the hoosiers bring closure. let's play hardball. good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. the stop trump movement is on the verge of collapse. ted cruz and john kasich formed an alliance and hoped to set up a roadblock in indiana tomorrow. polls show the new york businessmen to sweep the state. the latest nbc news wall street journal poll of likely republican voters shows trump with a 15-point lead over cruz in indiana. that's tomorrow. cruz is increasingly desperate, of course.

last week we rushed out the running mate selection and yesterday warned indiana voters to quote not give into evil. well, there was a campaign stop today when cruz walked over to a group of trump supporters well defined and identified as trump supporters and tried winning them over. let's watch this event. >> i'm running to be everyone's president. those who vote for me -- >> we don't want you. >> well, you're entitled to your view -- >> do the math. do the math! asked kasich to drop out. it's your turn. you are the problem. you are the problem politician. >> politician! >> after owl of the candidates, name one that had a million dollar judgment against him for hiring illegal immigrants. >> name one. >> self-funded. >> that's right. >> okay. so you like -- >> not you. where is your goldman sachs jacket at? we know your wife works there. you'll find out tomorrow. indiana don't want you. >> sir, you're entitled -- >> yes, we do! >> sir, america is a better country. >> without you. >> thank you for those kind sentiments. let me point out i've treated you respectfully the entire

time, and a question that everyone here should ask -- >> are you canadian? >> there was like this afternoon trump praised protester, let's watch trump now. >> he actually said how is your loan doing at goldman sachs. that's cool. whoever he is, he was cool. him and his friends because they are not going to be buffaloed by lies. >> well, trump also mocked ted cruz for failing to come to the aid of carly fiorian slipped off the stage introducing her. trump called it weird cruz didn't do anything to help. >> he picks carly. carly is perfectly nice. by the way, she fell off the stage the other day. did anybody see that? cruz didn't do anything. even i would have helped her, okay? i said wow, that's really cruel. she went down. she went down a long way, right?

she went down right in front of him and he was talking, kept talking. he didn't even look like -- that was a weird deal. >> andrew sullivan is a contributing editor just out cover story for the magazine warns trump is an extinction level event in american democracy and susan paige and jeremy peters reporter for "the new york times." jeremy, i loved your piece today, top right hand, the top piece of the day, right? i thought it was good because it said something is basically happened, which is all the talk of a stop trump movement based upon the id cruz would be the last man standing there is dynamic. when you get to be the last man, the other people and the front runner is just in galloping speed by then and losing support every hour. >> it also should mean people want to vote for you and that's been ted cruz' problem all along and that's the problem with the never trump movement. it's never trump and then okay, so who do we vote for? fall income wind behind ted cruz is very difficult for a lot of these republicans because he's

not a palatable alternatives. >> do any candidates, did any of the candidates exhibit any kind of charisma opposing trump for the nomination? susan? >> no, no. >> never just an accident. he was up against some of the dullest, dullest politicians ever. >> he is, of course, he is pretty exciting. i mean, he's pretty dynamic and proved himself -- >> trump, trump. >> nobody else. >> i actually think is republicans are saying he's going to get nominated. let's make the best of it. some republicans are trying to think beyond after trump what happens to the party. that's what cruz is about to think. >> you don't want to play this game. i'm getting a strong look. >> i'm not. just looking at you. >> there's this thing called politics and you have to have charisma. is any guy capable of thinking up a joke on the occasion, say something whitty and interesting even ever. trump at least is a stand up guy. i don't have to like him or

support him but he's a show and the other guys aren't a show. >> you're right. we're not covering a general election. we're covering reality -- >> can i actually finish my sentence. >> only after you get me right. we're covering elections and voters are voting for this guy. >> sit a tv reality show. that's how you're presenting it and that's what we're looking at -- >> who will win indiana, the tv show? >> trump changed the rules. >> okay. >> all these presidential debates turned out to be television reality show episodes. >> have they ever not been? >> yeah, they have. >> okay. >> when they actually had deliberation, arguments back and forth hasn't put forward a single sane argument because he's been able to completely change the rules of the game. this is entertainment now. every fun he can have, every joke he has -- >> okay. >> meanwhile, he's platformed. >> i guess i missed most of american history because i

remember ronald reagan debating there you go again and flattening with that line. >> that was one line in the debate. he's only got one line. >> how about wheres the beef to gary that knocked him out? there is a lot of theater in this business? >> there is. >> you think people vote for him because they are entertained by him? >> no, because of the message. >> because think are frustrated. >> what's his message? >> his message is there are people to blame for your plyte. >> who are they? >> china is raping us. mexican immigrants, undocumented immigrants are the reason for your problems. we got to actually round up and deport 11 million of them. >> okay. >> and muslims are your problem. that's what we'll -- >> let's -- >> who has been effective in protecting american manufacturing base? >> there is more -- >> been disappearing. carriers leaving now. >> manufacturing output in this

country is the highest it has ever been. the question is not about manufacturing. >> productivity not jobs. not jobs. that's what people care about. >> i know they care about. >> and they are disappearing. >> they have been to some extend, yes. >> who is responsible? >> the trade is responsible. >> that's what trump says. >> trump's solution is what? >> politician is serious about stopping illegal immigration, name one. >> i think -- >> name one. >> i think -- >> besides trump. >> i don't know anybody. i know a few. lindsey graham, chuck schumer and late ted kennedy were serious about a comprehesive immigration bill. >> so is barack obama. they can't stop or build a wall. >> look, the frustration explained by andrew is real. it isn'ttheater. a lot of people are frustrated by reality. comprehensive liberal, anything. nothing gets done and by the way, boehner is a reason for it

bringing up to a vote. they see nothing happening which is getting obamacare. i don't want to get rid of obamacare. they don't see their goals being erased. there is frustration and person in him. >> i would agree that trump -- >> not show biz. >> show men in someways but the reason he succeeded is because he has a message that resonates with voters so frustrated. he's had, you know, his reeling against trade deals for instance talking about building a wall which goes to immigration. i mean -- >> hold on a second. building a wall it's a fantasy, right? it's complete fantasy. >> talking about trying to -- >> trying to do something. >> so you're saying his platform and propels are a mere negotiating position. >> what does hillary say? >> i don't know. she's a useless candidate. >> it's demagogue, of course. your piece accused bernie of demagogue. >> he is against billionaires if that's the real problem. we have a difficult shifting global economy, in which, by the way, the united states is doing better than any other country on

the planet and yes, there are winners and losers. >> the growth rates. >> no one else is doing as well as the united states and manufacturing -- >> we're more ambitious on the rest of the world. >> and doing better than anybody else. >> trump can write the history books this year and won't write down he's a great entertainer from "the apprentice." you can call it anything you want to call it. names don't mean much now. it appeals to something about national spirit, the country feels frustrated and the jobs are going away because the government isn't fighting for them. this is in the public rhetoric today. i'm not making it up. it's working. >> a lot is disingenuous. donald trump takes a lot of money -- >> what about the democrats? politicians say stuff all the time with high b.s. quality. raising minimum wage is a lot to

do. >> they don't demonize sections and discriminate religion. >> that's different -- >> no, he does them both like any reality television, which is what he is -- >> live tv. we don't use that word here. >> he has a message but his style -- >> here is the point. so what is he? a comedian, a side show, or he's a dangerous fastous. >> he's leaving the rest of us in the dust. and it's terrifying to watch. >> okay. susan? you heard that voice, what you've hearing? >> there are people who agree with you who see him as a dangerous character but he tapped into something that resonated what the 16ther candidates didn't understand and i'm not sure other democrats

understand it, either. it goes to real frustrations with a white american especially white men that feel like they have been dumped. >> has a lot to do with the sense of country. he talks about the country, government society. bernie has a piece about society but i think we'll try to figure it out. by the way, we all get to vote in november. you do, too. welcome. nice to have you aboard. immigrant from a great country, as well. not as great. susan paige, thank you. this is a live show, you know, but you have to be nice about the words we use. i apologize for that. we've seen how donald trump is attacking hillary clinton. it's clinton's turn and she's going right for trump. his juggler reminding voters that trump led that old birther movement against president obama. remember that one? that's ahead. >> plus the obama legacy. the president doesn't get credit for rebuilding the american economy because they spent eight years denying progress has been made. we touched on that tonight and the highest ranking conservative admits voter i.d., the voter

i.d. laws are ones republicans are pushing across the country. the partners of the laws is to elect more republicans. jim admitted it finally and finally, the "hardball" round table will tell me something i don't know. recently republicans admit they do this to keep people from voting. this is "hardball" the place for politics.

it's appearing hillary clinton will face-off against donald trump. according to a new poll, the two likely nominees are clocked in a close race in the all important state of ohio. let's check out the scoreboard. clinton holding a slight advantage over trump 45% to 42%. that's within the polls margin of error. 1960 was the last year the candidate of ohio lost the presidency. we'll be right back.

welcome back to "hardball." the general election fight is being sharpened. things got heated between the two after trump tweeted crooked hillary clinton perhaps the most dishonest person to run for presidency and great enablers. clinton reacted in an interview with cnn's jake tapper. >> you know, remember, i have a lot of experience dealing with men who sometimes get off the reservation in the way they believe and how they speak. i'm not going to deal with their temper tantrums or bullying or their efforts to provoke me. he can say whatever he wants. >> here is what trump had to say about that. >> she said i'm used the word. certain word. >> off the reservation.

i said to myself, that's a horrible expression. if i would have used that expression maybe in the opposite form, it would have been a front page story. that's a very demeaning remark. >> demeaning remark to me. that's interesting. last night clinton previewed general election attacks on trump proving she's ready to take him on by reminding voters of donald trump's public record. >> the leading republican contender is the man who led the insidious birther movement to discredit the president's citizenship and when she was asked in a national television interview to dissupport supreme cyst supporting his campaign, he fell adecoy. we cannot let the presidency lay

in donald trump's hands. >> clinton is referring to trump's 2011 crusade to release president obama's official birth certificate out of hawaii. >> i was just informed while on the helicopter that our president has finally released a birth certificate. i'd want to look at it but i hope it's true. i'm honored to played such a big role in hopefully, hopefully getting rid of this issue. now, we have to look at it. we have to see is it real? is it proper? what's on it? but i hope it checks out beautifully. >> i'm joined right now by minnesota democratic senator and clinton supporter.

you know, i don't know what to say but he hasn't talked about that birther thing. if anybody of sound mind and body thought about what he's saying is a white woman from kansas married a guy from kenya and then went over to kenya and had the baby and then pretended she was having the baby in hawaii and had the birth certificates faked and hospital -- and the newspaper accounts fake so she could make him president some day, this woman wanted her son to be president so marries a guy with barack hussain obama. whatever your philosophy is, it's the craziest, craziest conspiracy theory ever. and he sold it for, what, years? yeah. >> he did. that's the journey through his mind and i have to say, look at how he did this effectively throughout the republican primary. low energy, little marco rubio. the names, blaming, finger

pointing. >> big ears. >> you know what she's doing? hillary clinton is doing and started it no better place than indiana on sunday. she's going to hit back and she's going to define him because he has been literally branding people. he hasn't been talking about issues but running a marketing campaign and the american people deserve better. >> let's talk about the argument we just had you over heard with andrew sullivan that says trump is a showman. a guy who used television values, of usually crazy lines like you're talking about, stick if you say it in a show biz sense and she's a good showman. is that the reason he's winning the republican nomination? she's a good show? >> we know a number of policies they have been pushing, not just him but candidates aren't in sync where the people of america are where you look at hillary clinton who won, what, 3 million more votes, the million more votes on the democratic or

republican side. she's been talking about the issues and differences between her and bernie sanders are so small compared to what we're talking about with these guys. they are debating what the percentage rate should be on student loans and how we can save money for students. some candidates are talking about getting rid of the department of education. she's talking about her approach internationally, her qualifications. donald trump is talking about nuclear arms in asian countries and building a wall and not letting muslims in this country. there is a major difference between the two parties and i think she just started laying that out last night and that's what you're going to see going forward. >> obviously democrats are eager to capitalize on the history. u.s. senate candidate conner eldridge released this video tieing the opponent to trump's behavior. watch this. >> she ate like a pig.

>> i'd like her right in that fat ugly face of hers. >> he once sent her a picture with the words the face of a dog. >> the boob job is terrible. looks like two in the body. >> treat women with respect. >> you know, we've heard that. dismay like everybody else because i never thought about that behavior. it is public. look at the latest numbers from ohio. he's in a race with hillary neck and neck. that's a wonderfully state. we know ohio is for real. he's doing well there. >> well, again, we're not in the general election yet, chris. right? that ad is running right now down in arkansas. we're not close to being able to put this stuff out here. when women hear the words about him talking about the women card. it demeans hillary clinton and all women that tried to get

ahead, not just in politics and business and this campaign and when people have gone too far with this, see what happened in missouri and todd aiken talking about legitimate rape responded two days when think started hearing about that. that will be important not just on the economy bringing them out but also to bring these words out because i have seen this before and when people go too far and people feeling demeaning not just the candidate but demeaning all women, the women will respond that. they will not take this. >> what about having two women on the democratic ticket? do you make of that? >> i think you know chris -- >> somebody like you on the ticket with hillary clinton. >> there is some history in the united states history here of one gender ticket like every single one of them. that the one. however, i think hillary is going to pick whoever she thinks is best.

there is a lot of good names out there that she can look at and good people with good experience and i'm sure she'll pick the most qualified person. >> the reason i say you is because you're enormously popular. thank you. >> thank you, chris, great to be on. >> thank you. nina turner is a famous senator. here is what she said about the democratic contest. >> what is unfair is when i win a state by 70% of the vote, and superdelegates in that state vote for hillary clinton because they are part of the democratic establishment, that's unfair. what's unfair is before i even get into the campaign, hillary clinton has some 4, 500, excuse me, superdelegates on her side. that is unfair. >> it is virtually impossible for secretary clinton to reach the majority of convention delegates by june 14th with pledged delegates alone. she will need superdelegates to take her over the top at the convention in philadelphia.

in other words, the convention will be a contested contest. >> senator, usually in a debate you agree on definitions before the debate starts but bernie sanders saying there is a me definition. it's a majority of pledged delegates. can you change the definition of the campaign? in fact of may of an election year? >> chris, i think what he's primary talking about is the fact that we still have ten contests within the united states and we have a few, you know, four others, d.c., guam, et cetera and every voice needs to be heard and throughout this process that no one should be trying to push senator sanders out of the contest and there are more pledged delegates to earn and it's not over until it's over and secretary clinton has a little over 1600. and senator sanders has a little over 1300.

it's not over yet. >> do you think his campaigning of late is helping hillary clinton or anybody win the democratic having a democrat victory this november? >> i think so, chris. this is a disruption election and you have critiqued and been involved in many elections. this is like none other -- >> i agree with you on that, senator. totally new one. >> in the 21st century and people are crying out on the left and right and do not want status quo politics and senator sanders is speaking to that and the debate is hopeful for the democratic party but helpful for america so we awaken the sleeping giants to get people to pay attention to the process and get involved and engaged process. >> last question, yes or no was your candidate senator sanders right or wrong to give hillary clinton a buy on the e-mail issue. >> its --

>> was it the right decision? >> it was his decision so i don't want to prejudge. >> i'll post judge it. it was deceiving he was running as a protest candidate -- >> i know you've been saying that, chris -- >> you want to win, you take every advantage you can get. >> senator sanders -- >> he's going after her on speeches and hitting her every day on the speeches. >> that was -- >> he is one to play tough. >> i'm not, chris. that was his decision whether it was right or wrong. it was his. he's the candidate but i understand where you're coming from. >> i agree. it was his decision and probably the wrong one. thank you. please keep coming on and arguing. still ahead, legacy building. the jobless rate has fallen and stock rate up double and the deficit is down so why isn't barack obama getting more credit? why isn't he getting more respect? i'll speak with a reporter that sat down with this top pick coming up next. this is "hardball" the place for politics.

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here we are. my eighth and final appearance at this unique event. and i am excited. if this material works well, i'm going to use it at goldman sachs next year. [ laughter ] >> does anybody look as good in a tux? he obviously has a valet. pocket is square, everything is right. that is president obama joking about leaving the office at the white house dinner on saturday night. a big night for him. it was a chance to poke fun at the legacy and candidates that hope to succeed him. here is how the president accounted for rising approval rating over the last couple months. >> in my final year, my approval ratings keep going up. here is the thing.

i haven't really done anything differently. so it's odd. even my age can't explain the rising poll numbers. what has changed? nobody can figure it out. [ laughter ] >> those are the pictures they showed in the room at the hotel. no time to tell how the obama legacy ranks but as hillary clinton pointed out, his legacy will be shaped by whoever follows him into the white house next year. once again, here is clinton yesterday. >> we cannot let barack obama's legacy fall into donald trump's hands. we can't let all the hard work and progress we've achieved over the last 7.5 years be torn away. >> well, president obama recently smoke with andrew of ""the new york times" about why he doesn't get credit. how people feel about the economy obama told me, giving

one part of his own theory is influenced by what they hear and he went on and if you have a political party in this case the republicans that denies any progress and is constantly channelling to the base that things are terrible all the time, that people start absorbing that. i'm joined by the author andrew ross of the new york times and on cnbc and co-creator of billions of fascinating show on "show time." andrew, thanks for joining us. >> thanks, chris. >> let's get to the political part. i've heard him say this before about the power of television and negative advertising. he once said to me or some of us that the reason obama care had a hard time starting is you had $200 million in negative advertising thrown at it. does he believe repetition -- >> oh, yeah. >> big lie if you want to get really brutal about it has power? >> absolutely. he believes we have heard over and over again that the country is going to hell. we've been told this from

frankly both political parties and has he said you absorb it. if you look at polls, system of the best off folks in america, people making $250,000 and more, if you ask them how the country is doing, they purely on the poll will tell you it's worse frankly than people at lower tiers. so there is no question that the message is a big piece of this. >> well, let's start at the top. donald trump. he is a rich guy. people think he knows the economy because he made a lot of money and they think he knows what he's talking about. he does find those iconic things like the loss of carrier to mexico dropping perfectly for him to say we've got to keep these highly skilled jobs in this country not third world jobs, if you will, the jobs you can figure anybody can do with training or require skill and training and pay pretty well. they are the jobs we have to keep, i think and that's the kind of thing i think hurts people's feelings about the

future. >> first of all, donald trump will tell you repeatedly we're a third world nation which of course, we are not. >> of course. >> and he says that on the stump regularly. more importantly, there is very much truth to the fact that our people in this country that are hurting, that's absolutely true but when you're going to measure this man's legacy, when i say this man, president obama's legacy to whatever degree you think can a president can control or influence, you have to do it on a relative basis. you have to say where we were when this started? did it look like when we were about to go off the cliff and where are we now. not only are we at 5% unemployment and at one point were at 10% unemployment. we created all sorts of jobs and even though it may not feel like that all the time and i know there's a lot of people out there that will watch this and say are you crazy? this country is going to hell

and wages are absolute issue but on a relative basis to where we could have been and i know it's a counter factual but the hypothetical counter factual which the president will effectively always be playing against to get the country off the gurney and now in rehab but people don't like that and it's hard to measure that on a relative basis. >> okay. as i said, you're one of the creators of the hit show "billions." and his relationship with the crusaders played brilliantly. here is a clip. >> out there you guys always talk so tough but you always end up in here. why is that? >> because he knows he's a crook. >> innocent people will never take a hit like that. >> beyond the pail, my client -- >> you got me, roj. 1.9 billion is going to hurt but

not like a shark bite. it's more like a, what, bee sting. bee sting. >> no. that hurts. more like a horsefly. >> one of those little green horseflies. >> a nasty nip. >> no, more like an ant, red ant. >> stings for a minute but doesn't ruin the picnic. >> are they as smart as businessmen they have to watch? >> i would argue they are. they have to play with a sense of gray at a time when so many have this very black and white view of this but when you get inside the room, of course, you feel the vision gets more blurry. >> wow. anyway, sophisticated gentleman that covers wall street. >> thank you. >> up next, here they go again. voter id laws help. big surprise. we always thought that. the top guy is admitting it. we had a couple pennsylvania guys do it already. the round table will look at the block the vote efforts. could they have an effect in 2016?

they got to. that makes older people andment ises minorities unable to vote. you're watching "hardball" the place for politics.

welcome back to "hardball." candidates tell us every vote counts you heard that a lot. tough new voter id laws make it harder for some voters to cast a ballot. during an interview on friday, however, former south carolina senator jim headed the heritage foundation very conservative group says the republicans are reaping the benefits of photo voter id laws. here they are. >> it's something we're working on all over the country because in the states where they do have voter id laws, you've seen

actually elections begin to change towards more conservative candidates. >> well, according to the new york times and ballot media since 2006, 33 states have enacted voter id laws. just since 2006. that's the new thing. we never had it before. texas is one of the states. ted cruz joined four restrictions that allow voters to use gun licenses as identification at polling locations but won't accept student ids or id issued by reservation arauthorities. tougher for minorities to get votes to count. joining me the "hardball" round table and washington burro chief and francisco chambers and former federal prosecutor. paul, thank you for joining us. head this -- i mean, it's so flagrant. we had a couple guys up there

that just said it. we did this to beat obama to beat the democrats. >> these guys are accidently telling the truth because the purpose is to prevent voter fraud. guess what? we have a lot of problems in the country. voter fraud is not one of them. the effect the voter id laws have voters especially strict laws like texas where you need certain kinds of photo ids suppress the voting. people of color, elderly. >> explain that. why people of color? >> about 14% of all americans don't have the appropriate ids but when it comes to people of color who are disproportion anytimely poor and have things like driver's license. >> like a car. >> so they know that and that's why, you know, the thing chris is is not only the people who have the ids, people concerned they might get turned away so they don't even show up. so there is no way of knowing -- >> it scares me. david, initially we lived in the old part of philadelphia.

my grandparents until my grandfather got one at 65 didn't have a car. you didn't use a car. you took the subway. walked to church. walked to the store. nowhere to park. they had to put the trash cans when we visited to keep a spot. people that live in philly or chicago, people don't drive everywhere in new york. >> urban environments and poor environments -- >> and parking is $30 a night sometimes. >> urban environments, you have fewer driver's licenses is a fact. this is part of a bigger trend. the republicans on the wrong side of the demographic shifts >> they know what they are doing. >> the only way to maintain is playing with voting rules. they do the same thing with early voting and same thing about not funding places. >> alternative, reaching a program and minorities or screw them out of voting. you raised the flag.

we raised the flag. i never heard a republican raise the flag and say stop cheating. our party should be the party of lyndon. >> in 33 states we're talking about with voter id laws, it seems to be realistically the only way we can get those turned around would be through the state legislature pasting laws that overturn them or have to go through the courts so for the time being, the situation would be that if you're an out reach group, you are a group that reaches out to minorities and you want those people to vote for candidates and issues making them aware of the fact they need a photo id. >> good grass roots work. if you look at a map here, it's the same as the party map of the united states. the states that haven't done this screwed people out of voting are the democratic states. it just is. so that's what is going on. the round table is staying with us and up next, local political people should be teaching people how to get licenses and that's one thing we've lost with the political machines that have

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tune in tomorrow for complete coverage of the indiana primary and at 11:00 tomorrow night well have a special from "hardball" as we look forward to the big fight coming i think tomorrow. my big prediction. we're looking at hillary clinton versus donald trump.

not a daring prediction at all. looks clear. all coming here tomorrow night at 11:00 when we talk the big fight. the big one. that's hillary versus trump. we'll be right back.

we're back with the "hardball" roundtable. talking to francesca, how come student i.d.s were not okay but gun licenses were? we'll figure that out in a later show. tell me something i don't know. >> a big fight coming up in california between trump and cruz. it may not matter but what's going on happen is it's going to continue to destroy the republican party of california.

87% of latinos in california have a negative impression of donald trump. so in if he gets all this attention it's going to make it even harder for the republican party which is in tatters in california. >> especially if he wins the primary. francesca. >> we know donald trump has been saying hillary clinton only has one thing going for her and that's the woman card. she has seized on that ask started giving woman cards to her donors. she raised $2.4 million off of that woman card effort at the end of last thing. >> she's on to something. >> barack obama is cool with hip-hop, edgy racial humor. at the white house correspondents' dinner, larry wilmore called him the "n" word affectionately. the president was fine with that. he even made a joke about cp time, colors persons time. there's a concept african-americans can say things white people aren't allowed to say. the president's cool with that.

he's the richard pryor or dave chappelle of presidents. >> wow. a politically -- anthropological development in our society. anyway, i was surprised he liked it. i've heard different thoughts. thank you for joining us. "hardball" back after this. and not enough time in my kitchen. (announcer) need to hire fast? go to ziprecruiter.com and post your job to over 100 of the web's leading job boards with a single click. then simply select the best candidates from one easy to review list. you put up one post and the next day you have all these candidates. makes my job a lot easier. (announcer) over 400,000 businesses have already used ziprecruiter. and now you can use ziprecruiter for free. go to ziprecruiter.com/offer6

welcome back to "hardball." these days politicians face nasty critics but in a movie titled "the congressman," a lawmaker from maine is caught on video by one failing to stand, simply failing to stand and recite the daily pledge of allegiance on the floor of the house. here's what happens next. >> congressman, is it true you dissed the pledge of allegiance? >> did you say dissed? >> did you diss the pledge? >> do you know who wrote the pledge of allegiance? >> founding fathers? >> no. and it wasn't etched on the tablets moses brought down from mt. sinai either. the pledge of allegiance was written by a national socialist by the name of the francis bellnew who believed the government should take over the schools. he ordained the pledge should be recited while all american schoolchildren stood and gave the so-called bellamy salute. have you ever seen the bellamy salute? no? here it is.

cooler heads prevailed and that part of the pledge was dropped after hitler declared war on us. >> of course the incident snowballs in the movie, the congressman retreats to maine where he starts to answer the question of what it means to be a real american. the film's writer, codirector, and former congressman for new york, robert mrazek. i thought it was the greatest portrayal of a real-life congressman. tell me what inspired you to do the whole thing about americanism and what it really is. it isn't nationalism, about my country right or wrong, it's about? >> we live in very cynical times, chris. and people have begun to question the bedrock values of this nation. honor, sacrifice, courage vr we have people questioning whether john mccain was a war hero, after he was shot down over hanoi and imprisoned and tortured for five years in hanoi hilton. our movie is a movie about hope,

it's about redemption, it's about second chances. it's a throwback, i guess, like me in some respects. in that, you know, it's not bleak. it's not cynical. there are a lot of bleak and cynical movies out there. our movie is about the transition of a man who happens to be a congressman at a certain point in his life. and facing the real question of what it means to be an american. >> it's freedom and you have -- i know you wrote it. i'll praise you for it. that speech at the end is amazing. it talks about, don't get me for not absoluting, giving the pledgeallegiance, that esa ritual. i know what this country's really about and one of the things it's about is not having to do that, ironically. and the audience gets it. >> i hope so. i think so. we've gotten enough feedback from audiences that they have appreciated the fact that even though the pledge of allegiance

has good words in it, and we're not quarreling with those words, about don't need to recite them every morning to prove we love our country. >> let me sell the movie. the truth of it all. first of all the sleazy staff history has no loyalty to the boss, basically screws him. because he's so ambitious to get the guy's job. the former type member, the lobbyist on capitol hill, always the perfect tan, trying to get young people to be sa deuced to his corruption. you've got all of that. and you have the media exploiting this guy and making him into a nazi because he was honest enough to explain the derivation of the pledge and all that went with it. >> yeah, i mean -- >> the young reporter looked like she could not wait to get on the air with that. >> right, exactly. >> she thought she'd gone to heaven. robert mrazek, great guy. you've got to see this movie. "mr. smith goes to washington," this is the sequel. that's "hardball" for now. tomorrow i'll join brian williams and rachel maddow for special primary coverage starting at 6:00 p.m. eastern. is >> you stay up till 11:00 tomorrow night, we'll talk about the future of the national election between hillary clinton

and donald trump. we'll forget about the primaries for a while. "all in with kris hayes" starts right now. tonight on "all in" -- ted cruz's closing arguments amidst signs his support in indiana is falling. >> carly's perfectly nice. by the way she fell off the stage, did anybody see that? and cruz didn't do anything. >> then the gop nightmare scenario. >> she ate like a pig. i'd like her right in that fat ugly face of hers. >> i'll support the candidate regardless. >> could trump help democrats retake the senate? as hillary clinton pivots to the general election, bernie sanders makes a bold prediction. >> the convention will be a contested contest. >> james sanders is here to discuss the campaign's road forward. and the comedian in chief.