about dry eyes that interrupt the things you love. because if you're using artificial tears often and still have symptoms, it could be chronic dry eye. go to myeyelove.com and feel the love. until monday, we say to you, say n sayonara. coming up, "hardball" with chris matthews. >> the birth of a president. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. i speak to you now from a capital where the head of state no longer stands publicly accused of being a usurper. barack obama's no longer described as someone who entered the country under the cover of darkness, assumed the identity of an american-born citizen, and

grabbed through this and other ploys the country's highest office. this is the claim mr. donald trump has made again and again about this country's first african-american president. and today, he retracted that historic accusation. >> hillary clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the birther controversy. i finished it. i finished it. you know what i mean. president barack obama was born in the united states, period. now we all want to get back to making america strong and great again. >> it was, of course, a claim based upon a set of irrational possibilities that a young american woman from kansas married a kenyan of unstable promise, went to kenya to have his child, gave that child his name, all while creating a paper trail in honolulu, birth

records, local newspaper reports, that he was born in hawaii, so that the son could be eligible 35 years later for the american presidency. i'm willing to contend that the only person who would believe such a crazed saga is someone who wants so desperately to bee bark obama illegitimate, they're willing to suspend all rational thinking and submit to their gut determination that no african-american could become an actual american president. that the two centuries-old color bar was not finally broken in november 2008 when that crowd erupted in tearful joy in chicago's grant park. birtherism is not, has not been a theory, and has been an insistence of some sort of racial test that barack obama failed from the succeed of his conception. so what has donald trump being defending for five years. what evidence did he ever have that president obama was born in kenya? what was it that kept him from retracting his claim five years ago when president obama had to go through the indignity of showing his papers, like some

apartheid africa in an area restricted to whites. today, donald trump employing the same ungranted civil authority declared that the president is innocent for the charge which he, donald trump, served as the number one plaintiff, the number one prosecutor, the number one judge and jury. so that's it for that. hmm. well, the clinton campaign today called trump's actions disgraceful, sickening, and appalling. here was hillary clinton this morning. >> for five years, he has led the birther movement to delegitimatize our first black president. his campaign was founded on this outrageous lay. there is no erasing it in history. barack obama was born in america, plain and simple, and donald trump owes him and the american people an apology. >> well, president obama today, dismiss trump's statement. let's watch the president. >> we've got other business to

attend to. i was pretty confident about where you was born. i think most people were, as well. and my hope would be that the presidential election reflects more serious issues than that. >> well, it was only last thursday, however, that rudy giuliani told me trump now believes the president was born in america. let's watch rudy. >> can you confirm that and donald trump now confirms that -- >> when did he do that? when did he do that? >> he did that two years ago. >> when did he do that? >> two years ago! three years ago. >> when has me now accepted that birtherism is nonsense? >> look -- >> when did he do that? >> chris, hillary clinton's campaign -- >> he did not do that yet. i am waiting for him to do it. i want to know whether you believe that your candidate for president believes he would secede a legitimate president or not? >> he believes -- >> does he believe that he would secede a legitimate president? >> donald trump believes now that he was born in the united

states. >> that was last thursday. joining me right now is nbc's hallie jackson who is covering trump's rally tonight. and steve cortez, a surrogate for the trump campaign and a member of trump's national hispanic advisory council. it's great. hallie jackson, thank you, sir -- thank you, madame. let me ask you this. this trump thing, was it the pressure of rudy and kellyanne conway and mike pence and others who have come forward and say, of course president obama was born in this country, and not only that, our president for candidate, donald trump, also believes it. or was it the pressure of the upcoming debates where they knew, no matter who was moderating those three debates, there would be no way that trump could get through with birtherism, three big nights of an hour and a half of debating. >> reporter: oh, why couldn't it be both, chris? i think that's really the question. i think that kellyanne conway has made her imprint on this campaign. by the way, i know it's loud. that's because donald trump is wrapping up his rally in miami just behind me here. but kellyanne conway has made her imprint on this campaign.

"the registethe rudy giuliani, you played have tried to speak for him. if he would not have come out and say this, he would not have done it. you've got the pressure of the upcoming debate and possibly a political calculation. not renouncing his birther comments would win him a lot of support with african-american voters necessarily, but that it could potentially help him persuade college-educated white voters that he doesn't have a strain of racism he's often been accused of. >> thank you, hallie jackson in florida. let's get back to joy reid. joy reid and i have shared this issue, this passion, we must say. anybody who thinks this is small potatoes, anybody who thinks this is not important is ignorant. this is a major issue in our country. first black president is accused of being a usurper. somebody who couldn't possibly fit on that long list of pictures of american presidents. doesn't belong there. why? because some of gut determination to argue that somehow he's from some other part of the world.

joy, take your time on this. >> absolutely, chris. it was, as you know, it was an attempt to essentially say that the election of 2008 didn't happen. that barack obama did not beat john mccain to become the president of the united states. that it was all a fraud. that it was all a lie. that he is a usurper, who sneaked into the country, who was sneaked in by his mother, that it was all a conspiracy to put a usurper into the white house. and by the way, you know, donald trump may think that by coming out and doing a seven-second reversal of his years and years of believing this ridiculous conspiracy theory, there was never an investigation to be done, if he thinks that will make people forget the fact that just saying that donald trump somehow has the right to tell the president of the united states to show his papers, who is donald trump to ask the president of the united states -- >> that's like a citizen's arrest. an attempteds eed citizen's ar without any authority.

all right, buddy, bulb, whatever he was calling him, give me your papers and prove you have a right to be here. the president, i admit, i was one those saying, show your papers, mr. president, get it over with. this is ridiculous. that didn't work. for five years, he's insisted on this and played cat and mouse. and i think he's been playing to that rat hole of his constituency, that part of his constituency which basically -- not everybody. i'm not talking about baskets of deplorables here. i'm talking about a group of people that like it and in every poll say they agree with it, that they do agree that this president is some foreigner who snuck in the country. >> and look at the polling that shows that a plurality of donald trump supporters and of republican voters believe the president is a secret muslim, that he's lying about his religion. that he holds values a s antithetical to the american ideals, that he believes in sharia laws, as opposed to muslim values, as if muslims can't hold american values. these beliefs are engrained in

the republican party. and it wasn't just about, we don't want to just beat this president in an election, we want to humiliate him. make him kneel before us. because we don't want to feel like that he thinks he's better than us. and therefore, this president can't be real, he can't be legitimate, and we're going to make him knee and hand us his papers, as if this was apartheid south africa. it was about donald trump needing to feel as if he was superior to the president of the united states. i will ask again, donald trump should be asked, by the next person who interviews him, number one, who do you think you are to tell the president that he's not an american and he should show his papers to you. who do you think you are? and what suddenly changed. >> and who are you to exonerate him of the charges only you brought against him. >> exactly. >> let me go -- katy tur is just on, katy, a lot of people finish college in less than five years. for five years, we've been taught one lesson by donald

trump. n that barack obama's a usurper. now in one seven-second blurp, he denies it. because someone says, you better get this out of the way, or someone will be banging you on this. >> i think seven seconds of him going out and saying the i think the president was born here is not enough. he was supposed to take questions from reporters. and had he done so, we would have been able to ask him, why now after five years, with 53 days left -- >> what happened five years ago and what new evidence does he have now? >> 100%. >> nothing! >> and why, if he realized that millions of americans or african-americans, specifically -- >> chris -- >> -- were offended by this, what specifically was it. >> chris's raring to get in here. >> i will tell you why he did it now. >> i have to ask the questions first. first, what evidence did donald trump have to begin this birther theory? what evidence did he have that this president came from another country? what evidence? >> chris, as i've told you -- >> what evidence did he have? >> as i've told you on this show

and many shows, i wish he had never gone down this path -- >> no, i'm not asking about your opinions, i'm asking, what evidence did he have that you know that that justified the claim? >> i don't know. he shouldn't have gone down this path. >> did he have any evidence? no evidence -- he made the charge without evidence? >> he has been going down this path -- >> it's not about your opinion, steve. steve, it's not about opinion. >> no, this is important -- >> -- the president of the united states -- >> trying to make it sound like -- >> tell me what evidence he had. >> you're trying to make it sound like that he's made it a campaign issue. and he has not in any sense made this a campaign issue. >> what american republican supporter of donald trump or independent supporter or democratic supporter of druonal trump doesn't know his position on this birther issue? everybody knows it. >> steve, i'm sorry, we had this conversation with another surrogate, jack kingston, last week. and he said the same thing, that this hasn't been a campaign issue. but that is not true. donald trump might not be going on stage and saying, i don't believe the president was born

in the u.s., but his supporters believe that. and they yell it out at rallies. and they say that's why they're supporti inin ining donald trume he's going to bring back western values, because this president doesn't represent americans, because he is other. someone that wasn't born here, someone that upholds, what they don't call western values. and when you press them for that, they say, muslim values. and donald trump might not be on stage saying that the president wasn't born here, but he's not dissuading his supporters, and he's enjoying the support of those supporters, that he has whipped up over the past five years -- >> that's not fair. >> they support him -- >> what's not fair? >> they support him because he doesn't believe the president was born in this country. or he didn't, at least until today. >> he doesn't believe it -- >> -- part of the reason they support donald trump. so that is not fair? how is that not a campaign issue? >> he told us so as concretely as he possibly could today. this has never, a campaign issue. the reason he had to address this today is because the mainstream media and our opponents on the left are

frankly in a frenzy because we're doing so well now and we have so much momentum in polling, all they can go to is smearing and name calling. >> chris. >> what evidence do you have -- >> -- trump -- >> what evidence do you have that joy and i have discovered a new issue here? i have been pounding this issue since the first time it showed its ugly head five years ago. >> chris, i -- >> most people are appalled that the first african-american president would be -- >> chris -- >> -- would be relegated to the position of illegal immigrant by -- >> hold on, why do you keep try to make it racial? america is not a race. if you're born here, you're born here. >> they said he's from kenya! of course it's racial! let's go back to reality here. they call him from kenya because he's african-american. they're saying, of course he's from kenya. joy, obviously this is ethnic, obviously. >> right. and can i just say, when barack obama was first running for president, one of the common features at republican rallies was to say very pointedly, barack "hussein" obama, to emphasize that middle name. that was done quite often. second point, why is -- why is

it that african-americans, who have not up until now have really been the target of donald trump's diatribes, why is it that african-americans are the most diametrically opposed to him of any group, more so than hispanics, who have been the direct targets? more so than any group. it's primarily because of the high milluation, the attempt to humiliate the first black president is it's the main charge. donald trump embodied that and used it to rise. ben carson wouldn't have even been a thought as a presidential candidate had he not tried to embarrass the president. and one more point and then i'll let you talk. part of the putinism that you're seeing on the right, what do they say? they think, we can vladimir putin is a better leader because he loves his country more than barack obama loves his. that was said as recently as today. and so you have republicans making the case that president obama doesn't love the country he's president of. and this is all part and parcel of the birtherism that donald trump rode to fame and to the

presidential nomination. >> you have nod heard donald trump say that at all during this campaign. >> i've been listening to donald trump since i lived here in the late 1980s and i think people understand him, if you're black -- we hear him. >> steve, joy, just a second. i want to say the answer to that very important point you made. i watched television all today on this network and i was watching a lot of members of the black caucus, they're mostly democrats, i'll agree to that. but they're very -- they were outra outraged. they looked outraged, i assume they were, about this charge of the first african-american president being from somewhere else. why do you think they're upset? why is the president -- or rather, hillary clinton, we're talking 90% here now, something like that, her getting against trump. why is that? why is trump losing nine out of ten african-american votes? what's going on? >> well, first of all, we're fighting -- and i'm glad we're fighting. we want to earn their votes. we want to persuade african-americans that we have answers to a lot of the problems that are facing their community. and i love the way trump's doing that and doing it very intentionally. but historically, we've done very poorly as a party. this isn't new to donald trump. so we have a lot of work to do

there. but i think this is important, too. because the candidate that you're effectively backing, by the way, when it comes to highlighting trump -- >> i'm effectively highlighting -- >> well -- >> do you ever watch this show? >> okay, fine -- >> i don't think i'm exactly a cheerleader for either of these candidates -- >> the democratic candidate -- >> i do try to bring the news to the public. so why did i see so many african-american faces today on television outraged at trump's callmy against the president or all of our president? why do you think they're angry about this. you say they're not? >> i'm not saying they're not angry. i think they're probably angry because they're very proud, as they should be, to have the first african-american president. but they also should be very suspicious of hillary clinton, because when it comes to a candidate who highlighted the foreignness of barack obama, let's -- >> when did she do that? >> in 2008. >> we'll look at the words. give me the tape. >> her chief strategist, mark penn, said, quote, barack obama is not fundamentally american.

that is a direct quote and it was a strategy piece that they put out in 2008. >> how did hillary -- >> steve -- >> in what way did hillary respond to that memo? did she ever go out and say, this guy seems foreign or this guy's exotic? >> i didn't hear her say that. >> well, that's what you're accusing her of doing -- >> her chief strategist -- >> it's something she didn't do! >> how is pointing out mark penn's memo, that you just mentioned, how does that negate five years of donald trump beating the drum on not being born -- the president not being born in the u.s.? how are those two things equal? how is one person in a memo who got fired after that, how is that equal to a republican nominee going out for five years and questioning the otherness of the president? >> sure. >> and also insinuating multiple times, and most recently at the orlando massacre, that he was somehow sympathetic to terrorists? i don't see how those two things

are equal. please help me understand if they are. >> knob wino, listen, fair ques. mark penn was not fired. it was a minor campaign official who was fired who was forwarding e-mails. and the campaign felt strongly enough about this that the clinton campaign officially apologized to the obama campaign about -- for -- >> about what? >> so, steve, should donald trump apologize? >> should he apologize? >> the presidential candidate -- hillary clinton, do you have any evidence, steve, that hillary clinton ever questioned president obama's birth? >> i do not directly. >> have you ever heard her allude to it? >> no. >> so birtherism is entirely a creation of the other side? just to get the facts. hillary didn't do this. facts matter. >> it's just a fact. and the other issue is, a lot of the reason it's so visceral for african-americans, not only because of how proud people were to have the first black president there to see him, try -- attempted to be humiliated, but the other piece to what donald trump has said, up until an interview he did on

irish tv in 2014, where he also said, barack obama needs to show his college records. because we need to understand how it is that he got into harvard. was he there legitimately? if you've been black and been anywhere near an institution of higher learning, you have probably at some point in your life heard, you don't really belong here. you just got in because affirmative action let you in, you're not qualified to be here. african-americans deal with this issue of being otherized and being told that the accomplishments that you work hard for, the things that you earned aren't yours. he said that about the president's college degree. he said it about his law degree. and he said it up until two years ago, and he said it about him winning the presidency. my god! it is un-american to make that charge! >> joy, it gets worse. he said nobody knew him in school, like, oh, the spooky music. oh, who was this guy? was he really in school? was he really the guy named barack obama. steve, your response to that kind of talk by your candidate? >> look, chris, i didn't see that interview, so i can't comment on that. what he said today, definitively, period, is that the president is an american

citizen. we have really important things now to talk about, security and prosperity. and that's what we're talking about -- >> so you wish he would never say it? so you wish he'd never made this issue for the last five years? >> i wish he'd never gone down that road at all. >> well, he's been down it a long time and not sure he's come back all the way. thank you, joy reid. thank you, katy tur. thank you, roger ailes, i hate to say it, thank you, kellyanne conway. because somebody got to this guy probably and said, the game's up, you've got to stop this crap. katy tur, thank you. you raced in here. why is donald trump putting the birther issue back in the front page and why now as his campaign has regained his footing. does he think he can erase -- i think he does. i'm not going to knock him for telling the truth finally, it's what he's said for the last five years that's the issue. and can hillary clinton take advantage of this birth thing at this point now that he's closed the door on it for a while? plus, first lady michelle obama took on the birther lie today, she hit the campaign trail.

she's got the highest approval ratings of anybody in politics. can she convince skeptical young voters to get behind clinton? that's a big question, can she do what seems tough. and the "hardball" roundtable is here. and finally, the end to a wild week, my election diary for friday, september 16th. this is "hardball," the place for politics. discover card. customer service! ma'am. this isn't a computer... wait. you're real? with discover card, you can talk to a real person in the u.s., like me, anytime. wow. this is a recording. really? no, i'm kidding.

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welcome back to "hardball." after five years of peddling that right-wing conspiracy theory called birtherism, donald trump today said that barack obama was, in fact, born in this country. well, his acknowledgement comes with just 52 days to go until the election. 52, amid mounting pressure from allies and critics to clarify what he now thinks, or at least sort of admitted. trump did not say that he had been wrong with all of this. he did not apologize, and at the conclusion of today's event, he avoided questions by restricting the pool reporters who were supposed to follow him afterwards and ask some questions. didn't let it happen. just moments ago, trump made another controversial remark at a rally down in miami. he was talking about the second amendment and suggested that hillary clinton could be the target of violence. now, listen to what he said. >> you know, she's very much against the second amendment. she wants to destroy your second amendment. guns, guns, guns, right? i think what we should do is --

she goes around with armed bodyguards, like you have never seen before. i think that her bodyguards should drop all weapons. they should disarm. right? right? i think they should disarm. immediately! what do you think? yes? yes. yeah. take their guns away! she doesn't want guns. take their -- let's see what happens to her. >> "let's see what happens to her," without an unarmed guard. i'm joined now by democratic strategist, steve mcmahon, along with matt schlapp, chairman of the american conservative union. well, let's start with you. we're going to talk a little bit more about trump today, but let's talk about what he said. is he off the rails again? why would he say, take away her bodyguards and see what happens to her? >> i don't know. it didn't look to me like he was reading off a teleprompter. >> i know, off the rails. is this what his brain does when he's thinking loosely? >> you're not going to like this, but i think it's absurd for politicians who are protected by arms, every day, because, let's face it, we live

in an unsafe society at times. for them to say that it's okay for them to be protected, but that every individual doesn't have the right to do the same thing. and i think that's -- he was just pointing out hypocrisy. does he want something to happen to hillary clinton? hell, no. we want her healthy and we want to run against her. >> what's he mean by, "let's see what happens to her"? what do you mean by that? >> i want her to be healthy. >> what did trump mean by "let's see what happens to her"? >> she needs to be protected, but so should everyday americans. >> you made the trump argument, but a little more delightfully than trump did. what do you make of the way he said it? not exactly a pro-hillary safety crowd out there. they're not worried about her well-being. >> this isn't new for him. this is a guy who walks right up to the line and steps over it on a routine basis and frankly, he doesn't get called for it. >> well, we do it. >> do you not watch this show?

>> i think he's getting called for it and i think he should get called for it much more broadly and he deserves to. and one of the things i have to wonder, if he's doing this deliberately so he doesn't have to defend the birther stuff anymore or what he did today. he always comes up with the next outrageous thing in order to brush the at last outrageous thing under the rug. >> let me ask you about this citizens arrest he attempted five years ago, of barack obama for being a usurper, of being somebody from kenya, the whole absurd thing. i don't know if you heard it a to the beginning of the show, but he can't logically follow birtherism, it doesn't work logically. that a young woman white woman, to be blunt about it, from kansas said, you know, i want my son to be president some day, so i'm going to marry an africa guy, who is kind of an unstable guy, drinks a lot, i'll go over to kenya and have the baby over there, but meanwhile, i'll have the newspapers report it in honolulu and the birth certificates and everything, have it there, so 35 years later, he'll be eligible for president. it's loony tunes. >> that's why he closed the book on it. >> five years he sold this stuff!

>> i know -- i know -- not you, you. i know he closed the book on it. >> i can't knock him for doing it. rudy giuliani, i pushed him. stop this nonsense! the trouble with it, he didn't have any new information -- >> that's right, which is fine. >> what's happening in this campaign -- >> he did it without information both times. >> he has put serious professionals around him and he's listening to them. and i think he got advice to say, quit talking about this. you're actually doing effective outreach in the african-american community, quit talking about this. >> is this about the fact that he's facing a debate in ten days? >> actually, i think he created some questions today, that are -- >> you're not going to let him off the hook, are you? >> i'm not going to let him off the hook. >> she has some questions, too. >> he's supposed to have a news conference today and parades around the hotel and shows everybody his brand-new hotel. this is a marketer, a salesperson. >> are you going to attack him for not having a press conference? >> he didn't answer a single question about -- >> you're a -- the ideology to go with what you're good at,

winning arguments, politically. i think he lessened the chance that birtherism will be a big topic in the first debate by what he said today. if he hadn't done it, whoever the moderator, lester or martha raddatz, chris wallace, any one of those people would most likely say, do you still believe this president is here illegally? that he snuck in the country or assumed the president of the office illegally? that would have been that guaranteed question, i would argue. this way, they can only say, as you're suggesting, well, why'd you say that and then stop, because he can always say, look, i cleared that up. >> as the clintons always say, i've already talked about this, i've already given my answer. move on.org. and it takes the heat out of it generally. yeah, he's going to go through some painful moments with people like yourself saying, but, but, but, but he closed the book on it. >> which way is the momentum going in this campaign, right now? >> momentum changes pretty quickly. >> which way right now? >> i think it's hillary's. she's back out on the campaign trail. she's starting to make a positive case. you know, at the end of the day,

this campaign -- >> positive case? i haven't heard that. >> -- this campaign will be decided by the candidate that offers the best and most compelling -- >> what's the one-word message of hillary clinton? >> it's together. >> stronger together? >> you asked for only one. better together. >> do you think it's better chanthan change? >> not when 70% of the american people think we're on the track. i'm all for change. >> nice try. >> thank you, steve mcmahon. >> and donald trump is the one that makes charges against people. that's right. >> boston strong, right? boston strong! anyway, thank you, matt schlapp, thank you. up next, the "hardball" roundtable and why donald trump can't but the the birther issue -- well, i'm not sure he can. maybe he has. and michelle obama with a strong case for hillary clinton. i think he was terrible doing it for five years. that's my belief. anyway, the place for politics, right here. with hotels.com's simple rewards program

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no one is happier, no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than the donald. and that's because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter. like, did we fake the moon landing? what really happened in roswell?

and where are biggie and tupac? >> that may have started the fight right there. welcome back to "hardball." that was president obama roasting donald trump at the white house correspondents' dinner back in 2011. back then, we thought the issue of the president's birth was put to rest then, of course, with the birth certificate. of course, it was not. but today, over five years later, and after days, weeks, and years of refusing to acknowledge that president obama is, in fact, an american -- a natural-born citizen, up until today, trump now says that obama was born in the united states and that it's time -- well, he says, now, move on. here he is. >> president barack obama was born in the united states, period. now, we all want to get back to making the america strong and great again. >> am i wrong, or did he seem to be reading that the way a p.o.w. reads something when they're in captivity? but can trump put this issue

behind him that easily? let's ask the "hardball" roundtable, eugene robinson with "the washington post," franchesca chalbmbers, and paul singer with "usa today." big readership between all three of you. trump says after five years of indictments and being the plaintiff, judge, jury and prosecutor of this issue all by himself, believed by a lot of trump people, that he's telling the truth, that this guy's a usurper, announces, never mind. >> never mind. >> does it work, the never mind? >> "i finished it," he says. i mean, look, you covered this as well as anybody over the years -- >> i know, i've -- >> you pressed him on it -- >> rudy came through last week. >> and from the start, what he was doing with this, and what he continued to do with this. and let's not forget. he kept this up for five years. it launched his political prominence and was, in many ways, the foundation of this political -- >> isn't that interesting? do you read, franchesca, which was the foundation on the right that made him a right-wing, to

some competent, trubador. >> it was a big story at the time? >> but did it start him tonight road? >> for being a republican presidential candidate, absolutely. but you're asking if this will last, this is something hillary clinton has been bringing up on the campaign trail the entire thooi time she's been running. so this is not something that is new. and you know who really wants to move on from this is the president of the united states. the day he didn't want to talk about it -- >> that's different than not being an issue that helps him. >> but when the president's -- >> there's people -- >> when the president's shutting it down -- >> he doesn't want to talk about himself. he's embarrassed by the stupidity of it. >> and the white house gets asked whether the president wants an apology and they say no. they're taking it off the table. >> look, that's different than wanting it off the table. because gene agrees with me on this. >> i agree with you.

>> this is a roll -- >> for the president -- >> to ask for forgiveness. >> -- to get involved. however, if any number of other democrats might go out, say, today, and bash trump -- >> we'll know -- >> mercilessly -- >> but this is -- >> but michelle obama, i mean -- >> this is not a whiner -- franchesca, he's not a whiner. he doesn't the, oh, woe is me, he call med bad names. he doesn't do that. but he doesn't mind if other people defend him. >> he can have michelle obama on the campaign trail -- >> she smamade fun of the guy today. >> made fun of the guy and cutting the figure the democrats want to cut. >> she's a winner. >> she's a powerful, smart black woman who's able to go to these communities and -- >> and it's better to be a winner than a whiner. or an antony weiner. >> if donald trump this is he's going to reach black voters by doing this thing today with michelle obama doing -- >> once again, here's what trump just said about hillary clinton and this, i think -- >> i heard it a couple times.

now i hear the problems with this. here's what he said about guns protecting his opponent in this race from physical violence. let's hear what he says. >> you know, she's very much against second amendment. she wants to destroy your second amendment. guns, guns, guns, right? i think what we should do is, she goes around with armed bodyguards, like you have never seen before. i think that her bodyguards should drop all weapons. they should disarm. i think they should disarm, immediately. what do you think? yes? yes. yeah. take their guns away. she doesn't want guns. take their -- let's see what happens to her. >> let's see what happens to her. >> let's see what happens to her. >> anyway, it wouldn't be the first time, because that remark was reminiscent of something trump said last month about what he called second amendment people. let's listen to this.

>> hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish, the second amendment. by the way, and if she gets to pick -- [ audience booing ] if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. although the second amendment people, maybe there is, i don't know. >> what is about these tags of his? he'll say something, okay k you can make the argument about judges, and he just can't resist. >> he can't resist it. >> the suggestion, well, if you want to knock her off, that might work. it's unbelievable. "the second amendment people," it's like that woman from nevada. second amendment remedies. why do they keep talking about second amendment action. it's a right, not an action. >> every other politician i've ever known or even known of has a sort of governor switch in their head that keeps them from adding that little speculation about assassination, right. because you don't do that.

trump doesn't have it. he doesn't have it. and so he goes there. and you just wonder, what's going on inside that head, constantly, right? is this the sort of thing he fantasizes about? >> part of the attraction of trump, as a show -- >> you never know what he's going to say. >> because he has said things that are sometimes very funny. but he doesn't have that -- well, there's a word for it that i can't use, but a detector, stops you from putting out the crap you shouldn't be saying. >> but i think the good thing, it's a friday night, and news cycle resets itself. by the time she would talk about this on the trail on monday, it's a couple days now. >> watch this weekend. i think this is going to reverberate. and i didn't think so until i watched richard lui an hour ago. >> this is his community. this is who he interacts with. they all believe that hillary clinton wants to ban your guns and that's bad and she's a bad person. >> well, you shouldn't talk about the vulnerability, the violence of anybody, anytime.

the roundtable is staking with us. up next, first lady michelle obama hits the campaign trail today to prop up hillary clinton and blast donald trump's birtherism claims. by the way, she may be the best politician out there for a couple of reasons. we'll get to that in a minute. first of all, she's not a politician. you both have a perfect driving record. perfect. no tickets, no accidents... that is until one of you clips a food truck ruining your perfect record. yeah. now you would think your insurance company would cut you some slack, right? no, your insurance rates go through the roof. your perfect record doesn't get you anything. anything. perfect. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. liberty stands with you. liberty mutual insurance. ah, my poor mouth breather. allergies? stuffy nose? can't sleep? enough. take that. a breathe right nasal strip of course. imagine just put one on and pow! it instantly opens your nose up to 38%

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there were those who questioned and continue to question for the past eight years, up through this very day, whether my husband was even born in this country. well, during his time in office, i think barack has answered those questions with the examples he set, by going high when they go low. and he's answered these questions with the progress that we've achieved together.

>> welcome back to "hardball." that was the first lady of the united states, michelle obama, taking a not-so-subtle shot at donald trump's birtherism today as he campaigns for hillary clinton in the suburbs. she was at george mason university, a key battleground area. while michelle obamas boasts a 64% approval rating according to gallup, the highest of any of the other high-profile political spouses. anyway, so is america's current first lady the secret weapon for hillary clinton, a former first lady herself? back now with the "hardball" roundtable, eugene, franchesca, and paul. i thought she was delightful today, your thoughts? >> she is a very effective advocate not just for her husband, but also hillary clinton. and the clinton campaign wishes she could have her out there every day. >> a very diverse crowd there, youth. they may not be voters unless you push them to vote. i think they need a little push. >> exactly. you know, she -- you know, for hillary clinton to pull this off, they've got to activate

those young voters. they've got to -- they need them. >> they can't be called to vote. >> and when you have michelle obama up there, it kind of harks back to the obama coalition, i think, when young people did come out and support him. and they may be a little lukewarm about hillary clinton, but they'll come to see michelle obama. >> she said, hillary inspires me. i thought that might be the lead. because hillary doesn't inspire everybody. >> keep in mind, you said the 64% approval rating, i bet it's a lot higher in the crowds she want her to hit. >> why is michelle popular among college kids? >> she's charming, energetic, african-american, raised these two terrific kids. >> she seems very youthful. >> very, very hip in popular culture. >> very fashionable. >> she's gone on game shows. she knows the lingo. she has two teenage daughters. she knows the latest dances and music. >> she's pals with ellen. you know, who's not? >> and oprah. and bey, and jay-z.

>> the roundtable is sticking with us. up next -- >> i want video of that. >> it's available. this is "hardball," the place for politics. protecting biodiversity. everywhere we work. defeating malaria. improving energy efficiency. developing more clean burning natural gas. my job? my job at exxonmobil? turning algae into biofuels. reducing energy poverty in the developing world. making cars go further with less. fueling the global economy. and you thought we just made the gas. ♪ energy lives here.

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other was done. sheer an example from 1988. >> i had as much experience as kennedy did. >> senator benson. >> senator, i served with jack kennedy. i knew jack kennedy. jack kennedy was a friend of mine. senator, you're no jack kennedy. >> boom. >> hardball next tuesday at 7:00. that's a big show for us. we'll be right back.

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almost surely be the hottest year on record. i had considerable margins. >> doesn't it feel different than the other believes it is a chinese hoax. >> clinton and president barack obama met for 15 minutes at an event. the white house didn't talk about any serious policy. she showed us pictures of her grandchildren. >> the new hotel is opening but it might be slightly behind schedule. >> and the secret service owning a tower during that little parade.

>> thank you. when we return my election diary for the wild end of this week. you're watching "hardball," a place for politics. a meeting? it's a big one. too bad. we are double booked: diarrhea and abdominal pain. why don't you start without me? oh. yeah. if you're living with frequent, unpredictable diarrhea and abdominal pain, you may have irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea, or ibs-d. a condition that can be really frustrating. talk to your doctor about viberzi, a different way to treat ibs-d. viberzi is a prescription medication you take every day that helps proactively manage both diarrhea and abdominal pain at the same time. so you stay ahead of your symptoms. viberzi can cause new or worsening abdominal pain. do not take viberzi if you have or may have had: pancreas or severe liver problems, problems with alcohol abuse, long-lasting or severe constipation, or a blockage of your bowel or gallbladder. if you are taking viberzi, you should not take medicines that cause constipation. the most common side effects of viberzi

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he's a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot. sage. we are all in for our customers. donald trump is a phony, a fraud. he's not a serious adult. i can't vote for donald trump given the things that he said. trump should not be supported. i believe he's disqualified himself to be president. i just cannot support donald trump.

he took back and allowed everyone to think what he wanted

to believe. why did he someone who snuck into this country so he could one day pluck from history the first african american president of the united states. i have a couple of clues. he said he believed president obama legitimate the second pressure, there is no way i could imagine trump getting through the first debate and not have a moderate or hillary clinton blast him for his nasty claim about the president. it seems to me someone must have come to this conclusion and told mr. trump to act now and cut his losses. they don't want to main headline coming out of the first presidential debate to be about birtherism. consider today trash day with

the man coming to pick it up who happened to be the man who left the trash on our doorstep in the first place. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being us with. "all in" with chris hayes now. >> there are those who question whether my husband was even born in this country. >> birtherism 2.0. donald trump tries to trade one false conspiracy theory -- >> his campaign was founded on this outrageous lie. >> for another outrageous conspiracy theory. >> hillary clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the birther controversy. i finished it. >> we'll look at the birth of the birther movement. >> people have birth certificates. he doesn't have a birth