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EARLY START

Stormy Daniels Gives New Details of Alleged Tryst With Trump; 'March For Our Lives' Intensifies Gun Debate; Saudis Intercept Seven Missiles Fired From Yemen; NCAA Final Four Is Set. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired March 26, 2018 - 05:30   ET

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


[05:30:00] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STORMY DANIELS, ADULT FILM ACTRESS, CLAIMS AFFAIR WITH DONALD TRUMP: I was like turn around, drop 'em.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: You told Donald Trump to turn around and take off his pants?

DANIELS: Yes. He had underwear on and stuff and I just gave him a couple of swats.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Stormy Daniels goes public about her alleged tryst with Donald Trump but it wasn't just salacious stories. She says a mysterious man told her not to sell her story or her daughter might grow up without a mom.

RICK SANTORUM, CNN COMMENTATOR, FORMER PENNSYLVANIA SENATOR: How about kids instead of looking to someone else to solve their problem do something about maybe taking CPR classes?

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: A former Republican senator says it's better to prepare for active shooters than to stop them. An emotional weekend across the country as activists flood big cities demanding action on guns.

What a show of force it was across the country --

ROMANS: Yes, it really was.

BRIGGS: -- and around the world.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Dave Briggs.

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. Happy Monday morning. It is 30 minutes past the hour.

BRIGGS: All right, happy Monday. We start with Stormy Sunday.

Adult film actress Stormy Daniels offering unprecedented details and says she was threatened to keep quiet about her alleged 2006 tryst with Donald Trump. In a highly anticipated interview with Anderson Cooper on "60 MINUTES," Daniels says she was physically intimidated in Las Vegas in 2011 after trying to sell the story to "In Touch" magazine for $15,000.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIELS: I was in a parking lot going to a fitness class with my infant daughter. I was taking -- you know, the seat's facing backwards in the back seat and diaper bag -- you know, getting all the stuff out and a guy walked up on me and said to me leave Trump alone. Forget the story.

And then he leaned around and looked at my daughter and said that's a beautiful little girl. It would be a shame if something happened to her mom, and then he was gone.

COOPER: You took it as a direct threat?

DANIELS: Absolutely, I was rattled. I remember going into the workout class and my hands were shaking so much I was afraid I was going to drop her.

COOPER: Did you ever see the person again?

DANIELS: No, but I -- if I did I would know it right away. I'll never forget.

COOPER: You'd be able to recognize that person?

DANIELS: One hundred percent even now, all these years later. If he walked in this door right now I would instantly know.

COOPER: Did you go to the police?

DANIELS: No.

COOPER: Why?

DANIELS: Because I was scared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Two former "In Touch" employees tell "60 MINUTES" the magazine backed out of the agreement after Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen threatened to sue. But in a statement overnight, a lawyer for Cohen says Cohen had nothing to do with any threats against Daniels and does not believe it actually happened.

BRIGGS: In the interview, Daniels also explained why she was risking a million-dollar fine for violating the hush agreement. She said it was very important to be able to defend herself and she said she signed the $130,000 non-disclosure agreement under intense pressure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: If it was untruthful, why did you sign it?

DANIELS: Because they made it sound like I had no choice.

COOPER: No one was putting a gun to your head.

DANIELS: Not physical violence, no.

COOPER: You thought that there would be some sort of legal repercussion if you didn't sign it?

DANIELS: Correct. As a matter of fact, the exact sentence used was they can make your life hell in many different ways.

COOPER: They being?

DANIELS: I'm not exactly sure who they were. I believe it to be Michael Cohen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Daniels also detailed what she was the one time she and Trump had sex after he showed her a magazine with his face on the cover.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIELS: Does talking about yourself normally work? And I was like someone should take that magazine and spank you with it. And I'll never forget the look on his face and he was --

COOPER: What was the look?

DANIELS: Just -- I don't think anyone's ever spoken to him like that. Hand it over, and so he did and I was like turn around, drop 'em.

COOPER: You told Donald Trump to turn around and take off his pants?

DANIELS: Yes.

COOPER: And, did he?

DANIELS: Yes. So he turned around and pulled his pants down a little -- and, you know, he had underwear on and stuff and I just gave him a couple of swats.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Hashtag couple of swats.

Daniels did not unveil evidence of her alleged tryst with the president but hinted again she has not revealed everything she has.

Before the interview aired, her attorney Michael Avenatti tweeted, "Not all of our evidence will be mentioned or displayed tonight. That would be foolish. Tonight is not the end, it is the beginning," Christine Romans.

ROMANS: The White House says President Trump denies this encounter ever happened. The president was back at the White House last night. Melania Trump, the first lady, stayed behind in Mar-a-Lago for a preplanned spring break with their son.

Let's bring back political economist Greg Valliere, chief strategist for Horizon Investments. And, CNN political analyst Julian Zelizer, historian and professor at Princeton University.

Julian, let me ask you first the significance of this Stormy reveal.

BRIGGS: Yes.

ROMANS: The big reveal on story -- you know, accusations of threats to keep her quiet. This tryst with the President of the United States.

Does it matter politically for this president?

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think some of the scandal doesn't matter because it's hard to add to any scandal with this president and shock people.

But what does matter is where's the electorate for the midterm elections, and one key pocket of the electorate are the energized female voters in different parts of the spectrum. They are ready to come out and vote and this story is just one part of a bigger pattern, I think, where many feel that this president is on the wrong side of so many issues and it energizes people who already don't like him.

[05:35:19] ROMANS: Does the gun thing work in there, too? All those young people in the streets, does that help energize the women voter pocket, too?

ZELIZER: That could and it helps in suburban areas which is very important to the Democratic coalition in this rural suburban divide. And I think many legislators are wondering will the hundreds of thousands of people who came out to march turn into votes come November.

BRIGGS: We'll get back to the march in a moment.

Today, handling the press briefing at the White House is Raj Shah. He also had to handle the briefing when that whole Rob Porter scandal blew up --

ROMANS: That's right.

BRIGGS: -- so you're welcome, Raj. That should be interesting.

But to that point that Christine makes there, how does this matter politically Greg because Trump voters tell me we don't care?

GREG VALLIERE, POLITICAL ECONOMIST, CHIEF GLOBAL STRATEGIST, HORIZON INVESTMENTS: Yes.

BRIGGS: We didn't vote for a saint. That's what I hear online, that's what I hear in person.

ROMANS: Me, too.

BRIGGS: What's the political impact of all this?

VALLIERE: Well, the most famous line Dave of the entire 2016 campaign is when he said he could walk up Fifth Avenue shooting people and his supporters wouldn't abandon him.

So there was nothing, frankly, in the interview last night that shocked me. Maybe that's a commentary on how hardened we've become. In fact, Karen McDougal, late last week, was a very compelling and almost poignant witness.

But this stuff doesn't shock anymore but obviously, it doesn't help Trump. And as we may get into in the next minute or two, I'm not sure that the gun story helps him either. So it was not a good weekend for him.

ROMANS: Let's show some of those pictures Greg of those marches. I mean, it was pretty astonishing some of those -- look at that, that's Denver.

VALLIERE: Yes.

ROMANS: D.C., New York -- I mean, I was looking at these amazing pictures of New York trauma surgeons with signs saying "Put me out of business, please." You know, I mean, this is kids and grownups -- really amazing imagery there.

Will that energize these voters? We talked about women voters but if you're -- if you're running for office and you look there do you see oh, my God, those people are going to vote on gun issues in the fall?

VALLIERE: I think you've got to say the Republicans are in grave danger of losing the House. If the election were tomorrow they would lose the House. Even the Senate is now in play and things like this, to me on guns, show that the Republicans are tone deaf. They don't quite get how angry the public is.

BRIGGS: Let me show you some numbers that are astounding. A Fox News poll shows overwhelming support for gun measures. Look at this, 91 percent, criminal background checks; 84, mental health checks.

And maybe the most shocking number of all, raising the age from 18 to 21. Julian, 72 percent of Americans are in favor of that.

How will this movement show some actual wins though that reflect those numbers in these midterms? How will they show progress and not let this peter out?

ZELIZER: It's a two-step process.

First, they have to change Congress --

ROMANS: Yes. ZELIZER: -- and they need to start to find leaders, whether they're incumbents or whether they're new politicians who come in through the midterms who say this is our number one issue. Come the next Congress, we will make sure that these poll numbers turn into legislation.

And the second part will be at that stage, all these students, and all their families, and all their allies come to Capitol Hill and lobby and rally people in districts for legislation, and it's going to be a long haul. This is what happened with civil rights. The march is simply step one.

BRIGGS: We say that we the caveat that Congress has basically acknowledged they're done with any major legislation.

ZELIZER: Right.

BRIGGS: This is an election year. Yes, it's not even April but nothing this year so it will have come in the midterms.

ROMANS: Yes, it will come at some point.

Greg, let me talk to you about trade a little bit here because we have --

VALLIERE: Yes.

ROMANS: -- futures -- stock market futures up sharply here. Last week was horrible for the markets. Everyone concerned about a trade war, specifically with China. The worst week on Wall Street since January 2016.

But now the mood has changed a little bit. Listen to Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, this weekend. This weekend, basically he was -- he was on the air talking about how it is not their goal to have a trade war and that they're talking. In "The Wall Street Journal" this morning, the U.S. and China are talking.

Have we dodged that bullet?

VALLIERE: It may be premature to say that Christine, but I thought late last week the stock market sell-off was overdone. This is a trade dispute, it's not a trade war.

We've already backed down on steel. We're talking to the Chinese. The Chinese have talked about very modest sanctions. Both the U.S. and China want to avoid a major conflict and there were signs this morning that they may be able to.

ROMANS: Is this the Trump administration's way of doing it? Come out really strong and sharply and then Julian, behind the scenes --

BRIGGS: Right.

ROMANS: -- undoing the -- VALLIERE: Yes.

ROMANS: -- the fangs?

ZELIZER: That's exactly the pattern. I mean, we saw this with his televised statements on immigration, on gun control.

BRIGGS: Right.

ZELIZER: He says a lot and then he does little --

VALLIERE: Right.

ZELIZER: -- often and I think that might turn out to be the case right now on trade.

[05:40:00] And he can't afford -- the Republicans can't afford anything happening in this economy because that is the foundation of his political success. If that goes --

VALLIERE: Yes.

ZELIZER: -- he's savvy enough to understand he has a big problem.

BRIGGS: But he can still tell his supporters --

ROMANS: That he did --

BRIGGS: -- he pushed (ph) China --

ZELIZER: It goes both ways.

BRIGGS: Having it both ways on a lot of these political issues. All right.

Julian Zelizer, Greg Valliere, thank you both. Appreciate it.

ROMANS: Nice to see you guys. Thank you.

VALLIERE: You bet, yes.

ZELIZER: Thank you.

ROMANS: All right. Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg's apology tour continues taking out full-page ads in several newspapers over the weekend. Zuckerberg apologized for Facebook's breach of trust when Trump campaign consultants accessed the data of 50 million users without their consent.

Zuckerberg --

BRIGGS: You don't see Facebook on that at all.

ROMANS: I know. It's not a very dramatic --

BRIGGS: At all, do you? ROMANS: Zuckerberg promises to do better but Sen. Mark Warner wants more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARK WARNER (D), VIRGINIA: I think Mr. Zuckerberg needs to come and testify before Congress, not just put an advertisement in the newspaper. He said he would if he was the right guy. He is the right guy. He can't send a staff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: This latest crisis is a new threat to Facebook's reputation, already tarnished for allowing Russian meddling during the 2016 election. In fact, some advertisers are dumping Facebook. Its stock fell 13 percent last week.

And now, Apple CEO Tim Cook is publicly calling for Facebook to be regulated. Speaking at a forum over the weekend, Cook says "The situation is so dire that some well-crafted regulation is necessary," adding that he's long worried that people around the world give up their information without knowing how it could be used.

BRIGGS: All right. Ahead, President Trump could decide as soon as today whether to expel more Russian diplomats over the nerve agent poisoning in the U.K. Will he listen to his national security experts this time around?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:45:47] BRIGGS: V.A. Sec. David Shulkin could be the next member of the president's cabinet to be shown the door. A source telling CNN President Trump indicated to his associates this weekend he intends to oust Shulkin as early as this week. His departure would be the latest in a series of White House personnel changes.

Listen to Chris Ruddy, the CEO of Newsmax and a friend of the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER RUDDY, CEO, NEWSMAX MEDIA: The president told me he's perplexed by all of these reports there's chaos at the White House or mass staff changes. He told me that he thinks the White House is operating like a smooth machine, in his words.

He did say that he's expecting to make one or two major changes to his -- to his government very soon and that's going to be it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: One or two. Who the other is, your guess as good as ours.

The rift between Shulkin and the White House become public in February when the secretary was the target of a damning inspector general report related to a trip he and his wife took to Europe last summer. ROMANS: All right, let's get a check on "CNN Money" this morning -- this Monday morning.

Global stocks falling overnight on fears of a trade war. But then, look at this. A rebound after "The Wall Street Journal" reported that China and the U.S. have quietly begun negotiations on trade.

Last week, President Trump said he would slap tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods, then China targeted $3 billion in U.S. exports. That spurred Wall Street's worst week in more than two years.

The Dow lost 420 points on Friday alone. For the record, it's now down 11.6 percent since its recent high. That is known as a technical correction.

With interest rates rising analysts say a trade war could trigger a recession, so stepping back from the brink a very good thing for investors.

The AT&T antitrust trial is already underway. It will determine if AT&T can purchase Time Warner, the parent of CNN.

Whether the merger is approved or not, investors will be the biggest winners. Analysts say that Time Warner shareholders can expect a 10 percent profit thanks to its current earnings potential.

The government opposes the merger saying it will harm consumers by raising prices. AT&T says the deal is necessary to compete in the new media landscape.

As activists around the country march for action on gun violence one of America's oldest gunmakers files for bankruptcy. Remington Outdoor Brands will keep making guns during bankruptcy, allowing it to restructure its big debt. Remington has been in business for 200 years.

The entire gun industry has suffered with President Trump in the White House. Why? I mean, he's been endorsed by the NRA, right? But when consumers don't fear gun control they buy fewer guns.

It's a really interesting kind of paradox there.

BRIGGS: Yes, it is, indeed. Remington makes the Bushmaster AR-15- style rifle --

ROMANS: That's right.

BRIGGS: -- which, of course, has been the focus of so much of this.

All right.

A U.S. military veteran brought to this country legally as a child deported back to Mexico in the dark of night. Why? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [05:53:05] BRIGGS: President Trump could decide today whether to follow the recommendations of his National Security Council and expel a group of Russian diplomats from the United States. The move would come in retaliation for the nerve agent poisoning of a former Russian double-agent and his daughter in the United Kingdom.

Here is CNN senior diplomatic correspondent Michelle Kosinski.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Christine and Dave.

The president's national security team has recommended that he take action against Russia now and expel Russian diplomats from the U.S. in solidarity with the U.K. that's already done the same after those poisonings there.

Well now, a force familiar with the discussion say they expect an announcement on this as early as today, possibly coming from the White House, maybe from the State Department.

But the Europeans are seeing signs to be optimistic that this is going to be a big coordinated announcement with the U.S. and multiple European countries, possibly 20 of them, to kick out a significant number of Russian diplomats.

Of course, until this happens no one knows 100 percent how President Trump will respond. Remember, it was his own national security team that recommended only days ago that he not congratulate Russian President Vladimir Putin after his election win and, of course, President Trump did exactly the opposite.

But if Trump does not act on this recommendation, of course, there are going to be big questions of why. First of all, his administration has called these poisonings attempted murder. They've expressed strong support for the U.K.'s belief that Russia was, indeed, behind this. They've expressed support for what the U.K. has already done in response.

And multiple members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have repeatedly urged this administration to do more against Russia's behavior and to do so faster -- Christine and Dave.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, Michelle Kosinski, thank you for that.

[05:55:01] Saudi Arabia's Air Force intercepting seven missiles fired from Yemen. Saudi leaders say debris falling on residential neighborhoods killed a man.

This is not the first time the Saudi Kingdom has been targeted. After previous intercepts, the Saudis launched airstrikes on the Yemeni capital. They are blaming Houthi rebels for the latest missile attack. We're expecting to hear today from attorneys representing the family of an unarmed black man shot by -- shot and killed by police in Sacramento. Officers say they thought Stephon Clark was holding a gun when they encountered him in his grandmother's backyard but investigators only found a cell phone.

Attorney Benjamin Crump telling CNN he plans to conduct his own investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN CRUMP, ATTORNEY FOR FAMILY OF STEPHON CLARK: It shocks the conscience when you think about somebody being shot 20 times as you watch that video and you say my God, they didn't even give him a chance to comply or anything.

It's even more shocking to me as a father of black boys to say don't he get the benefit of some consideration?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: New questions this morning about why officers at the scene were instructed to mute their body cameras after Clark was shot.

The officers are now on paid administrative leave. The department says they're getting death threats.

Breaking news this morning out of Texas. A police officer shot in Austin. Authorities say it happened as officers were responding to a 911 call.

They say someone inside a home began firing at police. One officer was struck in the right arm, another injured running from the alleged shooter. They are expected to be OK, though.

The suspect barricaded himself inside the home. He was later shot and killed by the SWAT team when he emerged with a woman. We're told she was taken into protective custody.

ROMANS: A U.S. Army veteran who served two tours in Afghanistan has been deported to Mexico. Miguel Perez came to the U.S. legally at age eight but his application for citizenship was denied due to a felony drug conviction.

The 39-year-old Perez said that what he was and what he experienced in Afghanistan sent his life off the rails, leading to heavy drinking and drug addiction.

Perez, his family and supporters, including Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth argue that his wartime service had earned him the right to stay in the U.S. Duckworth condemned the decision saying Perez should have been able to exhaust all legal options before being rushed out of the country.

BRIGGS: All right. The Final Four is all set. Two number one seeds, Kansas and

Villanova, will meet in one semifinal. The Jayhawks punched their ticket to San Antonio with a relic overtime victory because that shot from Grayson Allen as time expired in regulation did not fall.

Eighty-five-81 your final as Malick Newman dominated O.T. -- all 13 Kansas points, including the dagger there, a corner three. Bill Self headed back to the Final Four.

In the other game Sunday, Villanova defeated Texas Tech 71-59. The 2016 national champs headed back to the Final Four thanks to their fourth-straight tournament win in double figures.

Michigan earned a berth in the other national final beating Florida State 58-54. The Wolverines riding at 13-game winning streak as they prepare to make their eighth Final Four appearance.

Their streak, though, second only to the team they'll face next. You could call them America's team at the moment. Loyola of Chicago, winners of 14 in a row.

The 11th-seed Ramblers romping the 78-62 win over Kansas State on Saturday and that matches the lowest seed ever to make it to the Final Four. Three other 11-seeds did. They all lost in the national semifinals. The last was VCU.

Of course, they didn't have a good luck charm quite like this lady. Ninety-eight-year-old super fan Sister Jean who wore a Final Four cap after the win to go with her Sister Jean custom Nikes and her bobblehead doll.

The Final Four starts Saturday in San Antonio. The final, one week from today.

ROMANS: I would not have been surprised if she got up there and cut down that net herself. I mean, she --

BRIGGS: That would have been one unbelievable image.

ROMANS: She is something. All right.

BRIGGS: She's a star.

All right, that will do it for us. I'm Dave Briggs.

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. "NEW DAY" starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIELS: He was sitting, you know, on the edge of the bed.

COOPER: And you had sex with him?

DANIELS: Yes.

SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president has denied the allegations.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It isn't so much about the affair, it's the effort to cover it up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stormy is laughing us all the way to the bank.

DANIELS: I felt intimated and honestly, bullied.

RUDDY: The president thinks the White House is operating like a smooth machine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said he wasn't adding to his legal team but he added to his legal. He said he wasn't shaking it up, and then he shook it up.

COREY LEWANDOWSKI, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: What you have to have are people who are on the president's agenda.

EMMA GONZALEZ, STUDENT, MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL, PARKLAND, FLORIDA, ACTIVIST AND ADVOCATE FOR GUN CONTROL: This is not the end. This was just the beginning.

SANTORUM: How about kids instead of looking to someone else to solve their problem do something about maybe taking CPR classes.

CAMERON KASKY, STUDENT, MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL, PARKLAND, FLORIDA, ACTIVIST AND ADVOCATE FOR GUN CONTROL: Stand for us or beware. The voters are coming.

MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL, PARKLAND, FLORIDA, ACTIVIST AND ADVOCATE FOR GUN CONTROL: We can and we will change the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Monday, March 26th, 6:00 here in New York.

Here's out "Starting Line."

Adult film star Stormy Daniels breaking her silence about her alleged affair with President Trump in her first on-camera interview.