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EARLY START

Trump Rules Out Third Party Presidential Run; Biden Talks 2016 Presidential Race; Clerk Jailed for Refusing Gay Marriages; Tom Brady's Deflategate Suspension Overturned. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired September 4, 2015 - 05:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[05:00:00] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: How many jobs has he actually created? Well, CNN Money dug into this.

CNN Money finds at least 34,000 jobs attributable to trump. His company, the Trump Organization has roughly 22,000 employees. Plus, more jobs created through a multiplier effect, for example, jobs in restaurants and in his hotels and restaurants. So, 34,000 is the math on Donald Trump.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: OK, glad you have those numbers.

EARLY START continues right now.

(MUSIC)

ROMANS: Donald Trump pledging his loyalty to the Republican Party, promising not to run as an independent if he losses the nomination. He tells CNN what it is that changed his mind.

KOSIK: Joe Biden candid and emotional about the possibility of running for president. What he says needs to happen first.

ROMANS: A Kentucky clerk behind bars for refusing gay couples the right to marry. The presidential candidates, some of them, rallying behind her cause. We'll tell you who.

Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

KOSIK: And I'm Alison Kosik. It's Friday, September 4th, 5:00 a.m. in the East.

Up first, Donald Trump declaring his allegiance to the Republican Party and pulling further ahead in the polls after declaring he would not sign a GOP loyalty pledge, the front running Trump did exactly that.

So, why the sudden about-face?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The best way forward for the Republicans to win is if I win the nomination and go directly against whoever they happen to put up. And for that reason, I have signed the pledge.

(CHEERS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: OK. Look at this. Look at the latest Monmouth University poll -- 30 percent is a new high for Trump.

For more on his decision to embrace the Republican Party, we turn to CNN's chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I covered politics for some time. And I've never quite seen an event like what happened at Trump Tower, and that is the chairman of the party flying from Washington to go to the home turf of a candidate for president to convince him to sign a pledge to be a member of that party.

But this is the world of Donald Trump. And, of course, all of this is happening because Trump is relatively new to the GOP. He is doing extremely well. He's got his highest poll ratings nationally so far. And Republicans have been very worried that if he doesn't get the nomination that he could take the supporters he has, bolt the GOP, run as an independent and hand the White House to the Democrats.

So, the Republicans have been quietly trying to talk to Trump and try to convince him, to cajole him to get him to stay in the GOP, different from last month where he would not make that pledge. So, I asked, what changed? What makes him sign it now, when he didn't do it just a few weeks ago? Listen.

What changed over the last several weeks since you didn't want to raise your hand?

TRUMP: Well, I think the big thing, Dana, that's changed -- and it's been obvious to all. Number one, after I announced, we went up like a rocket ship. I think the thing that changed is the thing I went to the number one place quickly after I signed.

So, I think the biggest thing is that I went early to number one and the RNC has treated me with great respect.

BASH: Just to be clear, this pledge is not legally binding at all. He doesn't have to stick to it. But still, he said, he doesn't see a circumstance where he would tear up the pledge.

But Donald Trump, of all people, knows how unpredictable politics is and we know how unpredictable Donald Trump is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Thank you, Dana.

Donald Trump tripped up Thursday by conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt. Foreign policy was the topic. Trump confusing the Iranian Quds military force with the Middle Eastern Kurds. And Trump admitted he does not know the difference between Hamas and Hezbollah.

Listen to some of the exchange.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

HUGH HEWITT, RADIO HOST: On the front of the Islamist terrorism, I'm looking for the next commander-in-chief to know who Hasan Nasrallah is, and Zawahiri, and al-Julani and al-Baghdadi. Do you know the players with that scorecard, yet, Donald Trump?

TRUMP: No, you know, I'll tell you, honestly, by the time we get to office, they will all change. They'll be all gone. I knew you were going to ask me things like this and there's no reason because I'll find -- I will hopefully find General Douglas McArthur in the pack. I will find whoever it is that I find. And we'll -- but they're all, Hugh. You know, those are history questions. Do you know this one, do you know that one?

HEWITT: I don't believe in gotcha questions. I'm not trying to quiz you on who the worse guy in the world is?

TRUMP: Well, that is a gotcha question. First day in office, or before then, right at the day after the election, I'll know more about it than you will ever know. That I can tell you.

HEWITT: I hope so. Last question, so the difference between Hezbollah and Hamas does not matter to you yet, but it will.

[05:05:00] TRUMP: It will when it is appropriate. I will know more about it than you know, and believe me, it won't take me long.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

KOSIK: Jeb Bush talking tough about Donald Trump. He claims Trump is too pessimistic to lead the country and insisting the Republicans will lose the 2016 election if he winds the nomination. Bush said he will not stand by when Trump attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm going to push back when he says things that are ugly that I think will damage our brand, damage our ability to be successful. I'm sure he's going to when he attacks me personally or disparages my family, damn right, I want to fight back.

No, I'm not going to participate in some reality TV show. I'm going to stay true to my beliefs.

(APPLAUSE)

Look, just -- I'm not personalizing this. I'm not personalizing. It doesn't have anything to do with him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Bush claims Trump is trying to insult his way to the White House and is preying on people's angst and fears.

ROMANS: Vice President Joe Biden says he will not hesitate to run for president, but there are two factors that could stop him. Biden speaking at a synagogue in Atlanta says he has to be confident that he can build a strong campaign that can raise enough money and he has to be sure he and his family are up to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The most relevant factor in my decision is whether my family and I have the emotional energy to run. But unless I can go to my party and the American people and say that I am able to devote my whole heart and my whole soul to this endeavor, it would not be appropriate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Hillary Clinton's former deputy chief of staff at the State Department is set to face the House Select Committee on Benghazi today. Jake Sullivan is now the foreign policy adviser for Clinton's campaign. He is expected to be questioned behind closed doors about the 2012 attack in U.S. mission in Libya and Clinton's use of a private e-mail server.

On Thursday, Cheryl Mills appeared before that committee. The former State Department chief of staff reportedly told lawmakers no work-related e-mails have been withheld or destroyed to keep them from the public eye.

Clinton and Republican Marco Rubio will both be campaigning in Puerto Rico today. Puerto Rico does not vote for president, but whoever wins primaries is likely to gain support among Puerto Rican voters in places like New York and Florida.

ROMANS: Now, some candidates are rallying behind jailed Kentucky clerk Kim Davis. She was ordered to jail on Thursday. She has been failing to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples despite going all the way to the Supreme Court. Some of the presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, they're calling her imprisonment criminal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I stand with her and anyone else that the government is trying to persecute for standing up for their faith. This is fundamentally wrong and inconsistent with the First Amendment of the Constitution.

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY), 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think what's going to happen as a result of this is states and locations will opt out of the marriage business completely. Her heartfelt religious conviction is that this isn't kind of marriage that she approves of.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Take a look at this tweet from Mike Huckabee. The former Arkansas governor asking voters to sign a free Kim Davis petition, insisting religious liberty should never be a crime in America.

This is from Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator tweeting, "We should not have to choose between keeping our job and practicing our faith. Congress and states must pass first amendment defense act now."

At least three GOP candidates, Chris Christie, Lindsey Graham, Carly Fiorina, they say Davis is obligated to carry out the law. As a government employee, she's obligated to carry out the law despite her personal religious objections.

KOSIK: So, this is interesting. It turns out Kim Davis could have stayed out of jail. The judge in her case told her she could go free if she gave her deputy clerks permission to issue same sex wedding licenses. Davis consulted with her attorneys and then refused.

We get more now from CNN's Alexandra Field in Ashland, Kentucky.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kim Davis has been refusing to issue marriage licenses ever since the Supreme Court of the United States made a ruling earlier this summer, making same sex marriage part of the law of the land. Davis was forced to appear in a federal court here in Kentucky earlier this summer where she was ordered by a judge to issue those marriage licenses. But she has not complied. She is appealing the case.

In the meantime, she continued to refuse the issue licenses. Brought back to the same federal courthouse in Kentucky, a judge ruled she was in contempt of court.

And then he ordered her remanded to the custody of the U.S. marshal. That decision surprising many in the courtroom who expected that Davis would simply be fined.

But the judge said that would not be enough to compel her to follow his orders which are to issue marriage licenses.

[05:10:01] While Davis is now in jail, the judge called six of her deputies to the stand. Five of them have now agreed to issue marriage licenses for Rowan County. An attorney representing Kim Davis was also brought back into the courtroom. However, he said that Davis would not authorize the clerks to do that.

Given that, the judge said the Kim Davis will have to remain in jail, but those deputy clerks can begin to issue those licenses to all couples, same sex and different sex couples as early as this morning.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Alexandra, thank you for that.

Time for an early start on your money this morning. It looks like a tough end to the week for stocks. European stocks and U.S. stock futures are lower. You know, this could change depending on the August jobs report due out later this morning. Economists surveyed predicts 207,000 jobs added last month. That would be down just slightly from July, but really in line with the solid gains we have seen this year.

Unemployment expected to tick down to 5.2 percent. Now, this jobs report, of course, could sway the Fed's decision on interest rates. Just weeks ago, it seems the first interest rate hike in nine years would come September 17th. But a volatile August for stocks made that decision more complicated. This jobs report could be the deciding factor.

So, a lot hinges on this jobs report. I think you are absolutely right. It is unclear how the stock market would react to a strong jobs report.

KOSIK: They may actually react the opposite way that you'd think. Got to watch.

ROMANS: Yes, we will.

All right. Sacramento police searching for a gunman who opened fire at Sacramento City college killing one person and badly wounding another, grazing a third person, all three students at the college. The gunman fleeing on foot. Police say they believe this attack was an isolated incident.

We have that after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:15:04] ROMANS: Sacramento police are searching for a gunman who opened fire at Sacramento City College, killing one person, badly wounding another and grazing a third person, all three students at the college, the gunman fleeing on foot. Police say they believe this attack was an isolated incident, not a campus shooting spree.

KOSIK: Authorities in Illinois say they are making significant progress in the hunt for three suspected cop killers. They are now looking at footage from a nearby home security system looking for fresh leads in the case.

We get the latest from CNN's Ryan Young in Chicago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The outpouring of emotion is still going on here in Fox Lake, but investigators are working around the clock. In fact, the commander tells us he has to tell the investigators to go home. One woman has been charged with the idea that she falsified a police report saying that she saw two suspects.

Now, police cleared that up, they did get a piece of solid information. They do believe there is home surveillance that may have cause three suspects running nearby. That video has been turned over to homeland security. More than 100 tips have come in to tip line, and two investigators are working just on emails and tip line phone calls. All this they believe will help them maybe catch the people involved in the vicious killing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Ryan Young for us.

KOSIK: In Abilene, Texas, two people now under arrest in connection with the killing of a police officer at his home. Phillip and Violetta Walter charged with first-degree felony murder. Bond set at $500,000 each. Police say they've linked the duo from stolen items from Officer Don Allen's home. Allen's body was found Monday. Several reports he was bound, beaten and tortured.

Meantime, the funeral for Deputy Darren Goforth is set for today in Houston. Goforth was shot and killed last Friday. He was ambushed as he was pumping gas into his patrol car.

KOSIK: For the first time, a prosecutor is publicly saying she will seek the death penalty for Dylann Roof, charged in the Charleston church massacre. She made the decision after what she described as intense and emotional discussion with family members and survivors. Police say Roof sat at the bible study for almost an hour at the historic Emanuel AME Church back in June, before opening fire.

ROMANS: All right. It will be hot in the Northeast and Midwest this holiday weekend.

Let's get to meteorologist Derek Van Dam with the forecast.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Alison and Christine.

I think most people could get behind me on this being a pretty decent Labor Day weekend forecast. It will be warm. We still have the surface level high pressure system rotating in lots of heat across the central U.S. It will feel like 97 in Nashville today, 100 near St. Louis.

But look at the cooler weather settling in to the Big Apple. A weak cold front sliding across the New England coast that is "cooling our temperatures", quote/unquote, by a couple of degrees. But it won't take long for warmer weather to build back up across the central U.S. and sliding east through the course of the holiday weekend.

If you are in to tennis, the U.S. open forecast for New York, 80 on Saturday. Look at rebound, all the way to 90 degrees by Tuesday afternoon. Many people hitting the beaches. Water temperatures in the upper 60s for the New England Coast across the Carolinas. But be careful, there is a rip current risk right along the long island coast, 3 to 4 feet breakers for the beaches there. Temperatures across the rest of the U.S., comfortable across Seattle, but warm and humid for the Southeast.

Back to you.

ROMANS: All right. We'll take it.

KOSIK: I definitely will. I love that hot weather.

I don't know if you heard, but they're rejoicing in New England after a judge overturns Tom Brady's Deflategate suspension. But is the Patriots quarterback completely in the clear? Andy Scholes has the bleacher report, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:22:23] KOSIK: Not sure if you know this, but there was no happier place last night than Foxborough, Massachusetts, Patriots fans celebrating Tom Brady's big win in court.

ROMANS: Andy Scholes has more in this morning's bleacher report.

Hey, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, guys.

Yes, Patriots fans rejoining that their man, Tom Brady, will be on the field next week. Judge Berman overturning Brady's four-game suspension. He said the NFL's process for suspending him contained several legal deficiencies.

Now, Brady was at the stadium, but he left early and never came on the field. Fans all over Gillette Stadium are rocking their "Free Brady" t-shirt and holding up the signs praising Judge Berman. They could not be happier that Brady beat Roger Goodell in court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Goodell dug himself a hole and lost his shovel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I said from the beginning it was a witch hunt against Brady. And I think the outcome is more than fair. I'm happy and I'm glad the judge put Goodell in his place.

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: So happy that Brady's free.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Now, the NFL is not giving up. They will be appealing to the second circuit court. That process could take months, if not years. With such animosity between Goodell and the fan base, the commissioner will not be attending next week's season opener with the Steelers. He will watch it on TV. This will be the first time ever that Goodell will not be at the season opener.

And Deflategate will be one of the topics discussed in the football preview. Rachel Nichols is going to get you ready for the season with special guest host Dan Marino. They're going to be join by Peyton Manning, Pete Carroll and much more. That's going to be Sunday afternoon at 3:30 Eastern, right here on CNN.

All right. College football season kicking off last night around the country. Jim Harbaugh making his debut with Michigan. It didn't go well. Utah beat the Wolverines, 24-17. Michigan has lost 8 of the last 11 games against Pac-12 opponents.

Finally, play was delayed at the U.S. Open because of a drone crash. The drone crashed into the stands at Louis Armstrong Stadium. No one was hurt. One player said after that she initially thought it was a bomb. NYPD is investigating. Guys, a scary moment. Hopefully no drones crash today out at Flushing Meadow.

Serena, she's going to continue to her quest for grand slam. That's play tonight at 7:00 Eastern.

KOSIK: Yes, it is amazing the drone missed all those people. Thank goodness.

ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Andy.

KOSIK: All right. Donald Trump agreeing to drop out of the presidential race if he doesn't win the Republican nomination, a pledge he previously refused.

[05:25:05] So, what changed? Trump, what he said to CNN, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Donald Trump pledges allegiance to the Republican party. Why he says now is the time, ahead.

Joe Biden at his most candid yet about whether he will join the race for president.

A Kentucky clerk behind bars this morning for refusing to allow gay couples to marry. The support she is getting from some candidates.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. It is 29 minutes past the hour. Nice to see you this Friday morning.

Let's begin with politics and Donald Trump. He has declared his allegiance, pledged allegiance to the Republican Party. He is pulling further ahead in the polls. After declaring he would not sign a GOP loyalty pledge, the front running Trump, well, did sign one. Why the about face?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The best way forward for the Republicans to win is if I win the nomination and go directly against whoever they happen to put up. And for that reason, I have signed the pledge.

(CHEERS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: OK. Look at the latest Monmouth University poll, 30 percent, a new high for trump.

For more on his decision to embrace the Republican Party, let's turn it over to CNN chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: I covered politics for some time. And I've never quite seen an event like what happened at Trump Tower, and that is the chairman of the party flying from Washington to go to the home turf of a candidate for president to convince him to sign a pledge to be a member of that party.