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EARLY START

Democratic Convention Opens Today; DNC Chair Resigns After Hacked Emails Reveal Anti-Sanders Actions; Another Attack in Germany. Aired 3:30-4a ET

Aired July 25, 2016 - 03:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN: Welcome to the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia. This is supposed to be the Clinton coronation, but in the midst of what supposed to be unity, we have this unity. How will this all play out in front of millions of viewers this week.

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Early Start. We are live at the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia. I'm John Berman.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN: And I'm Christine Romans.

Another city, another convention. Another grill. We are here this 33 minutes past the hour here at the CNN Grill this morning. And this is city of brotherly love.

But so far the main brotherly interaction is of the Kaine and able variety. We are not talking about Tim Kaine.

Just hours before the Democratic Convention is set to gavel in the Democratic National chair has checked out. Debbie Wasserman Schultz stepping down after an embarrassing e-mail leaked.

Our Phil Mattingly joins us now with the very latest on this drama over the weekend. Hi, there.

MATTINGLY: Well, this was supposed to be the moment. The moment where the party came together after a decisive and often raucous primary. In fact, they were even implicit about it. The title of today's theme is "United Together."

Bernie Sanders getting a headlining speaking spot, Michelle Obama also speaking, Elizabeth Warren also taking it to the mic. And the DNC release happened. Now what is this exactly WikePedia -- or I'm sorry -- Wikileaks released hacked e-mails of a few top DNC officials.

And what this show at least on the surface is, well, that's exactly and Bernie Sanders and his supporters have been saying was going on behind the scenes for months, that the DNC was putting their thumbs on the scales for the Clinton campaign.

You have DNC officials talking about trying to plant stories showing what a mess Bernie Sanders campaign is. Another DNC official talking about getting somebody to ask Bernie Sanders about his religion. These are exactly the types of things that Bernie Sanders and his top

surrogates have been pointing to for months trying to say that the process is rigged. Bernie Sanders has called repeatedly for Debbie Wasserman Schultz to step down. Well, now, that's going to happen.

Still, the Clinton campaign working behind the scenes to try and smooth this out. They want to get to the convention, a convention that they hope looks very different from what we saw last in Cleveland.

Take a listen to what Hillary Clinton had to say on 60 Minutes with her first joined interview with a new running mate, Tim Kaine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: I don't know what their convention was about other than criticizing me. I seem to be the only unifying team that they had.

There was no positive agenda, it was a very dark, decisive campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Now, guys, you can expect to hear themes like that going forward throughout the week. Democrats are trying to strike a more optimistic view of things, trying to talk about the future, less so about where the country is in a negative sense.

But one of the most interesting kinds of side issues to watch here will Debbie Wasserman Schultz speak? She's expected to, she's technically still the DNC chair until Thursday night.

She said in her statement she will be talking to delegates. I can tell you from the behind the scenes a lot of democrats are very wary of that idea. They don't want a big floor demonstration or booing. So, keep an eye on that, we should get our answer today, John.

BERMAN: All right. Phil Mattingly, thanks so much.

It is interesting Christine Romans. We are talking about Debbie Wasserman Shultz speaking, they're talking in terms of like seconds in minutes in a single digit.

ROMANS: Yes.

BERMAN: She may speak for a minute or two and Bernie Sanders as Phil is saying he's been working very hard to actually keep the team of unity. And he's telling his supporters if she does speak.

He's sort of getting what he wants until we'll see how it plays out on the floor.

Joining us now to discuss CNN political commentator, John Phillips, he is a talk radio host on KABC and a Donald Trump supporter, also here CNN political analyst Josh Rogin, a columnist for the Washington Post, we have CNN political commentator Angela Rye where she is the... former executive director...

(CROSSTALK)

[03:35:04] ANGELA RYE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Let me help you got it though.

BERMAN: ... of the Congressional Black Caucus. Well, you didn't have the form. You are not still working for them, right?

And also with us is democratic strategist Bob Beckel.

Angela Rye, since I mangled your introduction I'm going to start with you here.

RYE: I will take it.

BERMAN: This is just how you plan the convention?

RYE: No.

BERMAN: This is just how you wanted?

RYE: No.

BERMAN: So, what's going to happen?

RYE: All I can say is that I really hope that this particular convention does not end up like last week's convention where they are talking about Melania's speech or Ted Cruz's shade.

This is not the type of convention that we are hoping now. This was supposed to be 2008 a redo. And that right now it's not the conventions that we have.

So, hopefully Bernie Sanders speech will so dynamic today that he will over shadow Debbie Wasserman three to five minute speech at 4 p.m. That's my hope.

BERMAN: But I smell fear, am I right that I smell the word of fear?

RYE: Are you talking about the e-mail?

BERMAN: Yes.

RYE: Oh, it is reeking all over the page. Yes. The leak theory is right.

ROMANS: Well the worry is that it's just that out here, whether is that they're saying about this whole mess this weekend. I mean, is everyone sort of scouring through e-mails to make sure their names are not in them.

RYE: Yes. And then I think the question is four words, are we done yet? Like, seriously, is this going to be the worse of what happens. Because this week we can kind of hurdle. I think the one thing that we really don't like from a messaging strategy standpoint, not anything with the word e-mail in it.

Come on, people, nothing with e-mails. We can't handle anymore e- mails.

BERMAN: So, Bob Beckel, Bernie Sanders has been calling for Debbie Wasserman Schultz to be gone for a long time. And yesterday morning before she actually made it official, listen to what Bernie Sanders had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: I asked and demanded Debbie Wasserman Schultz's resignation many, many months ago. And I state that again, I don't think she is qualified to be the chair of the DNC. Not only for these awful e-mails which reveals the prejudice of the DNC.

But also because we need a body that reaches out to working people and young people and I don't think hard leadership style is doing that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, Bob Beckel, is Bernie Sanders getting what he wants now. Now, that she has, you know, she's going to move aside and it is going to make everything better?

BECKLE: Well, it was perfect timing from his standpoint, but he's not the first guy that wants Debbie Wasserman Schultz. I mean, this goes back many years and it was Barack Obama who supported her on a couple of occasions when they were looking for oust her.

So, I mean, I like her a lot personally, but I'd be happy to pay for the plane ticket out before you speak.

ROMANS: Wow.

ROGIN: Well, listen. I think ultimately, Bernie Sanders is not going to get what he wants, right? Because they're going to appoint an interim chair. That chair is going to probably stay through the election. If Hillary wins she's going to appoint a permanent chair who she likes one of her people not one of Bernie's people.

BERMAN: But appointing Donna Brazile, by the way, whom I know the Sanders' campaign likes. I mean, I talk to Donna about this.

ROGIN: Well, until the election but in the long run, Hillary Clinton is going to choose Hillary's choice, right. And it's going to be someone who Bernie wants, he can enjoy this while it lasts until November.

But in the end, Hillary Clinton is going to -- if she's president, she is going to be the head of the party, she is going to choose the DNC chairman and the party is going to ultimately her way no matter what Bernie got in the platform or this or that.

PHILLIPS: Yes, but, Josh, I can't wait for Debbie Wasserman Schultz to give her speech. Because you are going to get a reaction like when Roseanne Barr sung the national anthem in San Diego. The blue birds are going to be out. And here is something very interesting. I saw an interview with Donna

Brazile on CNN with Anderson Cooper. She foreshadowed that there may be more e-mails that come out that are damaging to the DNC.

BERMAN: Well, WikiLeaks...

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: Didn't give a time line, but said, yes, there could be more and there will be more.

BECKEL: yes, it's going to be hard first to replace, even if -- I mean, obviously Hillary Clinton could have her own choice. But Donna Brazile has got a lot of support for years in the Democratic Party and she's a -- she's an African-American woman.

I'm not so sure that Hillary would not just go along and say I don't need to explain right now.

ROMANS: So, what do they need do to accomplish, I mean, Angela, you start the week with this, you know, this shadow this pure -- this pure over the whole thing, what do we need to do to accomplish this week?

RYE: So, a couple of things, one like I just mentioned Bernie Sanders is of course, speaking today. I think it's very, very important that he continues down this path of unity.

He was asked several times in an interview today whether or not this was enough. If is this going to be OK and he's gone back to the fact that the most important thing is defeating Donald Trump.

I think that has to be the line of the week. It cannot be as negative and as scary as the RNC last week. But it does need to focus on the folks who are anti-Trump but aren't quite for Hillary yet.

BERMAN: Anyone who want to talk about Michelle Obama? She is speaking -- is she going to mention Melania's speech? That's the big...

RYE: You'd ask.

BERMAN: She's got to do it.

ROGIN: She's got to...

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: But in a way that I imagine is funny, like I would think genuinely funny. You're not going to pick Melania Trump, right?

ROGI: No, no, no. Melania Trump admires Michelle Obama.

RYE: Really?

ROGIN: It's like the Mafia. Families usually don't get touch. I think she'll be gracious but I think she'll make, you know, we're talking about that tomorrow instead of this. (CROSSTALK)

[03:40:00] BECKEL: The other thing we got to keep in mind is that Bobby and Susie middle Americans did not wake up this morning and say, damn, Debbie Wasserman Schultz is gone.

They don't know where she is. They could care less. This is inside baseball. It would be gone very quickly as supposed to these conventions are.

ROGIN: And the other speakers are she's got a dreamer and undocumented immigrant. They're trying to turn the page, right? Before this story broke, the Clinton campaign were saying doom and gloom is what you get from Trump. We're offering a positive message. That's what they're trying to get back.

BERMAN: Well, we'll see if we hear it tonight.

ROMANS: Then they want real people but help by Hillary Clinton all night, that's what they're going to try. OK.

BERMAN: All right. The Democratic National Convention it comes on the heels of the Republican Convention. That's how it works in the calendar. So, how will this week event compares?

We'll have a look next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:45:01] ROMANS: Democrats open their national party convention today. And comparison to last week's republican convention in Cleveland are of course inevitable, how smoothly will it run, how effective as a message delivery vehicle.

And there is of course the tone, the tone will be like the republican convention which some calls negative and angry or will the democrats take a more upbeat optimistic view of America right now.

Our panel is rejoins us to discuss. John Phillips, Josh Rogin, Angela Rye and Bob Beckel. You know, four days of "lock her up, lock her up." And now Hillary Clinton has her own show this week.

And she was asked in 60 Minutes last night, she was asked basically, you know, crooked Hillary, we heard about crooked Hillary all week. You know, does she have something similar for Donald Trump, does she have her own nickname. Listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT PELLEY, 60 MINUTES CORRESPONDENT: He calls you crooked Hillary. What do you call him?

CLINTON: I don't call him anything and I'm not going to engage in that kind of insults fest that he seems to thrive on. So, whatever he says about me, he's perfectly free to use up his on air time and his own space to do. I am going to talk about what he's done, how he has hurt people in

business, time after time after time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: So, John Phillips of "lock her up" and she's not respond in kind. Is that the right -- you support Donald Trump, so do you think this is the right approach?

PHILLIPS: She's spend the last three weeks using Elizabeth Warren as her human oozy of insults on the campaign trail, so I have a feeling if she doesn't go there, there are going to be many people there doing her dirty work, Bernie Sanders among them.

BERMAN: You know, Bob Beckel, four days of attack like that on Hillary Clinton that went largely responded. Do you think it will leave a mark on her?

BECKEL: No. I mean, Dark Vaders are now retired. I mean, that was the darkest, bleakest convention. And she's going to perfect -- you know, she took a lot of heat for something called it takes a village, right, where we're going to come together and raise our kids and all that.

There is a perfect comparison between Donald Trump is "only I can do it. Only I can do it." I don't make European allies, I don't -- by the way that got him expressed but that was a big story.

I think when Trump realizes what he's got against him when Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders and the rest of hit the campaign trail, who's he got to speak for him?

ROMANS: Do you think does he bounce telling the -- I mean, we'll know soon enough. But do you think those four days of "lock her up" and the tone of his speech is something that's going to do well for them.

ROGIN: Yes. Well, ultimately I think he gets a small bounce than she gets a small bounce than it said also, then we restart and that the dynamic will take us into the debates.

But the problem here is that, you know, for the Hillary Clinton campaign, they can't get in the mud with Donald Trump. It doesn't work. They saw Jeb d it. They saw Rubio do it.

ROMANS: Yes.

ROGIN: And you just can't win playing on his turf that way, so, she really has no choice but to take the moral high ground such as it is for her.

BERMAN: It is subtle, though, Angela Rye. Because the Clinton people get in mud with Donald Trump, it's just different mud. They like to claim that we don't do personal attacks, we don't do the crooked Hillary things. But they go after him hard. They say on the issue. Sometimes I don't see the distinction though.

Because what they do is they say he's unfit, temperamentally unfit to be president, which if you are trying to like, make it short and five words is crazy. They're trying to say he's crazy.

RYE: Well.

BECKEL: There you go.

RYE: So, I know that I think that -- I think that the thing that is interesting here is it's not just Hillary's campaign who's saying this. You have editorial board after editorial that is making the same claim.

You have the Washington Post editorial which was just damming this last peek right after his speech. It's not just that this is a partisan thing as Americans will largely should be concerned about the type of presidency Donald Trump would have.

I think that is a different type of thing than as Tim Kaine put it of fifth grade insults. "Lock her up," I think a great response from democrats would be "lock it up." That's the nomination, that's what we look forward to the general initial that Hillary Clinton is on at.

BERMAN: Have you told anyone that?

RYE: No, just Christine just inspired me because she kept saying lock her, lock her up.

BERMAN: If we hear that can we say it was born on Early Start and, you know at 3.47 a.m.

RYE: I think that you can do whatever you want.

ROMANS: As they say kindergartens as if "lock it, put it in your pocket."

RYE: There you go.

ROMANS: Let's keep it going, girl.

(CROSSTALK)

BECKEL: This passage works as much as writing on this almost as Hillary Clinton. He can't stand Donald Trump. He's been waiting to get out there. He's a good campaigner as we all know.

When Donald Trump gets to front into that buzz. I mean, it's going to be rough. And I don't know who Trump got to speak out. But Trump will speak out obviously, I mean, he does it himself, right? Is that the idea?

PHILLIPS: Yes, what you heard he's an outsider. I don't think it helps you to have governors out there, senators out there, big people out there in the media. Donald Trump speaks for himself. And I think that that explains part of his appeal to the base.

[03:49:58] The fact that he doesn't have the usual suspect of, the fact that he's not going to get the editorial board endorsements. I think that's a badge of honor. ROMANS: We've never had.

(CROSSTALK)

RYE: But speaking of -- sorry. Speaking of big people, he actually does have someone who's a former or a current sitting governor actually work for him. Sorry, big people was kind of shade. But Chris Christie...

(CROSSTALK)

ROGIN: And with Mike Pence.

RYE: And with -- well, and I was sorry I was on the big people person, but, yes. You are right. Mike is his a running mate.

BERMAN: Let's see if we could there.

ROMANS: Yes. Let's see if we could get there. It is too early for that.

RYE: Yes. That's exactly right. He has attack dog whether you want to call it conventional or not. They are a sitting elected officials.

BECKEL: Let's not forget Newt is there was in...

(CROSSTALK)

RYE: That's true.

ROMANS: Ted (Inaudible) did. Bruce Springsteen, that's going to be the kind...

ROGIN: Rudy Giuliani. Bruce Springsteen he does not support Trump.

ROMANS: No, no, no. What I'm saying is he's got Ted (Inaudible) but he's got Bruce Springsteen so it's like the battle of the band.

ROGIN: I think Bruce Springsteen; I don't want to speak for him. He seems like a Bernie guy.

ROMANS: Oh, you think so. Well, listen.

(CROSSTALK)

RYE: Yes. He's now a democrat guy.

BERMAN: We'll talk about, you are going to hear from Hillary Clinton supporters this week. You're going to hear from people who she says -- who she helps throughout her career.

Is that the way to go, I mean, is that the way to highlight instead of going negative or keeping the tone dark. Is that work for her?

ROGIN: Yes. So, I talk to Clinton aids all weekend, and what they said is this, they're like they think that the republicans and democrats are living in two different realities here, right. We can have a debate about policies, a debate about policy but we cannot have a debate about facts.

So, when they see the Trump campaign put out this sort of doom and gloom, right, this America is going down the tubes, the economy is terrible, we're going beat by all of our foreign adversaries. They want to convince Americans that that's not the case.

And the only way they can do that is by having people presented in alternate reality, what they believe to be the real reality, which is that actually the economy was a lot better than they used to be.

Actually America is still the most powerful country around the world and it still the leader in all the international issues. So, that's what -- that's their mission and that's what they are saying.

BERMAN: Well, you are here all week. Does anyone here think that we are going to be here Friday morning saying that this was only positive.

Oh, my god. I can't believe that we didn't say anything about Donald Trump. Because I'm willing to bet right now they are going to say a lot.

ROGIN: No.

RYE: No.

BECKEL: Even Eisenhower's convention was positive. But, you know, I tell you, she's got one thing to do. Forget policy and everything else, she's got to deal with their negatives. And she's got to deal with what perceive about her being, you know, the sort of crooked Hillary thing.

And, I think the fact that her daughter is going to introduce her, she did a little bit of this and where about a month ago where she said I know I got to get people's trust back. I think this is going to be about building up her and her favorability got to get up.

Look, Trump is not a balance here. He's one of them because can't get above 41 and she cannot get above 43. So, it's a question can she, and not only Trump, can get above 41. She could if she can get rid of some of these negatives. It's a tough thing to do but I think she's got a thing to do it.

ROGIN: And I think the Clinton campaign also tells me that they see an opportunity on the foreign policy stuff, right. It used to be a source spot for her because her record as Secretary of State is mixed then really this is a mess.

She was involved in that. But now with Trump making all of these statements about NATO. His campaign chairman was lobbying for a pro- Putin dictators, right? So, they think they have a chance here to really and make some distance between the Trump campaign and foreign policies. We'll see if it plans out

BERMAN: OK.

ROMANS: Let's just stick or stay. We got another story to tell you this morning. A new attack overnight in Germany, that's the third in a week. Last night, the City of Ansbach, about 120 miles north of Munich, a suicide blew himself up after being refused entry to a music festival.

Authorities described him as a 27-year-old Syrian refugee. He had been denied asylum.

He was killed and 12 other people were injured. I want to get the latest from CNN's Frederik Pleitgen, coming to us live this morning, he is in Ansbach, Germany.

And, Fred, this is been just a real troubling a week for German authorities and here this attack of this music festival

PLEITGEN: Yes, absolutely, Christine. And it is something like this is something like a culmination point of what's really been a terrible week here for this country, specifically this region in the south of the country, where, by all accounts German politicians say this could be very well be the first ever suicide bombing in Germany.

And the way they described that all of this unfolded is that they say that around 10 p.m. last night, they got the first calls to authorities that there been a massive explosion of this music festival that was taking place.

And apparently, this 27-year-old man from Syria tried to get in and he did not have a ticket. But the authorities also say that he was acting suspiciously. And now they say that he apparently went to a bar that was next to the entry point to this music festival and then all of a sudden, this explosion went off.

He died on the scene. There were 12 other people who were wounded. But all of this could have been a lot worse. The authorities are saying that later, they found screws and nails and other metal objects on the ground which seems to indicate that that have been worked into this explosive device to try and cause as much as carnage as possible if in fact he would have managed to get inside that Munich -- inside that music festival.

Now, it is true. It has been a bad week for this country. You had an attack in the town of Wurzburg where an Afghan man who apparently inspired by ISIS went on a rampage stabbing of people there on a commuter train.

Then you had that shooting that took place in Munich where nine people were killed and the attacker killed himself. And now you have this attack that happened here.

[03:55:00] And one of the other things that we have to point out, Christine, is that Ansbach, this town that I am in right now is also a very big American military. Garrison was about 5,000 U.S. military personnel on the ground here in three bases in the city.

ROMANS: All right. Frederik Pleitgen for us. Thank you for that report this morning.

Fifty six minutes past the hour. Let's get a quick check of your money this morning. Dow futures are just slight lower right now. But folks they're still near a record high for stocks. The S&P 500 coming in to today, coming in to this new week at its highest level in history.

Stock markets in Europe, they are up right now. You can see shares in Asia finishing flat. Oil are back around 44 bucks a barrel.

And the Federal Reserve meets tomorrow. It is widely expected to hold interest rates steady. But we are expecting some clues as when a rate hike is coming.

Here is what investigators are thinking. They put about 3 percent chance of a rate increase following this week's meeting. The chance is September, a little bit higher. By November, 16 percent, December, 38 percent.

It seems uncertainty in global market after that Brexit vote have put a put a rate hike on hold for now. But many people feel the Fed has simply waited too long that the economy has been strong or long enough that should have been raising rates by now.

BERMAN: All right. They are saying this week is all about party unity here in Philadelphia. Plus, after a DNC e-mail scandal, a resignation by the party chair, how much unity like this can they can really handle.

We're back live from Philadelphia, next.

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