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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
President Trump Says He's Not Bothered By North Korea's Missile Tests; Six Dead in Oklahoma After Severe Weather; Judge in Utah Suspended for Insulting President Trump. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired May 27, 2019 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Intelligent people agree with me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're not bothered at all by the small missiles.
TRUMP: No, I'm not, I am personally not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE BRIGGS, CO-HOST, EARLY START: The president stands alone, he says he's not bothered by recent launches from North Korea, Japan and his own national security advisors say otherwise.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CO-HOST, EARLY START: Extremists are in, centrists are out. European voters deal a blow to the establishment.
BRIGGS: A deadly holiday shark attack in Paradise, a California doctor killed off the coast of Maui.
ROMANS: And another tornado outbreak leaves parts of Oklahoma in ruins. More than 300 tornadoes reported in the U.S. this month alone. Good morning, everyone, welcome to EARLY START, I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: Good morning, good morning to all of you, I'm Dave Briggs, Monday, May 27th, it is Memorial Day, we pay tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, it is 5:00 a.m. here in the East, 6:00 p.m. in Tokyo, and that's where we begin this morning.
The president standing alone in defense of North Korea on a state visit to Japan. The president says he is not personally bothered by Pyongyang's missile tests despite national security adviser John Bolton saying just days ago, there's no doubt the test violated U.N. resolutions. Japan agrees with Bolton. White House correspondent Boris Sanchez traveling with the president joins us live in Tokyo. Boris, good to see you.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning Dave and Christine. Yes, we really got an idea of just how much President Trump trusts Kim Jong un from this presser. The president saying that he was not bothered by those short-range ballistic missile tests that North Korea launched last month.
And despite the outlook of his own advisors and the outlook of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who was standing just a few feet away from the president, and saying that he believes that those missile launches were of great regret. Quite a bit of distance between these two leaders on that issue. Listen specifically to what President Trump said about these tests and his relationship with Kim Jong un.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I am very happy with the way it's going, and intelligent people agree with me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're not bothered at all by the small missiles.
TRUMP: No, I'm not. I am personally not. My people think it could have been a violation, as you know, I view it differently. I view it as a man, perhaps, he wants to get attention and perhaps not. Who knows?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Yes, keep in mind, Trump is saying this just a few hours after having met with the families of Japanese citizens who were abducted by North Koreans. So it made for a little bit of an awkward moment during that press conference. Still Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says that President Trump supports his efforts to have a bilateral meeting with Kim Jong un. Something that would certainly be a huge development for the region. Dave and Christine.
BRIGGS: Yes, it also seemed to draw a distinction between very smart people and John Bolton, at least if I hear that correctly. But this first came up last week, the president tweeted that North Korea fired off, quote, "small weapons", but the real lead here came when Trump echoed Kim Jong un, calling Joe Biden a low IQ individual, spelling Biden wrong in the process before correcting it. Is the president still throwing himself in with Kim Jong un on this one?
SANCHEZ: Yes, Dave, that was one of the most stunning moments of this press conference. The president siding with the North Korean dictator, saying that he believes that Kim Jong un is correct in saying that Joe Biden is a low IQ individual.
Now, the president quickly pivoted to Iran in that question, saying that the Iran nuclear deal is a symbol of Joe Biden's mental incompetence, essentially. The president also made news on Iran, saying that he's in no rush to make a deal with them to replace the Iran nuclear deal which the United States pulled out of.
Also making news, saying that he does not believe that a regime change has to happen for a peaceful future between the United States and Iran.
BRIGGS: All right, no shortage of news, Boris Sanchez live for us in Tokyo, thank you my friend, appreciate it.
ROMANS: All right, in European parliament elections, centrists are the big losers. The vote which saw the highest participation in 25 years, boosted Euro's skeptics as well as greens and other pro- European union leftists. CNN's Phil Black live at London's 10 Downing Street. What's the message from voters here, Phil?
[05:05:00]: PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine, it's mixed. These are the elections that many in Europe's mainstream political establishment were really worried about. And with good reason, they will now be more populists, nationalists, far-right figures in the new European parliament, but only incrementally so. Not as many as had been predicted or feared.
And in addition to that as you mentioned, green groups, socially liberal groups, they did well also. So on one hand, the landscape is going to be very different. The traditional center left, center right, power blocks will not be as powerful as they were. But on the whole, there is an overall very clear majority of people in favor of the European Union within this parliament.
Nationalists did do well, however. In France, Italy, and here in the U.K. where the newly formed Brexit party surged to first place. It attracted around a third of the vote. People angry that Brexit still has not yet been delivered, but on the other hand, parties that openly oppose Brexit, that wants another referendum to stop it, they also did well and attracted very similar numbers.
So the headline here in the U.K. and you wouldn't describe it as breaking news is that, Britain is still very deeply divided over Brexit, Christine.
ROMANS: All right, divided. All right, thank you so much for that, Phil Black, for us at 10 Downing Street.
BRIGGS: Six people are dead in Oklahoma after days of severe weather. A mobile home park in the town of El Reno was devastated by a tornado Saturday that roared through with winds up to 160 miles an hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RACHEL GARRISON, OKLAHOMA STORM SURVIVOR: The trailer 80 flipped over on top of 81 which we were in, and after everything was over with, and all the shaking and jarring and everybody laying on the floor, the sirens went off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The twister killing at least two people, El Reno's mayor says they are going door-to-door to find more possible victims and assess the damage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR MATT WHITE, EL RENO, OKLAHOMA: We just cannot do without all the help and partners we've had as people are displaced. It's very decimated. It's a tragic scene out there. It's terrible. We're going to work that process. It's going to take us time to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: El Reno was already under water due to severe storms last week. This month alone, there have been 320 reports of tornadoes in the U.S.
ROMANS: The threat of more severe weather today in the Midwest as a record heat-wave hits the southeast. Meteorologist Karen Maginnis has your holiday forecast.
KAREN MAGINNIS, METEOROLOGIST: On so many fronts, Dave and Christine, we have seen this outbreak of severe weather once again across the central plains. The typical tornado alley, and May is the peak month when we typically see the heavy volume of tornadic activity like we saw just over 24 hours ago in El Reno, Oklahoma, two fatalities there, numerous injuries reported.
It's only a town of about 19,000 people. But you can see throughout the last 11 days only, 260 tornado reports. Also, we're not finished yet. A lot of this will lift further to the north, so it looks like across the northern tier and into the lower Great Lakes region, that's where we could see the potential for severe weather again.
And then, not to be outdone, there's going to be another system that moves out of the interior west, into the central plains and that's going to be the severe weather producer going into Tuesday. And as if that were not enough, flooding, especially along the Arkansas River at Van Buren, take a look at this, going to be at historic levels going into the middle of the work week.
Severe flooding where the river is expected to crest, over 42.5 feet. Back to you, guys.
BRIGGS: Karen, thanks. A local judge in Utah has been suspended for six months for making comments critical of President Trump in court and on social media. The Utah Supreme Court reprimanding Judge Michael Kwan after he made a reference to the "Access Hollywood" tape. He described the Trump presidency as a "fascist takeover" and accused the president of an "inability to govern and political incompetence."
ROMANS: The state's Supreme Court ruled that Judge Kwan's behavior diminishes the reputation of our entire judiciary. Now, Kwan says his remarks were meant to ingest, but the high court wrote this, "it is an immutable and universal rule that judges are not as funny as they think they are."
Kwan's lawyer says he probably has no recourse, but to sit out six months without pay and hope he still has a court to come back to.
BRIGGS: A deadly shark attack off the coast of Maui. A 65-year-old Californian man killed Saturday morning about 60 yards from shore on Kaanapali Beach. CNN affiliate "KCRA" identifies the victim as Dr. Thomas Smiley; an optometrist from Granite Bay. His family tells police he had gone for a swim. He leaves behind a wife, three children and six grandchildren. This
is at least the third shark attack in Hawaii this year, and the first fatal one since 2015.
[05:10:00] ROMANS: Police in Utah say they fear the search for a missing 5-year-old girl, quote, "is not going to end well." Elizabeth Shelley was last seen at home by her mother early Saturday morning. Later that day, police arrested the girl's uncle 21-year-old Alexander Whipple who they say is their main suspect.
He had come for a visit Friday night and was last seen around the same time as his niece. Logan City, Utah police say Whipple has been uncooperative.
BRIGGS: Scaling Mount Everest is taking a deadly toll. Three more people, a Nepali guide along with an Irish and British climbers have died in recent days. That brings the total number of dead or presumed dead to nine in the 2019 climbing season alone.
A British mountaineer who recently died on Everest warned of overcrowding on the world's highest peak in his last post to social media. This incredible picture shows crowds of --
ROMANS: What?
BRIGGS: Climbers last week stuck in a queue to summit above the mountain's highest camp at more than 26,000 feet. Now, the summit is at 29,000 feet, an elevation at which breath contains only one-third the oxygen found at sea level.
ROMANS: That is --
BRIGGS: It's an alarming problem, they have to do something about the overcrowding there.
ROMANS: All right, a deadly trend continues at Santa Anita race track. Another horse has died there, the 26th since late last year.
[05:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Oh, we're nearing the one-year anniversary of the trade war with China. Is the U.S. any closer to a resolution? President Trump during a press conference in Tokyo this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They would like to make a deal. We're not ready to make a deal, and we're taking in tens of billions of dollars of tariffs and that number could go up very substantially, very easily. But I think sometime in the future, China and the United States will absolutely have a great trade deal, and we look forward to that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: We're not ready, he says, but we will have one. Trump again falsely claim that Americans pay only a small percentage of tariffs, and that farmers support his decision to raise tariffs despite evidence otherwise. The U.S. is also working to strike a trade deal with Japan.
Prime Minister Abe said the two sides are vigorously conducting discussions and talks. During his remarks, the president said Japan plans to buy 105 new stealth F-35 fighter jets from the U.S. Trade tensions have rattled investors' worry that a trade war could be here to stay.
Morgan Stanley says the window for resolution is narrowing and predicts there's only about a month to go before a significant financial damage creeps into the global economy.
BRIGGS: Senator Joni Ernst says the president's trade war with China is hurtful to farmers. The Iowa Republican says one in five jobs in Iowa is tied directly to trade with most of it revolving around the farming sector. Ernst agrees it's time to stop China from stealing intellectual property, but she says that is not making it easier for her constituents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JONI ERNST (R-IA): It is hurting in the Midwest, it's hurting all over the country with the tariffs. The president has called our farmers patriots, it doesn't pay the bills. It doesn't pay the bills.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Last week, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced $16 billion in aid for struggling farmers. He says the money will come from China, same false claim made repeatedly by President Trump.
ROMANS: Another horse has died at Santa Anita Race track, the 26th since December. The horse named Cochise was euthanized Sunday, a day after suffering an injury during a race. The animal rights group PETA calling for Santa Anita and all California tracks to suspend racing until an investigation by the state district attorney is complete.
Santa Anita Park back in March implemented stringent protocols and suspended racing and training for a time. Two days after racing resumed, another horse died.
BRIGGS: Hall of fame quarterback Bart Starr has died. The legendary Green Bay Packers QB led his team to five NFL titles, including wins in the first two Super Bowls and was named MVP in both wins under coach Vince Lombardi. Starr also coached the Packers from 1975 to 1983. He suffered a stroke in 2014, and had been in failing health since.
He died Sunday morning in Birmingham, Alabama, at the age of 85. Current Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers remembering the two posting this photo of the two of them.
ROMANS: Guess who's back? University of North Carolina Charlotte shooting survivor Drew Pescaro. He posted this video himself to the Eminem tune "Without Me" and confirmed to CNN, he is now out of the hospital. He took his first steps without a walker two weeks ago, shared the moment on Twitter.
Last month's campus shooting claimed the lives of students Reed Parlier and Riley Howell, three other students were also hurt.
BRIGGS: All right --
ROMANS: Wish him well --
BRIGGS: Great to see him back. OK, he knows more than most about the meaning of Memorial Day. Here's his emotional rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(U.S. NATIONAL ANTHEM ON HARMONICA)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: That's a 96-year-old World War II veteran bringing down the house. Andy Scholes has that story in the "BLEACHER REPORT", next.
[05:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRIGGS: We had some drama at the end of the Indy 500. Andy Scholes has more in the "BLEACHER REPORT", good morning my friend.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS REPORTER: Hey, good morning Dave. You know, the Indy 500 known as the greatest spectacle in racing, and it definitely lived up to the hype this year. More than a quarter of a million people on hand at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the big race.
Simon Pagenaud and Alexander Rossi, a battle for the ages, at the end, closing(ph) the lead five times in the closing laps, and it would be Pagenaud from France winning by two-tenths of a second.
[05:25:00] And he spoke with CNN's Patrick Snell after the race and said winning the Indy 500 is dream come true.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON PAGENAUD, INDIANAPOLIS 500 WINNER: I dreamt about this moment. I always believed and I worked really hard to get points. We doubt sometimes as everybody would have, but I never gave up and that's a lesson I want to tell all the kids, is if there are any kids watching, just never give up, always believe in your dream, work hard.
If you think it's hard, work even harder, and if you do, it's going to happen, trust me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: All right, two weeks from tomorrow, the United States will take the pitch for their first game in the women's World Cup. And yesterday, the final tune-up against Mexico, they had a special guest perform the national anthem. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(U.S. NATIONAL ANTHEM ON HARMONICA)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Yes, that's 96-year-old World War II veteran Pete DuPre, he's known as Harmonica Pete. Pretty awesome rendition there, definitely set the tone for the game as team USA won the tune-up, 3-0.
All right, the Stanley Cup final starts tonight, the St. Louis Blues looking to win their first ever cup. It would be one of the best turnaround in sports history if the Blues win. They literally were the worst team in hockey at the midway point of the season. The Bruins meanwhile trying to keep up with the rest of the teams in Boston, Patriots and Red Sox of course both reigning champs, Bruins trying to win their first title since 2011. Game one tonight in Boston (INAUDIBLE) at 8:00 Eastern.
All right, finally NBA -- the NBA finals doesn't get going until Thursday. This is the first finals in nine years without LeBron James, but LeBron still competing on the court, check this out. Gabe Cupps; a player on LeBron's son's AAU team challenged king James to a three-point shootout.
Cupps going toe-to-toe with LeBron, threw three shots, both of them making their first three. But then Cupps would finally miss his last one, and right there and LeBron would make him -- watch the little stare there LeBron gives Cupps after making that.
(LAUGHTER)
Props to LeBron though for doing that competition because can you imagine if he loses, the headlines that would come out of that. LeBron not in the finals, Lakers aren't back and LeBron can't even beat a 14-year-old in a three-point shoot-out. But he won, so --
BRIGGS: Yes, I would imagine the sports media would have a pretty good time with that. Good call, Andy Scholes, good stuff my friend.
SCHOLES: All right --
BRIGGS: Romans, what's coming up?
ROMANS: All right, the president is in Japan this Memorial Day, he says he's not bothered by recent launches from North Korea, and that puts him at odds with Tokyo, and his own national security adviser.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
