chris hayes is up next. i'll fight any man in the house for a dollar. so who is going to take on donald trump? let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. well, it's clown car tuesday with the king of the clown car now leading the parade. donald trump is now soaring in the republican polls, well above jeb bush and all the others. the only question who's going to take him on? which republican is going to risk a face-off with the guy and challenge with it the old rule of never get into a peeing match with a skunk or in this case donald trump. he pulled his old number of picking a fight with lindsey graham that shows just what happens when you take a jab at the p.t. barnum of american politics.

steve schmidt, michael steele and joan walsh. anyway, south carolina senator lindsey graham who was good friends with senator john mccain is going after trump. >> he's a jackass. he's becoming a jackass at a time when we need to have a serious debate about the future of the party in the country. >> today trump traveled to graham's home turf in south carolina and jabbed back. >> i see your senator. what a stiff. what a stiff. lindsey graham. by the way, he's registered zero in the polls. zero. he's on television all the time. a total lightweight. here's a guy in the private sector he couldn't get a job, believe me. couldn't get a job. then i watch this idiot lindsey graham on television today and he calls me a jackass. he's a jackass. >> anyway, that was just the beginning of trump's attack today. watch what happens next. >> then i said to myself, hey, didn't this guy call me like

four years ago? yes. he called me four years ago, three, four years ago, lindsey graham. i didn't know who he was. mr. trump, this is senator lindsey graham. i wonder if it would be possible for you to call fox. and he wanted to know whether or not i could give him a good reference on fox and friends. what's this guy, a beggar? he's like begging me to help him with "fox and friends." okay, and i'll mention your name. he said, could you mention my name. and he gave me his number. and i found the card! i wrote the number down. i don't know if it's the right number. 202-[ bleep ]. so i don't know, give it a shot. your local politician. you know? he won't fix anything, but at least he'll talk to you. >> you know, and he really did. trump really did give away senator graham's private e-mail address -- phone number, actually. he actually did it. graham tweeted back, quote, probably getting a new phone.

his camp also put out a statement and a fund-raising saying donald trump continues to show hourly that he's ill-prepared to be commander in chief. anyway, i don't know where to begin, but i'll start with you, michael steele, former chair of the republican national committee. it wasn't quite this much fun when you were chair. >> no. >> the other republicans, nobody's paying attention to them. >> they're not happy. none of them are happy. there's no one right now in the republican leadership or candidates running for office who are happy right now. we're seeing the opening of every newscast, every show with donald trump. and leading into this debate in two weeks time, if this is the continual motion, the level of frustration on that stage is going to be so high, you will cut it with a knife. and anything could happen. the explosion could be monumental. because they're frustrated. they don't know how to get in front of the story. they don't know how to create their own news because every microphone in their face said, donald trump said.

lindsey graham is launched a fund-raiser. god love him. he's taking advantage of it. but there's a drag and the question is how long does the drag continue? >> steve schmidt, if you're driving a good looking car down the street and one comes with a junker, you say i'm going to lose this one. his car's already a junker, i'm going to be in one. if you get in a match with trump, do you lose automatically? >> no, this is the ultimate character test for the other 15 candidates in the race. this is not conservatism, this is not what the republican party has to be about. this has to be confronted. tomorrow rick perry has announced that he'll give a speech that does just that. we will see the candidates who have the guts, who have the courage to lead, to communicate to republicans that this is not the toxic path that we want to go down. this is opposite the virtues of goodness embodied in men like

ronald reagan and dwight eisenhower and abraham lincoln and the giants that have sat as members of our party in the seat of the presidency of the united states. >> but that's woulda, coulda, shoulda. he's leading in the polls, he's way ahead of jeb who everybody knows who jeb bush is. everybody knows him. and they choose trump over him in the polls. what do you make of that? >> chris, you have covered american politics for a very long time. you are a historian. >> nothing like this. >> you know that these numbers -- >> hey, steve, nothing like this. >> -- at this moment in time in the polls. we cover this like a thoroughbred horse race. >> i know. >> there's a long way to go. we live in a time when trust has completely collapsed in nearly every institution in the country. people are fed up. they don't think the system's on the level. they don't think the political -- >> trump doesn't either. >> -- on the level. and he is in the tradition of the roman emperors, this is

bread and circuses for the masses. >> i start with -- >> -- it will last, but we'll see. >> joan, i just want to ask you -- i want to ask you a nonideological question. in this battle who is the fastest on their feet. name any republican, forget ideology. who is faster on their feet than trump. he shoots back. he's never going to let them get the good word. >> this should be a good moment for chris christie. lindsey graham shows he's quick on his feet. i want to take issue with something steve's saying. i agree it's early and i don't think democrats should get their hopes up. he's not going to be the nominee. but one thing very different from 2012. everybody took a turn. herman cain was at the top. that was a terrible field that had a bunch of people and mitt romney. nobody was going to break out except mitt romney. this is a dream field for the

republican party. we've got sitting governors, at least four, at least four senators. it should be tailor made for a great year against supposedly hillary clinton. they can't get out of their own way because of donald trump. i know steve's worried and i totally agree. i'm so happy steve is saying what he's saying, but i don't know how many people are listening because they're scared of this man. >> i'm not afraid of anything here, michael. i'm not afraid. the american people are paying attention to this. the same vote they get in any other poll they've given to him. for whatever reason they're sending a message they want to hear more from this guy right now. what do they want to hear? that's what i want to know. >> and what they want to hear is what he's giving them, and that is something that, whether you like it or not, whether it's inside the beltway or not, is irrelevant. it's authenticity for these folks around the country who finally found someone who is saying what they feel. >> what is that? >> what is that? >> i'm angry, i'm frustrated. i'm sick and tired of these guys

pontificating on what they're going to do. yeah, a little bit. absolutely. that's part of the momentum. you look where he's gone in just a week's time where the gap between him and jeb bush -- i mean, it's 24-16. that's not something that -- >> let's take a look at -- steve you previewed this he took a shot at former texas governor rick perry who has called trump a toxic demagogue. here's trump. >> i see rick perry the other day, and he's so -- you know, he's doing very poorly in the polls. he put glasses on so people will think he's smart. and just doesn't work. you know, people can see through the glasses. but he's got the glasses, the whole deal, oh, oh, oh, trump. i say he did a lousy job on the border. but i see him, he's so vicious. used to be really a nice guy. used to come to see me for contributions and support. all of a sudden he wants to show he's a tough guy with trump. so tough.

so i tweeted that rick perry should have to have an iq test before getting on the debate stage. >> so governor perry's going to get into a fight with this guy. how is that going to win for him? i don't get it. go ahead, steve. >> look, this is a test, this is a moment of testing for all these candidates inside the republican party. joan talked about this through the prism of this not being good to the republican party. this isn't good for the run. >> that's right. >> and it's not good for the democratic party. you can be the most liberal person in the democratic party in a country with a two-party system, you need both political parties to be healthy. and this anger that he is channeling is real. i understand that people across this country are upset. they have a right to be upset about a number of different issues and reasons, but this anger is not what the conservative movement in the republican party should be about.

it's so opposite the virtues and character of our last great conservative president ronald reagan on whose team is inscribed -- >> i agree with steve. i agree with steve completely that this is not good for the democratic party and it's terrible for the country. because this is the kind of hate. he started on president obama. he rode the birther wave. he whipped up that frenzy about the president isn't born here, he's not eligible. then he went on to mexican immigrants. he's playing not just to frustration but to sometimes racism and a real kind of nihilism about the political process. that's not good for democrats and not good for the country. >> to make a point here because we have two republicans on the show. when he was making fun of the president, he was an illegal alien, there was no roar of disapproval from the republican party. you enjoyed that clown act. >> there was certainly disapproval on that from the two republicans you have on this

show today. we said it was despicable then, it was wrong then, it was racist. it undermines the legitimacy of the duly elected commander in chief. it was wrong and republicans should have repudiated it and we paid a price for it and to some degree we're reaping what we sowed by a feckless political class that didn't call it out. >> exactly what i'm going to say at the end of the show because that's the terrible -- it's a tragic reality. let's call it that. the republican party giggled in their back seats while he was talking about the birther crap. because it helped to miniaturize him. he can take it. but it put more burdens on his shoulder. have to come out and show your papers like some south african flag. i got to show my papers. i'm legal here. that was ridiculous. that was trump. he bragged about forcing the president, like they stopped him in a car, let's see your license. the miniaturization of his persona was part of the republican plan.

everybody loved it when it was working for the party. now you see the clown act writ large and he's going after your own people. we shouldn't have donald trump in our midst, well, you got him. you're all smart tonight. coming up, while trump is making noise john kasich is trying to make news. he announced he's running for president. he's the 16th candidate to do so. he could give jeb bush a race. watch this guy. he's for real. president obama is pushing his nuclear deal with iran. he's blasting the hawks. the same people who oppose the deal with iran are the same people who pushed us into war with iraq and he's dead right. the tuesday clown car. mitch mcconnell hitches a ride and warns hillary clinton that she can't win the presidential election by just being a woman. let me finish with the excitement trump is causing in the presidential campaign. the bad excitement. this is "hardball."

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"the washington post"/abc news poll has new potential matchups in the 2016 general election. let's check the "hardball" scoreboard. hillary clinton beats jeb bush in a two-man race, a two-way race. but if trump runs, clinton takes 46% b the same, jeb bush is down to 30% and trump's at 20. you'll see who wins that one.

i have decide to run for president of the united states. i have the experience and the testing, the testing which

shapes you and prepares you for the most important job in the world. policy is far more important than politics, ideology or any of the other nonsense we see. i know what needs to be done. i have been there at all levels, okay? >> welcome back to "hardball. this was ohio governor john kasich announcing his bid for the white house. kasich becomes number 16 in the crowded field of republicans vying for the republican nomination. joining me right now from ohio is kasie hunt who was there for governor casey's announcement this afternoon. you're smiling as always, but this is a great moment. i think it was a very positive speech at a time when there's a lot of negativity out there. >> well, chris, i think you heard kasich focus on this idea that the country needs to be united, not divided. he hit on themes that a lot of the other republicans, most of whom i've been to their announcements, didn't hit on. he talked about the working poor, the mentally ill, the developmentally disabled. he says that comes from his own

background as the son of a mailman. it was a bit rambling. he didn't use notes or a teleprompter. so we had classic john kasich up there, but different in tone than from other people. >> let me ask you about the crowd reaction. he didn't give them red meat. he didn't blast obama. he didn't blast the political world. he seemed to be saying here's my personal story of a working class guy who had tragedies in his life, lost his parents. and he seemed to be talking about his uncle george, his uncle steve, guys who fought in the war. it was great storytelling. sounds like my family to some extent. it sounded to me american and positive. that's what i liked about it. >> i don't think it was red meat, chris, you're definitely right about that. the reaction in the crowd was, to a certain extent, muted by that fact. these are a bunch of people who know john case can and know his story and know he's not the guy

that can be out there and attacking president obama and offering that kind of thing up. this is a guy who didn't just expand medicaid in ohio but fought with a republican legislature to expand it and whose argument in favor of it, when i get to the pearly gates of heaven, st. peter won't ask me how much i cut the government, he's going to ask me what did i do to help the poor? >> the party who likes to hear about the number of executions in texas, will they cheer this? >> you know, i think that's the real test for kasich. i think his advisers know that iowa's not going to be the place for him. this kind of a candidate is probably not going to play with the conservative activists who hold sway there. the place they can make a stand is new hampshire, a place that's picked more establishment republicans, the establishment fields can do a better job in the general election. that's a crowded place, too, jeb bush, chris christie. a lot of people who will live or die in new hampshire, no pun intended, in the live free or

die state. but kasich's advisers will privately say they need jeb bush to make a big mist mistake for him to ride to the top of the pack. >> i think that pun was intended. great reporting. we felt like we were there. governor kasich isn't your typical conservative in the field. he boasts a 60% job approval in ohio. he expanded medicaid under president obama's affordable care act. he's opened to a path of citizenship for illegal immigrants. he supports common core in education. he voted for the assault weapons ban in congress and says it's time to move on from the same-sex marriage debate. as kacie hunt just reported when a major gop donor and the owner of the diamondbacks questioned his decision to expand medicaid coverage, kasich responded by saying, i don't know about you, lady, but when i get to the pearly gates, i'm going to have an answer for what i've done for the poor. the ohio governor also comes from a regular working class background and has a good story to tell.

here's what he said about his family and how it inspired him. >> and i get my inspiration from the people who came before me. i want to tell you about a few of the ones that inspire me. i'd like to start with my uncle steve. uncle steve was a tough guy. you know, the son of a coal miner. rough and gruff and tell it like it is. and uncle george. he's here today. he's right over here. he's 89 years old. i so love my uncle george. he's the patriarch of our family. where my father-in-law -- we call him popsy, grandfather, joined the marines at the age of 17. wanted to serve his country. >> as it stands now he's pulling at just 2% and looks unlikely to make the cut off for the first debate august 6 that's being held there in cleveland.

ken blackwell. people like me tend to like this guy. that's probably why people like you don't. because i think the hard conservatives have a hard time with a guy that says let's move on from the same-sex debate and not keep arguing that one over and over. and to think that medicaid should cover people near working poor and not just ultimate poor. and believes that people who come here illegally should have a chance to come here legally once they're here because they're here anyway. your thoughts? >> well, chris, i think john kasich has been a very successful governor in the state of ohio, and he won his last election by 38 points. but on a policy basis, he's going to have to make the case. there are hard working decent americans that believe that our borders are porous and that this is not only a domestic problem, it's a national security problem. there are good and decent people who are concerned about the

numbers. the numbers of the folks who are not working and unemployment is down but labor participation rate is also down. so as a consequence you have good, decent people who are concerned about public policy issues that kasich is going to have to make the case if he, in fact, is swimming against the grain. that's what primaries are for. john is -- at times he can be edgy and at times he can be the compassionate person that you heard speaking about his family, speaking about the poor, but at the end of the day, people are going to want to know what are you going to do to get the economy growing at a rate that we can get the labor participation rate back up. what are you doing to make sure that we're fighting global terrorism, that we're protecting the integrity of our borders. >> okay. >> so this is what primaries for. >> thank you, ken blackwell for coming on.

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welcome whack. donald trump seems to lower the bar every day on what's acceptable. the top 25 places, people and things that donald trump has trashed. there are obvious targets like senator john mccain's time as a prisoner of war in north vietnam. >> he's not a war hero. >> he's a war hero. >> he's a war hero -- >> 5 1/2 years. >> because he was captured. i like people who weren't captured. he's a war hero because he was captured. okay? and i believe perhaps he's a war hero. >> and of course, his opening salvo on immigrants coming from mexico. >> when mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. they're not sending you. they're not sending you.

they're sending people that have lots of problems and they're bringing those problems with us. they're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists and some, i assume, are good people. >> he said that all the way back in june. fairly recently. and he certainly lacks a certain reverence for his own religious rights. here he is. >> you know, when we go in church and when i drink my little wine, which is about the only wine i drink and have my little cracker, i guess that's a form of asking for forgiveness. and i do that as often as possible because i feel cleansed. >> eats his little cracker. what's he, a parrot? there isn't time to go through all the list of who trump has trashed or dissed, if you will. joining me now is liz winstead who co-created the "daily show." who had to decide professionally what's in and what's out. here's number one. personal phone numbers. trump doesn't seem to think they

should be kept personal. here's how he fired back at lindsey graham today after graham called him a jackass. >> he gave me his number, and i found the card. i wrote the number down. i don't know if it's the right number. let's try it. 202 -- [ bleep ]. it's three or four years ago. maybe it's an old number. >> you know, liz, whatever you think of the destructiveness of his nature, he's like an old hit pitch man on the atlantic city boardwalk. he's selling the japanese steak knives. whatever he's got on the counter, he's selling. he's selling ab old phone number. i got the piece of paper here. the glasses that rick perry's wearing now and says you can see right through it. it's all visual graphic show biz. your thoughts? are there any limits to this? is it going to get worse and worse and worse? >> i think it's just if there's no repercussions, i think it will get worse and worse. donald trump has replaced bed

bugs as america's number one pest. he just won't stop. and to announce lindsey graham's phone number? the irony of announcing lindsey graham's phone number is i think john mccain might answer it. >> that's funny. aren't you funny. one thing people won't do is talk, what do they call, quietly with him. they assume it will all get used in the next stump speech. he says he's in favor of traditional marriage. >> i'm traditional marriage. it is changing rapidly. >> but what do you say to a lesbian who is married or a gay man who is married who says, donald trump, what's traditional about being married three times? >> i have a great marriage, i have a great wife now. my two wives were very good. >> ha, ha, if he's not embarrassed by that question, i don't know what he's capable of being embarrassed by, liz. >> he believes in traditional divorce. >> serial marriage doesn't seem to bother him as a canard at all.

here's trump going after rick perry again today. this is pretty funny. for wearing glasses. >> i see rick perry the other day, and he's so -- you know, he's doing very poorly in the polls. he put glasses on so people will think he's smart. and just doesn't work. you know, people can see through the glasses. but he's got the glasses, the whole deal, ho, ho, trump. i say he did a lousy yob on the border. >> there's a certain aspect to this guy, ho, ho. and the glasses. they do wear glasses. it's a way of showing some kind of gravitas. and he nailed the poor guy from texas. >> i will say with rick perry, the glasses may be half empty, but for donald trump to mock rick perry for his glasses and not look in the mirror and look at what's on top of his own head, that contraption he calls

a hair, i think that this is all -- the buffoonery is insane. i just -- i'm sure all of the republicans are just going like this that this guy is at the top of the polls. >> but they're not going to like this. he's at the top of the polls. the applause meter is going higher for this guy. on the political idol show he's getting the reaction from the audience. why it is working as an act, question to you, liz. >> maybe it's working as an act because people need an act. but really people need to take a breath and realize they're going to need a presidential candidate. and it's just so interesting to have watched the segment before mine where a guy who i disagree with but who has gravitas and ideas might not even be on the stage when this one's going to have blowup shoes and a squirting flower -- >> you mean john kasich. >> here's a tweet from trump about the doctors who went over to east africa to fight ebola.

>> the u.s. cannot allow ebola infected people back. people that go to far away places to help out are great but must suffer the consequences. he's banishing, banishing the doctors who go to save lives. how can you beat that? >> you know, at some point you have to say who has he not offended and how big is that constituency? because anybody who is buying this, it's like i'm terrified that they can vote. >> liz, my comic dear. he's watching right now. beware. he's coming after both of us. thanks for coming on. if it's tuesday time for the "hardball" clown show. today it rolls through kentucky. driven by mitch mcconnell who just hitchhiked a ride. he says hillary clinton is playing the gender card.

welcome back to "hardball." if it's tuesday, it's time for the clown car. we've got a crowded one this week. mitch mcconnell a hitchhiker in the car. he warned hillary clinton that playing the gender card won't be enough for her. >> i don't think arguing vote for me because i'm a woman is enough.

you may recall my election last year. the gender card alone is not enough. i beat my opponent with women in my race because the gender card alone is not enough. i'm sure there are millions of americans who would love to have a woman for president, but the question is a woman president to do what. >> clinton responded during a facebook chat. mitch mcconnell really doesn't get it. there's a gender card being played in this pain. it's played every time republicans vote against giving women equal pay, deny families access to affordable child care or family leave, refuse to let women make decisions about their health. this isn't the first time mcconnell made a controversial comment about gender. two years ago he had this to say about hillary clinton and joe biden. >> don't tell me democrats are

the party of the future when their presidential ticket for 2016 is shaping up to look like a rerun of "the golden girls." >> i don't think that would work for the democratic party. i'm joined by april ryan, white house correspondent, "washington post" opinion writer jonathan capehart, and "the wall street journal" carol lee. thank you. >> the president of the association white house correspondents dinner. >> you get to be the emcee of the next event. i don't think hillary's runner entirely on her gender. more this time than last time. but why is a guy, a guy going after this one? it seems to be a stupid thing to argue if you're a guy saying that one is a woman and making that an issue. >> they're out of the gop fray right now. they're fighting among each other, giving out each other's cell phone numbers and calling each other jackass. hillary clinton is a woman but she has a pedigree.

she's been secretary of state, dealt with international issues, a senator and first lady. she is someone to be fearful of. that's why mcconnell threw that out there. >> next up, a strange article from the national review writer kevin williamson explained by bernie sanders is actually -- you'll love this -- a national socialist, in other words, a nazi. he said in the bernieverse, there's a whole lot of nationalism mixed up with socialism. he is, in fact, leading a national socialist movement, which is a queasy thing to write about a man who is a son of jewish immigrants from poland and whose family was killed in the holocaust. he is a national socialist in the mode of hugo chavez. he isn't driven by racial hatred. he's driven by political hatred. that's bad enough. making the nazi comparison has become common place in political discourse lately.

>> remember the gulf? >> that was one of the biggest political mistakes ever. >> you mean when john boehner played golf with president obama? >> oh, yeah, yeah. and biden and kasich, yeah. mm-hmm. >> what did you not like about it? it seems to be a pivotal moment for you? >> come on, that would be like hitler playing golf with netanyahu. >> what are the similarities between the democrat party of today and the nazi party in germany? well, the nazis were against big business. they were for abortion and euthanasia of the undesirables, as we all know, and they were for cradle-to-grave nationalized health care. far more similarities between nancy pelosi and adolf hitler than between these people showing up at town halls.

>> i've been told that he said we're living in a gestapo age. what do you mean by that? >> i mean very much like nazi germany -- and i know you're not supposed to say nazi germany, but i don't care about political correctness. >> you know, i don't get it. can't someone stamp with a big cement seal, never compare anybody to hitler but hitler. >> right. >> just do it right this. keep it there. >> every four years or every election cycle you can't just oppose your opponent's ideas. you have to root them in evil and plans to murder and enslave people. why can't we just -- if you don't like bernie sanders, just talk about how you think bernie sanders' ideas are out of the political mainstream or too left of center or not good enough for america, not that he's trying to outright kill people. >> and both these guys say the son of jewish immigrants a nazi but. i know it's politically incorrect but.

it is like walking into a trip wire. scott walker strongly criticized the supreme court in this country, and he supports a ban of openly gay scout leaders. he refused to answer whether he thinks homosexuality is a choice. >> do you think that being gay is a choice? >> oh, i mean, i think that's not even an issue for me to be involved in. the bottom line is i'm going to stand up and work hard for every american regardless of who they are, no matter where they come from, what their background. >> to do that properly, you have to have an opinion on who they are and where they're coming from? >> no, i don't have an opinion on every single issue out there. to me, that's -- i don't know the answer to that question. >> why is that the default position on so many issues, climb change, all kinds of things now, candidates now say i don't know, as if that absolves them.

>> you would have an opinion on that. >> of course you would. if you're running for president of the united states, you should have an opinion on that. that kind of sentiment, that kind of wishy-washy not taking a stance one way or another is what this electorate is really unhappy about. they don't like the, you know, the blow dried poll tested politicians. they're showing that in the rise of bernie sanders and donald trump's rise as well. an answer like that, when you don't answer the question, for voters, that doesn't resonate with them in any sort of meaningful way. and frankly, you know, everybody's running -- obviously scott walker's going to run to the right. his answer later to the question of how he would represent every american -- >> what do they hear when they hear a guy saying something that dumb. is he playing a game? >> they think he's playing a game in that he doesn't think we

exist. i mean, i'm an out gay man. so i'll say we. he doesn't think we exist. he doesn't have the vocabulary to talk about us. he doesn't think we're a part of the american fabric. he has nothing to propose to us. he doesn't want our votes. we are not welcome. >> say my name. >> right. >> heard that the other day, say my name. the roundtable's staying with us. up next president obama takes his message on the road tying critics of the nuclear deal to those who pushed us into the war in iraq.

president obama traveled to new york today for his seventh and final appearance on "the daily show" which is tonight. he made his debut eight years ago when he was still a candidate for president. jon stewart is in his final weeks as host of "the daily show" finale is august 6. it will all be over.

instead of rushing into

another conflict, i believe that sending our sons and daughters into harm's way must always be a last resort. before we put their lives on the line, we exhaust the alternative. that's what we owe the troops and american leadership. >> we're back at the round table and that was obama addressing the military and defiebing the nuclear deal and he stressed the need for diplomatic and slammed the apponents of the deal by pointing that the same ones opposing were the ones that miss lead us in the attack. here he is. >> we're hearing the ones that failed us in the past and some of the same politicians that are so quick to reject a possibility are the withins that will go to war with iraq.

we know the consequences of that choice and what that cost us. >> it was opposing to iraq war and came as they tried to assemble enough with with iran. i don't think that it's fair to say that people are wrong, once they're wrong again. your thoughts? >> i am hear as good that this is a serious issue. number one, we do not know much as iran as we thought that we knew. we don't know much about that in the context of what happened with wmd. we thought that we had the information and the intelligence. >> did you think that? >> i heard that it was faulty at the time. >> did you think that was the reason that we went to war with iraq? >> i know that was not the reason. it used to be a white house and we would never go war with iran

and that compared to what happens. >> iran is a real country. >> yeah. >> i think hawks are hawks and dubs are dubs. i am a dove most of the time. the hawks tend to be hawks. >> yeah, the president is a dove. remember one of the reasons -- >> he was elected as a dove. >> and so the president campaigned on bringing the troops home. he is now president of the united states and now dealing with a much more complicated war that he anticipated as a candidate and now with the iran deal and trying to say once gain to all of those people that are clam erring for some confrontation with iran, look we're going to exhaust every diplomatic avenue possible before we ever send troops into harm way again. he is not only talking to republicans but talking to a war nation that does not want to go.

>> let me ask you a question with a minute left. do you think that people that are hawks on this want to bomb iran? >> well, i think what you're seeing -- the president is making the case. let's see why he is making the case. >> the opponent want to do that? >> yeah, he has to win over democrats and for them to hold the line so that the voe toe of any rejection of the deal is not over riden, and so he is making this simple case as he can. this is a complicated deal. the white house says that it's not a perfect deal, and they're having to make the case. at the end of the day like you said 2008 that war argument is powerful, and that's why he is saying that. >> he is getting all of this money and paying guys the legal defense fund. some of them are not looking on the level here. thank you any way. you know what i am talking about. you know what i am talking about. i know you.

just kidding. when we return we finish with the excitement that donald trump is causing. look at that beautiful hotel on tripadvisor. wait. why leave the site? don't you know the tripadvisor you've always trusted for reviews, book! now checks over 200 websites to find the best price? book...book...book! over 200 sites checked to find the best price. so don't just visit tripadvisor... book at tripadvisor.

let me finish tonight on the excitement that donald trump is causing on the campaign.

he is the front runner. yes, he is the best that they have got and the best person around to sit in lincoln's chair. is this insane? well, you might want to get used to it. i have the sense that mr. trump is going away. he found his voice, not that he lost it. let's not forget where this political jack and the bean stock first sprouted back when he was saying that president obama was an illegal alien and they gave him a big pass. how they giggled that the president of the united states was a con artist and some guy whose mother ran off to have him and then snuck back in to sell him into a political career. the image was clear, and powerful.

obama who did everything right and played ball in high school and went to harvard had fore sworn the easy money to work for the community and than ran statewide and country wide. trump said that he was a guy from the hood that conned his way in. well, you got it. in seeing this never both erred them one bit or a man was selling this cheap stuff as long as it put to all of the other burdens and killing the guys presidency in it's crib, well it did not work. now they have donald trump and the man that entertained them and kicking the held out of them. they have no one. not the democrats and no one and the media. they made it by saying the dumb, stupid, nasty things that came out of his mouth.

that's hard ball for you. thanks for being with us. cray hayes starts right now. >> what a stiff. >> lindsey graham. >> the republican front runner unloads. >> releasing the o foents cell phone number to a crowd in south carolina. >> let's try it. 202 -- >> tonight as the field swells to 16. how long can donald trump last? with the debate set off, a look at the desperate measures that the rest of the field is resorting to to get on to that debate stage. then the gathering storm to defeat iran's deal as he takes the case to veterans. could the man that tried to sell