donald trump dominating, creating controversy at the first republican debate. will he run as an independent and chris christie and rand paul making for a stellar performance. good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm christine romans. it is 4:00 a.m. in the east. up first, a feisty donald trump center of attention at the first republican debate. the billionaire stirring things

up before anyone in the audience had time to sit down. refusing to rule out a third party candidacy. listen to this exchange with fox news moderator brett baier. >> you are standing on the stage, the place where the republican national convention will give the nominee the nod. >> i fully understand. >> and experts say an independent run would hand the race over to democrats and likely another clinton. you can't say tonight that you can make that pledge. >> i cannot say. i have to respect the person if it is not me, the person that wins, if i do win and i'm leading by quite a bit, that's what i want to do. i can make that pledge. if i'm the nominee, i will not run as an independent. i am discussing with it everybody. i'm talking about a lot of leverage. we want to win. we will win. i want to win as the republican.

i want to run as the republican nominee. >> trump didn't stop there. he targeted the media for treating him unfairly and being stupid on immigration and iran. he took time out to call out rosie o'donnell. let's start out with chris moody. your headline, chris? >> reporter: the headline is the debate started out with a bang and kept going the entire night with donald trump obviously in the beginning. him not vowing to support the gop nominee, if that nominee is not named donald trump, in his own words, gives him leverage. allows the republican forces to keep paying attention to him. keep being nice to him in a way and not ruling him out. right now, he is commanding 20% in the polls in the republican leaning voters. that's a lot of room that he has

to keep campaigning. he knows that if he says he will just support the gop nominee, that the rnc can push him aside. this will keep him on their toes. this is making him nervous about what he can do. as brett baier mentioned, if he runs, given the demographics of the map and voters right now or in 2016, that does hand it to the democrats most likely. >> let's talk about donald trump a bit more before i move on. meghan kelly, confronting him sharply about his record of name calling to women. listen to this exchange. >> you called women you don't like fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals. you're twitter account. >> only rosie o'donnell. >> no, it wasn't.

>> and honestly, meghan, if you don't like it, i'm sorry. i have been very nice to you, although i probably could not have been based on the way you treated me, but i won't do that. >> the questions to me were not nice. i didn't think they were appropriate. i think meghan behaved very badly. >> the question about women. you didn't like that? >> i thought it was an unfair question. they did not ask that of anybody else. the answers were good. >> what do you make of that? >> reporter: this is just another example that shows that donald trump is not forced to play by the same rules as traditional candidates. he is blowing all that up right now. if any other candidate said those things in jest or humor he said about women, it doesn't matter. in a lot of cases, that's it for them. when he responded to those questions, he first tried to diffuse it with humor, but

meghan kelly is right. he said that about a number of women. this shows you what donald trump can do. that is not play by those same rules. he can say certain things and he will still capture that group of voters. he powers through. that is the case with this issue and others including him donates to democrats and saying he support abortion rights and all of these things. if it were other candidates, they would not make it another day. >> and let's talk about jeb bush. heading into the performance, the former governor of florida, he had to just not mess up. he needs to hold his ground. he had an uneven and shaky performance heading into the debate. listen to him talking about the war in iraq. something that really tripped him up in the past months. listen to him on the debate stage. >> knowing what we know now with faulty intelligence and not having security be the first priority when we invaded, it was

a mistake. i wouldn't have gone in. here is the lesson we should take from this. obama became president. he left iraq. isis was created because of the void we left. that void now exists as a caliphate the size of indiana. we need to stop the iran agreement for sure because the iranian mullahs have blood on their hands. >> how did he do? >> reporter: you know, jeb bush did not sparkle in the debate, but he did not do terrible. as you said, he went straight along. that's what he needs to do. with jeb bush's candidacy, you said he has the money behind him, but not the polling numbers. he is not necessarily doing what other frontrunners have done in the past. he is in the top middle of the

pack sharing it below donald trump, but sharing with scott walker and others behind him who possibly did better tonight. you may see a movement in the polls in the next few weeks. >> what about john kasich? kasich, it was his home turf. he seemed to be energized by his performance and response from the audience. listen to how he handled the question about same-sex marriage. >> i just went to a wedding of a friend of mine who happens to be gay. because somebody doesn't think the way i do doesn't mean i can't care about them or love them. if one of my daughters happen to be that, of course i would love them and accept them. that's what we're taught when we have strong faith. we need to give everybody a chance and treat everybody with respect and let them share with the great american dream we have. i'm going to love my daughters no matter what they do.

>> he has been out on the campaign trail talking about policy and budgets and his strengths. he got a lot of praise for talking about that. >> reporter: yeah. kasich is the sleeper candidate. he announced a bit late. was still able to get the support to make it to the debate. at the lower end, but at the 9:00 p.m. primetime debate. you are starting to see republicans talk about same-sex marriage in a different way than four years ago. there was a debate four years ago when a gay service member asked a question. some people in the audience actually booed that person. you are not seeing anything like that today. especially with the supreme court case that came down just about a month ago. republicans have been able to diffuse and move on from that issue a bit. >> before the top ten republicans took the stage, chris, there was a happy hour debate with the seven lowest polling republicans. it did not take long for the

trump bashing to begin. listen to carly fiorini. >> when you look at the celebrity of donald trump, that says a lot. i want to remind people in 2007, rudy giuliani was leading the polls for almost a year. part of that was his celebrity. >> i don't know. i did not get a phone call from bill clinton before i jumped in the race. did you get a phone call? i didn't. maybe it is because i didn't give money to the foundation or donate to his wife's campaign. >> each of the candidates asked to describe the frontrunners in two words. >> divisive and no vision. no vision at all. >> not trust worthy. >> let's go with three. good at e-mail. >> socialist. >> not the change we need. >> professional politician that

can't be trusted. >> you get the picture. when the happy hour debate was over, it was all about fiorini. listen to her. the former ceo on the attack about trump's comments about women's health. >> i think it will become an ad in a democrat campaign. hillary clinton jumped all over it for a reason because she saw an opportunity. it is foolish to say that women's health is not a priority. >> chris, is it fair to say fiorina broke out last night? >> reporter: she absolutely did, i think above all of the candidates and trump stuff that happened today. fiorina was the name on so many lips in cleveland. i watched the debate with a couple hundred conservative

activists here in ohio. they could not stop talking about fiorina. the celebration for her and surprise, i think, she had for a lot of them. it was really something. i think you will start to see her move a bit. people focusing on her after this. this is a trend. everywhere i have seen fiorina speak, there are a number of people who have not heard of her. once they do, they become very interested. i spoke to fiorina after the debate. she said this was a great opportunity for me -- for people to get to know me. she took advantage of it in other ways that candidates were not able to do as she did. >> it is challenging for all of the candidates. there's not a lot of time for them to breakout. they want to talk about policies. when you look at the records of all of the people on both stages, stunning. stunning resumes. how do you think they fared in

at least chipping away to the american public at what it is they stand for? >> reporter: i think fiorina is a very articulate person. she is very forceful in the way she speaks and make her points and make them stick. i think marco rubio did a good job. i see headlines that rubio did well. despite the controversy, i don't know in donald trump really hurt himself. he stood his ground in a way that people support him say he speaks his mind. for him not to back down, i think perhaps in the short-term is the strategy for him. it has been working up until now. i think it will continue at least for the near term. >> thanks so much. chris moody, we'll talk to you in a bit. so many things to mull over about last night and many more. breaking overnight.

new trouble with the president obama nuclear deal with iran. a key ally coming out in the senate against it. details next. n call them anytimu feel like saving money. it don't matter, day or night. use your computer, your smartphone, your tablet, whatever. the point is, you have options. oh, how convenient. hey. crab cakes, what are you looking at? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

breaking overnight. a bitter blow for the obama administration and selling the nuclear deal. chuck schumer has announced he will oppose the agreement. schumer releasing the statement, advocates on both sides have strong cases for their view. after deep study and soul searching, i decide i must oppose the agreement and vote yes on a motion of disapproval. the white house turning up the heat to get the iran deal passed. we get more this morning from jim acosta. >> reporter: christine, no apologies in the white house after president obama tied anti-american mobs in tehran to gop opposition to the iran nuclear deal. lawmakers said there could be

blowback from the comments and the chanting death to america have joined forces with republicans in congress. the president is frustrated with gop leaders. he told a group of reporters, he said if there was a key to cure cancer, that would be a nail biter. here is what he had to say. >> the president strikes me, at least so far, as treating this like a political campaign. demonize your opponents. jam up the bass. get the democrats all angry. >> reporter: the president leaves for martha's vineyard tomorrow. asking if the president will spend that time twisting arms over the phone. josh earnest quipped i doubt it. that is a sign the white house has the votes. >> thanks, jim acosta.

u.s. military officials believe russia is behind the hack of an unclassified e-mail server used by the office of the joint chiefs. the style of the attacks suggests it was russia or china. defense officials say the breach exposes a new vulnerability that hasn't been seen before. 4,000 pentagon workers have been without e-mails for ten days now while the network is scrubbed and rebuilt. president obama urging congress to restore key elements of the voting rights act. there are too many states discouraging certain kinds of votes from voting. a federal appeals panel ruled a voter i.d. law was unconstitutional. many of the former governors running on their economic records are touting their achievements. we are doing fact checking.

jeb bush reminding people how he slashed government spending in florida. >> i cut taxes every year. totaling $19 billion. we balanced every budget. the net effect was during my eight years, 1.3 million jobs were created. we left the state better off because i applied conservative principles in the purple state the right way. >> fact check. he did cut taxes. he reduced the state's work force by 13 thundershowers people. bush issued bonds for roads and schools instead of paying up front. the long-term debt went up to $23 billion as his term ended. chris christie bragged about the new jersey budget. >> we cut business taxes $2.3 billion. we cut regulation by 1/3. what's happened since? 192,000 new private sector jobs in the five and a half years. >> he did balance the budget as

required to by law. he did cut taxes. job growth was only 166,000 jobs created. the state's finances overall is a wreck. christie is not making the contributions to the pension fund. the state is higher than the national average on unemployment. families of those on board of missing flight 370 are accusing officials of hiding the truth. we are live with new developments overnight next.

emotions running high as those families of those passengers that died on mh-370 are blasting leaders for jumping the gun for the parts washing up on reunion island. cnn's will ripley is live in beijing, where most of the passengers are from. will, you can understand how tragic this is for the families. they want answers, but they don't trust the people who are giving them the answers. >> reporter: it's really heart breaking, christine. we saw a display today that we have seen repeatedly in china over the course of the last 17 months. family members went to the malaysia airline office and demanded a meeting with malaysian authorities. they thought there was going to be a meeting, so the authorities never showed up. they bound themselves together and said we will not leave until

you give us the truth. until you give us answers. then they were shooed away by police. they did the same thing at the embassy. they crawled on the ground and begged for answers. one woman says all she wants is for her daughter, who was on the plane, could tomorrto come home. yes, they don't believe when the prime minister went on television that the piece of the wreckage is from the plane. hours later, the french prosecutor said they still don't know 100%. some family members want to go to reunion island. others believe the passengers are alive. perhaps they never got on the missing plane and maybe hiding out somewhere. this has been going on for more than 515 days. they continue to live in the agonizing state of limbo that will go on until they have proof, until they have human

remains or the plane. we are no closer to that today than six months or 515 days ago. >> thank you so much, will ripley. donald trump, center of attention, at the republican debate. the controversy he is creating and who else was able to stand out last night. we'll tell you next.

donald trump dominating the first republican presidential debate. refusing to back down from a possible third party run and on attack from the competitoe pepe

debate moderator. a tirade going on on twitter as he insults right and left the people moderating the debate. chris christie and rand paul battle it out. and a contender earns rave reviews. welcome back to "early start." i'm christine romans. 30 minutes past the hour. donald trump in the spotlight of the first republican debate. the billionaire stirring things up before people had time to sit down. he refused to rule out the independent candidacy if he doesn't win the republican nomination. >> mr. trump, to be clear, are you standing on a republican primary debate stage. >> i understand. >> the place where the rnc will give the nominee the nod. >> i fully understand. >> and experts say an independent run would almost certainly hand the race over to democrats and likely another clinton. you can't say tonight that you

can make that pledge. >> i cannot say. i have to respect the person if it's not me, the person that wins. if i do win and i'm leading by a bit, that's what i want to do. i can totally make that pledge if i'm the nominee. i will pledge i will not run as an independent. i am discussing it with everybody. you know, i'm talking about a lot of leverage. we want to win. we will win. i want to win as the republican. i want to run as the republican nominee. >> trump didn't stop there. he targeted the media for treating him unfairly. blasting the media for being stupid. he took time to call out rosie o'donnell. i have to start out with donald trump. chris moody is here with me. he used the words bimbo and meghan kelly in the same tweet.

basically she bombed. she was tough on him. she asked him a tough question about his views on women or the kinds of language he used in the past on women. i want to listen to that quickly. >> you called women you don't like fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals. your twitter account. >> only rosie o'donnell. >> no, it wasn't. >> meghan, if you don't like it, i'm sorry. i won't do that. >> the questions to me were not nice. i didn't think they were appropriate and i thought meghan behaved very badly. >> the question about women. you didn't like that? >> i thought it was an unfair question. they didn't ask those questions of anybody else. the answers were good. >> they didn't ask that

questions of anybody else because the other candidates don't make big opinionated statements that can be offensive publicly. that is why he was singled out for that. how do you think he fared? >> reporter: the big headline is the gop donald trump is not going away. when you talk about also the comments he made about women, donald trump is not really playing by the same rules as the other candidates. whether they are democrat or republican, had made comments like that throughout their careers, repeatedly. not a one-off gaffe has, as donald trump, they would be thrown off. they would never make it on the stage. donald trump doesn't play by those rules. in the way he has responded has been interesting, but predictable. this is what he does. he attacks those who ask him tough questions all of the time

in the media. the questions were fair. these were things in the public record that donald trump has said. this was a forum in which he is asked to explain them. he tried to diffuse it as a joke in the beginning. he continued to be pressed on it. as it was, he lashed out. you can always tell when somebody doesn't have a very good argument when they take that attack against the person asking the questions. >> he says if i'm attacked, i will attack back. he says he never strikes the first blow and he promised that maybe he would not be so nice to meghan kelly in the future. i like to pull the tweets up. he has been on a tirade for the last 20 minutes. still up after a long night. meghan kelly bomb tonight. funny to watch. there are many more. that's mild compared to some of the other once. let's move on and talk about chris christie and rand paul getting into a heated argument. the headlines are raucous.

testy. there was a lot of fire there. let's listen to chris christie and rand paul. >> listen, senator, when you are sitting in a sub committee just blowing hot air about this, you can say things like that. when you are responsible for protecting the lives of the american people, then what you need to do is to make sure that you use the system the way it is supposed to work. >> governor, you fundamentally misunderstand the bill of rights. every time you did a case, you got a warrant from a judge. without warrants of all es - americans' records. that is what i fought to end. i don't trust president obama with our records. i know you gave him a big hug. if you want to give him a big hug again, go right ahead. >> you know, senator paul, you know the hugs i remember? the hugs i gave to the families

that lost their people on september 11th. >> rand paul's are facial expressions are priceless there. who came out on top there? what does that represent? >> reporter: in the long batting with chris christie and rand paul, it is hard to say during that exchange. we have to point out this is not new. those two men have been going at it for years. both have fundamentally different understandings about the role of government as far as search and seizure and war on terror. they differ. they also not shied away of throwing barbs at each other. this is the first time we have seen them together on the stage. it blew up in a way that is totally predictable. as we talk about donald trump earlier, he really set the tone of the debate. we saw rand paul going after

donald trump and carrying on with chris christie. i think this chris christie versus rand paul tangle we saw will continue and spill out on to future debates. almost certainly. >> i think for anyone who is waking up now and saw the debate, the headlines are marco rubio did well. jeb bush survived and donald trump refuses to pledge allegiance to the republican party. before the ten top republicans, chris, took the stage, there was the happy hour debate with the lowest polling republicans. it did not take long for the trump bashing begin. listen to carly fiorina and rick perry ganging up. >> when you look at the celebrity of donald trump, i think that says a lot. one thing i like to remind people back in 2007, rudy giuliani was leading the polls for almost a year. i'll suggest a part of that was his celebrity. >> i didn't get a phone call

from bill clinton before i jumped in the race. did any of you get a phone call from bill clinton? i didn't. maybe it is because i didn't give money to the foundation or donate to his wife's senate campaign. >> when the attacks were over, each of the candidates asked to describe the democratic frontrunner in two words. here is a sample of their responses. >> divisive and with no vision. >> not trust worthy. >> secretive. >> let's go with three. good at e-mail. >> socialist and government dependence. >> not the change. >> professional politician that didn't be trusted. >> when the happy hour debate was over, carly fiorina getting the lion's share of the media buzz. listen to the former ceo going on attack of jeb bush about his comments on women's health. >> i think it's going to become an ad. i think it will become an ad. in a democrat campaign.

hillary clinton jumped all over it for a reason because she saw an opportunity. it is foolish to say that women's health isn't a priority. of course it's a priority. >> chris, she was disciplined, well spoken. she broke out last night. >> reporter: she did. look, part of the debates a great opportunity for candidates who a lot of people might not have heard of or don't know to get their name out there. carly fiorina capitalized on that completely. she took advantage of it with a forceful, articulate argument on several issues going after mostly hillary clinton and a lot of the people i spoke to tonight and i watched the debate with hundreds of conservative activists said she really shined. she deserves to be on the top debate stage. i spoke to her after the debate. she said i succeeded tonight. people now know who i am and

this is going to help me get on the debate stage and get my name going. this campaign is going to belong. this is a good first start for her to continue. >> chris moody, thank you for that. excellent analysis. all of the access you had last night, thank you for that. talk to you soon. 40 minutes past the hour. president obama losing support on the iran nuclear deal from the key democratic senator. next.

breaking overnight. a blow for the obama administration and battle to sell the iran nuclear deal. new york senator chuck schumer, the most influential jewish voice in congress will oppose the agreement. that could pave the way for other democrats to vote against. it schumer releasing a statement. advocates on both sides have strong cases for their point of view. after deep study and soul searching, i decided i must oppose the agreement and will vote yes on a motion of disapproval. congress is scheduled to vote on the deal in mid-september. turning to the search for missing flight 370. crews go to the air for more debris in the south indian ocean after windows and seat cushions washed ashore. those materials are being analyzed to see if they are from the doomed malaysia airline flight. cnn's andrew stevens is live from kuala lumpur this morning.

each developments, 515 days in the making, each of these developments must be painful for the families of what authorities are saying. >> reporter: that is right. absolutely. some of the scenes we have seen from beijing of families crawling to the malaysia embassy to demand answers. people i speak to here talk about the fact that they don't believe what malaysia airlines is telling them. i have been speaking to malaysia airlines and they do say they are absolutely 100% convinced first of all that the flaperon is part of the 370 without doubt. they insist there was absolutely no doubt at all. that other investigators were also heading in that direction as well. had that opinion although they did not say why the french refused to say they have the same certainty. they are also talking about the debris, christine. you mentioned seat cushions washing ashore. it is not actually seat

cushions. we are getting clarifications from the prime minister. he says it is aircraft grade an aluminum and seat material. it is material that is washing ashore. i actually saw still pictures. they showed me a confidential report from the team in reunion island. you can see a vivid blue piece of material on a rocky shore and a number of strips. they say this is analyzed by the team in reunion. they say this is aircraft grade. not linked yet to mh-370, but it is an aircraft. the malaysian government pushing back and standing by what they said yesterday and what the prime minister said about the link of the flaperon to 370. >> andrew stevens, thank you for that. let us know if there are any new developments. jon stewart with the final emotional "daily show." the whole thing was a big

moment. we have all that for you right after the break.

comedian jon stewart's "the daily show" run ended with the host in tears. the show itself was a hilarious walk down memory lane with

former correspondents making an appearance. including stephen colbert. we have brian stelter here with more. >> some of them were coming out of the theater and stewart was tearing up thanking his crew and producers and writers. he is the star of the show, but he needs that team of writers to make it shine. i thought the speech he gave toward the end, a final sermon saying that bs is all around us. if you smell something, say something. here's what he said. >> [ bleep ] gotten pretty lazy and their work is easily detected. looking forward is a pleasant way to pass the time. like an eye spy [ bleep ]. i say to you tonight, friends, the best defense against [ bleep ] is vigilance. if you smell something, say something. >> i think that's what stewart

wants his moral of the story to be. the lesson. the take away from "the daily show." to identify bs in washington or on television and call it out when you see it. >> bruce springsteen. >> it was his moment of zen. he always had the past and present correspondents there. stephen colbert and john oliver and the whole team. >> too bad they are not able to make anything of their time. they were the launch pad. they have long careers in comedy. this was the launch pad to bigger careers. >> that's ultimately one of his legacies. all of the other comics and stars groomed by "the daily show." he did say at the end as we talked about earlier, he will not leave television all together. he is leaving "the daily show." he is not retiring. he did not say what he will do next. he thinks of his career as a long conversation with the

audience. he made a joke of not hearing from the audience. it is not ending, just taking a pause. i think that was a hint from stewart that he won't be leaving television all together. >> a break from the daily ground. let's talk about the debate last night. ironic that jon stewart is leaving on the night of the big republican debate. >> even bigger than "the daily show" finale. >> and trump blasting meghan kelly. he said it was a question that was out of bounds. did not ask that question to her people. she asked him about things he called women in the past. he took offense to that. he said, i have been very nice to you, but maybe now i will not be nice to you. he is blasting her on twitter. >> he is hurling insults at her and mostly at meghan kelly. he is still tweeting up a storm about the debate moderators. i'm not sure this is a winning strategy for trump.

meghan kelly is beloved by fox news audience. she was doing her job. i only see trump doing it. i would think that the moderators are doing their job. >> thank you for that, brian. big night for you. >> and big morning. >> nice to see you. when it comes to job growth, we're expecting more solid numbers today. a big morning in the business world. many republican hopefuls are saying they could do better. the real jobs picture next.

i'm christine romans. let's get an early start on your money this morning. republican presidential hopefuls making promises on jobs. many candidates are saying the economy is not creating enough jobs. jeb bush says he will create 19 million jobs in two terms. more than triple his father and brother combined. he says under a jeb bush, there would be a 4% economic growth. >> you get in and you change every aspect of regulations that are job killers.

you get rid of obamacare and suppress it with something that doesn't depress wages. fixing the immigration system and turning it into an economic driver. >> there has been an energy boom under president obama. and ted cruz calling out a number of candidates for supporting amnesty. half of the people on stage supported that at some point. we will hear about job growth and immigration reform. all of the important issues that do matter to the economy. donald trump taking center stage at the first republican presidential debate. literally and figuratively. a special edition of "new day" starts right now. >> leaders are stupid. our politicians are stupid. >> i'm my own man. >> how is hillary clinton going to lecture me about living paycheck to paycheck?

>> when we invaded, it was a mistake. >> iran is not a place we should be doing business with. >> i oppose the iranian deal and vote against it. >> we didn't get four hostages out. >> chuck schumer says he willow pose the agreement. >> those who say we can just walk away from the deal are selling a fantasy. >> this is "new day" with chris cuomo and alisyn camerota and michaela pereira. >> good morning. brooke baldwin and john berman here with me. you wanted it. all cliches applied. came out swinging and at times, en fuego. frontrunner donald trump did the most talking. he tried to stay above the fray. some of the remarks about