i had teleprompters. i had a speech written by a professional. i said i'm not reading >> chris the trump slump. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews from washington. another day, another trump controversy. last night, the republican nominee made this claim about president obama at a rally in florida. >> isis is honoring president obama. he is the founder of isis. he's the founder of isis. okay?

he's the founder. he founded isis. and i would say the co-founder would be crooked hillary clinton. co-founder. >> well, the clinton campaign itself responded earlier today in a statement. her senior policy advisor wrote this is another example of donald trump trash talking the united states. what's remarkable about trump's comments is that once again, he's echoing the talking points of putin and our adversaries to attack american leaders and american interests while failing to offer any serious plans to confront terrorism or make this country more secure. well, the associated press which is known for its objectivity called trump's claims patently lost. it was formed as the local al qaeda franchise in iraq after the invasion. it preceded this president's tenure as well as hillary clinton's time as secretary of state. nevertheless, trump doubled down again today. >> i call president obama and hillary clinton the founders of

isis. they're the founders. >> do you think it's appropriate to call the sitting president of the united states the founder of a terrorist organization that wants to kill americans? >> he was the founder of isis, absolutely. the way he removed our troops -- >> i know what you meant. you meant that he created the vacuum, he lost the peace. >> no, i meant he's the founder of isis. i do. he's the most valuable player. i give him the most valuable player award. i give her, too, by the way. >> he's not sympathetic to them. >> he was the founder. the way he got out of iraq, that was the founding of isis. >> by using the term founder, they are hitting with you on this again. mistake? >> no. it's no mistake. everyone's liking it. i think they're liking it. >> everyone's liking it. mikie likes it. in a speech last night, trump pointedly referred to the president himself using the middle named. trump has a history of questioning the president's birth, of course, even his birth certificate, his school records, his credibility, even his

loyalty to this country. what is his strategy right now? nbc's hallie jackson is in kissimmee, florida, where trump will speak this hour. help me read this guy. why is he pushing this founder of isis, not even the explanation hugh hewitt tried to help him with. no, founder. literally founded isis. why does he insist on that? >> reporter: he was given an out obviously. here's the deal. the campaign says this is trump trying to basically force a conversation about the president's policies in the middle east, what as you know many conservatives argue is a failed policy to destabilize the middle east and open up a power vacuum that let isis flourish. here's the thing. that's not what donald trump the candidate is saying. instead, he's doing anything but back off of this, doubling down doesn't begin to describe it. by this morning alone he had repeated the claim that president obama was the founder of isis at least nine or ten times and this was before like 2:00 or 3:00 p.m. it is something we heard from

him repeatedly. so what is the strategy here? clearly trump and his campaign see a political opportunity in linking hillary clinton to president obama by painting and arguing that clinton will be a third term of the obama presidency. but here's the political risk in that, chris. that is when you look at nbc's newest favorability ratings, the president is nearly twice as popular as donald trump is. so even though clinton's troubles when it comes to her approval rating, the president doesn't, not nearly as much. so that may be a problem for trump moving forward. in addition to the fact that he is repeating what is a demonstrably false statement. president obama obviously not the founder of isis. if trump wants to make the argument that the president by his policies opened up room for isis to grow, that's different. that's not what we're hearing out of his mouth. >> thank you, hallie jackson. over the past several weeks, trump has heightened his attacks on hillary clinton, even calling her the devil. let's watch. >> unstable hillary. >> she's really pretty close to unhinged.

she's like an unbalanced person. she's a dangerous liar and you saw that with the fbi director. >> honestly, i don't think she's all there. >> in one way, she's a monster. okay? >> he made a deal with the devil. she's the devil. he made a deal with the devil. >> wow. joining me right now, chairman of the american conservative union and democratic strategist and clinton surrogate, james carville, author of "we're still right, they're still wrong" the democrats case for 2016. let me start with matt. we will get to james in a second. matt, what do you think of that hyperbole? let's call it hyperbole. the devil -- >> i like that. >> doesn't have it together, the accusations of mental instability, of evil. the very force of evil, the devil. all that based upon what? >> i think it would be better if you just used her words. she said herself she short-circuited. i think we ought to use director comey's words, she was reckless.

those are fair charges to make. sometimes -- >> i think she meant to say shortcut but that's all right. >> the point is this, which is she didn't accurately describe what happened with her e-mails, she didn't accurately describe director comey's testimony and director comey himself said she was reckless. i think trump needs to stay in these lanes where he's got plenty to go here. >> this from a guy who is known to speak the truth. >> comey? >> no. trump. >> hold on. >> hillary clinton not being right on occasion but trump night after night saying stuff she didn't say. >> what about her? she's been doing this for 30 years and is at 70% disapproval on her honesty and trustworthiness. >> james, founder of isis, then referring to the president as ba ram husein obama. is that of any value to history, to truth, to anything? >> first of all, he killed bin laden so he could found isis. look, the guy in his mind is impotent. his supporters stay frustrated,

he's getting outflanked, outmaneuvered by hillary clinton. in other words, in his mind, he's losing to a girl. he can't believe it. so what's his reaction, his little stubby hands out there flailing away saying every ridiculous thing anybody can come up with. we really shouldn't be covering this like he's serious. he's just a guy that's been cold-cocked and he can't believe his mouth is bleeding and he's starting to call everybody names and looks stupid in front of his supporters. >> help me out. his mouth is bleeding. i lost you on that. what does that mean? >> means he got hit. he got hit. >> oh, like a boxing match. i get you. >> like a guy, he starts a fight and somebody punches him back, his mouth is bleeding and he's crying, calling people names. he looks small. he looks like a loser. he's weak. he's down in the polls. he's not doing well. what's his reaction, is he just flails away out there. it's a psychology thing. that's all this is.

>> are you channeling elizabeth warren when you say he's losing to a girl? i think women can say that. i don't think we can say that. >> i said in his mind he's losing to a girl. not in my mind. in his mind. i would never say that. but that's the way that he thinks. >> i'm glad you understand what's in his mind. >> i do. >> i think if we are going to talk about people throwing around charges, you're saying he's got little hands. >> he does. >> why don't we talk about the issues? hillary clinton might be in his head, i will give her credit. she's withstood a lot of punches so far and looks pretty good right now. and trump is the one who looks like he's on the back of his heels. that being said, she's been doing this game for 30 years and her numbers are rancid with voters. how does that feel? >> you know, matt, i didn't pick trump. your party did. he ran over 16 other people. he is your nominee selected by

the members of your party. they knew what he was doing. they knew what they was getting into. if you want to attack the republican party, that's your choice. that's your nominee. i didn't put him in there. he's reacting poorly because he's getting slapped around. >> we actually elected our nominee. you used super delegates to get yours. >> matt, matt. we know that -- >> hold on just a second. did you say super delegates were decisive? >> i think they were very important. >> they weren't decisive. she won them on earned delegates. she didn't need the super delegates. we can argue about it but that's not why she won. after the massacre at the orlando nightclub in june, trump insinuated president obama's sympathies were suspect. let's watch. >> we are led by a man that either is not tough, not smart

or he's got something else in mind and the something else in mind, you know, people can't believe it. >> a lot of people think maybe he doesn't want to get it. a lot of people think maybe he doesn't want to know about it. >> what are these asides all about, these little things like we have second amendment options here, well, nobody knew him in school, we don't know, there's something going on here. you can hear the music in the background, the spooky music when he talks. what's he implying? i know what i think he's implying. what do you think? >> i don't know. >> oh, come o what do you think? >> look, he's trying to find -- >> nobody knew him in school? what does that mean? >> he's trying to find every angle he can on obama. no question about it. he has a long record of doing that. >> what's he trying to suggest he is? a foreigner? >> i think for conservatives like me, that he is a left wing guy. >> no. it's not idealogical because he talks about his roots, where he's from. he says he's from somewhere else besides america, he's not a legitimate president.

>> he is actually from kansas which i kind of like. >> why does he keep saying he's alien? >> i haven't heard him say he's alien. >> he suggests it over and over. he says he's not from america. what do you mean he doesn't call him alien? >> no question he's playing -- >> what's a birther? >> there's no question he's playing to conservatives over the fact that obama is way left and more left -- >> james, what do you think the message is? it's not a dog whistle. it's quite audible. >> his message is he's not a real american. that's his message. everybody knows that. he's an unrepentant birther. as long as it was working, he didn't care. once he got hit, he can't take a punch. he got hit and then he goes nuts and flails away out there. that's what's happening to him. he looks very, very weak in front of his own people.

he just goes in one day and does one thing, he flails away and is just throwing these haymakers that are just moving air molecules around and meanwhile, they are coming in getting a shot and snapping his head back and that's what's going on. i know matt, matt's a thoughtful guy, a real conservative, but it was his party that picked him. it wasn't -- the press didn't do it. it wasn't a conspiracy. >> james, you're amazing. calling in to cnbc this morning, trump has to pick his calls, by the way, trump was asked if he had any regrets about recent comments he made about this second amendment people thing as well as criticism of the khan family, the parents of captain khan who was killed in iraq. >> on the second amendment, everybody came to my defense because there was nothing said wrong. i'm talking about the power of the voter. and nothing was said wrong. and only the haters tried to grab on to that one and it was very unsuccessful.

as far as mr. khan i think it's been said by everyone, i think that's been very well talked about and that's been put to bed a long time ago. >> do you agree with your friend carl icahn that you made a mistake? >> have you to define what a mistake means. we are not here to talk about that. we are here to talk about economics. >> he talks like a dictator. we're not going to talk about anything, we're not going to talk about the news or anything i have said. >> wouldn't it be good if we talked about his economic plan. >> you think that's why he got that gig to go on the air, to talk -- >> appently people will give him a gig to talk about anything he wants. >> a monmouth poll found that while americans found islamic terrorism the thing they most fear to their way of life, look what comes in second. donald trump. 54% say trump is a threat. 42% say hillary clinton would be a threat. these are numbers that to me, it's apples and oranges in terms of the threat of trump and the threat of isis but they are some

how able to answer these questions. what do you think? >> i think it's terrible. you have donald trump and hillary clinton and you can see poll after poll -- >> he's -- the majority of people say he's a threat. >> i can show you polls where she's got similar problems. here's the thing. we will elect a president -- >> you guys, you and rudy giuliani, i get along with you guys, but every time you say something about trump, he switches the topic. >> i will talk about trump. here's the fact. if trump gets elected president, i still think he has a shot to get elected, he will win with people who in these polls say they don't like him or think he's a threat. >> we will pick a threat. that's a new one. james, somebody is actually picking the specter they see out there. your thoughts? >> look, my thoughts are consistent. my good friend matt, i'm glad i'm not in his position. we have difficult cycles. this is a difficult cycle for him. trump will continue to do this because he's just getting slapped around and getting humiliated in front of his people and this is all he knows

how to do. >> is louisiana still in play? >> no. louisiana in play? we have 400. >> you're saying -- i know. trump can probably win louisiana right now? >> yeah. i'm not going to be ridiculous. >> this is why james, through all the messes, all the years i have known him, always tells the truth. it has a twang to it but it is the truth. thank you, james. >> matt's a good guy. that's the truth. >> thank you. coming up, inside the republican party's growing frustration with their nominee which you heard some of that already, there are new reports that the rnc chairman told trump on the phone that his campaign is headed for failure. the projections are bad. that can cause the party, him, in other words, reince priebus, the chairman, to rethink his strategy for november. the latest on that coming up next. inside the belly of the beast.

plus, more fallout over trump's line about how second amendment people could stop hillary clinton once she's elected. we are joined by a member of the kennedy family tonight, nephew of the president john f. kennedy and senator robert f. kennedy who reminds us political violence is no joke. and new polling on the five things trump has said during this campaign that bother voters the most. i doubt the most offensive trump line will come as a surprise. we all know what that is. it's a physical thing he did making fun of somebody. the "hardball" roundtable will be here the tell us something i don't know. sglp some surprising new numbers wish your skin could bounce back like it used to? neutrogena hydro boost water gel. with hyaluronic acid it plumps skin cells with intense hydration and locks it in. for supple, hydrated skin. hydro boost. from neutrogena

sglp some surprising new numbers on how donald trump and hillary clinton fare in three states this november. let's check out the scoreboard. in wisconsin, clinton has a 15 point lead over trump among likely voters. that's widened from her four point edge last month.

in iowa, it's within the margin of error, trump ahead by one point, 41-40. in other words, even pretty much. in south carolina, which last voted for a democrat in '76, trump is up by just two points, trump 41-39. same there, too close to call. putting her in striking distance, secretary clinton of turning a red state blue. welcome back to "hardball."

welcome back to "hardball." with just 89 days now to election day, donald trump continues to struggle to get his campaign train back on track. today, "time" magazine is reporting the campaign is in quote, meltdown mode. look at that picture. in it, that's the face of donald trump. it reports the chairman of the rnc, reince priebus, was so frustrated by donald trump's initial refusal to endorse even paul ryan, the speaker of the house, that he got on the phone and said he told trump, this is indirect, told trump that internal gop polling suggested trump was on track to lose the

election. priebus explained to trump that priebus had a responsibility now to the entire republican party, not just to the presidential nominee. at the same time the hill newspaper reported gloom was setting in for gop lawmakers and strategists to increasingly think donald trump will lose the presidential election. reports come at a time when trump continues to struggle daily to get on message for the general election. this week alone he suffered a slew of defections from establishment republicans who say trump is just too dangerous to be president. more on this story and what the campaign is thinking right now, i'm joined by the deputy editor and "the washington post" -- i was going to be roberta, robert costa, msnbc analyst. not funny to be called roberta. let's go with, what is the "time" magazine story? from the outside we can imagine there must be a meltdown because the poll numbers showing hillary polling maybe ten points ahead in many polls nationally and winning in a lot of states that trump needs to win like pennsylvania, where she's ahead by ten.

how do you know from the inside by reporting from the inside that there is truly a meltdown going on inside trump tower? >> well, we talked for this story to republican officials, we talked to the clinton campaign and we talked to the candidate himself and what's striking about our conversation with donald trump is that on the one hand, he acknowledges that he is getting advice to soften up a little bit, to pivot for a general electorate, but virtually in the same breath he says i'm not sure if that's really what the country wants. so you sense a good amount of ambivalence even from the candidate who is very forthcoming about it about what his trajectory will be. that's a really, you know, odd position to be in at this point in the race. >> robert, there's an old expression in politics i have always liked called dance with the one that brung you. in this case, trump, what got trump to here by beating 16 other guys, people, in the fight for the republican nomination, was the style we are looking at

now, the arms waving, the wild statements, the accusations, the nicknames, and now people are saying that's not working. is that it? he wants to stick with what got him there? >> he thinks it could be a path to the presidency but what's changing right now is this dynamic between the party chairman, reince priebus and the candidate. priebus has coveted his role as a confidant to donald trump in recent months. if you were a donor, a party official, you went to reince priebus, he was a way to get to donald trump, a whisperer within the gop. remember, priebus is also a former wisconsin state party chairman. he's someone close to paul ryan. that paul ryan vacillation by trump, that was a breaking point in some ways for priebus. he was forced to have some tough conversations with trump based on my reporting. >> then you saw trump in an odd, almost awkward move for him, coming out late that night last week and saying i endorse this guy, i endorse ryan. that looked like he was under pressure, like' p.o.w. at this

point. sometimes he seems to buckle to priebus but the other times he's back to him again, the old self again. >> he's capable of using the teleprompter when he needs to. he stayed on message for, we lost count, i think about 36 hours during which he gave his economic speech, but time and time again we have seen this candidate resort to his gut instinct. his gut instinct seems to take him in the direction of making statements the way that he did last night about president obama founding isis and then doubling down on them. >> could it be something as simple as flopsweat? you are in front of an audience and realize you're losing the audience. i know what that's like. everyone who has done public speaking knows the moment this isn't working and you hype it up to get their attention. is that what it is? he can't stand giving boring speeches because he thinks he's losing his popularity as he's standing there? >> it's true that this is what has gotten him this far. he plays to a crowd. in our interview with him, he talks a lot about, you know, he's a little bit baffled by the

poll numbers because in his mind, he sees energized crowds in front of him and he thinks this is the voting electorate and of course, it's a very very small percentage of that electorate. >> that's delusional. quickly from robert, do you know what it is about flopsweat, why does he have to almost instinctively have to hype it up every time he thinks it's dragging? >> because ever since he came down the elevator last year this has been a candidate who runs on the crowd, instincts, running on the instincts and trying to just gauge the election on his own. he's an isolated candidate, a candidate who runs each day as a new day, and that's the reality of a general election is much more rough and tumble than a primary when that seemed to work well. >> thank you both. coming up, in the wake of trump's second amendment talk, some members of the kennedy family are speaking out about the danger of such rhetoric. i will speak in a moment to a nephew of president john f. kennedy and senator robert f. kennedy. this is "hardball."

what we need in the united states is not division. what we need in the united states is not hatred. what we need in the united states is not violence and lawlessness. but is love and wisdom and compassion toward one another. feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country. >> welcome back to "hardball." that was 48 years ago in 1968, robert f. kennedy addressed a crowd of mainly african-american supporters in indiana, in indianapolis. on the night that martin luther king was assassinated. it was those remarks that kept the peace in indianapolis that night, many believe. as cities across the rest of the country erupted in violence. now kennedy's sister and his nephew that, would be william kennedy smith who is right here,

has written an op-ed in "washington post" contrasting robert kennedy with donald trump. quote, the article reads in the white hot cauldron of a presidential campaign it is still the words delivered off the cuff in the raw pressure of the moment that matter most. so it was with the real sense of sadness and revulsion that we listened to donald trump, the republican nominee for president as he referred to the options available to quote, second amendment people, close quote. while calling on second amendment people to take action marks the first time trump has seemingly targeted a political opponent, he's called for violence against protesters at his rallies throughout his campaign. here he is. >> if you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? seriously. okay? just knock the hell -- i promise you, i will pay for the legal fees, i promise. >> this guy started screaming by himself and i don't know, rough up, he should have been -- maybe he should have been roughed up because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing. >> know what they used to do with guys like that in a place

like this? they would be carried out on a stretcher, folks. >> like to punch him in the face. >> if you're a little rough, you see the abuse the police were taking back there? they were abused. i mean, the police should be suing them. it shouldn't be the other way around. >> in the good old days this doesn't happen because they used to treat them very very rough. and when they protested once, you know, they would not do it again so easily. >> it's amazing when you put it all together. i'm joined by william kennedy smith. thanks for coming on. >> thank you for having me. >> unusual for the kennedy family as close as you are. both uncles were assassinated, president kennedy and robert kennedy. here you are the nephew and your mom both writing an article today. what hit you when you saw that speech by trump about second amendment options? >> well, chris, i love politics. you love politics. my family loves politics. in the years since bobby died, ethel didn't run away.

she was involved in the foundation, she was involved with human rights, with bedford-stuy. it's something we all participated in. everything that we love in this country in regards to politics is based on the peaceful transition of power. it's the great thing that the founders left us. the peaceful transition of power. it was if you go all over the world, where it's something that is the basis of our legal system, the basis of our economic system. if you go all over the world, we are the envy for that. when you see some candidate directly appealing to undermine that, whether it's the second amendment comments or the other things that have been going on in the rally, it really is something we felt needed a response. >> you said it was particularly important to focus on the off the cuff remarks. >> you know, if you want to know about john kennedy, look at those press conferences where he talked to reporters and that was

the first time that had been done. he enjoyed that back and forth. if you want to know about robert kennedy, look at indianapolis. i think that's true of donald trump. i think those type of remarks reveal something about a candidate. in this campaign we have seen something different and very very ugly. i don't think it's the only way. if you look at the democratic convention, that's a reflection of the candidate. there are other ways -- >> they were different. >> they were different. they do reflect that. so i think that's why we felt that was something that contrasted bobby's words, what we need is not division, not hate, not violence. contrasted in a way with what we are hearing from this campaign. >> this isn't a partisan comment, i can tell by reading it. you are not saying you prefer hillary clinton, for example, over donald trump. you are saying he's unfit. >> that's a first. i talked to my mother, who has been around politics for six decades, more. never has anybody in our family come out and said this person's

not fit. but something different again, you know, we have a great generation of people coming up. i have young kids. there's tremendous technology here. the important thing is to keep the political system operating. anything that strikes at that, that strikes at the peaceful transition of power, really creates a threat to all of that, creates a threat to the next generation, creates a threat to all the people who want to participate, and that threat has been out there for years, but it's important to address it. >> you should do more television. thank you. >> thank you so much. >> important stuff. thank you for coming on. >> i really appreciate it. >> i hope people read the article as well. it's in "washington post." it's well considered, well written and makes a very powerful point that has nothing to do with partisan politics. right? >> right. up next, donald trump's statements have been troubling to his critics and also to some of his supporters. we have new polling that shows the five remarks he's made during this campaign that are the most concerning to voters

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welcome back to "hardball." donald trump's call for a second amendment people to take action is just the latest in a pattern of statements that have provoked outrage. now bloomberg politics has poll tested some of the more controversial remarks trump has made throughout his campaign to find which ones bother voters the most. tonight, we take a look at the five most concerning statements that donald trump has made. for that i'm joined by the roundtable. john fehery, molly ball, and jonathan capehart hosts a new podcast, cape up. he is also an msnbc contributor. let's start with the fifth most offensive trump description. it's of the sacrifices he made for the country. the poll finds that trump's statement that working hard is a

sacrifice bothered 73% of voters. let's take a look at what he said on abc two weeks ago. >> i think i made a lot of sacrifices. i work very very hard. i have created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures, i have done -- i have had -- i have had tremendous success. >> those are sacrifices? >> oh, sure. i think they're sacrifices. >> what did you make of that? he was comparing himself to captain khan, who was killed in action in iraq. >> to the parents, i believe, who have sacrificed. i think obviously, to denigrate the sacrifice of the parents of a fallen soldier is offensive on its face but beyond that, plenty of americans are willing to believe that donald trump has contributed something to this country, has worked hard. >> why is the word sacrifice appropriate? you're making a living, it's not a sacrifice. >> maybe he has even given up dinners out when he had to be at

the office but compare that to the parents of a fallen soldier, the lack of empathy to not be able to put yourself in those people's shoes and say that was worse, he doesn't seem to be able to put anybody's experience above his own. >> i wish we had a camera on your wince. you have one coming up. next up, the poll finds that 74% of voters say they were bothered by trump's statement that he may not defend nato allies if they are attacked. in the interview with the "new york times" trump was asked can the members of nato count on the united states to come to their military aid, i guess, if they were attacked by russia. here's how trump answered that question. have they fulfilled their obligations to us, if they fulfilled their obligations to us the answer's yes. i'm not saying if not. >> i mean, you don't pay your dues we're leaving you. >> sorry, we can't help you. look, i think that's a rather specific instance that people say they are uncomfortable by but if you look at it in the context of all the things he has talked about in the foreign

policy sphere, especially when it comes to nuclear weapons and people are focusing now on the fact the president of the united states is practically a monarch when it comes to using nuclear weapons, that the idea that this person would leave our allies in the lurch, especially nato allies, is unfathomable. here's something i bet you don't know. i'm going to get you one a little early. nato is an article 5 treaty. article 5 says if one of us is attacked, all of us are attacked and have to come to that country's defense. it has been invoked one time, after september 11th. when the united states was attacked. nato came rallying around the united states and the united states went to war in afghanistan to avenge the attacks of september 11th. >> we are a beneficiary in that instance. >> yeah. >> let's take a look at the next one. this is for you, john. next up, the poll finds that 75%, three quarters of us say

they were bothered by trump's pronouncement that he alone can fix the problems the country faces. let's listen to that line from trump's convention speech. >> nobody knows the system better than me. which is why i alone can fix it. >> you know, watching him, it's funny when you put it all together. the boastfulness, the ridiculous hamming up and the mugging is un -- he's like playing a guy. >> he's definitely a caricature. he's playing a caricature, playing a type. i alone can fix it. it works very well for "saturday night live." i'm not as offended by this as some others. >> which part? >> the i alone can fix it. politicians are always making promises they know they can't keep.

so in many ways, trump is playing a politician. i remember the old campaign theme jeb can fix it. we all know now that politicians really can't fix anything. >> that's a hell of a statement. >> especially alone. i think that maybe that's what offended voters so much. especially republican voters. >> i think politicians can get things done. >> listen, not -- >> winston churchill saved britain in world war ii. roosevelt basically did a good job -- >> not by themselves. >> that was clever spin by the clinton campaign. you had hillary use that line in her speech to paint it as a quasi-dictatorial thing. it didn't necessarily sound that way when he said it in the context of someone who knows the system. >> you are burned out, buddy. how did you get so burned out? i'm not a big "w" fan because i think he took us into a war we shouldn't have. that's my opinion. i thought on 9/11, on that friday when he stood down there where it all happened and he put his arm around that firefighter,

i thought for that brilliant moment it was out of shakespeare, we will get the guys who did this. there was no whining, there was a toughness and directness, i wish he had stayed on that line but at that moment he was a leader. i believe in leaders. >> the key word in that statement is the fellows who knocked these buildings down will hear from us soon, not me. us. >> that's right. it wasn't like macarthur, i will return to use an example of a somewhat flawed leader. you are down on leaders. >> i'm not down on leaders. i'm not down on the process. i do think the voters are down on both. >> let's take a look at the second most offensive line, the runner-up, was his criticism of the khan family, gold star parents of a soldier who did sacrifice his life in iraq to save his buddies. the poll finds that 75% of voters were bothered by what trump said about mr. khan's wife, who stood behind -- beside

her husband as he addressed the democratic convconvention. she didn't talk. here is trump bashing that. >> his wife, if you look at his wife, she was standing there, she had nothing to say, she probably, maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say. you tell me. but plenty of people have written that. >> plenty of -- who are these off-stage describes that come out with this religious dictum he comes out with? >> i think ann coulter said that on twitter. weird conspiracy fever swamp stuff goes straight from the internet into trump's brain and he believes it and alludes to it. same with the ted cruz conspiracy theory. beyond the fact he's saying unfounded things and things about women, he spouts these conspiracy theories that have no basis in fact and does it on a regular basis. >> if trump loses by a bigger margin as the poll suggests it's because of this moment. this is the jump the shark moment for donald trump. he's got to apologize and get it past him. >> which one? >> on the khans. >> i agree.

to me that was the showstopper. >> it's been devastating to his campaign. he hasn't recovered. >> it hits to the heart of the people, to the working class families out there whose kids do fight. >> that's right. but republicans, you know, people who believe in patriotism and the military and the constitution, they looked at that moment and were moved by it. >> the military in our country is one of the highest, most prestigious classes of americans there are right now. the roundtable is sticking with us. i think you all can guess the worst thing trump said according to our voters. back after this.

president obama's on vacation this week in martha's vineyard. today on twitter he revealed his summer play list. during the day he's listening to a mix of jay z, aretha franklin and the beach boys among others. that's a wide group. at night his favorites include tunes from miles davis, billie holly day and janet jackson. we'll be right back.

we are back with the round table, anyway, we have been reviewing the results of a new bloomberg poll which measures voters' reactions to some of donald trump's most controversial remarks t. poll found most concerning was trump's momery of a reporter's physical disability late last year. 83% of voters say they were bothered by this. let's watch. >> now the poor guy, you got to see the guy, oh, i don't know

what i said, i don't remember. he's going like, i don't remember, maybe that's what i said. >> well, that was pretty direct. it was graphic. he was imitating a reporter with a physical disability. >> i was there i was at that last november at that rally. i think what is so stark on top of what he is doing. you can see it. what is so obvious. whatever excuses or rationalizations, it was a whacky impression, it had nothing to do with the disability, which is what he said. when you look at the evidence, it's powerful. >> primordial. >> people know somebody that has a disability and can relate to that. >> everybody has the notion of a kid walking down street, whether it's down's syndrome or anything, somebody making fun of them. it's a smart [ bleep ] kid at the street corner, every parent tells you don't make fun of somebody with a problem like that.

>> it's bullying. everyone recognizes that for what it is. it's bullying. i think this pom higher than say the offense of criticizing the khan family, it's because everyone knows someone who has been bullied or bullied themselves this is what secretary gates pointed out as secretary of defense only 1%, less than 1% of the american people have someone in the u.s. military. so people can empathize with the khan, but they know exactly what's happening. >> have you been bullied? >> have i? >> when you were a kid? >> of course. >> you remember it? >> absolutely. >> it's a natural experience for almost everybody and isolated by the unfairness of our society. >> first of all the third point i'd make is we have become of the last 20 years, a caring society with the disability community.

we reached out to them. >> thanks to bob dole. >> for a lot of varies reasons. for him to do that, it's so completely beyond the pale. it's really unforgettable. >> i wonder why he does it. some brain suit, somebody think itself that's what i'm going to do. >> i wouldn't erase any bully. most bullies are insecurity deep down. so they have to pick on somebody lesser than them. >> let's get being to something more bake. they're bad. it's a bad thing to do. it's just wrong. when we return, these people will tell me something i don't know. we'll be right back. with hyaluronic acid it plumps skin cells with intense hydration and locks it in. for supple, hydrated skin. hydro boost. from neutrogena >> i'm alex trebek. if you're age 50 to 85,

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>> barack obama, number one, is incompetent and, number two, remember this, number two, he is the founder in a true sense, if you want to stay, i didn't want to be there, but if he would have kept a relatively small force, he probably could have been prevented isis from forming. okay. >> that's donald trump, moments ago, calling president obama the founder of isis. john, tell me something i don't know. >> rob portman one of the few bright spots, rob portman is going to win, fairly easily. >> for his re-election in ohio? >> exactly. >> edwin, mcmullen, the independent conservative

candidate who got in the race this week, they're telling me, he is making the ballot in colorado, a swing state, where he could play a spoiler. >> why is he running? >> because he wants people to have another choice besides the choice they have. >> today for my new podcast, i interviewed ambassador wendy sherman, one of the things we talked about, i asked her, she is not on twitter. when she was on the democratic platform committee doing the fights, just before the convention, he said, don't go on twitter, don't read anything, i don't want to hear it. her daughter told her some of the things. she was non-plus because she said when you've heard "death to wendy sherman" on the streets of tehran, nothing else is. >> people know how to access this new vehicle of yours? >> i want will be on itunes, premier, august 16ing. >> do have you anything to pitch at all tonight? okay. theseing, thank you, that's

"hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "all if" with chris hayes starts right now. >> back at it. thank you very much. good evening from new york. once again i'm chris hayes coming to you live. breaking news tonight on republican efforts to salvage donald trump's struggling campaign. politico reports campaign staff and party officials are planning what one person called and i'm not sure if they mean it ironically a come to jesus meeting tomorrow aiming to right what looks like a sinking ship. his claim repeated over and over that clinton and president obama cofounded isis which he continues to repeat at every opportunity. >> i call president obama and hillary clinton the founders of isis.