38 minutes past the hour. Time for an EARLY START on your money. Watching your 401(k) today? Dow futures are down triple digits. Stock markets in Europe and Asia are mixed. Oil sinking more than two percent.

The calm is over on Wall Street -- that summer calm is over. A big bounce yesterday of the Dow Jones jumping 239 points. Look at that. Snaps a three-day losing streak where the average fell more than 450 points in three days.

Investors grappling with the chances of a Fed rate hike next week. The Fed is meeting next week and every word uttered by Fed officials can change everything. Fed governor Lael Brainard said the case to raise interest rates soon is less compelling and the Fed needs to show prudence before lifting rates. And that's why the stock market bumped up yesterday.

Look what that did to investors' bets of what the Fed will do next. Just 24 hours ago the probability of a September rate hike was about one in four. Right now, it's just 15 percent. The chances of a move at the November meeting also dropping. The money is still on December with a 45 percent chance of a rate hike. Higher rates are coming eventually, folks, we just don't know when.

HOWELL: That will be interesting to find out when it happens, especially with the election --

ROMANS: That's right.

HOWELL: -- just around the corner. Breaking news we're following this morning. Syria is claiming that it shot down an Israeli warplane. Israel denying that happened. Syria now less than 24 hours into their ceasefire. Can peace last?

ROMANS: If you're heading to the Windy City soon there's a quick and exciting way to take in Chicago's famous landmarks from high up in the sky.

[05:40:00] (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TREVOR HEFFEMAN, CHICAGO HELICOPTER EXPERIENCE: Welcome to Chicago. This is the Chicago Helicopter Experience.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (PILOT): We are currently climbing to 1,300 feet about sea level.

HEFFEMAN: To depart from our heliport, which is right downtown, immediately taking in some breathtaking views of the whole city skyline. And throughout the tour you fly over all the landmarks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (PILOT): As we make a turn for the city we'll get a good panoramic view.

HEFFEMAN: As pilots narrate the tour they tell you all about what you're seeing, the history of the city. You get to engage with them, talk to the pilot, ask questions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (PILOT): As we make our way out over the water to left is Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears, opened in 1924.

HEFFEMAN: We have business travelers that have limited time so it's a great way for them to take in the whole city when they have a tight schedule.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (PILOT): We are coming up to the Navy Pier. That's always the number one tourist attraction.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it was my first time in a helicopter. It did get me a little nervous but once you're up there it's so smooth and just the skyline looks completely different from up there. It was a great way to learn a lot of history and you have an adventure.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:45:15] ROMANS: All right, there's breaking news we're following for you right now. The Syrian military claims it shot down an Israeli warplane and a drone near the Syrian border with the Golan Heights overnight. Israel is denying any aircraft were hit. All this, as a fragile ceasefire in Syria appears to be taking hold for now.

Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov -- they brokered this deal. Kerry says things look good so far although it's simply too early to draw conclusions.

Let's bring in CNN's Jomana Karadsheh. She is monitoring all of this for us live from Amman, Jordan. What can you tell us this morning?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine, the Syrian military, a couple of hours ago, came out with a claim saying that they had shot down an Israeli warplane and Israeli drone over the Golan Heights. And they say this happened after the Israeli Air Force targeted Syrian Army positions in that area.

The Israeli Defense Force came out saying that this is completely false, that this did not happen. According to the Israelis they say that they did carry out targeted strikes against artillery positions in Syria. And they say that two surface-to-air missiles were launched from inside Syria but at no point were there aircraft safety compromised during all this.

Now this comes after -- in the past few days we have seen reports of projectiles landing into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Israel responding, targeting some of the sources of these projectiles. Of course, it really goes to show the complexity of that Syrian conflict not really contained within the borders of that country involving so many different players in the region in different countries.

Now this comes, as you mentioned, after we saw that U.S. and Russian- brokered truce going into effect at sundown on Monday. And since then we have not seen claims or reports of any major incidents of violence. There has been some sporadic violence in the first few hours but according to a monitoring group that monitors that conflict they say in the first 15 hours of this truce there has been no civilian deaths recorded so far.

And, of course, the hope here is that this truce will hold. It's not clear if it will. It is so tenuous so much could go wrong. But the hope there is at least it holds for a few days to allow the U.N. and other agencies to move in with the desperately needed humanitarian aid into besieged areas like Aleppo, Christine.

ROMANS: All right, thanks so much for that Jomana Karadsheh for following all of that for us from Amman, Jordan.

HOWELL: All right, time to take a look now at what's coming up on "NEW DAY". Alisyn Camerota joins us live -- Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Hey, good morning guys, great to see you. We are going to be talking about transparency this morning. I am holding in my hands the sum total of what the candidates have released on their medical records. Here is the couple of paragraphs from Donald Trump. Here are the two pages from Hillary Clinton. They're easy reads.

So we're going to have supporters of Trump and Clinton on this morning to make the case for why this is enough and whether or not this is enough transparency.

We're also going to be talking to Michael Smerconish. He has a prescription for what each candidate needs to do in the next eight weeks in order to win.

ROMANS: Wow.

CAMEROTA: So we'll have all that and more when we see you at the top of the hour.

ROMANS: All right, we'll look forward to that. Thank you so much. HOWELL: Alisyn, thank you.

ROMANS: All right, a big name Silicon Valley exec is going to give $5 million to charity if Donald Trump does one little thing. I'll tell you what that is when we get an EARLY START on your money, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:53:00] ROMANS: Welcome back. Police in Florida have released this surveillance video of a suspect who they say deliberately set fire to the mosque where the Pulse nightclub shooter once worshipped. The fire broke out early Monday morning at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce. The extent of the damage still being determined but no one was inside at the time, thankfully. Now police are hoping someone will recognize the suspect who local Muslims say committed a hate crime.

We get more from CNN's Boris Sanchez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine and George, officials don't have too many details as to the suspect's background right now. They're actually putting this video out there hoping that someone in the public will recognize him and lead them to the suspect.

What we know so far is that he's a Hispanic or white man and she showed up here at the mosque at about 11:30 last night in a Harley Davidson-style motorcycle. He was wearing a bandana to cover his face and he was wearing a hat so it was difficult to really get detail of his face. He was wearing a button-down shirt and embroidered jeans and he was carrying something that looked like a glass full of liquid and paper. At one time during the surveillance video that was captured you see a white flash and then you see that man flee.

Officials have yet to publicly speculate whether or not this is a hate crime but speaking to officials here at the mosque and local Muslim leaders they tell us there is no doubt in their mind that this was a hate crime. One of the people here at the mosque that I spoke with said that this is part of a trend -- the continuing trend of escalating attacks against Muslims in this country. He says a big part of it has to do with the political climate.

WILFREDO RUIZ, COUNCIL ON AMERICAN ISLAMIC RELATIONS: We are in an electoral year when we have political candidates fueling the hate, fueling the divisions among Americans and exalting anything that diminishes Islam or Muslims. That doesn't help and that does create this kind of environment.

SANCHEZ: Another interesting note from Mr. Ruiz. He told me that if this had happened at a church on Christmas the reaction would be much different. We've heard from local leaders here that they expected a much bigger public outcry from state and local government officials. One of them saying that the silence from them is deafening -- Christine and George.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[05:55:00] HOWELL: Boris Sanchez reporting for us, thank you.

The NCAA is the latest organization to punish North Carolina for an anti-LGBT law. It's decided to pull seven championship events from North Carolina, including the first and second rounds of the 2017 Men's Basketball Championship. The NCAA president says the anti-LGBT legislation makes the state an unacceptable venue. Previously, the NBA decided to move the 2017 All-Star Game out of Charlotte.

The quarterback of the 49ers is continuinghis National Anthem protest, kneeling before his team's season opening game Monday night. Teammate Eric Reid joined Colin Kaepernick, who is trying to shine a light on injustice against people of color. Two other 49ers and two L.A. Rams players raised fists in solidarity during the Anthem.

ROMANS: All right, 56 minutes past the hour. Let's get an EARLY START on your money this morning. Dow futures are lower. The market rallied yesterday to start the week because a Federal Reserve governor said the Fed should not rush into raising interest rates. Say investors are not so upbeat. Stock markets in Europe and Asia are mixed. A big drop in oil prices there, 2.5 percent. That's a big one-day move in oil.

The cofounder and executive chairman of LinkedIn says he will $5 million to veterans' charities if Donald Trump releases his tax returns before the final presidential debate. In a Medium post, Reid Hoffman says, "The people deserve to know what's on Trump's tax returns. And Trump must show that he truly embraces accountability and transparency and understands what it means to work on behalf of the public interest."

Hoffman endorsed Clinton for president back in June. He was inspired by a crowdfunding campaign started by a Marine. That group is hoping to raise $1 million for vets if Trump releases his tax documents.

The most powerful business people in America with their hands on the levers to hire, fire, and invest -- they are cautious. That's the sentiment from the latest survey of chief executives. The Business Roundtable's CEO outlook index fell from last quarter. It remains below normal. The economy is growing but not gangbusters. It's also a sign the U.S. election is looming over decision makers and the economy.

How can the next president spark faster growth? Caterpillar's CEO says tax reform, trade expansion, and smarter regulations, something we've heard from business leaders for a very, very long time, quite frankly. They would like to see something more than just the Fed keeping interest rates to juice the American economy. They'd like to see lower corporate taxes. They'd like to see an infrastructure build.

Interesting that both presidential candidates would like to do a big infrastructure plan. The question is no matter who is the president do you think he'll get immigration reform, tax reform, an infrastructure plan? No one knows for sure. HOWELL: It is ambitious. Will it happen? We'll have to see. More now from CNN's exclusive interview with Hillary Clinton. How she explains why it took two days to reveal that she was diagnosed with pneumonia. "NEW DAY" starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

H. CLINTON: Obviously, I should have gotten some rest sooner. I thought I could keep going forward and power through it.

B. CLINTON: She's doing fine. She just got dehydrated.

H. CLINTON: Compare everything you know about me with my opponent. The information is out there. You can't say the same thing about Donald Trump.

TRUMP: My opponent slanders you as deplorable and irredeemable. She talks about people like they're objects, not human beings.

SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When David Duke is doing robocalls saying vote for Donald Trump we do need to call it out.

GOV. MIKE PENCE (R-IN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Donald Trump has denounced David Duke repeatedly. We don't want his support.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Do you call him deplorable?

PENCE: No, I don't -- I'm not in the name-calling business.

B. CLINTON: Nobody ever got anything from the State Department because they supported the Clinton Foundation.

TRUMP: Hillary believes she's above the law. So far, she's turned out to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, welcome to your NEW DAY. It's Tuesday, September 13th, 6:00 in the East.

And we start with Hillary Clinton speaking out for the first time, calling into CNN to discuss her pneumonia, saying she "didn't think it was going to be that big a deal." We now know Clinton kept this diagnosis from most of her staff. Transparency looms large, a major issue in this campaign. What do voters have the right to know about both candidates?

CAMEROTA: Meanwhile, Donald Trump is slamming Clinton's basket of deplorables comment as "the biggest mistake of the political season". We are just 56 days from Election Day, 10 days from early voting, and 13 days from the first debate. So we have this race covered for you.

Let's begin with senior Washingtoncorrespondent Jeff Zeleny. Jeff, what is the latest?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. Hillary Clinton is acknowledging that she and her staff could have been more forthcoming about her pneumonia diagnosis. Few people on her campaign staff actually knew about it which made it more difficult for them to react after she became ill at that 9/11 ceremony.

The campaign has been trying to walk a fine line, avoiding feeding the conspiracy theories about her health but sharing critical information with voters that they would surely understand. But she explained her decision like this to Anderson Cooper last night.