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EARLY START

Trump Vows To Spend More Of His Own Money; Trump Reaches Out To African-Americans; DNC Sues RNC Over Trump "Rigged Election" Claim; Megyn Kelly Vs. Newt Gingrich; Cubs' Kyle Schwarber Legend Grows; How The Campaign Affects Trump's Brand; Komen Foundation Facing Backlash. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired October 27, 2016 - 05:30   ET

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


[05:30:02] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: But can he buy a big comeback with just 12 days to go?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Also, Trump just renewed his feud with the Gold Star father who lost his son in the Iraq War.

BERMAN: And, Hillary Clinton with the biggest of big guns on the campaign trail today. The first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama -- they will be side-by-side on the trail for the very first time.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is 30 minutes past the hour this morning, and Donald Trump is going to open up his wallet in the final weeks of this campaign. He says yes, but he'll need to shell out about $40 million in 12 days to meet his pledge.

More on that in a moment because this morning, Donald Trump finds himself in a new back and forth with the father of the slain Muslim- American captain, Humayun Kahn, who died in the Iraq War in 2004. Overnight, Trump repeated his claim that Kahn would still be alive if Trump had been president at the time. Kahn's father is lashing back -- listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Had I been president, Captain Kahn would be alive today. We wouldn't have been in this horrible, horrible mistake.

KHIZR KAHN, FATHER OF SLAIN MUSLIM-AMERICAN SOLDIER HUMAYUN KAHN: This is the most cruel thing you can say to grieving parents, that if I was there this would not have happened. There's no sincerity in those remarks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Clinton's lead over Trump tightening slightly to six points in the latest CNN Poll of Polls with just a dozen days to go until the election. CNN's Jason Carroll has the latest from the Trump campaign in North Carolina. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, Christine, at Trump's rally here in Kinston he went over a few familiar points that we've heard before. First, about those polls. He says those national polls and battleground polls showing him running behind Hillary Clinton are wrong. But he did say that a recent poll out of the state of Florida showing him up by two points -- he says that one is right, saying that those long lines of early voters -- he says many of those people standing in those lines are, in fact, Trump supporters.

Also going after Hillary Clinton on the issue of Obamacare and those rising insurance premiums. He also took a moment to defend going off the campaign trail for a brief time to promote his new hotel in Washington, D.C.

TRUMP: So I thought I'd take an hour or two and run in and cut the ribbon with them at the building. To show you how low she is, she comes out and says Donald Trump took time off from the campaign to open a hotel -- oh. Now, she'll do one stop -- I'm telling you, she wants to sleep all the time. This is not what we need. This is not what we need as a president.

CARROLL: At an earlier rally in Charlotte, Trump, once again, made an effort to reach out to African-Americans offering what he calls his version of a new deal, laying out a plan to improve jobs, safety, and education in that community. Once again, making an effort to broaden his base and reach African-Americans.

He also took aim at Hillary Clinton, saying that she has low energy. Trump, for his part, will be making three stops in Ohio later today -- John, Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Jason Carroll, thanks so much.

As we mentioned, Donald Trump is claiming that he will open up his wallet and put a lot more money into the presidential campaign in the final two weeks. Dana Bash caught up with Trump outside his new hotel in Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I have over $100 million in the campaign. Hillary Clinton has nothing in the campaign. She's all special interests and donors and they give her the money, then she will do whatever they tell her to do. But I will have over $100 million in the campaign and I'm prepared to go much more than that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Trump still has a lot of spending to do if he wants to reach that mark. The latest campaign finance numbers show Trump has loaned his campaign $47.5 million through the end of September. He says he will not take paybacks from his campaign on that money. Trump has also contributed $8.5 million over the course of the election. In total, that's $56 million. His campaign started October with $35 million cash on hand. He's spent $189 million so far this election cycle.

Trump's timing on these comments is also interesting. His contributions from October 1st to October 19th will be released later today. Donations after that date will not become public until December, so we won't know exactly how big a check Trump has written to his own campaign until after the election.

BERMAN: All right. New this morning, the Clinton campaign is asking its biggest donors to put their money behind Senate candidates. Hillary Clinton has no more fundraisers scheduled in the final 12 days of this campaign. Neither does Donald Trump, for that matter. Instead, she is asking supporters to send cash to Senator Harry Reid's super PAC. If Hillary Clinton wins the White House Democrats would need four seats to retake the majority in the Senate.

ROMANS: All right. A huge moment on the trail for Hillary Clinton today. She's bringing out the biggest of big guns. First lady Michelle Obama joins her in North Carolina. Secretary Clinton just wrapped up two days in battleground Florida. CNN's Phil Mattingly is there.

[05:35:10]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John and Christine. There's no question over the course of the last couple of weeks the Clinton campaign has gotten a lot more comfortable with where they stand.

And it's not just as they look at national polling where even the CNN Poll of Polls shows she's got a six, seven-point lead consistently, but it's also state-by-state, including right here in Florida where the Clinton campaign has consistently pointed to two, and three, and four-point leads. Maybe not anymore. The latest "Bloomberg Politics" poll coming out, showing Donald Trump has a two-point lead.

Now, the Clinton campaign has a lot questions about that that poll, itself, but it does underscore this point that the Clinton campaign has been trying to make to their supporters. Now is not the time to pull off. Take a listen to what Hillary Clinton had to say.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are only 13 days left in this important election and I have to tell you, it is so clear how high the stakes are. And I am going to work as hard as I can over these next 13 days reaching out to as many people as possible. We can't take our foot off the gas, even for a short time. Every vote counts.

MATTINGLY: And guys, the reality here is this. Donald Trump has very real support in the northern part of this state, particularly in the Panhandle and north central Florida. That support, that if he can get out to vote, certainly will make this race close no matter what. But, Democrats in the state are pointing to those early vote numbers

-- those incredibly important early vote numbers -- where they feel like they are doing much better than they did in 2012 and that's before in-person early voting starts this weekend. That's where the Democrats typically make up ground.

Still, there's no question about it. Florida is crucial for both campaigns. Think about it like this. This state has 29 electoral votes. Without this state Donald Trump has no chance of winning the White House, barring some other type of crazy thing happening. The Clinton campaign knows that. That's why Hillary Clinton has spent the last couple of days in Florida and will be back again this weekend. They know Florida is where they shut the door on the Trump campaign -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Phil Mattingly for us in Florida.

Newly-released email from the WikiLeaks hack plays out what some see as a connection between The Clinton Foundation doing good with doing well for Bill Clinton. The memo written by one-time close Clinton aide Doug Band outlines the dual role that and an associate played, raising funds for the Foundation and turning relationships with corporate donors into pretty big speaking fees for the former president. The memo comes from 2011. It notes that one Clinton Foundation donor, banking giant UBS, hired Bill Clinton to give several speeches for which it paid $1.5 million.

ROMANS: The Democratic National Committee is accusing the Trump campaign of illegal voter suppression. This is a new lawsuit filed against the Republican Party. The DNC says Trump's claim the election is rigged rests on what it calls fabricated claims of voter fraud in minority communities. The Democrats say the Republican National Committee is giving direct and tacit support to Trump's claims in violation of a longstanding legal settlement aimed at banning voter suppression activity. The RNC is calling the suit completely meritless.

BERMAN: All right, let's talk about the state of the race. Joining us, Zachary Wolf, the managing editor of CNN Politics Digital.

ROMANS: Good morning.

BERMAN: Zach, the CNN Poll of Polls has Hillary Clinton at 47 percent, Donald Trump at 41 percent, a margin of six points, which is pretty big, but some people will note it's shrinking a tiny little bit. I want to give you one note of comparison here. In 2012 -- now, it's not apples to apples because the date's a little bit later -- but between November 2nd and 4th it was tied in the CNN Poll of Polls between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. President Obama ended up winning by four points.

Now, I supposed you could look at this one of two ways. If you're a Democrat, you say well look, Hillary Clinton's six points up on Donald Trump. Barack Obama was tied with Mitt Romney, she's doing way better. But if you're a Republican, you can say well look, it ended up being four points off --

ROMANS: Yes.

BERMAN: -- on the final day. This just only goes to show that the polls may be wrong and Donald Trump will come from behind and win.

ZACHARY WOLF, MANAGING EDITOR, CNN POLITICS DIGITAL: Yes, I think the one thing that we know right now is the polls are never exactly right. There will be something that happens on Election Day. Is it going to swing towards her, swing towards him? That's why we have this thing called the margin of error in those polls that says they're either up or down, so pay attention to that. They're never exactly right and we'll have to see.

I think, however, you can say without any reservation Hillary Clinton has been ahead in polls for a good, long while now and that would suggest that she has a lead, and I'm not sure Republicans can really dispute that.

ROMANS: But polls show right now, right, and the reporting of that six-point lead may inspire people who are on the sidelines to start thinking about supporting their candidate. Who knows how that all works out.

Meantime, Donald Trump has 12 days to talk about the economy, to talk about the wall, to talk about Obamacare, and he keeps getting drawn into some of these old controversies. He talked again about Khizr Kahn. Said that the man's son would be alive today if he were the president -- if he would have been the president.

[05:40:10] And he gave another day of air time to this Newt Gingrich- Megyn Kelly moment that went viral -- listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: You are fascinated with sex and you don't care about public policy.

MEGYN KELLY, FOX NEWS HOST, "THE KELLY FILE": Me? Really?

GINGRICH: Well, that's what I get out of watching you tonight.

KELLY: You know what, Mr. Speaker? I'm not fascinated by sex, but I am fascinated by the protection of women --

GINGRICH: OK.

KELLY: -- and understanding what we're getting in the Oval Office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: By the way, congratulations, Mitt, on last night. That was an amazing interview. We don't play games, Newt, right? We don't play games. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: So, a moment from Tuesday night. He reaches back and congratulates Newt Gingrich, giving it another day of air time.

WOLF: That's right. You know, I think we can say Trump is done trying to woo women voters with this -- with this election. He's been done for a while. But, you know, going back and reaching back into history to stoke the Megyn Kelly controversy, going back with Khizr Kahn, also. It's like the greatest hits of 2016 coming back to us in these final days.

BERMAN: You know, it is interesting. You were talking about some of the greatest hits of the campaign. You know, on the front page the "New York Post" today, "Clinton Cash Machine". Lead story in "The Washington Post", "The New York Times", "Wall Street Journal" as well has to do with the WikiLeaks hack information --

ROMANS: Yes.

BERMAN: -- about The Clinton Foundation and, perhaps, some of the places they raised money from for the Foundation ended up paying Bill Clinton for speeches, as well. Where does this go with the Clinton team today?

WOLF: I think people, for a long time, have known that Bill Clinton was raising a lot of money for his foundation. And I think people have known for a long time that he was raising a lot of money for Bill Clinton, so I'm not sure that this is really going to be a game changer. People have, for a long time, not trusted Hillary Clinton. That's been born out in polls for more than a year now that --

ROMANS: That's right.

WOLF: -- honesty and trustworthiness is her big issues, so this is certainly not going to help that. Is it going to undercut her lead in the polls at this late date when all the focus, despite everything, seems to continue to be on Donald Trump? I'm not sure it is but we'll see.

ROMANS: All right, Zach, nice to see you this morning. Thanks, Zach Wolf. Twelve days to go. Nice to see you bright and early.

BERMAN: All right. And, we have maybe five days to go in the World Series because it's all tied up at one right now. The Chicago Cubs -- they are right back in it and going back to Wrigley Field. Andy Scholes with more, coming up in this morning's Bleacher Report.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:46:50] BERMAN: All right. The Cubs -- they came through with a big win last night. The World Series tied up in a game apiece and its unlikely hero stepped forward for the Cubs.

ROMANS: Andy Scholes has more in this morning's Bleacher Report. Go Cubs, go. ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, guys. You know, yes, Kyle Schwarber for the Cubs -- you know, he played only two games in the regular season because he tore his ACL. But after rehab and all year making a big impact on this World Series, Schwarber with two RBI singles in game two and this, after nearly homering in game one.

Now, Schwarber's only chance to play this season was if the Cubs made it to the World Series. He ended up getting six at-bats in the Arizona Fall League to try to get ready before the Cubs sent a private jet to go get him to the World Series. The Cubs sure glad they did as they would win game two behind Schwarber's performance, 5-1.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYLE SCHWARBER, CUBS DESIGNATED HITTER: Hey man, I'm living the dream, you know. We're playing in the World Series, what else can you ask for? I'm just going to keep riding the wave until it ends.

JAKE ARRIETA, GAME 2 WINNING PITCHER: For a guy to be able to do something like this, you know, in his second year is just -- you know, it's -- I'm kind of speechless.

TERRY FRANCONA, INDIANS MANAGER: I think he's really good. I can see why Theo sent a plane for him. I would, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Now, Schwarber was the D.H. in games one and two, and he may not be able to start in the outfield for games three, four, and five in Chicago because his knee may not be ready. Game three tomorrow night at Wrigley Field.

The NBA season getting into full swing last night. The Durant-less Thunder at the Sixers. Russell Westbrook, the bucket and one here. Check out this Philly fan courtside. Gives Westbrook the double bird. Westbrook's reaction was priceless right there. The fan, kicked out of the game. Westbrook would go on to have 32 points, leading the Thunder to a 103-97 win.

All right, Halloween right around the corner and Seahawks Richard Sherman, at his son's request, dressed up as Harry Potter for his press conference yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD SHERMAN, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: Quidditch, you know -- you know, the beaters, the chasers, you know. Trying to find the Golden Snitch -- things like that, that's tough. Five quarters of football, though, in the elements, I'd say -- I would say that would take the cake -- thanks.

Oh, and when you're a wizard like we are out there, sometimes you have to show it to the -- to the muzzles (ph) out in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SCHOLES: And I love him picking out who he was going to take the next question with, with the magic wand there. Guys, you dressing up? You dressing up Monday?

ROMANS: I actually -- one of my kids is going to be Harry Potter thanks to John, who lent me his broom.

BERMAN: I -- my wife and I -- I try to convince my wife every year to dress up like Tom Brady and Gisele, but she always refuses.

ROMANS: Oh, funny.

BERMAN: And so, we --

ROMANS: I'm going to go as Harry Caray.

BERMAN: -- never actually do it.

SCHOLES: One year it will happen.

BERMAN: All right, thanks, Andy. Nice to see you.

ROMANS: Let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY". Alisyn Camerota joins us now. Hi, Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": You look great, Christine. I think you could wear those on the air.

ROMANS: You're not a sports fan. Do you know who Harry Caray is? You know, Harry Caray.

CAMEROTA: Harry Caray, no.

ROMANS: Oh, I love you. I love you, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Thank you, guys. Let me tell you what's happening on "NEW DAY" this morning. Regardless of what happens on the campaign trail, voters say that their biggest issue is jobs. So today, Chris and I are going to look at both of the candidate's jobs plans. We will spell out for the viewers exactly what Clinton and Trump say about how they will create jobs.

[05:50:00] Also, we will have with us the uber popular minister, Bishop T.D. Jakes. He has just sat down with Oprah Winfrey, so he's going to give us a preview of exactly what they talked about and what she has said about this election. And what he thinks about this moment and why the country is so divided, and what he thinks we should do about it.

So all of that when Chris and I see you at the top of the hour.

ROMANS: That sounds great. All right, nice to see you, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: You, too.

ROMANS: Two new controversies this morning over Trump-owned properties. The question now, is the presidential race helping or hurting Trump's brand? We're going to try to get to the bottom of that with an EARLY START on your money, next.

[05:50:35] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Fireworks at a Maryland Senate debate. Green Party candidate Margaret Flowers crashed the stage. The Democratic nominee Chris Van Hollen and Republican Kathy Szeliga were scoring off on live television -- watch this.

[05:55:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARGARET FLOWERS, GREEN PARTY SENATE CANDIDATE: I think it's important for voters to understand the differences between myself and Congressman Van Hollen and delegate Szeliga. Otherwise, they don't really know. I mean, you say you're a public university and you want to educate the public, but without having a full public discussion that doesn't actually happen. So how does this serve democracy or serve the public if I'm excluded from the discussion when I'm on the ballot?

POLICE OFFICER (ESCORTING DR. FLOWERS OFF STAGE): Ms. Flowers, you're going to have to leave now.

FLOWERS: It's Dr. Flowers and I'm a candidate for U.S. Senate in Maryland, and this how you're treating a candidate?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Flowers has been battling for months to be included on the debate stage. With just five percent in the polls she failed to reach the 15 percent threshold required.

A SkyWest Airline pilot charged with trying to fly a plane while intoxicated. Thirty-eight-year-old Russell Duszak was arrested Wednesday at the airport in Rapid City, South Dakota just before his scheduled flight to Salt Lake. The flight was delayed for more than two hours until a replacement pilot was found.

ROMANS: Let's a check on CNN Money Stream this morning. The brief pop in global stock markets is fading after a report on economic growth in the U.K. Dow futures not pointing lower. Stock markets in Europe are falling. The rising British pound -- volatile oil prices are in play there. Shares in Asia closing with losses. Oil is just up a little bit.

Donald Trump has frequently promoted his brand on the campaign trail, like he did yesterday at his new hotel in Washington, but is his presidential campaign helping or hurting his business? It is nearly impossible to measure since none of his companies are public. There have been reports, though, of slower foot traffic and a drop in bookings at hotels, and a few companies have moved events from Trump properties. One hospitality expert telling "CNNMONEY" that the brand will not be hurt because it caters to wealthy clients. But now, other companies are under pressure because of their

associations with Trump businesses. Three Democratic senators sent a letter this week to the U.S. Golf Association urging them to move the 2017 U.S. Women's Open from the Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey. They say Trump has a pattern of degrading and humanizing women -- dehumanizing women -- that has occurred over decades.

So far, the USGA is staying on course. A spokesperson declined to comment on the matter, saying the organization doesn't discuss politics. But the USGA did say publicly, in July, some of Trump's comments do not reflect its values of inclusion.

The Susan G. Komen Foundation is also facing backlash from some women's groups. The Foundation is holding an annual fundraiser at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. A spokeswoman for Komen declined to comment to "CNNMONEY". Now, she referred to a report saying Komen has no position on Trump but wants to keep its event separate from controversies unrelated to our mission. The Komen Foundation is likely the most well-known breast cancer charity in the country, by the way. It says it has invested $2.6 billion in research, outreach, and advocacies for women.

BERMAN: All right, do you want to put your glasses on for the final bit of the show here?

ROMANS: Oh, I do. You know, I'm just -- I don't like to be superstitious but I'm very happy that the Cubs won. So, these are my Harry Caray glasses. I wore them last night at dinner. The Cubs won and so now I'm feeling compelled to wear them again.

BERMAN: All right, where are the polls, where is the electoral map, and where are your glasses? "NEW DAY" picks up the story right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Five words -- under budget, ahead of schedule.

CLINTON: While the hotel may be new, it's the same old story.

TRUMP: Hillary said Donald Trump took time off the campaign -- can you believe that? Here's a woman who goes home and she goes to sleep all the time.

CLINTON: You can talk a good game, but let's look at the facts.

TRUMP: We're way ahead in virtually every state.

CLINTON: We can't take our foot off the gas even for a short time.

TRUMP: I really think that we're going to have a tremendous victory.

CLINTON: Donald Trump says he can still win, and he's right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota. CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone, welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Thursday, October 27th, 6:00 in the East.

Up first, the presidential race appears to be tightening. A flurry of new polls in the last 24 hours show Donald Trump narrowing his deficit against Hillary Clinton. We will look at what is moving the numbers and show you the new changes to the CNN electoral map, putting several states back in play. Florida and Nevada going from lean Democratic back to toss-up states this morning.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: This, as Trump is now predicting a tremendous victory on Election Day, and new revelations from hacked emails about Bill Clinton's lucrative speeches, and concerns about overlap with the family's foundation.

There's a lot at stake just 12 days away until you have a new president-elect. We have it all covered. Let's begin with CNN's Chris Frates, live in Springfield, Ohio -- Chris.

CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Chris. Well, Donald Trump returns to this battleground state of Ohio where the last couple of polls have showed him tied with Hillary Clinton.

He starts his day here in Springfield, between Dayton and Columbus, and it's a town where over the last 15 years or so the median household income has dropped by more than 25 percent, more than any other metro area in the country. And only 15 percent of adults here have a college education, so this should be prime Trump country. He's hoping his message resonates today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRATES: With only 12 days until the election, a new national poll shows the race tightening and now, more battleground states are up for grabs.