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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Mike Pence's Plane Skids Off NYC Runway; Clinton Campaigns Today in Iowa; World Series Heads To Wrigley Field. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired October 28, 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] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN HOST: Breaking news. The NTSB now investigating the near-disaster involving Mike Pence's plane at a New York airport.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: Donald Trump talking retaliation. He says he could take legal action. He's going to go after NBC maybe, he suggests, for the release of that "ACCESS HOLLYWOOD" tape where he talks about grabbing women.
ROMANS: Hillary Clinton flush with campaign cash for the last 11 -- count them -- 11 days of this race, but could she be getting a little too comfortable with her lead in the polls?
Welcome back to EARLY START, I'm Christine Romans.
BERMAN: I'm John Berman. Nice to see you this morning. Thirty minutes after the hour and the breaking news this morning, Mike Pence is OK but he very nearly wasn't. This, after a near-disaster involving his campaign plane.
We have some video just in to CNN. It shows crews, this morning, moving the 737 away from the spot where it skidded to a stop off the runway at LaGuardia overnight, just several hundred feet from a major interstate, the Grand Central Parkway.
ROMANS: The other side -- the other side of that fence is traffic.
BERMAN: This is really crazy. An NTSB team is on the ground right now. And this happened while landing on a rainy, windy runway. No one was hurt. CNN producer Liz Landers, traveling with the Pence campaign, describes what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VOICE OF LIZ LANDERS, CNN PRODUCER: You could feel the plane skidding. You could feel the back of the plane, too, which is where the press is. It felt like it was fishtailing and moving side-to- side, and then the plane came to a very pretty sharp halt. And Gov. Pence came to the back of the plane just to check with the press, asking is everybody OK. And we asked him if he was OK and he said yes, he and his family were fine. And he remarked that there was some dirt and mud on his window up at the front of the plane.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: Officials say a special breakaway concrete bed at the end of the runway helped stop the plane after it skidded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATRICK FOYE, EXEC. DIR., PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK & NEW JERSEY: Runway 22 is a 7,000-foot runway. The plane ended up in the arrester bed at the end of the runway -- destroyed about 80 arrester bed blocks -- and is currently in the grass off the runway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: So there's no word yet on the cause of this accident. Pence spoke to emergency crews there on the runway and he tweeted pretty quickly. He said, "So thankful that everyone on our plane is safe. Grateful for our first responders and the concern and prayers of so many. Back on the trail tomorrow."
ROMANS: Governor Pence also spoke on the phone with Donald Trump just before Trump took the stage for a rally in northern Ohio.
CNN's Sara Murray has the latest on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning, John and Christine. Well, everybody knows the last two weeks of a presidential campaign are particularly stressful, but Mike Pence had a very harrowing evening on Thursday night. That's because his campaign plane skidded off the runway at LaGuardia Airport.
Now, even though everyone was fine -- the press on board, the candidate -- it was still the talk of the evening and Donald Trump even discussed it at his campaign event in Ohio.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I just spoke to our future vice president and he's OK. Do you know he was in big accident with a plane? The plane skidded off the runway and was pretty close to grave, grave danger. But I just spoke to Mike Pence and he's fine. He got out -- everybody's fine, everybody's fine.
MURRAY: Now, despite the setback with Mike Pence's campaign plane, both Donald Trump and his running mate still have a packed schedule set for Friday. Pence is expected to get a new plane and be back out there in Pennsylvania, as well as North Carolina. Donald Trump is headed to Iowa, New Hampshire, and Maine. Back to you guys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: Sara Murray, thanks so much.
Also overnight, Donald Trump provided a new, somewhat aggressive, take on the infamous "ACCESS HOLLYWOOD" tape where he bragged that he would grab women's genitals and get away with it because he is famous. He was asked about it by Bill O'Reilly at "FOX NEWS". He didn't really deny or deflect it, he just suggested that maybe he'll sue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: The microphone was not supposed to be on, not that I make that as an excuse for myself. But certainly, it was an illegal act that was NBC. It was not supposed to be on.
BILL O'REILLY, HOST, FOX "THE O'REILLY FACTOR": You think it was illegal what they did, putting that tape out?
TRUMP: Oh, absolutely. No, that was a private locker -- you know, that was a private dressing room. Yes, that was certainly --
O'REILLY: Are you going to take any legal action after election about NBC?
TRUMP: You'll see, you'll see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The Trump campaign is denying reports it is trying to suppress minority voter turnout. "Bloomberg Businessweek" is quoting an unnamed senior Trump campaign official who says, "We have three major voter suppression operations underway." But Trump spokesman Jason Miller tells CNN that the anonymous quote came from someone who "had no idea what they're talking about". Miller says to the contrary. Trump is running to be president of all Americans.
BERMAN: All right, this is something that first lady Michelle Obama addressed head-on in North Carolina. She campaigned with Hillary Clinton for the first time together. And the former first lady seemed ecstatic to have the current first lady's help.
[05:35:10] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Seriously, is there anyone more inspiring than Michelle Obama? Let's be real. As our first African-American first lady she's faced pressures I never did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: CNN's Jeff Zeleny was at this event. He has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, Hillary Clinton heading back to Iowa today, returning to the state that she first won in those Iowa caucuses so many months ago. Now, she is trailing Donald Trump ever so slightly, but through early voting there they are trying to get more Democrats out to campaign for her.
She also is receiving the seal of approval from Michelle Obama, appearing with her side-by-side for the first time during this campaign. Michelle Obama, one first lady to another first lady, told voters why they should pay attention and vote in this race.
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Here's where I want to get real. If Hillary doesn't win this election that will be on us. It will be because we did not stand with her. It will be because we did not vote for her and that is exactly what her opponent is hoping will happen. That's the strategy -- to make this election so dirty and ugly that we don't want any part of it.
ZELENY: Now, with 11 days to go in this election Hillary Clinton, after Iowa today, is going to return to Florida for another weekend campaign swing there. They are trying to make sure that all paths to 270 for Donald Trump are blocked. She clearly has the advantage now but they want to ward off complacency and ward off being too confident -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right, Jeff, thank you.
New campaign finance numbers are out and the two candidates are in a very different financial position heading into the final days of this race. Donald Trump trailed Hillary Clinton in cash-on-hand. He has nearly $16 million in the bank. She has four times that amount in cash. Look at total contributions for this entire election cycle. Clinton now topping $500 million, Trump $200 million. Trump gave just $30,000 to his campaign in October. Now, that's despite his claim to spend at least $40 million more before the election.
One number that, I don't know, may be more important to the campaigns today will come out later this morning and that's when the government releases data on third quarter GDP -- third quarter economic growth. The forecast -- look at that -- is now 2.5 percent. That would be an improvement from the second quarter.
And you have heard those 0.9, 0.8, 1.4. On the campaign trail that has been fodder for the Trump team. Slow but steady growth is frequently slammed by Donald Trump. He says he could do four percent, something that hasn't happened since Bill Clinton was the president.
BERMAN: All right, let's talk about the state of this race. Joining us right now, "CNN POLITICS" reporter Eugene Scott. Eugene, great to have you with us. We are, what, 11 days until the election?
ROMANS: Eleven days, but who's counting.
BERMAN: Eleven days.
EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Who's counting, who's counting?
BERMAN: Eleven days until the election but Donald Trump says why wait? Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We should just cancel the election and just give it to Trump, right? What are we even having it for? What are we having it for? Her policies are so bad.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: All right. Now, there are those who will say this is Donald Trump talking about rigged elections anymore, not believing in the democratic process or it's Donald Trump making a joke, as one occasionally does.
SCOTT: I'd certainly think it was a joke, but the reality is if the election were canceled the voters right now aren't interested in getting behind Donald Trump. It would be in his best interest to use these next few days to get out the policy ideas that all of his supporters and staff say that he has that are better than Hillary Clinton's, and convince voters who are on the bubble -- who I don't know who is at this point -- to get onboard the Trump train.
ROMANS: It's all just so -- I mean, the rigged vote claims and now where he's got the suppressed vote. I mean, that's -- let's listen to Michelle Obama yesterday in North Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: So when you hear folks talking about a global conspiracy and saying that this election is rigged, understand that they are trying to get you to stay home. They are trying to convince you that your vote doesn't matter. That the outcome has already been determined and you shouldn't even bother making your voice heard. They are trying to take away your hope.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: She actually said that, by the way, before Donald Trump says cancel the election.
ROMANS: Right, right.
BERMAN: It was almost as if they were planned but she said that before.
ROMANS: Jason Miller, yesterday, with the Trump campaign, said no, Donald Trump is running to be president for all Americans.
SCOTT: This is a very sensitive topic in North Carolina where the first lady was speaking, which has a history of suppressing votes for underserved communities, specifically black voters. And the Trump campaign has not been doing well with this community, making claims about ghettos and getting shot on the way to the store.
[05:40:00] And I think what Michelle Obama was trying to communicate to voters is that if you want a president who's going to look out for your interests beyond just your race, beyond the issues of your economics, Donald Trump isn't it.
BERMAN: It also has to do with this pretty fascinating story out from "Bloomberg Businessweek" --
SCOTT: Right.
BERMAN: -- where it talked to the analytics team with Donald Trump and the Trump people. And that article said we're trying to suppress three types --
SCOTT: Right.
BERMAN: -- of voters, all Hillary Clinton voters -- young people, African-Americans. Also, women, I believe --
SCOTT: Yes.
BERMAN: -- was the third group. They used the word suppress. Again, I'm not sure they fully understand how loaded that word is. But don't you want to bring your voters out and sort of keep the other person's voters away? Isn't that part of campaigning?
SCOTT: Certainly that is what happens traditionally. But what you also want to do is convince those people who aren't on board that you are the best candidate, and that hasn't been something that Hillary Clinton has said the Trump campaign has done a good job of doing.
ROMANS: Fascinating. All right, Eugene Scott, so much to talk about. Thank you for being here today --
SCOTT: Thank you all.
ROMANS: -- bright and early on a Friday morning. Thanks.
BERMAN: All right. The World Series game three set for Chicago tonight. The Cubs have won back the home field advantage but one player -- sort of the bright, shining story of this World Series -- he's probably only going to get to bat once. Andy Scholes explains why in the Bleacher Report, next.
[05:41:20] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:45:30] BERMAN: For the first time in 71 years the World Series returns to Wrigley Field tonight.
ROMANS: Andy Scholes has more in this morning's Bleacher Report. Hey, Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, guys. Yes, the World Series all tied up at a game apiece as the series shifts to Wrigley Field tonight. And for the majority of Cubs fans they've been waiting their whole lives for this moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE MADDON, CUBS MANAGER: I know that people that have been waiting for this for a long time are going to savor it. And it's -- hopefully, on our part, we could do something to really make it even better.
TERRY FRANCONA, INDIANS MANAGER: I think it will be tremendous atmosphere. I thought the one in Cleveland was, too. I think it's good for baseball. I don't think there's going to be a ton of people cheering for us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Now, the cheapest ticket to get in to tonight's game going for just under $2,000. And the Cubs -- they're going to be without super slugger Kyle Schwarber tonight. His knee's still not 100 percent so he can't play the outfield. He will just be pinch hitting, so probably just one at bat for him. First pitch tonight is at 8:00 Eastern.
Former Titans running back, Eddie George, wielding a giant sword before last night's Titans-Jaguars game. Now, theJaguars playing as well as their jerseys look in this one, and that's really bad. Marcus Mariota throwing two touchdowns. The Titans were up 27 to nothing at halftime to go on to win this one easily, 36-22.
All right, Dwayne Wade getting a hero's welcome last night as he played his first game for his hometown Chicago Bulls. Now, Wade -- he only made seven three-pointers all of last season. He made four in this game, the last one sealing the deal for the Bulls, and Chicago beats Boston 105-99. Wade says it's special to be playing back at home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DWAYNE WADE, CHICAGO BULLS: I've had an amazing career. You know, my 13 years at Miami was incredible. But, you know, 23 years ago I had a dream of playing basketball in the NBA and I had dreams of playing with this organization, and tonight it became reality.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: And guys, your kids in Chicago, right now -- you've got a lot of options for Halloween. You could be Dwayne Wade, Kyle Schwarber, or maybe like you, Christine, and go as Harry Caray.
ROMANS: Harry Caray.
BERMAN: She forgot the glasses, though.
ROMANS: No, no, no. I have them in my office.
BERMAN: No, she did. She forgot them.
ROMANS: I did not forget them.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: That's not the way the --
BERMAN: If you have the glasses, put the glasses on. Go ahead, put the glasses on.
ROMANS: Stop -- stop.
BERMAN: They're going to lose.
ROMANS: Oh -- Andy, thank you. SCHOLES: All right, I hope I didn't hurt you.
ROMANS: All right, the party may be over for Amazon shareholders. We'll tell you why the stock is set to tank today when we check a check on CNN Money Stream, next.
[05:48:05] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:52:15] BERMAN: President Obama heads to Florida today. He's pushing the early vote. He wants them to turn out for Hillary Clinton. He is also -- the president is -- expected to go after Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who is in a pretty tight race for re- election.
And Rubio is doing a very difficult dance with the Republican nominee, Donald Trump, who he supports but doesn't endorse, and doesn't like answering questions about the whole thing as CNN's Manu Raju found out when he pushed him overnight -- Manu.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Good morning, John and Christine. Now, Marco Rubio really in a bind over Donald Trump. Remember that vicious presidential primary where the two engaged in personal, nasty attacks for weeks on end. But now, Marco Rubio's for supporting Donald Trump for president. Why? Because Rubio is running for re-election in a tight race and he needs Donald Trump's legions of supporters here in the state. He also needs Donald Trump to do well in this state.
But he also does not want to recant his past criticism because a lot of voters simply are put off by Donald Trump. So he's walking this very fine line, which is very evident from my exchange with Marco Rubio yesterday.
How confident are you that Donald Trump will be a good commander in chief and keep this country safe? Do you think that --
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: Well, I have concerns about Hillary Clinton. She was the Secretary of State and the policies that she supported have led to chaos and disaster around the world. Quite frankly, I don't trust Hillary Clinton with intelligence information and a president certainly can handle a lot of intelligence information.
RAJU: So, will Donald Trump keep the country safe?
RUBIO: Again, the military is what keeps us safe and we have to rebuild our military. And she is a supporter of the defense cuts and the sequester that would be damaging to our country.
RAJU: Now, Democrats sensing they could have an opportunity here to beat Marco Rubio, actually injecting a last-minute infusion of cash to help Democrat Patrick Murphy. That's Marco Rubio's opponent. Murphy's been sailing for some time in this race but some polls have him down by as little as two points, so Democrats think maybe there's a chance to knock off a potential threat.
Another threat, possibly, against Hillary Clinton, come 2020, if they were to put in a lot of money here in the last minute. But guys, still very difficult to beat Marco Rubio. The state is so expensive and Democrats have a lot of other targets to take back the Senate majority -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: All right, Manu, thanks so much.
So there was a wow moment in the Senate debate last night in Illinois. Republican Sen. Mark Kirk seemed to mock or at least question the heritage of his Democratic challenger, Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth -- watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D), ILLINOIS SENATE CANDIDATE: My family has served this nation in uniform, going back to the Revolution. I'm a daughter of the American Revolution. I've bled for this nation. But I still want to be there in the Senate when the drums of war sound because people are quick to sound the drums of war.
And I want to be there to say this is what it costs, this is what you're asking us to do, and if that's the case, I'll go. Families like mine are the ones that bleed first. But let's make sure the American people understand what we are engaging in and let's hold our allies accountable because we can't do it all.
[05:55:10] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Kirk, 30 seconds to rebut.
REP. MARK KIRK (D), ILLINOIS: I had forgotten that your parents came all the way from Thailand to serve George Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: All right. So, Tammy Duckworth was born in Thailand. Her mother is of Chinese descent. Her father is a Marine veteran who does trace his heritage back to the Revolution. So when you're hearing Kirk's comment -- and we've heard it all morning -- it's hard to figure out what he was going at there, other than some kind of a racial reference. It's unclear here.
Now, Tammy Duckworth, herself, is an Army war veteran who lost her legs and partial use of her arm in Iraq and was awarded a Purple Heart.
Police in riot gear clashed with protesters over construction of the Dakota oil pipeline. At least 117 demonstrators calling themselves "water protectors" were arrested. This, after setting up an encampment of tents and teepees to block the pipeline's path. They claim the land being used for the pipeline rightfully belongs to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Two protesters were taken into custody and charged with firing shots near police officers. ROMANS: All right, let's get a check on CNN Money Stream this Friday morning. A string of weak corporate earnings here and abroad has investors in a funk this morning. Dow futures are down just slightly now. Losses in European stock markets, shares in Asia closing mostly lower -- closing mostly lower. Oil has turned lower.
The volatile 2016 presidential election -- it might be spooking mom and pop investors. An estimated $17 billion was yanked from mutual funds over the past week, nearly all of it from U.S. mutual funds. Now, it's the most investors have pulled out since August 2011. Remember that, John Berman? Global markets were in turmoil after the U.S. credit rating was downgraded for the first time ever.
Now, the broader market has already priced in a Clinton win. The stock market has priced in that Clinton wins. She's more of a known commodity than Trump, but the race has tightened. It's also possible that Democrats could flip the Senate. That may be contributing to investors' concerns.
Shares of Amazon set to tank more than five percent this morning. The company badly missed Wall Street's profit estimate. It spent millions on new fulfillment centers and digital upgrades ahead of the holiday shopping season. Now, the stock hit a record high earlier this month and, you know, some analysts then had targets of $1,000 a share. Today's move, though, could put it below $800.
Twitter -- it's killing off the six-second moviemaker called Vine. Twitter bought that Vine app four years ago in an early effort to bring video to the social network, but Twitter is in financial trouble. It has failed to capitalize on its hundreds of millions of dollars -- millions of users around the globe. It didn't find a buyer. It's under pressure now to cut costs to go it alone. Twitter is also laying off nine percent of its workforce.
Fans of Vine took to, where else, Twitter to voice their frustration. Vine's Twitter account posted this final video of floating candles with the caption "leave a light on".
BERMAN: Yes, it sort of withered on the vine, as it were.
ROMANS: As it were.
BERMAN: It was probably the most popular day for Vine in months. The problem was no one was using it. There you go.
ROMANS: OK, wait. Wait, wait, wait, go Cubs.
BERMAN: Yes.
ROMANS: I just want to make sure -- Andy Scholes --
BERMAN: There we go.
ROMANS: I'm on the record. I'm on the record with the Harry Caray glasses. Thanks, Andy. BERMAN: She does not jinx them. All right, the Trump-Pence campaign came just a few hundred feet from a catastrophe last night. "NEW DAY" picks it up right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He says stop, stop. We have an emergency in the airport.
TRUMP: The plane skidded off the runway.
LANDERS: It felt like the brakes were being slammed on.
TRUMP: I just spoke to Mike Pence and he's fine.
OBAMA: We want a president who takes this job seriously.
CLINTON: Is there anyone more inspiring than Michelle Obama?
TRUMP: The elites in government believe they're entitled to do whatever they want.
RAJU: Will Donald Trump keep the country safe?
RUBIO: The military is what keeps us safe.
TRUMP: We should just cancel the election and just give it to Trump, right?
CLINTON: No, we demand the right to vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: Good morning, welcome to your new day. It is Friday, October 28th, 6:00 in the East, and we do begin with breaking news.
The NTSB investigating a near-disaster here in New York. A charter plane carrying Donald Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, skidding off a runway during a rainstorm at LaGuardia Airport last night. The plane coming to a stop just yards from a busy highway. And this morning people are wondering if this safety measure in place that we'll tell you about didn't avert the disaster.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: OK. So, Republican V.P. nominee -- we need to tell you -- Mike Pence and 47 others on board were not hurt, we're happy to report. CNN's Deb Feyerick is live at LaGuardia Airport with all of the breaking details. What have you learned, Deb?
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we're learning, Alisyn, is that at about 4:00 a.m. this morning a tow truck came and they removed the airplane that was on this runway. They're trying to reopen that runway. You've got crews that are working there. We are just feet from the highway where that plane could have skidded had that blocker not been in position.
