old. rogue elephant. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. time to panic? look at the republican leaders as they watch opportunity ralphing of support for trump. his campaign seems to be imploding like some decrepit piece of real estate. reports are out there now campaign staffers are suicidal. that they are planning some sort of intervention. standing amidst the tumult like baghdad bob, trump at a rally said his campaign is doing incredibly well. let's watch. >> i just wanted to tell you,

the campaign is doing really well. it has never been so well unite. we started on june 16th. i would say right now, it is the best in terms of being united that it has been since we began. we're doing incredibly well. >> the latest point of worry for republicans is trump's refusal to even endorse speaker of the house paul ryan in his primary. according to katy tur, reince priebus is apoplectic. meanwhile, they're saying he is unmanageable of paul manafort said this. not challenging trump anymore. mailing it in. staff suicidal. nbc's chuck todd reporting, key republicans close to donald trump's roesht planning an intervention. reince priebus, rudolph

giuliani, and newt gingrich. they have to enlist his children in the effort. today manafort. he hadn't heard of an intervention in the campaign and he said the campaign is just fine the candidate is in control of his campaign and i'm in control of what he wants me to do in the campaign. this is another clinton error being put throughout and the media is picking up on. the campaign is in very good shape. we are organized. we are moving forward. the clinton machine may not like it. but we're prepared for the fight. >> how dire is the situation? a brand new fox news poll, and this is to be seen tear justly. just out, shows hillary clinton's lead over donald trump is now double digit. look at this. this is the stuff that makes people get very worried. hallie jackson, john horowitz at

cnbc. the chief washington correspondent for cnbc, and political writer for the new york times. and chuck todd is political director of msnbc. give us a essential of, is this just baghdad bob denying it? no problem here? we have it made? >> it is kind of a tale of two campaigns when you think about it. on the one hand you have the campaign insisting the stories of panic are really overblown. the stories of dissatisfaction inside the campaign are not true. on the other hand you have people close to the campaign pointing to real problems, dissatisfaction within the republican party. people who are trying to, as chuck and i have been reporting. do a course correction here and make sure that it is not too late. two days in the general election after the worst couple days donald trump has had. when you look at his fights with the gold tar family, the khans.

i'm told by several people, the breaking point. we are here at a rally in jacksonville in this conservative part of florida. trump supporters don't care. i had someone say to our team today. they said trump's problems are with the elites in washington, not with the people like me. >> you know how to report. and you've got some good stories here. i think the general rule would be those who speak to you on back ground are telling truthful those speaking on the record are saying no problem. >> and i think this was purposeful to me. these are friends of manafort who are frustrated as he is with the way donald trump has been behaving. no rational candidate would pick a fight with a gold star family

box trash talk kelly ayotte and make problems for paul ryan. it makes no sense. and so we thought that manafort, tony, jim murphy, all the people grafted on to that campaign for the general election would turn it into a campaign that we would recognize as a general election campaign. it hasn't been that. donald trump has to add voters and he is doing the opposite. >> so what is manafort denying the trouble, i think you said donald trump is in charge. that's not exceptional. everybody knows that. the problem is he is in charge. >> precisely. i thought that was a very honest statement. he said the candidate is in control and i'm in control of the things he wants me to control. that is to me an acknowledgement that some of the things that have been happening are things that he's been unable to prevent. >> what's going on with him? trump? a mixed bag. a genius at some things. why is he picking on a gold star

family? why is he picking on this old bite the the speaker of the house? why would he do that? >> because he keeps, i think he keeps score. that's something, what has been consistent about him. he keeps score. the thing with rhino over. >> that's like kids in the back seat of the car. you're on my side. >> you're asking me what is this about? people, he is not changed who he is. the most remarkable thing about his hit on ryan is he wanted to make sure he used the precise language with ryan used against him when ryan wasn't ready. >> i'm not there yet. and is he et cetera up phillip rucker, so you're looking for a quote on ryan. let me get it for you. he wanted to make sure he had it exactly. so he is a score settler. for better or worse. >> who is the stabilizer from day to day? ivanka? eric? who says dad, cool it.

>> evanka is the one that everybody will tell you he listens to the most. he responds to the most. so when some people in trump world hate the world intervention but essentially, what these folks want to do. do the same thing that worked before in their mind. they went to the kids and pushed really hard. when they were worried that he would go a little off, they said no, no, we need mike pence. the kids said, okay. so now they're trying to do the same thing. >> anybody knows, you don't attack the parents of a kid who died in battle. you don't do it. they're immune. in the end they have a right to speak their mind even out of anger and sadness. >> i talked to mr. webber. this is a former ally in the

house of newt gingrich. he said he thought the republican party had made a mistake of historic proportions in nominating donald trump. he was not going to vote for it. he wouldn't say he would vote for hillary clinton. when i asked about the intervention, he said, come. on it is pointless. we know who he is. >> of historic proportions? this sounds like "phantom of the

general public. >> reporter: i'll make two quick points. i just had a republican operative text me and say what are his crowds like? are they same crowds you saw during the primaries? and i will tell you, largely they are. it is the same rhetoric from trump at theodium. the same language from his supporters. i've been here every time.

trump's response to that has changed a little bit although his surrogates have taken up his line. they're saying, no, no, we want to beat her if november. that's our goal. so demographically, at least at first glance, it is much the same. i want to talk about two more things. the pence thing and what chuck was talking about. the wildly remote possibility that trump would consider withdrawing. on pence, i will say, listen, the fact that he split with the top of the ticket on endorsing paul ryan. they say that's not a bad thing. it shows the dynamic of the relationship between two. the positive personal chemistry. when pence said i want to support him. trump said do your thing. of course you would support him. i'm not going to do it. i'm telling you, that is indicative in their view. no big strategy session.

>> you know that sounds crazy. one identify said, if you have to act rationally, i understand your situation. i can act irrationally so let's work that way. donald trump will come out here in a second or two but the idea that he would cover this race. having covered here's a couple of things that you know about donald trump. he hofs the poes. everything he does comes from when he perceives and he hopes is a show of strength. that's the impetus of his campaign. and he refuses to back down. that's what we've seen in the last 13 months. for him to withdraw, it is

difficult to comprehend. >> let's go back. someone says, you're a good poll. you're down and your sinking. >> he will go and attack pollster. here's what's coming. i know anecdotal private polling in different states. with every the national polls. this horrible six days for trump has been noticed by voters. i know of swing district places in iowa where suddenly she's up 13 it fits the 10-point move there. by next week, when more polls, we come out at the end of the week. we have our own nbc "wall street journal" poll.

that could add a new level of panic. if the polls start matching what appears to be -- >> if he gets up in the morning and says i have to get ohio and pennsylvania. and then pray for florida. that's in his head all the time. what does this do? when he says, i don't have a chance at any of those states. >> i don't think he thinks leak that. but look. his problem is, that 39% in the fox poll. he's about around 41, 42 for a while. he does not seem to recognize that and hasn't responded to it with his behavior. is he capable of absorbing a strategy that requires him to do something different than he is going to do? that's the test. i haven't seen evidence of it. i'll be surprised if i see it. >> the reaction to the polls showing he is losing his base. slipping down into the 30s and losing the chance to win the swing states. will he try to open up another

front and hope this one faith? is that what he's up to? >> i think he'll go on the attack and i think that's partly because of the influence, at least a little bit, of some of the people you're talking about. people close to him saying, this is the message. talk about the gdp. talk about the economy. talk about hillary clinton. i've been told we can expect more of that from him on stage. and we have over the last few days. he brought up the gdp on monday. we didn't hear about it. so there are signs he's doing that. to chuck's point, the number that i keep hearing is 10 points. even if trump were to lose by 6 points, 7 points, 8 points, it wouldn't have the dramatic the part that republicans fear that some republicans fearful fits more than 10 points, i think that's a real concern from the gop about these folks like marco

rubio. >> also psychologically, trump doesn't want to be a loser, a loser. the worst thing on the planet according to him is aer. it was fine for bobby riggs to take on billy jean king. but it was not fun to get kicked. that's the last thing he wants is to walk away with a 45-55 number. not only he would lose all the swing states. he would cost the republican party so much they would never let him forget it. >> unless the election is rigged. >> you offer a moment of humor here. or ludicrousness. chuck todd. thank you. great reporting here. this hallie jackson. we'll be keeping an eye jacksonville for the rest of the hour. coming up, what do you do if you're a republican and you're watching your party's nominee seem to be self-destructing? plus, the list of republicans

coming out for hillary clinton keeps growing. meg whitman is voting for hillary. and trump's allies don't seem to know what to do. his campaign manager is blaming hillary clinton for captain khan's death even though he was killed when george w. bush was president. and corey lewandowski is going back to the birther charge saying obama doesn't tell you his transcripts from harvard, he implies this, that he filed his application as a foreign student applicant. so he wasn't even the son of his mother. that's really carrying birtherism all the way. he is not the son of his mother. and round table with three things. yesterday we saw donald

trump receive a purple heart from a supporter. he said this way was much easier. u.s. candidate duckworth was awarded the purple heart herself after she lost both her when he goes the helicopter she was piloting was hit over in iraq. duckworth tweeted a photo of herself receiving the purple heart in her hospital room. she sent to it donald trump saying this is how one usually looks when you are worth it. nothing easy about it. it's crisis time for

it's crisis time for republicans of course, right now. right now, donald trump's poll numbers are slipping. he is down to double digits. the nominee appears to be at war with his own party, at theeft

party he's been running in. after he declined to endorse paul ryan and senator managing mccain in their upcoming primaries. this is amazing. on ryan yesterday, trump said, i'm not quite there yet. which is meant to be cute, nearly identical language to the language paul rain used when he expressed about a trump endorsement, i'm not quite there yet which is now what trump is playing back at him. this is as childish as kids in the back seat of a car. ryan against the man who wants to be president. trump allies plot an speaker vention. some are quietly considering the arcane mexico anesque of what would happen to the party's ticket if trump was to leave the presidential race. here's how mike pence responded. >> i talk to donald trump just

about every day. you're always going to their inside baseball discussions. i've never heard about anything of a meeting of that kind. this campaign is totally focused on strengthening america. >> that's what you would say, of course. you have to say what you have to say in politics. i'm joined by mark sanford of south carolina. what do you think accounts for this almost childish back and forth between the presidential candidate and the leading republican in the congress, the united states candidate, paul ryan saying, i'm not quite there yet in terms of a primary which will be an 80-20 victory for paul ryan. why is he messing with the guy? >> old dogs don't learn new tricks. so what he's learned over life and certainly in the primary process is to remember names and insults and to pay back in kind. that may have worked in the primary but it is disastrous in

a general election. >> someone said, a very smart politician, i can't report it pause it was an event. it was actually at a funeral, a wake. and he said smart politics dictates that you only attack your opponent. you don't have much attack capability so you attack your opponent. and you keep the focus on the negative of your opponent which he calls crooked hillary. why is he scattering his attacks? it just diminishes them. you can't attack with more than one person with much effect because it looks like groucho marx. >> that's what is perplexing to everybody. i don't know. if he would just shut up, quit attacking and responding to everybody that says anything even partially negative toward him and focus on the economy and focus on hillary clinton. the race would be done. but he is not doing that. and again, i go back to, i've been in a 16-person primary.

and just trying to break out becomes very, very difficult. and so again, that served him very well in a primary. again, it turned off a number of folks. at least it gave him oxygen in that primary process. doing what he is doing now turns off the independents. in a race for the hearts and minds of the independents, the middle, and this doesn't do it. i'm perplexed as you are. i don't know why he is doing it. other than it is what he's been doing for quite some time. >> people in your side of the political world and my side covering it, both get into trouble. you have to say something and you have to correct it. your advisers say, you're in a hole. stop digging. move. on get as much truth out as you can handle. move on. that usually takes the poison out of it. this thing with the khan family is not going away. i wish someone would tell.

it's not my job to toll him. why isn't somebody telling donald trump, you can't argue with a the gold star family. what happens in your high of, you have the right because of fate or whatever you want to call it. the right to be angry about losing your kid and to strike out. and that's what they did. >> it is the first amendment. you or i can say what we need to say. i don't get it. i've learned first hand. i've experienced it firsthand. the incredible grace that's out there in human terms. the power of forgiveness. i've experienced it. people respond to, i messed up and i'm sorry. >> he think he would profit mightily from saying he's sorry. >> i remember new york mayor laguardia. he said could i round a laundry ticket.

he said if you make a mistake. he said i don't make many mistakes, but when i do, it a beaut. that seems appropriate. thank you for coming. on we're joined by steve cortes, a campaign surrogate. what do you think about all this, sir? >> what i have to say, and it won't surprise you that i have a very different take on this. >> that's why you're here. >> i think this is largely a media created diversion and a media created narrativeful i think media elites in new york and washington, d.c. have reached a point of almost desperation. they can't believe that donald trump has gotten this far. so they're trying concoct a problem that doesn't really exist. we talk about inside baseball. this is truly inside baseball that most americans don't care about. it is a very big deal inside the beltway. >> why are so many republicans raising hell about this? they're coming out with

statements. >> republicans. not media people. >> following this story. some with delight. some people find this fascinating. look here. a new level of panic hit the street. it's time for a serious reset. newt gingrich. trump is helping clinton to win by proving he is more unacceptable than she is. henry bar bore, he is not driving on the pavement. he's in the ditch. these are republicans. it is not the media alone. i agree media is riding the story but saw it is a media concoction? it ain't. >> i believe it largely is. >> how so? many khan wrote an article and it came to the attention of the clinton people and they grabbed it. they didn't create the story. he had already spoken out. >> the story about dissension within the campaign is absolutely media kree afltd you just had john harwood on. he cited an anonymous source. >> of course it is anonymous.

>> well, i'm telling you as someone in the campaign, that's not true. the party is unified. >> there is nobody concerned about trump's behavior with regard to picking fights with kelly ayotte, paul ryan, and the gold star family. you're not concerned about that? >> of course i'm concerned about certain things. picking a bite the the khan family was clearly a mistake. weighed bad weekend. as long as he doesn't major in the minors and we now focus on the big macro issues. for us there are. two national security and economic growth. >> you're a surrogate and i'm covering this campaign. there is nothing that would be smarter for trump than to go back to his bread and butter. jobs, dwroeth, infrastructure spending. anything tells working guy or woman out there, if i get elected, your life will get better. >> he's been doing hit the week. >> he's been doing it in the quiet of the night. what he's really doing is

getting into a policing match with all these top republicans. >> i haven't gotten there yet. why is he refusing to not back for renomination in a primary the top republican in the country? why is he doing that? >> because with one tiny race exception, he has not gotten involved in primaries at all. >> he won't back john mccain. >> you stay top republicans. the list of republicans who have told us they are going to vote for hillary clinton includes meg whitman, who is a significant ceo, but irrelevant, a losing candidate. and a congressman from new york who i've never heard of who is retiring. so there is not an impressive list of a-listers. >> i said it is an impressive a-list raising hell about the performance of your candidate. you're a loyalist. you're a surrogate. that's why you're. on with you there are a lot of other people who are not

restricting themselves on what they're doing. you've said a lot on this show. you've agreed. he shouldn't have gone after the khan family. i think he would be better off to focus on economic issues. >> we're moving upward and onward. part of what's going on is the establishment. democratic or republican. you used apoplectic. they are, that he may come in and transform washington. that's what the american people want. they know wave rigged crony system in washington, d.c. that is making their lives less prosperous and more dangerous and we have to reverse both those trends. donald trump is the man to do it and he will prevail if he sticks to that message. >> i want to make a point with you about the media. one thing you have to say about me. when i've been unpopular about my opinions. i've been tough on al gore. i thought he ran a terrible campaign.

and i didn't like the message of fearful i've been pretty tough on these guys. i've been tough on all of them. i was not a friend of the clintons in the 2008 campaign. i don't run with the pack. so when you go after the media, it better not be me. i'm not in the pack. >> i'll concede that and i'll applaud you. when i look at the broad main stream media, hillary clinton on sunday morning while admittedly trump was having a very bad weekend. on sunday morning she won't fox news and effectively said that fbi director comey exonerated her and he said the exact opposite. there was no news coverage of that. >> it was difference between an acquittal and innocence. you're a loyalist. up next, what steve just referenced. there is a growing list who said they'll support hillary clinton. that's a big deal to jump the tracks. natural-looking color...

...that even in sunlight, doesn't look like hair color... it just looks like you. nice'n easy: color as real as you are. >> i'm alex trebek. if you're age 50 to 85,

i have an important message about security. write down the number on your screen, so you can call when i finish. the lock i want to talk to you about isn't the one on your door. this is a lock for your life insurance, a rate lock, that guarantees your rate can never go up at any time, for any reason. but be careful. many policies you see do not have one, but you can get a lifetime rate lock through the colonial penn program. call this number to learn more. this plan was designed with a rate lock for people on a fixed income who want affordable life insurance that's simple to get. coverage options for just $9.95 a month, less than 35 cents a day. act now and your rate will be locked in for life. it will never increase, guaranteed. this is lifelong coverage that can never be cancelled as long as you pay your premiums, guaranteed. and your acceptance is guaranteed,

with no health questions. you cannot be turned down because of your health. call for your information kit and read about this rate lock for yourself. you'll also get a free gift with great information both are free, with no obligation, so don't miss out. call for information, then decide. read about the 30 day, 100 percent money back guarantee. don't wait, call this number now. ♪

the list of republicans jumping ship to another ship continues to grow. meg whitman is planning to endorse a hillary. she explained her decision last night, writing, donald trump's demagoguery has undermined the fabric of our national character. his unsteady hand would endanger our prosperity and national security. i urge republicans to reject donald trump this november. in an interview with "the new york times," she went one step further.

she said she would provide a substantial donation to hillary clinton's campaign. then this afternoon, more republican support for hillary clinton admittedly limited. it come on the heel of others. they along with whitman now join the ranks of other republicans, including richard hannah of upstate new york. it includes henry paulson. former secretary richard armitage, deputy secretary of state. and the national security adviser, brent scowcroft who was the first bush's number one guy. joining me, supporting hillary clinton, and our friend here. governor, what makes you want to be for hillary clinton a democrat, even though you're a republican?

>> well, i think you have to put the interests of the nation first. what will happen after the election, we'll need somebody in the white house that can frankly heal the division that's we currently have in our country. >> do you think hillary is the one to do that? >> absolutely. you look back on her record. the number of republicans who commented so favor when i on her ability to cross the aisle, work with people. what i think is missing today, is that hillary clinton is a policy wonk. she is not a political person as much as she is into public policy. and we need that kind of attention and focus and ability to work across the aisle. >> that's my hope. whoever wins. >> there has to be a reconciliation.

you're right. i would hope that one thing she will do, stay away from criticizing trump. he is busy digging his own grave. but focus on a very positive vision for america. in terms of job creation and in bringing together americans, in terms of financial equity. but also, start to talk about more of a bipartisan approach to governance. look at the talents of mitt romney. why not use him to re-create the hoover commission to get barnacles off government. focus on efficiency ask productivity in government and that i think will build more confidence in an administration. the second part is, embrace john mccain. he is the elder statesman of the republican party. bring him in as an adviser. it is not necessary that everybody always agree with you but it is good to have the other opinions.

>> i wrote a whole book about tip and reagan about this. >> you're absolutely right. >> the problem is, now talking talkingpolicy for a minute. republicans are i think more trusted with money. they think they're tight we are a buck. they won't throw it away. they don't want to do infrastructure. democrats love the infrastructure. it goes to local pals. they get their sticky fingers on it. the moan doesn't get anything done. that's a problem. >> i think we have to be historically accurate. the last rubble pes to submit a budget was dwight eisenhower. all the ones who talk about it are the ones who grew the deficit.

that was replaced by political rhetoric. i want to see, and the last democrat to balance a budget was frankly, bill clinton, working and forming a partnership with newt gingrich. and that was a productive partnership. i would like to see them do the same thing. >> thank you for joining us. >> i'm delighted. thank you. >> a reasonable statement. john, this jumping ship thing. what do you make of it? coming out like meg whitman? >> a lot of insiders. peep who have been part of the political establishment saying i can't vote for trump. if trump wants to win, he has to get more outsiders. no way we can do this. >> what is the heart of darkness? that makes people like murphy said, he knows nothing about foreign policy and he can't elect a president. what are you hearing is the chief obstacle? is it this crazy thing with the khan family?

>> i think that's part of it. i think the lack of discipline. i think people are worried about his sanity. does he have the temperament to be president is this people are worried that he is a complete outsider. the hacking of ideological -- the lack of ideological consistency. >> does it carry sanity clause? >> i think it does. i don't necessarily agree with all those people. i think that he is running a campaign. >> do you think he has the temperament to be president of the united states? >> i don't kno >> we'll be right back. we're going to donald trump down in jacksonville. >> serious. i wish the press would report the crowd like it is. you've got thousands of people outside trying on get in and

they can't get in. this is one hell of a big stadium. i'll tell you. thank you. thank you very much. a great honor. jacksonville, a good place. how is your football team going to be? good? good? i hear good things. i want to start by saying that early this morning, i turned on the television and i saw that our country took $400 million in cash. different currencies, different places, different representatives representing those places. took $400 million, put it in air maenls, now it over to iran. how stupid are we?

what's going to in this country, how stupid are we? then you say, i wonder what happens with that? i wonder who ends up getting it? i wonder. so sad. people tried to stop it. you wonder. who is making decisions like this where you take $400 million. they put in it small containers, and probably pretty large containers, actually, and they bring it over to iran. and you say, whose decision is that? that is all emanating from one of the worst deals ever made in this country. the deal we've made with iran and that was probably hostage money to get hostages out for $400 million.

it was exact timing. our leaders are incometent. and that's why we have these crowds. that's why we have these crowds. that's why we fill up the stadiums. no matter where we go. we have unbelievable people in our country. we have great, great people in our country. >> we're back. that's trump on the counter attack. he's launched an offensive there about the money that was unfrozen. it has been sitting in banks. it has to do with some old arms dispute between the united states and the shah. what do you make of it? >> well, the timing is perfect for trump. you release the money ask the hostages come back. for trump, this is mania from heaven. he gets to talk about the essential corruptness of the

status quo. >> to explain, why would that be corrupt? >> if we unfreeze money which we were supposed to do anyway. >> i'm not saying it is corrupt. the natural distrust that people have outside the beltway. that people dislike instinctively, you have this arms for hostages. except it is money for hostages. this is what trump will say and he will be very effective at it. >> thank you very much. up next, the round table is coming up next to talk about what's going on in the campaign.

welcome back to "hardball." it's been a crazy week on the roller coaster ride that is the donald trump campaign.

just when you think you've seen it all, here come the old retread conspiracy theories. first up tonight, former campaign manager and trump ally, cory lewandowski dredged up the oldie but goody president obama's birth certificate last night on cnn and asked to see president obama's harvard transcript. >> did he ever release his transcripts? >> by the way, tell me about those tax returns, while you're at it. >> you raised the issue. did he ever release his transcripts or his admission -- the answer is no. >> you so out of line right now. tell your candidate to release his tax returns. two words, tax returns. >> harvard university transcripts. you raised the issue. did he ever -- >> well, that's advancing the conversation. it's a rehashing of his former boss's previous statements before the 2012 election. the father of the birther movement called on obama to release his college records. and this week, donald trump laid the ground work for questioning the results of this general election in november.

>> and i'm afraid the election is rigged, i have to be honest. it's a very dishonest media. the media is very, very dishonest. >> for more, i'm joined by howard fineman from the huffington post, and washington correspondent for "time" and national political reporter for politico. i want a deep dig on this. this is something strange. cory lewandowski has dredged up the craziest of birther theories that the harvard application that barack obama put in to become a student in the law school there somehow said that he was a foreigner, a foreign student, asking for a special break, as a foreign student. that takes it further than anybody -- in other words, he's not the son of his mother, he's actually an illegal immigrant. if he's the son of his mother, an american from kansas, he

would be maybe not eligible for the presidency, but certainly an american. but now he's going further and saying he's not his mother's son. because when he applied to harvard, he said he's from kenya. this is brand-new, this one. >> i spent a lot of the last day reporting on what's going inside the trump camp, the turmoil, the frustration of the people running it, who areal actually running it. lewandowski was kicked out of the campaign and he thinks he's helping the situation by doing that. >> trump hates the birther issue now. he doesn't want it brought up. >> i didn't hear from the inside, i didn't hear about the birther issue. i didn't hear the people working for donald trump saying that the election is rigged. you're not hearing the people around him, who have some sense saying the kinds of things that the candidate himself is saying. they're not saying it's rigged. they're not talking about the birther issue. their goal is to try to get their candidate, number one, to

be quiet, and number two, get on message. neither which they're capable of doing. >> what's the rigging thing based on, the fact if you lose -- this is third-world stuff. they all say that, if you lose, it's rigged. if they lose, they say it was rigged. if they win, they arrest the opponent. in budapest and other countries, they hang them. this is crazy, third world politics. >> and they're laying the ground work about a fictional letter campaigning about when the debates are. >> has anyone found this letter? >> no one has found the letter. >> is he going to say the debates were conflicting with nfl games, so the debate commission is out to get him? >> he's already said that, essentially, which isn't true. >> it could be they just screwed up. by the way, there are nfl games almost every night.

>> and it's like here's the shiny story over here, this crazy, other thing. don't look at that train going off the cliff. look at this crazy, crazy thing. >> you know what captures your imagination, tim russert used to say it. numbers, numbers, numbers. when you start to fall in the 30s, as he did today in the fox poll, it's hard to blame somebody besides yourself. you're losing. >> when he's saying everything is rigged, he's explaining why he's going to lose. >> why is he at 39 now, when he was higher? >> because he had a negative convention. they have not started speaking beyond their base -- >> who is he blaming for that? >> he's never going to take the blame himself. he's undermining people's faith in solutions, whether it's the media or american democracy itself. >> moments ago, donald trump told his supporters in jacksonville, he met today with gold star families. let's watch. >> and just a little while ago, i met with the gold star families. i met with six families that were just like incredible people.

and a gentleman handed me a check, and he said, you know, mr. trump, this is for your campaign. and i said, you don't have to do that. he goes, i do. he said it's more money -- and i haven't even opened it yet. i don't think i'll tell you how much it is, actually. but he said it's more money -- wow. he said it's more money than we can afford. but i want you to have it for your campaign. and i think it's incredible. where is he? >> so does that work? does that get him off the cliff? >> no, it doesn't get him out of it. but it's an example of what's left of some kind of campaign structure around him, trying to get him to do something positive to dig out of the situation. in other words, that wasn't spontaneous donald trump. that's not tweeting donald trump. that's not self-destructive donald trump. that at least shows me that somebody in the campaign is trying to put one foot in front

of the other, which is very difficult to do based on all the reporting that i've done. >> no one is going to be happier than donald trump's staff that the olympics are starting on friday. >> why? >> because it's gonna be -- everyone's going to focus on the olympics and other stories. and they're not going to focus on all this stuff. >> you're running an uphill campaign for president as donald trump is, every day has to produce a headline, a tv headline or twitter note that talks about creating jobs and economic hope for the working class people who will vote for him. >> that's what they're doing now. >> he's got 90-some days left. wasting them on this crap. >> he's undermining his message to. if that were the only message, if he could get off stage without relitigating past controversies, but he goes to pennsylvania, tries to appeal to blue collar folks, and the next day he flews into virginia, and said, i was in harrisburg the other day, boy, is it a hell hole.

that's "hardball" for now. what a week it's been. "all in with chris hayes" starts right now. tonight on "all in" -- >> the campaign is doing really well. it's never been so well united. >> trump pushes back after reports of an imminent intervention. and a campaign that's falling apart. >> the candidate is in control of his campaign. >> tonight the waves of panic swamping the gop. >> i think some of what trump has done is just very self-destructive. plus, new fears about trump in charge of the nuclear codes. growing concerns about the republican party's