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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Donald Trump's Plan of Action; Trump Cabinet Announcements Today?; Trump: We'll Immediately Withdraw from TPP; Deadly School Bus Crash in TN; Arrest in Fatal Shooting of San Antonio Cop. Aired 4:30- 5a ET
Aired November 22, 2016 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[04:30:59] BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump's day one plan taking action on trade, ethics and national security. But there's no mention of Obamacare.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: A disturbing display. Nazi salutes to celebrate Donald Trump's election. This morning, team Trump responds.
SANCHEZ: And new details on President-elect Trump's global business ties -- hundred of companies in dozens of countries.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Boris Sanchez.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans.
Nice to see you today, Boris. You are here all week, right?
SANCHEZ: Oh, yes.
ROMANS: All right. Good.
Thirty-one minutes past the hour.
A new closed door transition meeting on the agenda this morning at Trump Tower in New York before Donald Trump packs up and heads to his Mar-A-Lago estate in Florida for Thanksgiving. The transition team hinting there might be new cabinet announcements today. Monday passed without new announcements. Instead, the transition's public focus was on policy, posting a web video for an early look at plans for Trump's first 100 days in office.
Politics reporter Sara Murray has the latest from Trump Tower.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning, Boris and Christine.
The revolving door at Trump Tower continued to churn in potential candidates for a Donald Trump cabinet on Monday. Among the meetings was Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. I'm told the meeting went very well, and she's under serious consideration for a national security post.
Now, the other potential announcement we're looking out for is commerce secretary today. Multiple sources say that Donald Trump has all but settled on billionaire investor Wilbur Ross. But it's unclear if we will get that announcement.
Meanwhile, while Donald Trump is mostly avoiding the press, he is laying out his strategy at least when it comes to executive actions through a video he shared on social media.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT-ELECT: On regulation, I will formulate a rule which says that for every one new regulation, two old regulations must be eliminated. So important.
On national security, I will ask the Department of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to develop a comprehensive plan to protect America's vital infrastructure from cyber attacks and all other form of attacks.
On immigration, I will direct the Department of Labor to investigate all abuses of Visa programs that undercut the American worker.
On ethics reform, as part of our plan to drain the swamp, we will impose a five-year ban on executive officials from becoming lobbyists after they leave the administration, and a lifetime ban executive officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government. These are just a few of the steps we will take to reform Washington and rebuild our middle class.
MURRAY: Now, one thread the initiatives in the media had in common, they did not necessarily require Congress to participate. These are all executive actions that Donald Trump could do on day one. And that's the reason you're not seeing some of his bigger priorities, like repealing Obamacare or building a wall along the southern border.
Back to you, guys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: All right. Thanks, Sara.
One photo op between Trump and a possible cabinet pick has proved especially revealing. Look at this -- Trump posing Sunday with Kris Kobach. He is under consideration to head a Department of Homeland Security. But how do we know for sure? Because of the photos he is holding they say he is.
The papers are headlined "Kobach strategic plan" detail his proposals to bar the entry of potential terrorist. Among them are extreme vetting of high risk aliens, asking them about support for jihad and Sharia law, and ending all immigration of Syrian refugees.
ROMANS: Florida Governor Rick Scott will not be joining the Trump administration. After meeting on Monday with the president-elect, Scott told reporters he already has a great job and he wants to spend the next two years getting things done for his state. Scott called his meeting with Trump friendly and described the president-elect as energized and hardworking.
SANCHEZ: The Trump transition team is responding to a disturbing celebration of the president-elect's by some in the so-called alt- right. Members of the White Supremacist National Policy Institute gathered last weekend in Washington for a hate-filled tribute to Trump.
Now, listen to this. It's the leader of the group using Nazi-type language to rev up the crowd there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[04:35:02] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hail Trump. Hail our people. Hail victory.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Here's the Trump team's response to that unsettling video, quote, "President-elect Trump has continued to denounced racism of any kind and he was elected because he will be a leader for every American. To think otherwise is a complete misrepresentation of the movement that united Americans from all backgrounds."
ROMANS: All right. New details this morning on Donald Trump's huge web of international companies. A CNN analysis of these financial disclosures shows that Trump has 150 companies worldwide. Those have business deals in 25 countries. Overall, including his holdings in the United States, Trump has a position in or ownership of 564 companies. Among the countries he's involved with, the UAE, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan.
Some of these overseas involved licensing deals in which someone else owns the property and licensees the Trump brand. Trump downplaying the news on Twitter last night, quote, "Prior to the election, it was well known I have interest and properties all over the world. Only the crooked media makes this a big deal."
SANCHEZ: Other big news yesterday. Top executives and news anchors from the nation's five biggest television networks sat down with President-elect Trump on Monday. The meeting was off the record with both sides agreeing not to discuss details. But a source to the meeting tells CNN that real progress was made on the thorny issue of media access to Trump.
Later today, the president-elect is scheduled to meet with the publisher of "The New York Times" and several of its reporters.
ROMANS: Among the plans that Trump has offered up on that new web video, the one that he most frequently mentioned on the campaign trail, his promise to pull the U.S. out of the Trans Pacific Partnership. That is the 12-nation trade deal lowering trade barriers among Pacific Rim countries except for China. This was always designed to be a blunt to the growing power, trade power of China, counter to China. Trump, though, vowing to tear up that deal saying it will cost Americans their jobs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm going to issue a notification of intent to withdraw from the Trans Pacific Partnership, a potential disaster for our country. Instead, we will negotiate fair bilateral trade deals that bring jobs and industry back onto American shores.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Donald Trump's determination to abandon TPP has other nations that have signed to the pact worried to say the least.
Joining us now with the latest, CNN's Andrew Stevens live this morning in Hong Kong.
And, Andrew, you know, this TPP, they have been working on this for a very long time. It has gone through many iterations, and the idea here was this was a counter to growing influence of China in the region. This was a way to protect labor rights in some of these countries so that you don't have really cheap labor exploited to the detriment of American workers. There are a lot of technical protections in here. There's a lot in here. It looks like it is all but dead.
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. It does.
And don't forget, it is also getting rid of 18,000 tariffs. It opens up 11 markets for U.S. exports. It opens up further, I should say, because many of those markets are already open to U.S. exports. It allows American made goods to get deeper into those countries.
So, we can't say at this stage whether as Donald Trump says that this is going to be a disaster for American jobs if it went through because there will also be an opening up of the U.S. economy to these other 11 countries. But what we can say is that the TPP as it stood, Christine, was as you said, a lot of it was about protecting labor rights, a lot it was about environmental issues. It did have its critics. No doubt about it. It is a contentious policy and there has been a lot of people n Japan and in Australia and other countries who have expressed real concerns about it.
But where it leaves us now and this deal is effectively dead, is there is a vacuum as the premiere of New Zealand said in Asia Pacific in the trade economic policy. That vacuum is more than likely to be filled by China. China has said in response to the Trump information that it wants to see a multilateral as in many, many countries involved in one big overarching trade deal. It doesn't want to see a fragmentation. That's essentially what Donald Trump is talking about, doing separate deals with separate countries.
So, the Chinese said we want one big deal. How that one big deal looks with China in the driving seat, that's the big question.
ROMANS: It will be fascinating to see what the Trump cabinet starts to look like, who would handles trade negotiations, who will run treasury, because that will a new -- clearly, you know, the last half of the 20th century, the trade agenda of both major parties in the country has been turned upside down. So, we are rewriting the script here. It will be fascinating to see how that turns out.
Andrew Stevens, thank you so much.
[04:40:00] SANCHEZ: New developments overnight in a deadly school bus crash in Tennessee. An arrest in this case. We have details next on EARLY START.
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SANCHEZ: A Chattanooga bus driver arrested and charged overnight for a deadly school bus crash that killed at least six children. The bus was carrying 35 kids, all in kindergarten through fifth grade when it flipped over, slammed into this tree and tore in half Monday afternoon. Twenty three of the kids had to be transported to the hospital.
The tragic accident leaving the community stunned.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRK KELLY, INTERIM SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT: This has been a great tragedy for us. We suffered a great loss today. Everyone in the community, this is one of the worst days we had in Hamilton County.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Now, conditions were clear and dry at the time of the crash. The bus driver is identified as 24-year-old Johnthony Walker. He has been charged with five counts of vehicular homicide, reckless endangerment and reckless driving.
[04:45:04] Federal agents from the NTSB will be arriving on the scene later this morning to investigate.
SANCHEZ: A manhunt for the killer of a 20-year veteran of the San Antonio Police Department ended with a capture of the suspect Monday. The motive for the fatal shooting is still not known, but the city's police chief believes it was a targeted killing.
Let's get more this morning from CNN's Dan Simon. He is in San Antonio.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Boris and Christine, as you can imagine, there is unbearable sadness here in San Antonio. But there's also relief that the suspect has been captured. He has been identified as 31-year-old Otis Tyrone McCain. The police tell us they were able to quickly develop some leads and have the suspect under surveillance.
He was pulled over. This was a traffic stop inside the vehicle. You had the suspect along with an adult female as well as child just 2 years old. The suspect was taken into custody without incident.
CHIEF WILLIAM MCMANUS, SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT: This is the person whose image we saw on surveillance. This is also the person we believe is responsible for the cold and calculated murder of detective Marconi. There are many facets of the case which still need to be investigated. This investigation is by no means over.
SIMON: So, while this active manhunt is over, we still don't know the motive behind this. Why this suspect fired on this particular police officer. Was there some kind of personal grievance against this officer, or was there a grievance against the police department as a whole? That we don't know. But as the mayor of San Antonio said, at least the city can breathe a little easier that the suspect has been captured -- Boris and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: All right, Dan. Thanks for that.
Hundreds of workers at Chicago's O'Hare Airport set to strike a week from today, bypassing the busy Thanksgiving holiday week. Those strikes coincide with a nationwide day of protest in the Fight for 15 Movement to raise the minimum wage. Demonstrations are scheduled at nearly two dozen airports and at a McDonald's restaurants in more than 300 cities. Organizers expecting tens of thousands of people to participate.
ROMANS: All right. Stock prices rising to record highs. And I'm telling you, you got the Dow, the NASDAQ, S&P 500, and Russell 2000 all setting records for the first time since 1999 altogether.
And while your 401(k) is making money, you will save money at the dinner table on Thursday. Oh, yes, this is my annual check of how much it's going to cost to feed your crazy family. That's next.
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[04:51:31] ROMANS: All right. Since the election, Donald Trump has said nothing about the U.S. military posture toward its biggest rival in the Far East, China. That old mission was highlighted as the U.S. and Chinese militaries train in joint disaster relief exercises this last week. That cooperative venture, a contrast sharply with the tense standoff between the two countries in the South China Sea, and it raises the question, how will that relationship change under a Trump administration?
I want to bring in CNN's Matt Rivers in Beijing for more.
What we're showing there, we're showing pictures of these manmade islands in the South China Sea, as China is building these huge, essentially fixed aircraft carriers, if you will, fixed military installations. And it's raised concerns of the neighbors. It is an important and pressing issue to balance with China. We know that China often security, economic and human rights, all this stuff is one subject for China.
And how Donald Trump is going to be able to carefully handle all of that still remains to be seen, Matt.
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's absolutely right. I mean, the South China Sea is unquestionably one of the big hot zones. One of the tense zones in the world in terms of geopolitics, and yet, we haven't really heard much from Donald Trump. Both post election and while he was on the campaign trail.
Donald Trump certainly did not shy away from talking about China on the campaign trail, but it was really just negative rhetoric about the economy here and what the Chinese economy did to the U.S. economy. When it comes to the military, we didn't hear any specific policy proposals, which leads us to try to guess and read the tea leaves to see what the Trump administration would do.
And what you're hearing from experts really could go two ways. One, he disengages from China. He pulls back from the South China Sea and perhaps let's China continue with that artificial island building, because he is focused on other areas and turning more attention to Iran or to ISIS.
The flip side of that is that a lot of experts say, well, look at the people he is putting around him. Someone like General Flynn who his new national security advisor has said China is, quote, "certainly an enemy of the United States." And one of the top candidates for the defense secretary post, General James Mattis has said that the United States should pursue a strategy of counterbalancing what he called China's bullying in the South China Sea.
So, on the one hand, does the Trump administration? On the other hand, do these kind of more hawkish personalities that could have a major role in the Trump administration push Trump and his policies toward China towards a more strongly engaging one? It's a big question, Christine, right now that frankly we just don't have the answer to yet.
ROMANS: And we know that the Chinese authorities have an awful lot of ammunition. You know, if they don't like a direction or if they don't like something the United States does, they can threaten withhold Boeing contracts, for example, or they can threaten to sell U.S. treasuries. I mean, there are a lot of things they can threaten to do that can cow American authorities. We know that is something officials have worried about for many, many years.
All right. Thank you so much for that, Matt Rivers. Nice to see you.
SANCHEZ: At least three people were injured after a 6.9 magnitude earthquake off the coast of northeastern Japan. It triggered a three- foot tsunami at the Fukushima plant, the site of the one of the world's worst nuclear disasters. But it caused no additional damage. The biggest wave was 4.5 feet and hit Sendai to the north. The tremors felt as far as Tokyo. And you're seeing this video of the lights as they start moving in a
book store, we see the swaying.
[04:55:03] Tsunami warnings have been lifted, but residents are expected to continue to feel aftershocks.
President Obama's final Medal of Freedom ceremony today is heavy on star power. It's the nation's highest civilian honor, recognizing significant contributions to the national interests of the U.S. or world peace. Among the 21 recipients, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jordan, Bill and Melinda Gates, and Tom Hanks. Also being honored, actors Robert De Niro and Robert Redford, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, legendary baseball broadcaster Vin Scully, and NBA great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
ROMANS: All right. Let's get a check on CNN money stream.
Records all around the stock market. The Dow, the NASDAQ, the S&P 500, and Russell 2,000 have never been higher, that small cap gauge, the Russell 2000, the first time all four averages have hit record highs on the same day since 1999. That means companies of all sizes are getting a boost from this Trump rally. Against every virtually all forecast that stocks would fall if Donald Trump would be elected president, the opposite. Almost two straight weeks of gains.
The best guess is that the president will slash regulations and boost spending on infrastructure, cut taxes and eventually, you're going to see higher interest rates. That's making the U.S. stock market the most attractive bet right now.
As for today, futures pointing solid higher again. You could see records at the open. You could see 19,000 in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. We've seen never that before. Stock markets in Europe and Asia also higher.
All right. My daily Venti black iced tea just got getting pricey. Starbucks is hiking prices for the second time this year. The company says the cost of cold drinks and baked goods is going up 10 cents to 30 cents per item. No explanation why. Starbucks is raising prices. Hot coffee and hot tea prices will not change. Maybe I'll switch.
In July, Starbucks raised prices on espresso and latte beverages.
So, as long as you are not serving Starbucks, you will get a break at the thanksgiving table. The average cost of the Thanksgiving dinner for ten people is below $50 this year. That's 24 cents less than last year.
Adjusted for inflation, it's the cheapest Thanksgiving dinner since 2010. Turkey prices are dropping after highs the past few years. Pumpkin pie mix is cheaper as well. Global milk production is also up. So, lots of products related are cheaper.
Miscellaneous items used for preparing the meal like better, evaporated milk, eggs and flour will cost significantly les this year. No word on the will alter this number. Check out the new CNN money stream app. It's a business news
personalized. All the latest from CNN Money and other leading sources. Download it now in the App Store and Google Play.
What's your pie of choice on Thanksgiving?
SANCHEZ: Pumpkin pie is all right. I prefer a good cheesecake.
ROMANS: Ooh. All right.
SANCHEZ: I know it's not traditional Thanksgiving. But it's still --
ROMANS: Apple pie for me.
SANCHEZ: EARLY START continues right now.
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SANCHEZ: The next president's plan of action. Donald Trump tells America what he'll do on day one in office.
ROMANS: A disturbing display. Nazi salutes to celebrate Trump's election. This morning, team Trump responds.
SANCHEZ: And top contenders for the treasury secretary. One from Hollywood, the other from Wall Street.
Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Boris Sanchez.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is Tuesday, November 22nd, it is Thanksgiving week. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East.
Nice to see you this week.
New closed door transition meetings on the agenda this morning at Trump Tower in New York, before Trump packs up and heads to his Mar-A- Lago estate in Florida for Thanksgiving. The transition team hinting there may be new cabinet announcements today. Monday passed without any new announcements. Instead the transition's public focus on policy.
Here it is. The web video with an early look at plans for Trump's first 100 days in office.
Politics reporter Sara Murray has the latest from Trump Tower.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning, Boris and Christine.
The revolving door at Trump Tower continued to churn in potential candidates for a Donald Trump cabinet on Monday. Among the meetings was Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. I'm told the meeting went very well, and she's under serious consideration for a national security post. Now, the other potential announcement we're looking out for is
commerce secretary today. Multiple sources say that Donald Trump has all but settled on billionaire investor Wilbur Ross. But it's unclear if we will get that announcement.
Meanwhile, while Donald Trump is mostly avoiding the press, he is laying out his strategy at least when it comes to executive actions through a video he shared on social media.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT-ELECT: On regulation, I will formulate a rule which says that for every one new regulation, two old regulations must be eliminated. So important.
On national security, I will ask the Department of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to develop a comprehensive plan to protect America's vital infrastructure from cyber attacks and all other form of attacks.
On immigration, I will direct the Department of Labor to investigate all abuses of Visa programs that undercut the American worker.
