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Trump Denies Mocking Reporter's Disability; Warriors Look to Extend Record Streak; Black Friday Vs. Cyber Monday. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired November 27, 2015 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:30:01] JIM BITTERMANN, CNN ANCHOR: But previous military casualties and presidents have been laid to rest there as well. It's really a place that's reserved for the military, but this morning, they were honoring civilian victims for the first time in history.
So, Michaela, all around, a very exceptional morning here in Paris -- John.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thanks, Jim. Jim Bittermann for us in Paris this morning.
Donald Trump under fire, accused of mocking a disabled "New York Times" reporter. The Republican front-runner says that's not what happened. And now, he wants an apology from "The New York Times."
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Right after a couple of good paragraphs talking about northern New Jersey draws the prober's eye, written by a nice reporter -- now the poor guy, you ought to see this guy, oh, I don't know what I said, I don't remember -- he's going, I don't remember, maybe that's what I said. This is 14 years ago! They didn't do a retraction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[06:35:02] BERMAN: That's Donald Trump talking about "New York Times" reporter Serge Kovaleski who wrote an article way back in 2001 saying that there were investigations about Muslims celebrating as the Twin Towers fell. Kovaleski now says nothing ever came of those investigations, and it wasn't thousand and thousands that Trump claims.
But the question is, was Trump's mocking Kovaleski's disability. You could see that photo right there. Trump says no way, he didn't know about the reporter's disability. Now, he is demanding apology from "The New York Times". Kovaleski we should tell you has a condition which limits the movement of his arms. You can see it in the picture right now.
Here to discuss, CNN political analyst and presidential campaign correspondent for "The New York Times", Maggie Haberman, and senior politics editor for "The Daily Beast", Jackie Kucinich.
And, Maggie, not only is Trump is not apologizing. Not only does Trump say, you know, he wasn't mocking Kovaleski. He's actually asking for an apology from "The Times" himself.
Let me read you what he says. "Serge Kovaleski must think a lot of himself if he thinks I remember him from decades ago." Kovaleski covered him when he was in "The Daily News". "If I ever met him, which I doubt I did, he should stop using his disability to grandstand and get back to reporting for a paper that is rapidly going down the tubes."
MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It's like an enigma and a conundrum of insults. It's hard to unpack it.
BERMAN: Yes.
HABERMAN: This was a classic Trump tweet yesterday, where he issued this statement. One side of the tweet was this statement insisting he had never met Serge, the next side was a statement demanding an apology saying, "if I ever met him, which I doubt I did," which then left room for the possibility that he did, while he's insisting that it never happened.
I spoke to Serge yesterday and Serge recalls at least a dozen times they interacted, a bunch face to face, especially when Serge was on a fly-around of the now-defunct Trump shuttle, which was the rebranded Eastern Airlines shuttle. Trump tried to make this into one of his business ventures, flew up and down the East Coast in the late 1980s. Serge was on that inaugural flight.
It's possible Trump doesn't remember him, you obviously can't get into other people's heads. But there's certainly reason to believe that he would, especially saying that he began his by saying, he's a nice reporter, but then "this poor guy, you ought to see this guy".
So, I understand what Trump is saying, but this is what Trump does and we've seen over and over again on the campaign trail, is he says something and tries to undo it by saying, I wasn't really saying that, you're twisting my words, and his supporters don't care.
MICHAEL PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's interesting because he's going with the attack the media thing that has been doing for quite a while, and leveling his criticism at "The New York Times," we know he's has a long-standing beef with him.
But do you know, has Serge said, that has he reached out to him personally, has he tweeted at Serge himself?
HABERMAN: I don't know the answer to that, but I can't have imagine that he has, and I'm imagine Serge would have mentioned that when I spoke to him yesterday.
But what Serge said, the other thing that Serge said and this is really important is, you know, he said that -- Trump's description that he's backing away from what he wrote, he said, to me nothing can be further from the truth. And if you look at what and you guys just read this -- if you look at what Serge reported in that 2001 article, he did not report his own eyewitness accounts, he did not report eyewitness accounts of others. He reported that law enforcement officials were detaining and questioning some people who were alleged to have done something.
That does not mean, see, that happened. That's proof that happened. That's proof that people checked out claims like that, which those of us who covered September 11th, 2001, as it was happening, remember we were hearing all kinds of these reports.
BERMAN: Everything, from everything.
HABERMAN: In Brooklyn, it's happening on Atlantic Avenue. In New Jersey, it's happening. These were never substantiated.
BERMAN: So, Jackie, there are people looking for apologies here from Donald Trump, which seems to happen from time to time. He has a policy on apologies, which is essentially, "I never give them." Listen to how he has described this in the past.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I could have said, oh, I misspoke. I'm not big on that, am I? I'm not big on apologies. You know what, there's nothing wrong with an apology, but you have to be wrong. I believe in apologizing, but you have to be wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: I'm not sure he even means that when he says, I believe in apologizing. Because I'm not sure I've heard him give one, Jackie.
JACKIE KUCINICH, SENIOR POLITICS EDITOR, THE DAILY BEAST: Right. And cutting through all of this, what in the world does this have to do with running for president? What in the world does that to do with being president, other than the fact this is a question of his temperament.
But Maggie's absolutely right, the people that like him the best don't care. They like he doesn't apologize. They see that as a measure of strength, which is, you know, I guess everyone's entitled to their opinion. I know everyone's entitled to their opinion. But, you know, this sort of diverting the fact, Trump has his facts wrong and he'll do anything to show that somehow he didn't. And --
PEREIRA: But you know, it's interesting, you talk about, you know, what does this have to do with presidential -- you know, the race of all, but the fact is, as you mentioned, it speaks to tone, it speaks to temperament. But it does -- you look at the reaction that they're getting in the polls, and we can look now since October, Trump is maintaining a lead, 32 percent unchanged, seemingly, from October to November.
I have to wonder what this kind of effect -- what kind of effect, rather, this is going to have on the overall tone and tenor of this race. He seems to get a pass.
[06:40:00] He seems to be Teflon, but is it changing the discourse of this election?
HABERMAN: There's no question. Trump has set the tone and tenor of the Republican presidential primary for many months, going back to when he read Senator Lindsey Graham's cell phone number aloud during a campaign event.
I mean, that is what you have seen throughout. You have seen people try to be like Trump repeatedly. You've seen people try to out-Trump Trump. You even saw Lindsey Graham trying to out-Trump Trump where he took a bat to his cell phone.
That's not ignoring Trump. That's playing Trump's game. And so, they all complain about it, but the reality is, he is dominating.
However, he's dominating at 30 percent. That means there's 70 percent who don't feel that way about him and it is too soon to say how this is going to play out.
BERMAN: Jackie, you asked an interesting question. You said, what does this all have to do with being president? The fact of the matter is -- I've covered a lot of presidential candidates -- typically when they say something that doesn't prove to be true, you shine a light on it and it becomes a big deal.
That's not what's happening with Donald Trump.
PEREIRA: He gets a pass somehow?
KUCINICH: He does. And I don't mean we shouldn't be talking about it, of course we should be talking about it, I mean, why is he talking about this? Why is he talking about this reporter in front of how many people that were at that rally?
It just -- it speaks to a lack of depth. Maybe in some other way, maybe in some other parts of his platform, if he has a platform, I don't know that he does. So, it really is this distraction and this ability he has to make this ability everything else but himself, which is weird, because it's Donald Trump. But he doesn't want to look like he's the one -- he doesn't look like he's the one who's wrong, so everyone else is wrong.
BERMAN: All right. Maggie Haberman and Jackie Kucinich, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
KUCINICH: Thank you.
PEREIRA: Cyber Monday or Black Friday, does online shopping deliver better deals than brick and mortar stores, John? What do you think?
BERMAN: I actually (INAUDIBLE) better 10 years ago, no matter what.
PEREIRA: That's right.
If you paid too much for something, we're going to tell you about a new app that promises to get your money back. You don't even have to do a thing. Wait for it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:45:49] PEREIRA: A critical new development in the war against ISIS. Russian President Vladimir Putin declaring he is ready to cooperate with the U.S. and its allies to wipe out the terror group. He is warning, however, the alliance will end if another one of his war planes gets shot down by Turkey.
Turkey's president, meanwhile, refusing to apologize for downing that plane. He says the Russians owe him an apology for violating his nation's air space.
BERMAN: An alleged terror plot broken up in Germany. Authorities arresting two unidentified suspects during two anti-terror raids in Berlin. The men are accused of plotting, quote, "a significant criminal act against state security." German special forces moved in after conducting a search at a local Islamic center.
PEREIRA: Authorities in Belgium are reassessing the threat facing Brussels. They've lowered the terror alert level from its highest level, four, to a three, suggesting the threat of an attack was no longer imminent. Government officials there say the situation in Brussels remains serious. They previously announced Brussels would remain at the highest level until at least Monday.
BERMAN: President Obama spent part of his Thanksgiving calling U.S. service members to thank them for their service and wish them and their families a happy holiday. White House officials said the president made 10 calls, two to each of the military branches, Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. He even sent a tweet offering his thanks.
PEREIRA: Let's talk sports. Why not? Former Packers quarterback Brett Favre brings the Lambeau Field to their feet one more time, but, well, their archrivals, the bears, spoiled the holiday party.
Coy Wire has more in our bleacher report.
How are you feeling, first of all, post-turkey?
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: I rolled into work today. I'm all good, Michaela. Good morning.
PEREIRA: Doing OK?
WIRE: Good morning to you and John.
The Packers and Bears, they had the NFL's oldest rivalry. They had 192 meetings but never met on Thanksgiving Day. That added more of a special feel to this game.
And as you mentioned at halftime, the Packers honored former quarterback and future Hall of Famer Brett Favre, retiring his number four in the wall at Lambeau Field and it got even better. Hall of famer Bart Starr in the house came out to give Favre some love. A lot of teary eyes during that special moment.
But Jay Cutler and his boys became the bad news Bears and put Green Bay into a state of disbelief. Chicago holds on to the 17-13 upset.
Now, things went from bad to worse for the Dallas Cowboys. They got gobbled like a turkey on Thanksgiving Day. First of all, the Carolina Panthers beat 'em like a drum and it looks like they lost quarterback Tony Romo again this time for the rest of the season likely. His shoulder gets planted into the turf by this sack by Thomas Davis.
Romo has already missed seven games after a similar injury earlier this season, but now, those Panthers' defense delivering big hits, snatching interceptions. Luke Kuechly picks off two Tony Romo passes, back to back plays. Row mow would throw two overall. Panthers still undefeated, crashing the Cowboys 33-14.
Now, the Golden State Warriors, they look to extend their record for the best start in league history to 17-0 tonight against the Suns.
CNN sports anchor Rachel Nichols sat down with sharpshooter and reigning MVP, Steph Curry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Is there any spot on the floor you feel you could not make a shot from?
STEPH CURRY, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: I mean, not really. I mean, I know my percentages. So, I know where I more likely to make it than not. It was kind of funny, last game, I was just crossing half-court, and for a second, if I tell you this, I'm going to make it. I kind of -- I didn't pull the trigger. I had some self control there. But that kind of confidence is at an all-time high.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Now, Curry and company are holding nothing back. They say they're going to go for the NBA record of 33 straight wins, dating back to last season. The Lakers set that record 44 seasons. The Warriors need 13 more to get that, guys.
BERMAN: I don't think they'll ever lose. They're that good. I don't think Steph Curry will ever miss. He's that good.
PEREIRA: Ever, ever.
WIRE: I believe they're favorite in all but two of their remaining games, guys, it's crazy.
PEREIRA: Incredible. All right, Coy.
BERMAN: Thanks, Coy. Thanks so much.
WIRE: All right. You're welcome.
BERMAN: So, no longer a shopping upstart. Cyber Monday, finally getting the respect it deserves!
(LAUGHTER)
[06:50:01] BERMAN: Poised to overtake Black Friday --
PERERIA: The little brother of Black Friday.
BERMAN: Exactly, in the Super Bowl of holiday shopping days. Have shoppers become hooked on their mobile devices to fill their needs.
PEREIRA: Guilty as charged.
BERMAN: Their shopping needs, I'm talking about.
We'll break it down, next.
PEREIRA: What's wrong with you?
BERMAN: I don't know!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PEREIRA: He loves to shop, oh, this one.
Struggling retailers want Black Friday to stay, but could it soon become a thing of the past? As online companies slash surprises, making it easier for lazy bones like us to shop from the comfort of our couch.
Business correspondent Alison Kosik breaks it all down for us.
Happy Black Friday.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Happy Black Friday to you. Interestingly, when you talk about Cyber Monday, you talk about Black Friday, Black Friday is really not the powerhouse that it used to be. Look at last year for a reference point.
Actually, a lot of people's sales surged on Thanksgiving and you saw sales kind of slip off a bit from Black Friday.
In fact, case in point, I went to go cover Black Friday last year.
[06:55:01] I went to a Target on the upper west side. It was empty! We didn't even do the report, because there was nothing to report.
BERMAN: Wow!
PEREIRA: No story here.
KOSIK: Yes, there was no story there. Keep in mind, Black Friday is still king. You look at sort of where it ranks. It's still second on the list in terms of sales of one of the top shopping days in terms of traffic. It's the third behind Super Saturday and the day after Christmas.
But, look, Black Friday has got a lot of competition. Black Friday is turning into Black Monday. How many times have you gotten these e-mails about, half off, already, or 30 percent off, all month?
So, there's a lot of competition for Black Friday. People are realizing, you know what, I don't have to wait until Friday to get into the stores. I'm going to shop now. And the bonus to shopping early is you get the inventory.
BERMAN: I've been saying that for a long time, Thursday's the new Friday, Wednesday's the new Tuesday. It's all blending together.
You're an impartial journalist, you're very, very fair, but I want to ask you to pick teams here. Which is better, Black Friday or Cyber Monday?
PEREIRA: Are you Friday or Monday?
KOSIK: So, it really depends on what you're looking for. Black Friday, if you're looking for electronics, you'll probably, you know, score better on Black Friday. But if you're looking for things like beauty, clothing, and shoes, you're better off doing Cyber Monday.
There are a few pros and cons. You see them there up on the screen. You know what? Some people like to get out there. It's your tradition. Let's go out there for the hunt.
PEREIRA: Makeup artist Mitch has already said, he's going to head out into the throngs of the people today and be a part of that energy.
Here's the thing -- I have a bit of an anxiety, I'm anxious shopper. I hate missing out on a deal. I feel like technology can help me. Please tell me there's an app.
KOSIK: Technology can help you with that. There's a cool app called Paribus. So when you shop online, it scans all your receipts. What happens with online shopping, prices end up changing so quickly, and whose monitoring that. They, in fact, change a lot faster than those brick and mortar stores.
It's this app that kind of scans those receipts and see if the price goes down or if you miss a coupon code you thought you should have gotten, it's going to give your money back. It doesn't apply to all stores. It has about 18 to 20 stores on its list.
Hopefully, Paribus with an ad.
PEREIRA: Some big ones?
(CROSSTALK)
KOSIK: But includes Bloomingdale's, Walmart, some top-name stores.
A couple of other places you can go to offers.com that helps you keep track of any budget. And if you want to keep track of your lists, go to Christmasgiftlist. That app helps you create a list, and you know, keep it all kind of neatly together.
PEREIRA: This is all going to help him when he's buying his holiday gift for you and I.
BERMAN: I know how important this whole thing is to me. Very. The question is, how important is it for these stores? Remember, 10, 15 years ago, this was the whole thing, the whole ball game.
KOSIK: This still is a whole ball game. Here's the rub, though, for these stores. They have to discount. We've become addicted to buying full price, and it kills them to discount, but they want to bring you in, anyway.
And that's part of reason. You've been seeing these sales go on for a month and not just Black Friday. Those discounts most likely will get deeper, but they want you to come in, go online, and they want you the buy. They need it.
PEREIRA: Well, you know, it's interesting, because I know a few years ago, we talked about the fact that people would still go into the stores, say, on this day, see what's out there, see what's available, and go and press buy online on Monday.
KOSIK: Still happening! The competition is happening. Sometimes, you're seeing a lot of these stores match other prices. So now that matching is really coming into play, because of that sort of going shopping, just with your eyes and not your pocketbook first.
BERMAN: Shop with your eyes.
KOSIK: Not me. I take out the cash.
PEREIRA: That's what you like to do?
Shopping with your eyes.
BERMAN: Shopping with your eyes.
PEREIRA: I'm worried about you.
All right. We're following a whole lot of news this morning on this Friday. Let's get right to it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PEREIRA: Vladimir Putin now saying he's ready to work with the U.S. on fighting ISIS.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New details on Russia's retaliation against Turkey.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Turkey overreacted and there's a great danger.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This relationship is deteriorating very rapidly. Neither side is backing down.
BERMAN: Black Friday protesting expected in Chicago this morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Protesters do plan to come up Michigan Avenue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is going to be a long, long, long battle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Business as usual can't go on while our children are dying?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm ready. Got my fists up if somebody tries to steal something from me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: An all-out battle at stores across the nation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've been here since Tuesday.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you ready for Black Friday madness?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PEREIRA: Good morning. Welcome to a very special edition of CNN NEWSROOM.
John Berman alongside me this morning. There is a new alliance on the war on ISIS. It could be a game changer.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announcing he is ready to work closely with the United States and its Western allies to wipe out the terrorists. But this sudden spirit of cooperation, it could be fragile.
BERMAN: The Russian leader furious with Turkey for shooting down one of its war planes, calling it an act of betrayal. We are learning more this morning about the dramatic rescue of the Russian co-pilot who ejected from that burning plane.
