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AT THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA

Stock Market Plunging; Chris Christie's Big Speech in New Hampshire; Trump Puts Out First Television Ad; Rubio Contracts Self with Trump; FBI Says Wants to End Armed Oregon Protest in Peace; Bill Clinton Stumps for Hillary in New Hampshire. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired January 4, 2016 - 11:00   ET

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


[11:00:10] DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: That documentary airs tonight and also features interviews with Prince Harry and their father, Charles.

Thanks for joining me today. I'm Deborah Feyerick, for Carol Costello.

AT THIS HOUR with Berman and Bolduan starts now.

(HEADLINES)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Berman.

The breaking news this morning, the stock market plunging. The Dow is down 450 points as we speak. The reasons include fears over economic slowdowns and unrest in the Middle East.

BOLDUAN: The selloff started in China. Looks like it has made its way here now.

Joining us now to tell us what this is all about and what it's going to look like today is CNN's chief business correspondent, Christine Romans.

Christine, how bad do you think it's going to get?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Around the world, pain at the start of the year. It started in China, you're right. The Chinese market stumbled 7 percent lower and then they halted trading for the first time ever, triggering circuit breakers for the first time ever. China closed and then Europe picked up the ball and sold stocks, selling stocks robustly around the world and buying gold and bonds. That's the fear factor you can see rushing into the safety of gold and bonds. The Dow Jones Industrial Average now below 17,000 and really starting the year on a cranky note, I will say. China's manufacturing number gets the blame to begin with but there was a U.S. manufacturing number that was also a little weak, causing concerns about global growth slowing. And then you add onto this the situation between the Middle East

between Saudi Arabia and Iran and that really added fuel to the fire.

BERMAN: What about that? You're dealing with a huge percentage of the world oil reserves right there in the middle of that conflict. Oil prices have been low, historically low.

ROMANS: They've been low. That's been a problem for Saudi Arabia, right? They depend on oil revenues to run their country. Now you have these two countries, these two countries already at opposite ends of many global conflicts. Many conflicts in the region, now that tensions are ratcheting up, a lot of concern about what that means for world stability, Middle East stability and also oil prices. Oil prices did spike higher briefly but they've settled out here. Everyone thinks Saudi Arabia is going to continue to pump oil as fast as it can. Iran will bring oil on the market as soon as it can. And the U.S. is still releasing a whole lot of oil, too, so you still have that supply glut.

BERMAN: 452 points down as we sit here at 11:03 eastern time. An ugly day so far.

Christine Romans, thanks so much.

BOLDUAN: Thanks, Christine.

Let's turn to politics now. And they are off, folks. The race for 2016 enters 2016 with a major push from the top presidential contenders. They are out in force with more than a dozen campaign events scheduled just today.

Perhaps the most anticipated event isn't even with a candidate now. Moments from now, former President Bill Clinton will be making his first solo appearance on the trail stumping for Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire.

BERMAN: I think we have live pictures from New Hampshire. I'm crossing my fingers.

No.

BOLDUAN: No.

BERMAN: No, there are no live pictures. You have to take our word for it that Bill Clinton will be there. He will be in a room, which we will get you pictures of, in Nashua, New Hampshire, a state where Bill Clinton feels a real connection --

BOLDUAN: Told you.

BERMAN: Huge. There's live pictures of the room where Bill Clinton will be speaking in a few minutes.

You'll remember New Hampshire in 1992, Bill Clinton said it was the state that made him the comeback kid. Hillary Clinton did win there in 2000 coming from behind. And, of course, today, everyone wants to know if Bill Clinton will respond to Donald Trump, who is raising the Clinton sexual history, if you will. We will bring you Bill Clinton's speech live the second he steps on the stage. We'll have the picture ready.

CNN's senior political correspondent, Brianna Keilar, is at Nashua Community College.

Brianna, what do we expect?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: We expect Bill Clinton here and so much attention. Actually, the program, pardon me, the program is just getting started here. We are expecting Bill Clinton, and this would be a bill deals anyway because this is his first time coming out on the campaign trail for his wife. It's an even bigger deal with Donald Trump really making an issue of his past. He has this event here in Nashua and later he'll be going to Exeter where he'll be at town hall trying to really organizers and volunteers who are so key to Hillary Clinton's chances during the New Hampshire primary.

Of course, all of this comes not only as Donald Trump is making an issue of Bill Clinton, but as Hillary Clinton was here in New Hampshire yesterday and she was actually heckled by a Republican state lawmaker over the former president's past indiscretions. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[11:05:35] HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Here we go. Right there.

(SHOUTING)

CLINTON: You are very rude and I'm not ever going to call on you. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: So, a big issue there. I'm going to send it back to you guys as the national anthem starts here in Nashua.

BERMAN: Brianna Keilar, thank you so much. We'll check back in with you and keep our eye on that podium, Bill Clinton due in a few minutes.

BOLDUAN: Let's check in on another potential hopeful making news. Chris Christie is just wrapping up a speech on what he calls Restoring American Leadership. He is also in New Hampshire, the centerpiece of his path to the White House.

BERMAN: CNN's Phil Mattingly -- welcome, Phil -- joins us now from Manchester --

BOLDUAN: Hi, Phil.

BERMAN: -- with details on the Christie speech.

Phil, this was a big speech, the campaign highlighted this, wanted us all to see it. What was the message?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The message is pivoting. Chris Christie says he understands the need for no political correctness. The anger among the electorate but it's time to move on from the TV- specific candidates. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R), NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Showtime is over, everybody. We are not electing an entertainer in chief. Showmanship is fun but it's not the kind of leadership that will truly change America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Now, behind me, in a little over an hour, Chris Christie is expected to hold a town hall. The town hall is really the thing people here in New Hampshire say has driven his rise firmly into that tier of candidates, fighting for the non-Donald Trump related New Hampshire vote. That's obviously crucial for Chris Christie. Much of his campaign hinges on how he does in this state. More than 40 town halls in 2015. This event here will be his fourth of nine over the course of three days in this New Year. For Chris Christie, it's not just about the message of he's a governor that can get things done in New Jersey. He spent a lot of time in New Hampshire. But as you just heard, it's a message of he's a serious candidate. He's not from D.C., but he has experience. That, he's hoping, can translate. Maybe steal some voters who are angry but also want some sense of the ability to get things done, guys?

BOLDUAN: Phil, with all of that in mind and the fact this has definitely been the centerpiece of his strategy, is New Hampshire, he's also -- Christie is shifting some focus to New Hampshire --

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: To Iowa.

BOLDUAN: I'm sorry, New Hampshire to New Hampshire. That's why John is here. To Iowa. What is the opening he sees there?

MATTINGLY: There's the sense that if he can do better than expected, and I think up over the last couple months, nobody has expected him to make much of a dense in Iowa, however he has a group of supporters there that are important, as his time as the leader of the Republican Governors Associate. He has close ties with Terry Branstad (ph), a popular and long-serving governor of Iowa. Some say he can do better than people expect. The expectations have long been low that that would add momentum coming in just seven days later to this crucial New Hampshire contest. Again, no expectation he'll wander into Iowa and win or wander into Iowa and maybe even come in the top two. But if he can do something there to where he comes out of Iowa with people saying, hey, Chris Christie did better there than ever expected, that sends him into New Hampshire, again, a must-win primary there with some momentum, momentum he hopes to translate not just to a top two or three finish but a top finish.

BOLDUAN: Phil, thanks so much. Great to see you.

BERMAN: Also this morning, Donald Trump made a little campaign history in Trump terms. He actually put out his first television ad of the campaign. Look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: The politicians can pretend it's something else but Donald Trump calls it radical Islamic terrorism. That's why he's calling for a temporary shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until we can figure out what's going on. He'll quickly cut the head off ISIS and take their oil. And he'll stop illegal immigration by building a wall on our southern border that Mexico will pay for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: The ad is as blunt as it is direct.

Let's bring in CNN's chief political correspondent, Dana Bash, for more on this.

Dana, he puts out the ad. What are people saying about it? What does the Trump campaign hope comes from it?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It was about as subtle as any Donald Trump message tends to be, particularly when you're looking at what he said about ISIS. What they're hoping is in these last four weeks, they can move beyond what Donald Trump has had for the past six months, which in political terms is called earned media, not spent one dime on television ads like this, and really try to coalesce his message and condense his message into this 30 seconds that you just -- or the longer part that just played to try to make sure his lead in the polls actually translates to getting people interested in going from their homes to the caucuses in Iowa, to the polls in New Hampshire and beyond.

[11:10:34] BERMAN: You really get a sense today, Dana, that it's on. You have all of the candidates out, not just on the trail, but delivering messages that aren't placeholders. Messages they want to see break through. Marco Rubio had a big event today in New Hampshire.

BASH: So fascinating. Marco Rubio is hoping, hoping that, as you were talking about earlier about New Hampshire, that he can sort of begin to really take the lead and be the guy that the establishment clings onto, particularly post-Iowa. So, he's trying to more and more contrast himself and his experience, his knowledge, not just of domestic policy, but more specifically his national security chops, and contrast that with Donald Trump. Now, he's not naming him by name, but it's pretty clear who he's talking about. Listen to part of that speech this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R), FLORIDA & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Words and political stunts cannot ensure our security. ISIS cannot be filibustered. The job is not described in the Constitution as entertainer-in-chief or commentator-in-chief or even, frankly, economist-in-chief. It is described as commander-in-chief. If you can't be bothered to offer specifics on how you will perform that job, then, quite frankly, you don't deserve that job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: So, that was kind of a double-whammy, talking clearly about Trump as the entertainer-in-chief and saying ISIS cannot be filibustered. A shot across the bow at, of course, Ted Cruz who, you know, filibustered as much as he could in the name of stopping Obamacare in the Senate. It's obvious why he did it in New Hampshire. As we were talking about, that is the place where he is hoping that he can do well and that would spring him down into South Carolina, where he has actually been more than any other candidate. Just looking ahead to the calendar, guys, South Carolina, you think of as a place that has a lot of evangelicals and maybe, you know, conservatives, but they tend to go with the more establishment candidate, historically, George W. Bush, even Newt Gingrich, speaker of the House. It doesn't get more establishment that that.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: There's a defense/foreign policy vote there they think with all the military bases. John McCain --

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: Exactly. Precisely.

BOLDUAN: And to that point, you heard Marco Rubio say we don't need an entertainer-in-chief, we need a commander-in-chief. You heard almost the exact same line from Chris Christie this morning in New Hampshire. It's interesting to see the same Republicans using the same language but nothing sticks. What changes as we're in this sprint to Iowa/New Hampshire/early primary states?

BASH: These candidates feel like they've got nothing to lose. They're hoping beyond hope that now as you all said, you know, it's on. And it is time not just to be talking and time not just to be telling pollsters on the telephone what you support and what you don't support. You're going to have to actually go and vote. So the hope among all of these non-Trump candidates, particularly as we've seen explicitly from Rubio and Christie this morning, is that voters will wake up and say, you know what, it's been a fun ride but I'm going to go with somebody who I think I can sort of feel most comfortable with on these dire issues, particularly on national security.

BERMAN: You know, it's interesting. It may not hurt Trump at all, but it might be that Rubio and Christie, and Jeb Bush started it, too, they're trying to edge each other out. They're trying to prove they are the establishment, particularly in New Hampshire. It will be interesting to see how far they're willing to go with this in the coming days.

Dana Bash, thanks so much.

BOLDUAN: Thanks, Dana.

BASH: Thanks, guys.

BOLDUAN: Again, moments from now, Bill Clinton will be making his first solo appearance on the campaign trail. Looking at live pictures there from New Hampshire.

Also, this comes as Donald Trump rips into the former president and his wife over sexism. Will Bill Clinton push back? Will he respond? We're going to take it live. We'll bring you to it.

BERMAN: You get live pictures when you ask for them.

(LAUGHTER)

[11:14:40] Plus, armed activists taking over a federal building, refusing to leave until their demands are met. How will law enforcement respond? We're going to speak live with someone who's in touch with people inside this standoff.

And is this masked terrorist the new face of ISIS? Chilling new video surfaces with a warning to the West.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: "We will be here as long as it takes," that's what the leader of a group of armed protesters is saying about occupying a federal building in Oregon. This has been going on since the weekend. Protesters there say they are upset about government overreach. They're also upset that -- government overreach and what the government has been doing in taking their land, they say, and that federal authorities are preventing the people from using the land and its resources.

BERMAN: So, federal authorities released a statement of their own, saying, "The FBI is working with the Harney County sheriff's office, Oregon State Police and other local law enforcement agencies to bring a peaceful resolution to the situation at this wildlife refuge."

CNN's Sara Sidner joins us. She is there.

Sara, you spoke to the leader -- you can call it a protest, a takeover, you can call it whatever you want -- you spoke to him. What did he say?

[11:19:18] SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think the best word is probably "takeover," because it's not a standoff. There's no one here from the federal government or police to have a standoff with. They have taken over a federal court building here in the Malheur Wildlife Refuge.

I want to give you a look at what it looks like here. This is really remote. We're about 30 miles from Burns, Oregon, which is the closest town. They put a flag over the sign. And then you'll see this tower here, a lookout tower. There is someone from the group that is up in that tower looking down to spot anyone who comes to this area. This is the only way in, basically. You'd have to go way down that road down there. It is wilderness. This is miles and miles and miles of wilderness with not much around it.

According to Ammon Bundy, who helped bring this group together, who is from out of state, as are many who have taken part in this, they say, look, if he feel like the federal government has overstepped its bounds, taking land that should belong to the ranchers and farmers so that the ranchers and farmers can work the land, raise their families, and help the community grow. That is their stance. They say this land is a part of that and they want to take it back and give it back to the local government, like the county, for example, so the people can do what they will with it.

The federal government, obviously, other ideas. They say, look, this is a reserve. People can come and enjoy themselves on this land. So, we're seeing a tug of war here.

The Bundys' basically say this is a constitutional right. They're going to stay here for as long as it takes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: There's a lot of social media discussion about what you all are doing out here. They've used words like al Qaeda and Vanilla ISIS. While they sound like funny names, they are basically calling you terrorists. How do you respond to these accusations?

AMMON BUNDY, RANCHER: That is the minority, but I would encourage people to look into what is really happening and find out who is truly doing the terrorizing. Who's been taking ranches? This refuge alone, over 100 ranches have been taken so that they can make this park, this refuge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: From Oregon to New Hampshire, Nashua, New Hampshire, former President Bill Clinton on stage in his first campaign solo rally of the year.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Right before we came out, you were mayor of Nashua when I ran for president.

(LAUGHTER)

And --

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: -- that's got to be a good omen.

(LAUGHTER)

But I'm glad you're back again.

Senator Laski, thank you for being here, all the members of the legislature, so many of my old friends, people of all ages and backgrounds.

Sometimes I follow this debate and the presidential elections, especially when I watch the other guys debating, and I think, you know, I don't fit anymore. First of all, I'm a happy grandfather. I'm not mad at anybody.

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: And -- and secondly, I thought our election was supposed to be a job interview. And, believe me, it's important.

A lot of elections are determined by just what they're about. I think this election is about restoring broadly shared prosperity, rebuilding the middle class, giving American kids the dream back.

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: I think it's about these issues that, as Hillary always says, keep Americans up at night.

New Hampshire has one of the most difficult problems in the country with the opiate addictions, which in many places is morphing into heroin addiction because the heroin growing in the Sierra, the poppies there in Mexico harvested by preteens are now cheaper on the street in America than prescription drugs. I thought the governor did a great thing by making Narcan, or Naloxone, more widely available --

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: I spent a lot of time on this. Three children, three children of friends of mine, my personal friends, have died, who were not addicted, just because they drank a few beers or drank a little wine and were told, pop this pill, it will give you a buzz. It will also kill a part of your brain that tells your body to breathe while you're sleeping. This is a very big deal. And I was proud that Hillary was the first person to speak up on it and propose a $10 billion plan to deal with it. Our foundation worked very hard to get the first nasal spray injection of Narcan available, and the net effect will be to save about 40 bucks a dose on giving it out. This is a really big deal. We need it on every college campus, every dorm, every police department, everywhere. It is literally a miracle drug.

And so there are lots of issues like that. People who are dealing with dealing with families with Alzheimer's and all the attendant consequences that you don't have any paid family leave. So, it's about who can understand that. We need broadly inclusive economics, but we need inclusive social policies, too, that recognize that, as time goes on, life works out differently for different people. And if you got one country, we should try to allow everybody to live as long and as well as they can and to do it together. [11:25:33] The third thing the election's about is how we're going to

keep America safe and still keep it America, preserve our individual liberties and our reputation for being an open country, our belief in diversity, and our understanding that one of our great meal tickets in the next 20 years is going to be there's somebody here from everywhere else.

The other day there was a story in "The New York Daily News" about an immigrant who had come from Yemen 12 years ago. This happened right after the tragedy in San Bernardino. And all this time he's been trying to get his wife and four kids here. And he's working at one of these Quick Stop places in New York City. And two robbers come in with pistols and say, empty the cash register. And he was terrified. He opened the cash register, put the money in his hands, according to the news story, and looked at it and just said, I've had this job for a year, it's not my money and it's not yours. He slapped at the gun hand of the person standing closest to him. The gun goes off, misses him by a few seconds -- inches. The bullet goes into the counter right by him. Then these gunmen, praise god, were not entirely stupid. They realized they had just fired a weapon in broad daylight in New York City. So they ran out of the store. He goes next door, calls the police, waits to make a police report. His boss is so thrilled that he gives him the afternoon off. He went home and pulled out his prayer mat and prayed thanks that his life was spared and hoped his family would some day be able to join him. That guy is more representative of most Muslims in America than what happened in San Bernardino.

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: And yesterday, I read a story about Kenya, which is basically 85 percent Christian and 15 percent Muslim, but the further north you go, the more Muslim it gets. These Christians were riding on a bus. We work there, my foundation does. I'll make full disclosure, I like the place. They were stopped by al Shabaab terrorists. They said, we want to separate the Muslims and Christians. Obviously, they were going to kill them. And they saw it coming. So the Muslims went around giving head scarves to the Christian women, otherwise trying to disguise them. And they risked their lives to save the Christian minority. It's very important that we stand against terrorists who try to abuse religion for any purpose and any religion to murder people. It's important we not be chumps when we decide what security provisions should be employed to check people's background. But we don't want to run away from the place we've been. America is a place that welcomes all people who are willing to treat other people the way they'd like to be treated, willing to follow the law.

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: Now, so you have to have inclusive economics, inclusive social policy. Then we have to have politics that are inclusive enough to get something done.

(APPLAUSE) CLINTON: That means we have to do something with all this dark money. I think it's crazy. Even if the Supreme Court says that billionaires can give all the money they want to politics, you ought not be able to give it in secret. We need political reform in this country --

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: -- that deals with that.

And we need to recognize something that has received almost no attention in this election, which is that in all probability the next president of the United States will make between one and three appointments to the United States Supreme Court. And I know who I want doing that.

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: And finally, we've made a lot of progress under President Obama on the environment, saving the auto industry, advances for LBGT rights, trying to work out the extreme difficulties in supporting immigration reform but not letting anybody just show up at the border and --