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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Trump Declares Victory in Debate; Clinton and Sanders Teaming Up; Shimon Peres Remembered; FBI: Hackers May Be Targeting Democratic Party. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired September 28, 2016 - 04:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:30:13] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, it's Donald Trump versus the beauty queen. His new post-debate line of attack that has this former Miss Universe responding on Anderson Cooper overnight. We'll give you the latest on what they're both saying.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Hillary Clinton is feeling the Bern. Bernie Sanders hitting the campaign trail to help target young voters on what was seen as a debate for her.

BERMAN: And leaders from around the world. People everywhere remembering Shimon Peres, a warrior for peace. Really an astounding figure in the Middle East and the world over the last six decades. He has passed away at the age of 93. We'll have much more on his legacy.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It's 30 minutes, exactly, past the hour.

This morning, Donald Trump insisting he won the first presidential debate, this despite the CNN poll that found Hillary Clinton the decisive winner. This despite the fact that he stirred up a hornet's nest of controversies that he keeps on stirring on the stump. Even after the debate, Trump is repeating his fact-check and debunked claim that he opposed the Iraq war.

But most surprisingly, he is not letting go of the stinging criticism of the weight gain of a former Miss Universe. She is now speaking about all of this to CNN. All that while Trump is actually bragging about his restraint for what he calls going easy on Hillary Clinton.

CNN's Sara Murray is with the Trump campaign and has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning, John and Christine, even as some of Donald Trump's own supporters say they had misgivings about his debate performance, a very fired up candidate took the stage here in Florida last night, saying he won the debate and even insisting that he held back against Hillary Clinton. DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Last night, when I debated

Secretary Clinton on America's future --

(BOOS)

TRUMP: For 90 minutes, I watched her, very carefully, and I was also holding back, I didn't want to do anything to embarrass her.

MURRAY: Now, at times, this rally almost felt like a throwback to the Donald Trump of the Republican primary, he kept interrupting himself, touted crowd size, touted poll numbers and even slamming the media. If Donald Trump missed any opportunity to go after Hillary Clinton on the debate stage, he's certainly not giving any of those up on the campaign trail.

Back to you, guys.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right. Sara Murray, thanks so much.

Now at the center of the campaign debate, a former Miss Universe reacting to the insults she says Donald Trump has hurled at her. At the debate, Hillary Clinton brought up Alicia Machado, as an example of Trump's treatment of women. Machado says that Trump was really rude when she put on weight after winning the Miss Universe pageant in 1996.

Trump surprisingly is going there again even after the debate, in comments to FOX News.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

TRUMP: I know that person, that person was a Miss Universe person. And she was the worst we ever had. The worst, the absolute worst. He was impossible and she was a Miss Universe contestant and ultimately a winner who they had a tremendously difficult time with as Miss Universe.

CO-HOST: Did not know that story.

CO-HOST: Wow, I didn't know it either.

TRUMP: She was the winner, and she gained a massive amount of weight and it was a -- it was a real problem. We had a real problem.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BERMAN: It was Trump who brought this up on his own on FOX News after the debate which is really interesting.

Now, overnight, Machado told Anderson Cooper, she is now speaking out to defend Latinos and women from what she calls Trump's insults.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ALICIA MACHADO, MISS UNIVERSE 1996: He was really aggressive. He was really rude. He was a bad person with me. And that is the story that I need to share for my community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: So, the Clinton campaign found her, no one really knew, all of a sudden, this was discussed in the debate. It was almost like they were baiting Donald Trump. And he took the bait and then he took the bait again and kept stirring it up. It may not even be a story today if he hadn't been still stirring the pot.

BERMAN: No, it was -- on the debate stage, it sort of passed. The fact that he brought it up himself the next day is what's so surprising.

ROMANS: All right. A big day on the trail today for Hillary Clinton who helps to fix a nagging problem for her campaign. Bernie Sanders joins his one-time rival for an event in New Hampshire today. Sources tell CNN Sanders is planning a new surge of events for Clinton in these key battleground states. She needs his help to woo skeptical younger voters.

[04:35:03] Also this morning, Clinton is receiving a surprising endorsement from "The Arizona Republic" which has never, ever in its 126 years backed a Democrat. The paper wrote this, "We understand Trump's candidacy tapped a deep discontent among those who felt left behind by a changed economy and shifting demographics. Their concerns deserve to be respect.

Ironically, Trump hasn't done that he has merely pandered. Instead of offering solution, he hangs scapegoats like pinatas and invites people to take a swing. This is Hillary Clinton's opportunity. She can reach out to those who feel left behind."

A fiery Clinton now back on the campaign trail, relishing what her campaign and a CNN poll are calling her debate victory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'm going to leave it to the fact-checkers to go through all of -- all of Donald Trump's claims. There was a lot of work for fact-checkers last night.

When I confronted him with the reasons why he won't release his tax returns, and I got to that point where I said, well, maybe he's paid zero. He said that makes him smart. Now, if not paying taxes makes him smart, what does that make all the rest of us?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Nielsen says about 84 million people watched the debate at home on traditional television. Add to that the millions more who watched at parties, bars, offices and online, and that makes it unquestionably the most watched debate. BERMAN: All right. The world is mourning the loss of a man who spent

decades working for peace. Former Israeli Prime Minister and President Shimon Peres passed away overnight. The 93-year-old statesman spent more than six decades in public service. He was really one of the last living links to Israel's Founding Fathers. He was so crucial in the development of that young nation. He did receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work trying to build bridges.

CNN's Oren Liebermann is live at the hospital where Peres died just outside of Tel Aviv with the reaction this morning.

Oren, and that reaction, you know, not just from Israel, but from all over the world.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Israeli leaders, as well as world leaders from the U.S., from Europe, from Australia, all paying their respects to Shimon Peres in what you mentioned there very much will be his legacy -- a man who believed in peace, a man who dreamed of peace and who had a vision of peace, and was working on that up until the very end, trying to build trust between Israelis and Palestinians.

That will be his legacy, that is just a small part of what will be remembered in addition to the founding father of Israel who helped build the state from its origin, from its creation just 70 yeas ago. As for what world leaders are saying, the condolences that are pouring, let me read you a snippet of what President Barack Obama said.

He said, "A light has gone out but the hope he gave us will burn forever. Shimon Peres was a soldier for Israel, the Jewish people, for justice, for peace, and for the belief that we can be true to our best selves, to the very end of our time on earth and the legacy that we leave to others." It is condolences like that that are coming in from all over the world, from what Shimon Perez stood for, carrying on the legacy of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the legacy of peace, the legacy of a two-state solution. That was what he was committed to.

As for who is expected to attend his funeral, leaders from all over, the Israeli foreign ministry says President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Bill and Hillary Clinton, leaders from England, from Australia, from Canada, from all over Europe and are also expected to attend, and that is a testament to the legacy and to the work of Shimon Peres -- John.

BERMAN: I mean, this is a man who worked with multiple generations of leaders. For anyone to remember him for his service which probably will be at this point on Friday.

Oren Liebermann, thanks so much for being with us. I appreciate it.

ROMANS: Wells Fargo cracking understand pressure following the fake account scandal. The CEO John Stumpf will forfeit most of his 2016 salary, including his bonus and $41 million in stock awards. He's keeping his job. He is keeping his job, but he's going to forfeit pay.

Another executive is out, Carrie Tolstedt, head of the division that created the fake account. She ran that part of the bank during the years that this was happening. She left the company ahead of her scheduled retirement at the end of this year. She will not receive a severance or a bonus. She still could walk away with $77 million in stocks and options for her career over there at Wells Fargo.

Wells Fargo's board of directors also said Tuesday it is launching an independent investigation for its company practices. That is Tuesday. This has been going on for weeks now. So, the board looks it's behind the curve here.

The stock has been dumped by investors this scandal broke earlier this month. It's now at a 2 1/2-year low. Stock is down 17 percent this year. So, shareholders, customers of this bank, you know, there's a class action -- two former employees, two bankers have filed a class action lawsuit saying, hey, you know, this was a culture that they were forced to cheat to get ahead.

[04:40:10] BERMAN: Well, the question is, has the culture changed? They've changed some people inside, they shuffled some chairs around, but have they changed the culture?

ROMANS: This is the kind of thing that goes on in, you know, in public relations, college courses. They'll look at whatnot to do.

BERMAN: Exactly. Don't do this, under the chapter, don't do this.

ROMANS: What not to do.

All right. Forty minutes past the hour.

Police in California say they were forced to open fire in a confrontation that ended with the death of an African-American man. We're going to show you the video proof police say forced them to act.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right. This morning, police in southern California are pleading for calm after officers fatally shot an African-American man. About 200 protesters or so were gathered near the scene. They've remained peaceful. Police say the unidentified man, they say he was acting erratically behind a restaurant in El Cajun.

The police chief says the man kept his hands at his pocket and refused commands. They say officers were forced to take action when the man held a dark object and took what they call a shooting stance. They say this is what you're seeing here in an image from cell phone video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF DAVIS, CHIEF OF POLICE, EL CAJON: At one point, the male rapidly drew an object from his front pants pocket, placed both hands together on and extended it rapidly towards the officer taking what appeared to be a shooting stance, putting the object in the officer's face. At this time, one of the officers with the taser discharged his taser in an effort to subdue the subject. Simultaneously, the officer who had the object pointed at him discharged his firearm, striking the male.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Police will not release the full video until the district attorney reviews it. No word yet on what the object the man was holding, or what exactly that object was, but he was shot. No gun, though, was found.

ROMANS: Court documents reveal Keith Scott, the black man killed by Charlotte police, owned a gun and have threatened to kill his wife and son last year. CNN affiliate WSOC reports his wife got a domestic violence protective order against him. The court record show Scott had an unlicensed gun and was a convicted felon. Now, Charlotte police have said Scott had a weapon when he was fatally shot last week.

The Scott family insists he was not armed. Videos released by police and the family are simply inclusive.

Now, to be clear, these revelations are no proof of wrongdoing by Mr. Scott, and his encounter with police. That, of course, will depend upon the outcome of that investigation.

BERMAN: Right. If the officers were there serving a warrant, they had no idea what his past was, what his record was. Only matter what is they saw or felt at that time.

ROMANS: That's right.

BERMAN: All right. Accused New York-New Jersey bomber Ahmad Rahami will not make an appearance at his first court appearance today as planned. His schedule arraignment has been delayed because Rahami is still unconscious in the hospital. In the meantime, investigators believe two men seen on surveillance tape were moving the unexploded pressure cooker bomb from a bag. They think they were been visiting New York. They are likely to have left the area and may not even know that they're being sought as potential witnesses.

ROMANS: All right. New York police arresting a suspect in an explosion at a Bronx marijuana grow house, that explosion killed a fire chief and injured 20 others. Police say 34-year-old Julio Salcedo was captured in New Jersey Tuesday after a brief manhunt. |The property had been under investigation as a drug house.

Chief Michael Fahey, a 17-year fire department veteran, he was killed by a flying debris when the explosion tore the roof off that building.

All right. Forty-seven minutes past the hour.

Pollsters give Hillary Clinton the win in Monday night's debate. But what do investors think of her performance? We'll get an early start on your money, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [04:51:59] BERMAN: This morning, the FBI is investigating suspected attempts to hack the mobile phones of top Democratic officials. Agents are now asking to examine the phones of several party staffers. This new development comes on the same day that Homeland Security Chief Jeh Johnson told lawmakers that 18 states are asking for help to ward off cyber attacks that they feel could compromise voting results on Election Day.

Let's get the latest now from CNN justice correspondent Evan Perez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, the question is a provocative one. Can we trust the U.S. election results in light of recent cyber attacks by suspected Russian hackers targeting U.S. voter registration website.

The Homeland Security Department says the answer is yes. They're working with the states to improve cyber security for election systems around the country. First of all, there is no indication that any voting systems have been tampered with. And the voting machines aren't even connected to the Internet.

But Homeland Secretary Jeh Johnson said he's take nothing chances. Here's what he told senators on a hearing on national security threats.

JEH JOHNSON, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: In the run-up to the November 8th election, we have been working with state election officials, local election officials, to help them with their cybersecurity when they ask. And I'm pleased that 18 states have now come forward and requested our assistance in their cybersecurity efforts.

PEREZ: Now, Donald Trump has raised the prospect of a rigged election and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has made similar comments. A state official says they're confident that they've got enough resources to assure security around the elections.

And at Monday night's debate, both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have said they will accept the election results -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Evan, thank you for that. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie once again denying he had any knowledge of the 2013 lane closures that later became known as the bridgegate scandal. A former port authority executive has already testified Christie knew about the politically motivated lane closures on the George Washington Bridge as they were happening but the governor insists he knew nothing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: I knew nothing about the lane realignments before they happened. I knew nothing about the lane realignments as they were happening. I had nothing to do with the planning of it. I had no -- nothing to do with authorizing it.

And we sit here now nearly three years later, and there has not been one scintilla of evidence to contradict what I just said.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Former Port Authority executive David Wildstein claims he and Christie discussed the lane closure at a 9/11 ceremony on September of 2013. You're looking at photos of their meeting. He said the governor laughed about the traffic jam. He testified he joked to him about shutting down those lanes.

All right. Washington faces a flooding threat as fall weather settles in.

Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri has the latest for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, John and Christine.

[04:55:01] The set-up in place really interesting when it comes to how much rainfall could come down across parts of the Mid-Atlantic States. We have a stationary frontal boundary of the trough bringing in very cool Canadian air right across parts of the Great Lakes, eventually in the north east and Southeast as well.

But about 9 million people from Baltimore out towards Washington out to a flood watch. Late this morning, we get the first bout of heavy rainfall around Washington and Baltimore. Sometime between say 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.

But all in all, when you take a look at this, the models light up like a Christmas tree. We're talking about 4 to 6 inches of rain fall over the next few days. Some areas could see greater amounts. This would be a disastrous amount in some neighborhoods if this plays out.

I certainly hope that's not the case. But again, the ingredients in place here to produce some very heavy rainfall, and eventually, after the rain falls we bring in cooler temperatures. So, here's what it looks like over the next three days. Washington down into the mid- 60s, should be in the Mid-70s, Atlanta down in the 70s where they belong. So, a pleasant change for some people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Pedram, thank you.

BERMAN: A pleasant change for some people.

ROMANS: Pleasant change.

BERMAN: All right. Elon Musk, he is nothing if not a dreamer. I would say nothing if not a salesman. The SpaceX founder is revealing details in a time line. I will say alleged details, alleged time line for a plan to send humans to Mars. ROMANS: John Berman dripping with skepticism this morning.

BERMAN: He estimates, or I should allegedly estimates, a traditional launch that will cost $10 billion but says he aims to improve the launch by 5 million percent. You know what? Make it 6 million. What the hell?

If all goes well, the first customer could take off for mars by 2024 allegedly. Musk says the cost per person may drop to $200,000.

Now, you may have noticed I'm a bit skeptical. I don't know, if that came true with my read there, as much as I admire Elon Musk as a business and a lot of things that he's done, I just don't buy these space projections because we've been making them for years and years. It's always one way away, two years away, three years away --

ROMANS: John, if you don't dream big you don't dream.

BERMAN: Just show me the results. Show me the spacecraft. Show me your space ship. Show me the Death Star. Show me what's going to take you there.

ROMANS: Take them with you and leave them. That's what I'd say.

Let's get an early start on your money this morning. Investors liked what they saw from Hillary Clinton in Monday's debate. That pushed stocks higher yesterday, and we're seeing more gains this morning.

Clinton is seen by Wall Street as the more predictable candidate. Dow futures are up. Stock markets in Europe and Asia are mixed, but private prison operators, they didn't get a debate bounce. They got a debate trounce. Shares up Corrections Corp. of America and GEO Group both sinking yesterday. Clinton said he would like to seat private operators banned from state systems following the move to take out of the federal prison system.

New signs this morning that consumers are feeling pretty good about the economy and they're not worried about this election. Consumer confidence hit a 9-nine year high this month. The reading is 104. OK. By comparison, it was at 25 at the worst of the recession.

This is according to the Conference Board, which is a business association that tracks these things. Driving the optimism, unemployment, only 4.9 percent. President Obama's approval rating by the way is above, 50 percent. Sometimes, consumer confidence and the presidential approval ratings can track each other, John. Wages are finally increasing, rising 5.2 percent last year.

The Federal Reserve is under fire and Donald Trump could be its biggest critic. Here's a claim he repeated in Monday night's debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: When they raise interest rates, you're going to see very bad things happen, because the Fed is not doing their job. The Fed is being more political than Secretary Clinton. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: I wanted to give you some context of the Fed and its job. Politics is not in the Fed's DNA. It was designed to be independent way back in 1913. It's independent of the three branches of government.

The president of Congress cannot tell it were to act on interest rates. It uses economic data to make that decision. And also, the Fed, by the way, we looked into the numbers, the Fed has been great for taxpayers.

You know, last year, it poured a record $117 million back into the treasury coffers from everything from military and food stamps. It's a popular punching bag for Donald Trump who says that Janet Yellen is somehow trying to help president Barack Obama and by extension Hillary Clinton.

When you look at how it's set up, 14-year terms of the members, it's designed to be insulated from Washington.

BERMAN: You can see why it appears to be part of a system, that people see as rigged. They see the Fed as the man behind the curtain or in this case, the woman behind the curtain.

ROMANS: The woman behind the curtain.

So, you can see, why, politically speaking, Trump is doing well. I will say politically, the only thing I've noticed in the last few years is Fed members complaining that Washington isn't doing its job and has forced them to take too heavy of a hand in the economy because the Fed has budgets, infrastructure spending and tax reform. These are things that your Congress should be doing. They aren't, so that means more powers in the Fed's hands.

BERMAN: EARLY START continues right now.

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BERMAN: Donald Trump on defense this morning, despite the fact he says he won the debate. He is on the trail going after not just Hillary Clinton, but a former Miss Universe.