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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Trump Targets Caravan To Energize Base; President Trump Says Saudis Khashoggi Story "Worst Cover-Up In History"; $1.6 Billion Mega Millions Ticket Sold In South Carolina; Georgia Governor Contenders Square Off In Debate. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired October 24, 2018 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:30:00] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER NAVARRO, WHITE HOUSE TRADE ADVISER: The ball's in China's court.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The president's trade adviser defending a trade war with China, but the president now says he only views tariffs as a negotiating tactic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It was a total fiasco from day one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: The president's anger growing with the Saudis, calling their story about Jamal Khashoggi one of the worst cover-ups in history.
ROMANS: And one person in South Carolina is waking up $1.6 billion richer today. The rest of you, have a nice day at work.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. We are here.
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: Your numbers, 5-28-62-65-70 and the Mega Ball is 5. But there's another drawing tonight. You can still get awfully rich.
We start with the midterms. Thirteen days away, the president fully committed to vilifying this migrant caravan in Central America to energize his voters. The caravan that's at least 30, if not 60 to 90 days away from the border, by the way.
One problem the president is having, he can't back up many of his claims with facts.
The caravan, as I said, still weeks and weeks away and shrinking notably in the last 24 hours, and has decreased, yes, from 7,000 to 4,500 according to the Mexican government.
After days of asserting unknown Middle Easterners are embedded with this caravan, the president was asked for some proof.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: A very good relationship with border patrol and ICE and they say it happens all the time from the Middle East. But it's not even saying bad or good, but some real bad ones.
ACOSTA: But no proof -- no proof that they're in the caravan now?
TRUMP: Well, they could very well be.
ACOSTA: But there's no proof?
TRUMP: There's no proof of anything. There's no proof of anything but they could very well be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Ten minutes later, the Homeland Security Department spokesman tweeted, "DHS can confirm there are gang members and criminals in that caravan and people from the Middle East traveling through Mexico." But, DHS is not confirming any of them are terrorists or any proof for its claim, saying it is a law enforcement-sensitive.
The president, with senior commanders in the room, said he's considering military options for the border.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm thinking about a lot of things. I'm thinking about -- I'm thinking about everything, including the military, not just the National Guard. The military is what I'm thinking about.
We can't have people coming into our country illegally.
REPORTER: What legally could the military do at the border?
TRUMP: They can do a lot -- they're the military, right, fellas? They're the military. They can do a lot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The president also doubled down on calling himself a, quote, "nationalist" while firmly denying there are any racist overtones to the term.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: There is a concern that you are sending coded language or a dog whistle to some Americans out there that what you really mean is that you are a white nationalist.
TRUMP: I've never even heard that. I cannot imagine that. You mean --
ACOSTA: You've never heard that term?
TRUMP: I'm a nationalist. No, I've never heard that theory about being a nationalist.
We protect and we get killed. We do the trading and they get killed. Can't do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The president's potential 2020 opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, honing in on this message.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEPH BIDEN, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This president is more like George Wallace than George Washington.
(LAUGHTER)
No -- and Democrats have to choose hope over fear, unity over division. We have to choose our allies over our enemies. We have to choose truth over lies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: That's Biden in Florida, Tuesday.
President Trump back on the road tonight campaigning for Republicans in Wisconsin. Scott Walker in a very tight race, trailing as he seeks reelection for governor.
ROMANS: All right, turning now to "CNN POLITICS" digital director Zach Wolf, live in Washington. Good morning.
BRIGGS: Good morning.
ROMANS: Everyone was talking about blue wave, blue wave, and it's almost as if there are many Democrats who are worried about getting ahead of themselves on that because the news cycle is so long and the president is so good at using events to energize his base -- the caravan, in particular, right?
The caravan, in particular, is something that those images -- even as we talk about and disprove some of the claims the president's making, just showing the images is something that just plays into his storyline. He is basically directing that story.
Rahm Emanuel -- the former chief of staff to the president, the mayor of Chicago -- he was on with a really revealing interview with Wolf about how the president is energizing his base.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAHM EMANUEL, MAYOR, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF FOR PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: I happen to think this is a blue wave election with a red undertow to it.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": What does that mean?
EMANUEL: Well, there -- he has done something and it has to be recognized. You have an energized, motivated Democratic bloc. Midterm elections is usually the other side of that. It's a depressed base.
He's energized his base and he's trying to do that with every trick or trade that he has. And even, as he just acknowledged, not being honest about things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: I think that's a pretty great analysis of the president has managed -- I mean, from the Brett bounce to now, the caravan. I mean, he's managed to really seize on the news cycle and get his voters excited.
[05:35:06] ZACHARY WOLF, DIGITAL DIRECTOR, CNN POLITICS: Sure, absolutely. And, you know, a blue wave with a red undertow, it's got a nice sound to it. But I think at the end of the day if the red undertow comes back and steals some of the -- some of the blue wave back, it's not going to be a blue wave anymore.
You kind of -- you know, the proof of a blue wave is in how many seats Democrats gain. And if Republicans can sort --
BRIGGS: Yes.
WOLF: -- of get motivated here at the end, it's less of red undertow than a -- you know, just a problem for Democrats because it's hard to imagine them being more motivated than they are right now against President Trump.
BRIGGS: Well, speaking of how many seats, Rahm's well aware of President Obama in his first 2010 loss -- lost 63 seats. The average president loses 30 seats in that first midterm.
And here's the new poll from "The Washington Post."
According to the battleground districts, do you prefer a Democratic candidate? Fifty percent say yes, but 47 percent say they want a Republican candidate. So it does appear that wave is certainly losing some momentum, if you will.
What do you see coming in just short of two weeks' time as far as the House goes?
WOLF: Well, there's a huge asterisk with that battleground -- that battleground poll there.
I think almost all of the districts that that poll was conducted in were Republican districts -- places that are currently Republican seats. So it's not a huge edge for Democrats in a bunch of Republican districts. So I'm not sure that's maybe the good news that a lot of Republicans would like to see out there.
This thing, it's on its way into the station. I don't see too much changing the trajectories at this point.
But you still have to give Democrats an edge simply because all of the districts that are considered toss-ups, most of them are Republican- held. Many of the districts that are considered lean-Democratic, according to CNN's key race ratings -- more than half of those are Democratic-held, too.
ROMANS: It's so interesting, the -- going -- keep going to the culture war -- going to the culture issues for this president --
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: -- when I would have thought he would just really hammer on the economy, right? He talked about 10 percent mystery tax cut but the economy has been -- has been very, very good.
Instead, he's sort of got the culture message and the economy message.
I was talking to Peter Navarro, one of his trade advisers, yesterday, and he told me that -- well, we don't get what Republican establishment, media -- what we don't get is that the president, every day, thinks I have to energize the people who take a shower after they go to work, not the people who take a shower before they go to work.
They're not talking to us. He's not talking to us. He's talking to this -- what he feels is a maligned voter that he has given voice to.
WOLF: That's right. And, you know, I think it's also important to look at the maligned voter as somebody who might be motivated more by fear. Somebody who fears that their job is going away. They've been afraid of that for years on end.
And fear is exactly what the president sells when he talks about the migrant caravan, when he suggests that people are coming in to take your jobs. It's all about fear and what they're -- other people -- the other people are going to take away from you. That worked for him before so it's what he's going to go back to now.
BRIGGS: Fear is a powerful motivator even though, in the president's own words, there is no proof. There is no proof of anything.
Zach Wolf, thanks for being here, appreciate it.
ROMANS: Thanks, Zach.
WOLF: Thanks.
ROMANS: Nice to see you.
All right.
Tariffs are the president's preferred tool in his trade policy. The president downplaying the size of his tariffs. You know, he told "The Wall Street Journal" his tariffs on steel and aluminum are small and they're a negotiating tactic.
But his tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods have angered the Chinese. And the president's top trade adviser, Peter Navarro, explains why the president is holding so tough on China.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NAVARRO: I mean, at the end of the day, China's a non-market economy run by an authoritarian regime. It engages in predatory economics and economic aggression, not just against us but against the rest of the world.
If we lose our industries in the future, we lose our future. So that's the path we're on right now.
ROMANS: So, to the question of how long will this take with China?
NAVARRO: The ball's in China's court.
China has experienced rapid growth for the better part of three decades, using a non-market economy model based on economic predation.
A lot of their profitability at the end of the day comes from the fact that they don't have to pay anywhere near as much research and development expenditures. Why? Because they steal it all from us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right. I asked Peter about negotiations over intellectual property. This is something -- a big ask from this administration -- stop stealing American intellectual property.
He said China isn't budging and that the toughest part is even getting the Chinese negotiators to admit they steal technology from the United States.
[05:40:00] The president meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping next month in Buenos Aires at the G20.
BRIGGS: President Trump, this morning, set to meet with U.S. officials returning from Turkey and Saudi Arabia. They were there looking into the death of "Washington Post" columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
"The Wall Street Journal" asked the president about the possible involvement of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and Trump said, quote, "Well, the prince is running things over there...so if anybody were going to be, it would be him."
The president delivering his harshest indictment so far of the Saudis and Khashoggi's murder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They did the wrong thing in even thinking about the idea. They certainly did a bad job -- both execution -- and they certainly did a bad job of talking about it or covering it up if you'd like to say that. But I would say it was a total fiasco from day one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the U.S. will revoke the visas of all the Saudis linked to the murder.
So far, it seems the fiasco, as the president calls it, has done little to harm the crown prince's image back home. Crowds rushed to take selfies with MBS as he walked into the Saudi investment conference in Riyadh.
One other photo of note, this -- the crown prince with Khashoggi's son.
The prince will make his first public speech since the Khashoggi crisis at the summit today.
BRIGGS: Imagine how painful that is to be forced to take that photo.
Somebody in South Carolina waking up very rich this morning. Just one Mega Millions jackpot ticket worth an estimated $1.6 billion was sold in the Palmetto State. That person could walk away with a lump sum payment of more than $900 million before taxes.
And in case you missed it, here are the winning numbers -- 5, 28, 62, 65, 70, and the Mega Ball, 5.
But don't worry, your dreams of becoming a zillionaire, if you will, are not over. Tonight's Powerball drawing worth a whopping $620 million. I think $354 million is the lump sum payout there.
ROMANS: It's just unimaginable. You know, I would -- I would just buy treasuries and live off the interest.
BRIGGS: That's so exciting.
ROMANS: I know, isn't it? I'd buy a cat (ph).
BRIGGS: You are really thrilling.
ROMANS: Sorry.
Uber Eats plans to cover more than 70 percent of the U.S. by the end of the year and it may -- it may even take to the skies.
More on "CNN Business," next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:46:29] BRIGGS: Candidates for the next governor of Georgia covered a wide range of topics during their hour-long debate last night, sparring over criminal justice reform, education, Medicaid, and voter suppression.
Democrat Stacey Abrams, Republican Brian Kemp, and Libertarian Ted Metz squaring off. Abrams defending a 1992 Georgia flag-burning protest when it still had the Confederate symbol.
CNN's Kaylee Hartung in Atlanta with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYLEIGH HARTUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dave, Christine, for the first time in this hotly-contested race, Georgia's candidates for governor faced off in a debate.
And right out of the gate, Democrat Stacey Abrams was asked about the news of the day -- her admission that in 1992 she participated in a protest where the old Georgia state flag was burned.
STACEY ABRAMS (D), CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR OF GEORGIA: And 26 years ago, as a college freshman, I, along with many other Georgians, including the governor of Georgia, were deeply disturbed by the racial divisiveness that was embedded in the state flag with that Confederate symbol.
I took an action of peaceful protest. I said that that was wrong. And 10 years later, my opponent, Brian Kemp, actually voted to remove that symbol.
HARTUNG: The most controversial topic for Republican Brian Kemp to address, the allegations of voter suppression by Stacey Abrams in his capacity as Secretary of State.
BRIAN KEMP (D), GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE, CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR OF GEORGIA: We have more voters on the roll than when I took office. I created the process for overseas and military ballots to be delivered electronically. We have made it easier to vote and hard to cheat.
And just because Ms. Abrams files a false lawsuit -- or the New Georgia Project -- it doesn't mean it's right, and we defeated that in 2014.
HARTUNG: Both campaigns entered this debate with similar strategies, to continue down their polar opposite paths. Both did that, continuing to energize their bases in a state where very few undecided voters remain -- Dave, Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right, Kaylee. Thank you for that.
Let's get a check on "CNN Business" this morning.
Relief for global stock markets overnight after a scary performance yesterday. But, sorry to say U.S. futures are looking lower right now. Look, Wall Street is battling worries about trade wars and rising costs.
Big companies like Caterpillar blame rising material costs on steel tariffs. That stock fell more than 70 -- or seven -- seven percent yesterday. Look at that. You know, it's part of the Dow. It's one of the Dow 30.
The Dow tumbling as much as 500 points, but then it sort of recovered from the lows and closed down 126, so a really wild day.
The Nasdaq fell. The S&P 500 also fell and that was five days in a row down for the S&P. October has been rotten for stocks, the worst for the Dow since August 2015.
Investors adjusting to those higher costs and to higher interest rates. Higher rates is something the Fed (sic) sees as the biggest risk to the economy.
In a "The Wall Street Journal" interview he again attacked Fed chair Jerome Powell for raising interest rates, he thinks, too quickly, saying he almost looks like he's happy raising interest rates. And that it's too early to tell but maybe the president regrets nominating Powell.
Higher rates eat into corporate profits, spooking investors. The Fed has raised interest rates three times this year to keep the red-hot economy from overheating. That's its job.
Uber just keeps growing and now it's coming for delivery. Uber Eats plans to cover more than 70 percent of the U.S. by the end of the year. It already covers more than half of the population.
Uber plans to expand to less-densely populated areas like the suburbs. It might also take to the skies.
"The Wall Street Journal" reports Uber Eats plans to launch food delivery drones by 2021.
BRIGGS: It's just adding intrigue to that potential IPO --
ROMANS: Oh, yes.
BRIGGS: -- next year.
All right.
[05:50:00] Imagine getting on an escalator when suddenly this happens. That's not fast-forwarded video. A malfunction sending dozens of people tumbling and searching for a way out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: An apology from Megyn Kelly for defending blackface Halloween costumes. During a segment on her NBC show, Kelly defended a white reality star who portrayed Diana Ross last year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEGYN KELLY, NBC HOST, "MEGYN KELLY TODAY": What is racist because you do get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface for Halloween or a black person who puts on whiteface for Halloween? Like, when I was a kid that was OK as long as you were dressing up as a character.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: "When I was a kid that was OK." That was something that really got a lot of attention.
[05:55:02] After an immediate backlash, Kelly sent a note to NBC colleagues saying, "One of the wonderful things about my job is that I get a chance to express and hear a lot of opinions. Today is one of those days where listening carefully to other points of view, including from friends and colleagues, is leading me to rethink my own views."
You might recall in 2013, while still an anchor at Fox, Kelly infamously declared Jesus and Santa where white men and called her comment a, quote, "verifiable fact."
BRIGGS: And by the way, she grew up in mid to early seventies.
Sandra Day O'Connor says she has been diagnosed with dementia. The retired Supreme Court justice revealed her condition in a letter. She's in the beginning stages of dementia, probably Alzheimer's disease.
She says, "While the final chapter of my life with dementia may be trying, nothing has diminished my gratitude and deep appreciation for the countless blessings of my life."
The 88-year-old O'Connor retired from the bench in 2006, in part to care for her husband who was suffering from Alzheimer's.
ROMANS: An attorney from New York is the victim of an apparent murder at Club Med in Turks and Caicos. Maria Kuhnla was a 62-year-old attorney from Long Island.
According to CNN affiliate WABC, she was on a girl's trip with friends earlier this month when she vanished. Her body was discovered by one of her friends the next morning in bushes at the edge of the resort.
Maria's friends say authorities told them she was strangled.
BRIGGS: A devastating fire destroying the First Baptist Church of Wakefield in Massachusetts last night. A witness reports seeing lighting strike the 180-foot steeple before the building went up in flames.
According to its Web site, the church is 150 years old.
There were no injuries reported.
ROMANS: In Austin, Texas, officials are expecting water restrictions and boil water advisories to last days, not weeks. The city closely watching the water levels and the rain expected today.
Restrictions and advisories follow historic flooding that produced higher levels of debris, silt, and mud in the city's water supply. You can see these pictures where Barton Creek meets Lady Bird Lake -- just the silt and debris there.
BRIGGS: An escalator malfunction at a metro station in Rome injures at least 20 people, one of them seriously. A video shows people screaming as dozens were thrown down at Repubblica metro station.
Most of the injured were Russian soccer fans on their way to attend a Champions League match. Rome's mayor said it appears some of them were dancing and jumping on the escalator.
ROMANS: Hmm.
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: Now something from a T.V. sitcom -- a group of apparently dim would-be robbers in Belgium took a storeowner's word when he told them come back later -- I don't have enough cash in my register. The owner immediately called the police.
When the group returned early, the owner told them come back again. When they actually did, a third time, officers were waiting.
Five suspects were quickly arrested.
BRIGGS: That dream pitching match-up -- Sale-Kershaw -- never materialized in game one of the World Series.
The Boston Red Sox got the win over the Dodgers 8-4 on the strength of that 3-run homer by Eduardo Nunez. It broke the game open in the bottom of the seventh.
The two teams back at it in game two of the Fall Classic tonight at Fenway Park. Temps will feel like the mid-30s.
ROMANS: Ooh, OK.
While you were sleeping, the late-night hosts were having some fun here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, CBS HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": The midterm elections are just two weeks away, so if you're going to quit America you have to put in your notice now.
TRUMP: Does everybody know what this means?
COLBERT: No, I don't know what this means. Are you -- are you feeding chickens? Are you -- are you dealing blackjack? Oh, I know, you're spreading bull****.
JAMES CORDEN, CBS HOST, "THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN": Trump's team said the president is scheduled to hold 10 more rallies before the election. So don't worry -- if he hasn't insulted your minority group yet, he will get to you. Just sit tight, OK? (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Yes, we -- the media's had our fair share of these insults --
BRIGGS: Yes --
ROMANS: -- from the president.
BRIGGS: -- and they will not stop anytime soon.
ROMANS: No, they won't.
Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. "NEW DAY" starts right now. We'll see you tomorrow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: There's no proof of anything. There's no proof of anything, but they could very well be.
SEN. MAZIE HIRONO (D), HAWAII: It's just yet another example of how he stokes fear and loathing into the electorate.
MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The caravan will not cross our southern border illegally under any circumstances.
TRUMP: We're putting in a tax reduction of 10 percent. It will be great for the middle-class.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As far we can tell, Trump may have just made this up on the fly.
LARRY KUDLOW, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: We're working through the Ways and Means and it may not surface for a while.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It's Wednesday, October 24th, 6:00 here in New York.
And can I say you look like 1.6 billion bucks today.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: I haven't checked my ticket. I might have won.
BERMAN: Can I assume you won --
CAMEROTA: I haven't checked my ticket yet. It's possible. Maybe I did win.
BERMAN: Have you -- have you been in South Carolina in the last -- CAMEROTA: No.
BERMAN: -- week?
CAMEROTA: Are they sure there's only one ticket from South Carolina?
BERMAN: It's --
CAMEROTA: You know, last time we played, which was last week, we won 22 bucks, OK?
BERMAN: Which is a lot --
