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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
U.S. Deploying Carrier And Bombers In Warning To Iran; Cease- fire May Be Taking Hold In Gaza; Kentucky Derby Winner Disqualified. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired May 06, 2019 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:31:25] DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Tensions escalating in three global hotspots. The U.S. deploying a strike group to counter Iran, a tenuous cease-fire between Israel and Gaza, and global markets plummet after the president threatens to expand his trade war with China.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The president reverses course and says he doesn't want Robert Mueller to testify, but why try to keep the special counsel quiet?
BRIGGS: Forty-one people, including an American, perish when a Russian jet crashes during an emergency landing.
ROMANS: And after a historic disqualification, the owner of Maximum Security could take the Kentucky Derby results to court. Those exciting two minutes in a really nail-biter of 15 minutes after.
BRIGGS: Yes, it was.
ROMANS: Welcome back to EARLY START, everybody. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. Happy Monday. We thought we'd have quiet Monday to take you around and show you our new EARLY START --
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: -- studios in Hudson Yards.
ROMANS: Too busy.
BRIGGS: That is not the case.
Hotspots around the globe breaking overnight.
The U.S. is deploying a carrier strike group and a bomber task force to deter what the White House is calling troubling actions by Iran. Officials not detailing the nature of the threats but telling CNN they were against both U.S. sea and land-based forces in the Middle East.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen joining us with more from Finland where the Secretary of State has just landed. Fred, good morning. FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Dave.
And one of the things the U.S. has been talking about was threats to U.S. assets, of course, in the greater Middle Eastern area, which includes places like the Gulf. It also includes, of course, bases potentially in Afghanistan as well.
And then, of course, one of the things that officials have been talking about is the Persian Gulf and specifically, the Strait of Hormuz, that very narrow waterway.
And I can tell you Dave I actually went through the Strait of Hormuz on the Abraham Lincoln a couple of years ago -- the last time it was deployed to the Persian Gulf -- and those Iranian planes and Iranian ships, they do come very, very close to U.S. assets in that area.
John Bolton, the national security adviser, he's been talking about this. He said, quote, "America is sending a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime" as he calls it "that any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force."
So, also able to speak to Iranian senior commanders over the past couple of months and they did say that if there was an escalation with the United States, for instance, they could use their missiles to hit American targets in the Middle East, specifically in the Strait of Hormuz.
It's quite interesting because Iran's foreign minister, he came out not too long ago and sort of tried to play on divisions within the Trump administration, saying he believes that President Trump does not want war with Iran but he does believe, for instance, that Mike Pompeo might be more so inclined.
Pompeo is obviously here to speak to Sergey Lavrov. America and Russian very much not on the same page on most things considering world affairs. One of the main topics, aside from Iran, will also be the crisis in Venezuela, Dave.
BRIGGS: Indeed. Hopefully, we do hear from Pompeo today.
Fred Pleitgen live for us in Finland this morning. Thank you, sir.
ROMANS: All right, trade trouble this morning.
The president threatening to jack up tariffs on Chinese goods and add new tariffs. Trump threatening to increase tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods to 25 percent from 10 percent this Friday, and he warned he could tax nearly all of the roughly $500 billion of Chinese exports to the U.S.
It's a departure from recent upbeat messaging on those trade talks. This is the president just Friday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The deal, itself, is going along pretty well. I would even say very well. We'll see what happens over the next couple of weeks.
But we're getting close to a very historic, monumental deal and if doesn't happen, we'll be fine, too -- maybe even better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[05:35:06] ROMANS: Support for the president's sharp tone from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who said this. "Strength is the only way to win with China."
The threat caught trade watchers by surprise. Chinese negotiators are scheduled to arrive in D.C. on Wednesday. "The Wall Street Journal" reporting China now considering pulling out of those talks.
And as you'd expect, global markets are tumbling. They're forecasting a breakdown of this discussion here. Tokyo and London are closed for holidays, but you can see everything else is down at least two percent.
Wall Street futures are down hard as well, suggesting almost a two percent decline when the opening bell rings at 8:30 -- or 9:30 this morning Eastern time.
Trump's threat came via tweet, in which he said China is paying that tariff bill and that's been good for the U.S. economy. Now, fact- check here. The bill is paid by U.S. importers and ultimately, consumers.
This threat once again getting in the way of a great economic message for Trump, all but bearing the good news from Friday's very strong jobs report.
And this morning -- brand new -- china's Foreign Ministry is responding, saying that the U.S. should work with China for an agreement based on mutual respect, and also adding that the U.S. has threatened tariffs numerous times in the past during these 10 rounds of trade talks.
A spokesperson declined to comment if the Chinese delegation still plans to go to Washington this week.
BRIGGS: OK. At this hour, the cease-fire appears to be talking hold between Israel and militants in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been threatening massive attacks against terrorist elements in the region after an estimated 600 rockets were fired toward Israel.
CNN's Oren Liebermann has the latest, live for us from the Israel-Gaza border. Oren, good morning.
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Dave.
For the first time in what seems like a long time, the skies above Gaza are quiet. We've stood in this spot for most of the last 48 hours and if you stood here for a just a few minutes you would see either rocket fire coming from Gaza or an Israeli airstrike or tank fire or artillery fire.
Not anymore. Islamic Jihad inside of Gaza announcing that a cease- fire went into effect at 4:30 in the morning and true to their word, it has been quiet since then.
Israel normally never confirms or acknowledges a cease-fire but in this case, the Israeli military announced at 7:00 in the morning that all of the civilian restrictions on communities around Gaza had been lifted in the clearest indication that Israel expects this round of fighting to be over.
The latest numbers -- Israel says more than -- or nearly 700 rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel. Four people in Israel killed by those rockets.
Israel carrying out strikes against 350 targets inside of Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health. Twenty-three people inside Gaza have been killed.
Important to note that that round of fighting shattered what had been essentially a month of relative calm along the Gaza border, stretching back into even before the Israeli election as Israel and Gaza tried to get to some longer-term cease-fire or arrangement.
The mediators here, Egypt and the U.N., trying to get back to that cease-fire and back to that agreement, Dave. It is worth noting no surprise the U.S. sided with Israel in this case. The U.N. and the E.U. --
BRIGGS: Yes.
LIEBERMANN: -- also condemning that rocket fire from Gaza.
BRIGGS: All right. Oren Liebermann along the suddenly quiet Israel- Gaza border. Thank you.
ROMANS: All right.
Forty-one people, including one American, killed in a fire aboard a Russian passenger plane. We warn you some of the video you're about to see is disturbing. This jet made an emergency crash landing and caught fire Sunday at a Moscow airport.
The Aeroflot superjet 100 was flying from Moscow to Murmansk. According to the Interfax news agency, it was hit by lightning, lost communication, then circled back to the airport where it made a hard landing and caught fire.
Thirty-seven people survived that crash.
BRIGGS: All right, to politics now and President Trump reversing course and now says Robert Mueller should not testify before Congress. In a pair of tweets, Trump suggests Democrats are looking for a redo
because Mueller couldn't prove collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
The president was asked Friday about the possibility of Mueller testifying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Mr. President, should Mueller testify? Would you like to see him testify?
TRUMP: I don't know. That's up to our attorney general who, I think, has done a fantastic job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: So the president says it's up to his A.G., but Bill Barr didn't seem to mind when he testified last week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about Bob Mueller? Should he be allowed to testify before the Senate?
WILLIAM BARR, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I've already said publicly I have no objection.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: So what changed and why doesn't the president want to hear from Mueller? Who knows?
But Trump's reversal came after House Judiciary member David Cicilline said the committee has reached a tentative date of May 15th for Mueller to testify. Mueller has yet to confirm that date.
All right, joining us this morning, Princeton University historian and professor Julian Zelizer, a CNN political analyst. Good morning --
JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, HISTORIAN AND PROFESSOR, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, CO-AUTHOR, "FAULT LINES: A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES SINCE 1974": Good morning.
ROMANS: -- from Hudson Yards.
ZELIZER: Yes, nice to be here.
ROMANS: All right. So, on the Mueller testimony -- I mean, I guess it's not a shock that the president has reversed his position publicly, but what is he concerned about? Is it the sound bite? Is Mueller, in his own words -- you know, the president is a sound bite guy -- a chyron guy -- Mueller says this.
[05:40:09] I mean, could that be what the concern is?
ZELIZER: Absolutely.
Look, most people have not read the Mueller report. The administration has very aggressively tried to shape how people understand the conclusion. So he is aware, President Trump, that it will be different to see Robert Mueller explain his findings.
ROMANS: Yes.
ZELIZER: And if it's in a negative light, he's a T.V. president and he knows that could cause him more problems than it's worth.
BRIGGS: Quite a pivot for someone who said it was complete and total exoneration to I don't want the man who exonerated me to now speak before Congress.
But the question --
ROMANS: Good point.
BRIGGS: -- moving forward is what will Democrats do because we know Republicans will line up and support this despite a few who have said they want Mueller to testify? What will Democrats do?
And you wrote a column about this and normally, I'd find a brilliant politician to speak to that point. But we have a "SNL" clip that kind of perfectly encapsulates it. Here's "Weekend Update."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN JOST, CO-ANCHOR, "WEEKEND UPDATE", NBC "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": And just for reference, here's a list of everyone Democrats have held accountable since Trump got elected.
(Song: Bachman-Turner Overdrive, "Takin' Care of Business")
Scott Pruitt (sort of) Roseanne That's it!
JOST: I thought it would be longer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: So, Colin makes a good point there. They haven't exactly stood up and held the Trump administration accountable.
You say there's a danger in the path that Democrats are taking.
ZELIZER: Sure. They thought this middle way would be safe -- Democrats -- meaning impeachment is too extreme and not doing anything is unacceptable, so this middle way would help educate the public.
But the president and the administration are stonewalling. The president is threatening I won't follow through with subpoenas, I won't let people testify, and Democrats don't know what to do.
ROMANS: Yes.
ZELIZER: Republicans say we're not going to do anything, and Democrats are in this in-between moment. And it's unclear what they do when the president challenges them. And they might end up in the worst of all worlds, investigating without results, just like the clip said.
ROMANS: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was -- gave an interview to "The New York Times" and she said, essentially, we've got to "Own the center-left, own the mainstream." That's what she said.
And you sort of hear that on the campaign trail a little bit, too, as everyone is recalibrating with Joe Biden in the race.
Is that what Nancy Pelosi and the leadership want to do -- they want to own the middle, own the mainstream, and not ruffle feathers and let the president say that he's being persecuted by Democrats?
ZELIZER: They want to try to do that. It's not clear it's going to work, to me. The president will attack whoever the nominee is, whatever the speaker does. They will be far-left in the president's rhetoric.
ROMANS: Yes.
ZELIZER: And the center has been a very weak place to be in recent years in American politics. So that is the strategy but as the campaign heats up it might not work. It might not convince moderates to switch sides.
And it's going to anger a lot of Democrats who are hearing this from the leadership and want action. So there's risks.
BRIGGS: Well, her fear is that if it's at all close --
ZELIZER: Yes.
BRIGGS: -- that President Trump will contest the results and we'll be locked in a --
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: -- crisis here.
But there's another -- there's a lot of other issues that could factor in here in 2020. Yes, the economy is great --
ZELIZER: Yes.
BRIGGS: -- but just look at today.
We have got hotspots around the globe. The tariff man has returned and threatening to add tariffs in this China trade war. You've got a carrier group being sent to Iran.
You've got the President of the United States saying "I'm with him" in reference to Kim Jong Un, who just fired off short-range missiles -- more provoking actions.
What's the common thread to the administration's response to all these or is there one?
ZELIZER: No, the lack of a common thread is what is the defining element of Trump's foreign policy. It's ad hoc, it's improvised, it's contradictions every day.
Fortunately for the country and the world, there has been an avoidance of a real crisis until this point, but that doesn't mean it can't happen. That's how foreign policy works.
With Iran, everyone should be paying attention. John Bolton, his national security adviser, is very hawkish on Iran and so this is a new development that I think many observers have their eye on. So we will see how this holds up.
BRIGGS: And we will see if you bring us a housewarming gift next time. You know, you're always supposed to bring a bottle of wine when you visit a new home, Julian Zelizer.
ZELIZER: Oh, I'm sorry.
BRIGGS: You know this.
ZELIZER: Right, right.
ROMANS: It's a little --
BRIGGS: OK, we'll let you pass just this once.
ZELIZER: Champagne next time around.
ROMANS: It's a little early for champagne for me, I'm afraid. All right.
BRIGGS: Not for me.
ROMANS: Thanks. Julian Zelizer --
ZELIZER: Thank you.
ROMANS: -- nice to see you.
All right, 44 minutes past the hour.
Military honors for a student who died a hero. Riley Howell saved classmates during a school shooting.
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[05:48:53] ROMANS: The results of the Kentucky Derby could be headed to court.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They disqualified him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They did. So for the first time in the history of the Kentucky Derby, the horse that crossed the line first has been disqualified.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Gary West, the owner of Maximum Security, tells the "Daily Racing Form" he wants to appeal the steward's decision. But according to Kentucky regulations, the decision is final and not subject to appeal.
The 65 to one longshot, Country House, was declared the Derby winner.
BRIGGS: The jockey aboard Country House, Flavian Prat, says Maximum Security drifted and turned Prat's horse sideways.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA BORDEN, KENTUCKY CHIEF STATE STEWARD: The riders of the 18 and 20 horses in the Kentucky Derby lodged objections against the seven horse -- the winner -- due to interference. We determined that the seven horse drifted out and impacted the progress of number one, in turn, interfering with the 18 and 21.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: President Trump even weighing in on the result, blaming the decision on, quote, "political correctness."
[05:50:01] The second leg of horseracing's Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes, will be run on May 18th at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.
ROMANS: All right.
"Avengers: Endgame" is still dominating the box office. The superhero film crossed the $2 billion mark at the global box office. It took -- it took 11 days to do this. I mean, just unbelievable. It is now the second-highest grossing film of all time.
So what movie did it beat? James Cameron's 1997 hit "Titanic," which earned $2.1 billion at the global box office.
So where does "Endgame" go from here? The film sits just behind the highest-grossing film in history, "Avatar."
We'll be right back.
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[05:55:01] ROMANS: Military honors for Riley Howell, the hero at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He died as he tackled the gunman in last week's campus shooting.
Close friends and family recalling a humble young man who loved the outdoors and was kind to everyone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUCAS TATE, FRIEND OF RILEY HOWELL: He had this sense of trust in people and love for others, even that he didn't know, something that I may never learn. But I can sure say that I'm on the right track thanks to Riley.
Thank you for being the big brother I never had. Thank you for being my hero before you were everyone's.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Howell, who was 21 and a ROTC cadet at the university, he charged the shooter as he opened fire, saving the lives of others.
Howell was killed, along with 19-year-old Reed Parlier. Four others were injured.
BRIGGS: A hero, indeed.
Police in Houston have issued an Amber Alert for a 5-year-old girl. Maleah Davis was last seen around 9:00 p.m. Saturday.
The child's stepfather, Darion Vence, told authorities that he, Maleah, and her 2-year-old brother were abducted by three males sometime Friday night.
Vence told police he had pulled over to check his tire when a blue Chevy pickup truck appeared with several men. He claims one of them hit him in the head and he lost consciousness. Vence says when he woke up with his son Saturday, Maleah was missing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SERGEANT MARK HOLBROOK, HOMICIDE, HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT: We're looking for -- we're hoping the public can give us any information about anybody who has seen Darion during that period of time because he doesn't really know where he was or what's going on there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Maleah was last spotted wearing a light blue jacket, blue jeans, sneakers, and had a pink bow in her hair.
ROMANS: All right. Another wet week ahead for the already waterlogged middle part of the country. Flash flooding possible for hard-hit Davenport, Iowa.
You've heard of a baseball diamond. That's a baseball island. That's right in the middle of the Mississippi River, which crested at a record 22.7 feet Thursday.
More rain, starting today, will extend the time the area's rivers remain above flood stage.
At least seven deaths have been reported in flooding last week in Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and Indiana.
BRIGGS: Welcome back, old friend, to "SNL."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, Adam Sandler.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: "The Waterboy," Adam Sandler, returning to "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" for the first time since 1995 when he was fired. The Sandman brought back one of his favorite classic characters to weigh in on 2020.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADAM SANDLER (Reviving "Opera Man"):
Kamala, Gillibrand, Klobuchar, Warren They have slim chance-o They no wear pants-o Corey, Pete, and Beto Will have to wait-o Here we go again Seventy-year-old men
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Well said, Opera Man.
Sandler ended the night, though, on an emotional note with a musical tribute to his late friend and "SNL" legend, Chris Farley.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDLER (Singing):
The last big hang we had was a Timmy Meadows wedding party. We laughed all night long all because of Farley.
But a few months later the party came to an end. We flew out to Madison to bury our friend. Nothing was harder than saying goodbye, Except watching Chris's father have his turn to cry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: A bittersweet return. So funny and then so poignant there at the end.
BRIGGS: Hey, that's part of his talent.
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: He can make you laugh and he can make you cry --
ROMANS: That's right. BRIGGS: -- in the same one hour. It was a great show and the ratings were way up as well.
ROMANS: All right. Happy Monday, everybody. Hope you have a really great rest of your day.
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)
BRIGGS: The U.S. deploying a carrier strike group and a bomber task force in response to what the White House is calling troubling actions by Iran.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think that we should take it lightly. We're trying to exert a show of power. We could find out soon why that's happening.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Trump saying flat-out, Mueller should not testify. He didn't express those concerns on Friday.
TRUMP: That's up to our attorney general.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Only Mr. Mueller can tell us what is exactly on that report, but why is he afraid of the truth?
(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 Monday, May sixth, 6:00 here in New York. Hope you had a terrific weekend.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I did. I didn't do a 26-mile run like you did, but --
BERMAN: I did a 26-mile run.
CAMEROTA: It was impressive. I saw the pictures.
BERMAN: Yes. It went pretty well.
CAMEROTA: You didn't look happy but.
END
