thank you for watching. see you back here tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. eastern. if you can't watch live, set your dvr and follow me on twitter @greta. check out my facebook page for behind the scenes videos and more. "hardball" with chris matthews starts right now. see you tomorrow night, 6:00 p.m. eastern, right here. a presidency in its infancy. let's play "hardball." good evening, i'm chris matthews up in new york. eight years ago, we witnessed a tea party mobilize against a president, his agenda and his allies in congress. well now republicans, as the new governing party controlling the congress and the white house, they've become the target of anger from progressives. right now, at least 2,000 people are backed into a high school theater down in arkansas where republican senator tom cotton is holding a town meeting. it's pretty lively. let's look at hue heow he's han

the very lively crowd so far. here's senator cotton addressing a question from the audience on immigration just moments ago. [ crowd chanting "tax return" ] >> by the way, they're yelling "tax returns." that's a crowd maybe republican, maybe democrat, maybe progressive. we don't know. but they're yelling they want trump's tax returns. that's not what tom cotton wanted to have that meeting about. mi meanwhile, similar scenes playing out at republican town halls across country. >> the last i heard, these coal jobs are not coming back and now these people don't have the insurance they need because they're poor. if you can answer any of that, i'll sit down and shut up like elizabeth warren. >> when you tell me that you're going to take care of me when i come home, no matter what my injury, you have failed, sir. >> two things i want to correct that you said. you may have said more than that wrong, but i can't verify it.

so here. >> it's not fake news. i listen to trump lie every single day. >> you guys just want to investigate everybody. >> you guys wasted a lot of money on benghazi. waste a little on trump. >> in fact, senator, we should all have good health care. >> taxpayer funds ought not to be used for abortion service. i stand for -- >> alternative facts. >> let me tell you something you're really not going to like. you want to hear this. hold on. you're really not going to like this part. the president, under the law, is exempt from the conflict of interest laws. he's exempt. >> a lot of boos out there. you're watching, by the way, grassroots resistance at the

door steps of these events where protesters have mounted demonstrations outside as well as inside and while the issues in dispute are nothing new, mainly real kitchen table issues like health care, these groups are voicing their concern in a way that's hard to ignore for anyone. "the new york times" reports that for some, it's become so heated that, "many republicans have chosen not even to hold events at all. wary protests might greet them." last night president trump tweeted, "the so-called angry crowds in home districts of some republicans are actually in numerous cases planned out by liberal activists. sad." hillary clinton also weighed in on the protests of these meetings saying, kbt if you can't stand the heat, get out of the congress." that was a old harry truma li. this comes as the conservative action conference gets under way in washington today. one year after mr. trump as a candidate canceled his appearance, the agenda in 2017 now reflects the new nationalism that his campaign heralded. as the "washington post" affirmed today, "the conservative movement in america now belongs to president trump."

joining me is john braybender, republican strategist. president of the progressive policy group, demos. trip gabriel have covered the town hall events for "the new york times." tripp, the hearings are held by members of the house, members of the senate, mostly republicans we're talking about. who is out in the crowd making the protest so loud and so effective so far? who are they? >> they're constituents in the districts of the congresspeople and the senators in the states. you just showed 2,000 people or so in arkansas. those were, you know -- >> locals. >> yep. >> they're not as we used to say in the '60s are the bad people, the outside agitators. they're not that. >> they're inside agitators. >> how do we know about the groups like indivisible, that group, i've been reading their material. thought it was fascinating. just read this. maybe you should achnswer this, heather. "if a small minority in the tea party could stop president obama then, we the majority can stop a petty tyrant named trump." pretty clear voice there. >> this was a guy -- this is

what's amazing about this, it was basically a google doc, turned into a pdf and been downloaded over a million times. >> these instructions. >> these instruction. in some ways it's open source to what we all should know, how to be effective citizens and have our voice heard by our representatives. so it's basic tactics about how from inside folks people used to be congressional staffers saying this is what counts. it's a phone call, not a petition. it's an in-person meeting. here's how you frame a question well. we should all know that. democracy shouldn't be a spectator sport. because of this administration, it is not. >> one purpose, get your voice heard on issues like you want to keep obamacare, something like it. the other might be you don't like big business tax cuts. we just saw that down in arkansas with tom cotton's group, they want trump's tax returns out. they just want it because they have concern that progressive interests in that. that's also according to documents i've read to embarrass the republican member of

congress for his positions or her positions. explain that part. >> will, i think -- >> to hurt them. >> yeah. >> snis tthis is the thing you o imagine how fragile members of koc congress are, spend time with donors and walking the halls in d.c., they don't get a ton of face time in between elections with their constituents. they know if they have a viral moment where, you know, they can catch someone in a lie or flatfooted, it will be spread beyond the town hall. >> a member of congress. let's take a look. here's some more from senator tom cotton's town hall happening right now. this moment happened a minute ago, a voter confronted the senator about the affordable care act. as i said, health care. let's watch. >> i could tell you three members of my family, including me, that would be dead, dead, and homeless if it was not for aca. i am angry constituent.

you work for us. i got a husband dying and we can't afford -- let me tell you something. if you can get us better coverage than this, go for it. >> john brabender, this is strong stuff. i do agree with what heather just said, most members of congress survive for deck aiade office, the only people they have to deal with are the few activists on their side who share their philosophy, if they're right wing, they're right-wing supporters and the people who give them money to get re-elected, talk to a few tv interviewers, they're back in two years later. this is opening up something noi noisy, john. what do you make of it? >> i applaud anybody who will go to a town hall meeting, they're great americans because they're participating. this is more like a support group for those who lost the election. they're all standing up saying obamacare, obamacare. let's be honest that there wasn't a single democrat that ran for the senate or the house that ran an ad saying i voted for obamacare.

why? because people wanted to get rid of it. donald trump won on saying he's going to get rid of it. he won pennsylvania, wisconsin, ohio, all these states with a lot of democrats because he said he was going to get rid of obamacare. and so understand, this is not a cross section of america. this is a lot of progressives who are now unified because donald trump unified them just like president obama and hillary clinton unified the conservatives. >> what's bottom line on these meetings and this noise we're hearing and the excitement in the crowds? i'm seeing people -- i know it's dangerous for any politician to challenge an individual member of a town meeting because the crowd there who came there to make noise, to be truthful, to make their voices heard, don't want to hear some politician telling them to shut up. because they're really saying that to everybody. how to you handdo you handle the a republican? this is an impressive group of grassroots -- you can say they're liberals and progressives. they are. they're local. they have the local accent. they seem lthey ought to be at

these meetings. >> i believe they're local, i believe it's organized. i think, congratulations to those organizers, that what they should be doing. this is the new world of politics, get rid of one election, not like everydy takes a breath. this is about the 2018 elections. let's not lose any doubt about that. and this is going to continue on both sides. i will say this, though, when conservatives and, frankly, blue collar democrats see this type of action from the progressives, all that does is inspire them to want to vote for republicans in 2018. >> i don't -- >> what do you make? do you think that bounces the other way, there's a reck shay he ricochet here? i don't think they get mad at people asking about health care. that's not bandit behavior. that's i need health care for my three family members who would have died without it. how can you be mad at that person? >> i think we at our peril we in the political world minimize this to republicans and democrats and progressives. this woman said i would be dead without health care. >> yeah. >> this is the bread and butter stuff.

now, our country does not pay a lot -- a number of folks didn't know the aca and obamacare were the same thing. what they do know -- >> i remember that. >> for once in their lives they have a tangible benefit that changed their lives and here the republicans have been saying for eight years basically they want to take it away and they have no replacement. that's real life. we can't make it just about partisan politics. >> let's talk about the politics -- >> that's wrong. they havencan't take it away un there's a replacement. >> tripp first, then to you. it seems to me the logic of people that are putting these demonstrations together, making a point of getting people to come out of their homes at nighttime, most people would rather stay home, cook dinner, watch a little tube, go to bed. get people to show up somewhere at a strange place, hard enough to vote -- i embarrassed. they're showing up. they believe they can move something in history.

they can go to a preg republreg republic and say, buddy b careful here. you're going to pay a price speaks they're trying to peel the republican members of the house away from trump and what he's doing. there's a lodglogic to it. >> yeah, john is right. this is about 1202018. in off-year elections, democrat, the constituency does not show up. if this kind of furor continues not just this year, into next year and the year after that, this is exactly what the democratic party is going to need to flip some seats in the house of representatives. i'm not sure tom cotton is not -- >> let me go back to brabender, what do you make of the women's march? a lot of this started with the woman in hawaii, wasn't a bunch of lefties per se or people who raised money by getting people jacked up, it's a woman out in hawaii, a private citizen, a civilian, if you will, who said, you know, what i don't like this guy, trump, i'm going to make some noise, how about we women get together? all of a sudden a million women are marching through washington in the most joyous days for progressives in years, includes

the hillary campaign and -- you're laughing but it's true. >> that's fun ny. >> a lot more positive than defending a candidate they didn't get too excited about. my question is, aren't the republic chance a little worried the grassroots things will catch on by next november big-time? >> here's where i think republicans have to be very careful. that is to just ignore this. for example, we keep hearing at these town hall meetings they say republicans are going to fake take away health care. i don't know where anybody is getting this. they're not taking away health care. they're taking a system that's imploding, come up with a system that's more affordable, gives better care. if they let the message and branding be we're taking away health care, we're going to fame a fail and lose in 2018. the key is understanding what people are saying, having a good answer and not necessarily criticizing them for participating because like i said i think they're great americans for taking the time out of their day to show up for the town ham mell meeting. >> many said the anger toward republicans is a progressive version of the tea party. jim demint, current president of

the heritage foundation, rejected that comparison yesterday because he said the protests are organized. however, he also acknowledged these confrontations may hurt the republican agenda. here he is. >> greta, it's not like the tea party, i was going through this document today. indisvisib indisvisible. really well financed, well organized. buszed around to different town halls to disrupt them. i'm concerned that all of this pushback has delayed the repeal of obamacare and certainly other agenda items that need to be taken out. >> on the other side of the political world senator bernie sanders rejected comparisons to the tea party. in an interview earlier this month, here's senator sanders. >> it's not a tea party because the tea party was the centresse funded by the billionaire koch brothers family. this is a spontaneous and grassroots uprising of the american people. >> you know, sometimes i think we make a mistake in journalism of asking people on the hard

left or the hard right for a straight middle of the road objective answer. bernie doesn't want to have anything to do with the tea party. will to say the koch brothers owned them all. grassroots republicans hate taxes, middle class people, regular people, who hate big government. they don't need to get funding from the god damn, any right-wing group. bernie won't admit that, it's a big conspiracy to him. in the same way jim demint doesn't want anybody doing his thing, right? come on. there's a similarity here. it's called grassroots anger at the way things are going. >> well, "new york times," colleagues and i attended four town halls yesterday, louisiana, florida, iowa as you showed a minute ago, tennessee where i was. none of us saw any buseses >> this busing -- i think republics love ttalk about busing. >> mid '60s. >> wouldn't you like -- do you think jim demint ever saw a bus? do you think any had any evidence there was a bus? the idea, they do this with voter registration, illegal voting. oh, they're riding around in buses dropping people off, same people voting in all the places. they have this image in their head, right?

>> yeah, because frankly, they're afraid of democracy. listen, we live in -- excuse me -- >> by the way, stop right there. that was brilliant. excuse me. go ahead. >> we live in a very divided country, right? i mean, you know, president trump won the electoral college by virtually a handful of votes. he lost the popular vote. the biggest mobilization in the history of this country. >> don't put it down. don't put it down. he carried states, real states like wisconsin, michigan, pennsylvania, ohio. that's not a handful. >> by not that many votes. right? i think that there is a -- >> does this get you a better night saying stuff like this? he only won by a handful. >> it's true. >> hillary is up in chappaqua, he's in the white house. >> a third of young people voted for a third-party candidate. we are right now at a moment of great political -- >> you teach them -- >> alignment. >> you teach them, it ends up being binary. where a all the young people? in the end in november, the first tuesday after the second monday, inevitably, it comes down to a binary choice. and if you want to have your vote count, pick for the one you want to win the presidency. >> well, that's why we have to

look at the tea party. the tea party was started out as a grassroots movement, i agree, but then it did get electoralized with a bunch of hard money. i don't think we're going to see that on the left. i don't think we're going too see to see tea party primaries in the same way. >> we'll see if some of the godfathers come along. anyway, thank you, john brabebd bender, heather mcgee. tripp. john, thank you for putting this perspective, a lot of help there. tonight at 10:00 p.m., join me along with brian williams and rachel maddow for a full two-ur special, we examine the first month of the trump presidency. this is going to be some unpacking job, what happened in 3 d 33 days. coming up, president trump said he inherited a mess from president obama. the economy he took over was on strong footing, don't you remember? there's optimism on wall street, the markets continue to climb to record highs. can mr. trump deliver on his campaign promise, to me, the only one that really, really matters? jobs. real jobs. plus what happens when you

have a town hall with your congressman and he doesn't show up? mr. toomey, where are you? happeni happening more and more across the country as members of congress duck their angry constituencies. they can run but can't hide. the "hardball" roundtable with a look at the good, the bad and the ugly of donald ingi it . finally mlet me finish with trump watch tonight. this is "hardball" where the action is. fees? what did you have in mind? i don't know. $6.95 per trade? uhhh- and i was wondering if your brokerage offers some sort of guarantee? guarantee? where we can get our fees and commissions back if we're not happy. so can you offer me what schwab is offering? what's with all the questions? ask your broker if they're offering $6.95 online equity trades and a satisfaction guarantee. if you don't like their answer, ask again at schwab.

we got some breaking news to report tonight. president trump just rescinded the rules that allow students to use the bathrooms of their choice while at school leaving it up to the states to decide how to interpret federal anti-discrimination laws and determine whether students should be allowed to use the bathroom of the gender they identified with and not the gender they were biologically born with. pete williams is with us now. pete, explain all this. >> reporter: two moint points a this, chris, one is the practical effect. the practical effect in the

short term is none because the letter the obama administration sent out last may to public schools saying you could lose your federal funds unless you let students use the bathrooms that match their gender identity. that letter was almost immediately put on hold by a federal court. so even though it was issued last may, it has never had the force and effect of actual education policy. but in the long run, it's a big shift from the obama administration's position, and the real question here was, you know, title 9, the law that says that schools have to provide equal educational access for men and women, this was the one that basically revitalized women's sports, the question is, does that law cover transgender rights? it says you can't discriminate on the basis of sex. the department of education's position had been that gender identity amounts to sex. it's the same thing. tonight, the trump administration has withdrawn the education department policy on this. it say s we want to study it

more, they felt the original guidance that came out last may didn't get into it. and in the process, they say, while we're withdrawing the guidance, all schools must ensure that all students, including lgbt students, are able to arn and thrive in a safe environment. they stress in this letter that even though they're withdrawing the administration guidance from a year ago, that does not leave students without protections from discrimination, bullying or harassment, chris. >> wow. we'll learn more as time goes on. thank you so much. nbc's pet williams. we also learned today from a senior white house source that president trump will issue his revised executive order on immigration. early part of next week. next week. probably the middle of next week. that order was initially expected this week. we'll be back right after this. so when i got my ancestry dna results it was a shocker. i'm from all nations. it puts a hunger in your heart to want to know more. that has everything to do with the people in here.

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the stock market has hit record numbers. as you know. and there has been a tremendous surge of optimism in the business world. we've withdrawn from the

job-killing disaster known as trans-pacific partnership. we've directed the elimination of regulations that undermine manufacturing and called for expedited approval of the permits needed for america and american infrastructure. >> welcome back to "hardball." that was president trump last week in his press conference, boasting about action he's taken, actions he's taken to improve the economy and create jobs. over eight years ago, president obama was handed an economy that was truly in crisis. last month, he turned over a stable economy to his successor, don't you know? everybody knows this. in his first full week in office, president trump held meetings in the white house with corporate executives, manufacturing ceos and labor union. executive orders cutting regulations, withdrew from the trans-pacific partnership as you heard him say, moved ahead with the keystone pipeline and promised millions of new investment in infrastructure spending. since his inaugution, the markets have reached record

highs. now it's time to deliver an economic growth and his campaign promise which is real jobs. stephanie ruhle, msnbc anchor. mike mcmanis met with president trump last month. mr. mcmanis, i want to get to you because i want to talk to a real person about real jobs. what do you think is the timetable for the president to get going on infrastructure spending? getting money from moving the tax money back home from overseas, squeezing it out of perhaps entitlement savings. in any way, whatever way he does it, getting money to spend, capital to spend on creating big job, creating projects like fixing railroads, bridges and perhaps building new rail lines. >> i think the timeframe, chris -- thank for having me back on -- is as quickly as possible. the country needs to continue to work as quickly as possible in this direction on the failing roads, bridges, the dams that we're seeing in california. takes more than one person. i think senator schumer is a very good adversary and very

good partner in this specific think. thing the problem is the republicans in congress and i think the president may have to go to mitch mcconnell and twist arms on that side of the aisle there. >> political, i want to get to the politics first. we'll get to stephanie in a minute. the politics are this. he's not going to get a united party behind him on the republican side. they're tight fisted about none. that's why they're republicans. they don't spend government money. they're trusted to spend it because they don't. he can't just go to mitch mcconnell and say please give me 60 votes to get something going here. he's going to have to go to the other guys, through chuck and the rest of them, dick durbin and nancy pelosi and steny hoyer. he's going to have to get them to release democrats to help spend some money so you guys can get some work. how's that going to happen? >> i think it's going to happen because its politics. politics 101. we got a lot of senate members up, democratic senate members up that are defending spots they have to defend. there's some horse trading that's got to go on there. it's politics 101. he needs to get right to what

you saw in the previous segments of the town halls. he needs to get to the people and say this effects you locally, these bridges, these dams, these waterways, these airports affect your way of living. he needs to use the bully pulpit and get right into the congress and get bipartisanship on it. >> thank use, sir. let me get to stephanie. i want a big deal. i want to see him bring trillions of dollars jooeoverso tucked away. spend some money, capital spending. he has to actually spend the money on actual construction. not paying off interest groups. now the democrats are not particularly good at protecting money that way. republicans are good but they don't do it. how does he put together a real program that gets this country moving again like kennedy said, get it moving again? >> let's look at the markets for an example. >> they anticipate he is going to do it. >> president trump loves to say, you mentioned it in your intro that president obama handed him a pile of garbage.

he absolutely didn't if you look at the economy. 4% unemployment. think about college-educated people, they're almost at full employment. so president obama handed him -- >> how many have barista jobs? no, seriously. >> some have barista underemplo? >> underemployed is a big issue. >> these are people who would like to have a bigger job, tougher job, take what's available because they care about their families. they do it. they take the looks that available. a lot of people want to work 30 bucks, 40 buck, want to make the money. >> reporter: look at the disparity between ceo pay and worker pay today it has never been greater. you have people with two jobs saying i can't make ends meet, i want something different, i'm going to vote for trump. >> i'm in the market sh, everybody is in the market in some way, 401(k)s. going way up 20,000.

>> here's the point. you said everybody's in the market. not everybody is in the markets. many of donald trump's supporters are not in the market. they're looking for a change. those who are, animal spirits are out. president obama handed a slow and steady economy in large part because he put so much cushions -- >> okay. you're getting my attention. animal spirits are out? >> animal spirits -- >> what's that mean? >> this means investors are saying, great, deregulation. >> the bullish market. >> cutting taxes. remember, elizabeth warren having the position she had over the last eight years, ceos didn't like that. they didn't want to be called fat cats. that regulatory overhang, whether president trump dlelives or not, he has said to those ceos, i want to help you cut taxes, do great things. >> back to the question, are they confident he's going to do what he said? >> right now they're believing it, but remember, the market can turn on a dime. you can sell. buying the market isn't like building a plant. building a plant is saying, i'm confident. >> okay. let me ask mr. mcmanus, how long are you guys going to wait for

action? >> well, we'll wait as long as it takes. i think we're missing a point here to the previous speaker there, on pipelines, chris, 6 0% of the cost of the pipeline isn't the labor, isn't the pichs, isn't the materials. it's the permitting process. it's the lawyers that are being tied up in court. it's all about that. so 60% of that, you cut that part away, you attract the republicans and you attract the democrats. you get the regulations down on the permitting process. 60% to d a pipeline is everything but the pipeline. i think that's where savings is. that's where the savings is. >> it's a great point. we shouldn't look at regulation as a black or white, good or bad. dodd/frank, it's not about ripping it apart. it's about tweaking it. >> you know what trump says, say yes or say no, stop muddling along with a big yellow light, doesn't get anything done. >> he says that, he's a guy who negotiates, he talks tough then he does soften up. >> okay. you took a shot at the lawyers, mr. mcmanus, on behalf of the working guy, that will be very popular message. i hope you succeed.

i'm rooting for you. please keep coming back. mark mcmanus. >> i will come back. >> thank you. stephanie ruhle. up next -- my colleague -- up next, what happens when you try to organize a meeting with your congressman and he won't show up? in fact, he won't even say it's his town meeting. that's ahead. this is "hardball" where the action is. my business was built with passion... but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. that's why i have the spark cash card from capital one. with it, i earn unlimited 2% cash back on all of my purchasing. and that unlimited 2% cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business... which adds fuel to my bottom line. what's in your wallet?

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president or whether it was another senator or another congressman, what abraham linking salink i lincoln said, i will stand with any man when he's right as long as -- >> welcome back to "hardball." that's more from that boisterous town hall going on right now in arkansas with republican senator tom cotton. he just told the crowd he'll stay for another half hour. republicans across the country are facing feere ining fierce cn home districts. sol republ some republicans from swing districts are avoiding in-person town halls altogether. giving them backup. brushing aside the uproar. >> i think it's a hybrid there. some people are clearly upset but there is a bit of professional protester manufactured base in there. just because they're loud doesn't necessarily mean there are many. >> the skepticism sounds dangerously familiar. back in 2009, then-speaker of the house nancy pelosi discounted the growing tea party movement. >> this initiative is funded by

the high end, we call it astroturf. it's not really grassroots movement. it's astroturf by some of the wealthiest people in america. >> well duck and cover strategy didn't work for the democrats. will it work for the republic chance? joining me, howard fineman, global editorial director for the huffington post." elizabeth dennis, pittsburgh native, organized a constituent town hall because senator pat toomey or congressman keith rothfus wouldn't do it themselves. howard, i got to start with elizabeth here. >> please. >> it takes a lot of guts and citizenship to do this. >> absolutely. >> tell us what you're aiming to do in terms of -- it's going to be i understand this friday night in pittsburgh. >> yes. it will be this friday night from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. and what i'm aiming to do is i would love it if either the representatives attended and beyond that, i'd like to spread the word about the messages that the constituents would like to give their elected officials and hope at in the future, the officials will hold regularly scheduled town hall meetings. >> what issues did you recommend

they bring to the table? did you suggest any? >> i shared a few from the indisvisible guide which i know has been brought up in previous segments and i would be happy to talk about as well as a few issues that i feel are of concern. with these issues, i have shared the event -- >> what are the issues you care about just so people know what -- >> sure. >> yeah. >> okay. i care about affordable health care. i care about comprehensive immigration reform. i care about black lives matter. i care about the -- oh, gosh, so many things. >> it sounds like you're a progressive. is that fair to say? >> yep, but that wasn't -- i am a progressive personally but the motivation for organizing event wasn't a progressive agenda so to speak, it was because i believe that representation is a crucial part of a functional democracy. >> i agree with you. >> and the ability to bring grievances and redress

grievances with our elected officials is isa fundamental pa of that. >> thank so much. i got to go. hold on. i want to bring howard in for some reporting. howard, put this in a reporter's context. >> well, i know what a professional, you know, hardboiled, high-paid organizer looks like and elizabeth isn't one of them. she's grassroots pittsburgh and i know it because that's my hometown, too. and the point here is that senator toomey can avoid doing what senator cotton is bravely doing right there and is necessarily doing, not having town halls, but i think eventually that will catch up with him and local congressmen in western pennsylvania. if two things don't happen over the coming months and year. if donald trump is unable to deliver on his economic promises to pennsylvania, which is all about pipelines that the pipe fitter guy was talking about. all about coal, using more coal, using more -- digging for pipelines, laying more

pipelines. that's going to be hard to do. he made big promise in states like pennsylvania, ohio, michigan and so forth. he's got to deliver on them or senator toomey's going to be in real hot water. and also the affordable care act. the republicans have to say, as john brabender was saying earlier on your show, what they're going to improve the system. not just remove the one that exists. if they don't do those two things, if donald trump can't deliver on those two things, if the republicans can't deliver on those two things, then the ducking and dodging by the republicans now are going to have greater consequences later. right now, it's early in the ball game, chris. we're only a couple months into the cycle of 2018. but come next year, it's going to be big. >> thanks so much. the grass is always greener, politically, howard, you and i know that. the other side always looks good when we're stuck with this side. >> elizabeth, congratulations, should should get an award for being a great american for doing this. people got to get off their butts and go to meetings and make some noise. the country is not going to take

care of itself. we're going to come back here in a moment with breaking news from the white house this hour. president trump rescinded the rules that allow transgender students to use the bathrooms of their choice while at school. it will be up to the states and school districts to interpret federal anti-discrimination laws and whether the students should be allowed to use the restroom of the gender they identify with -- not -- just the restroom of their biological gender. more on that as we take a closer look at president trump's first month in the presidency. the good, the bad and, yes, the ugly. we have all the bases covered tonight as we examine what this president has and hasn't accomplished since taking office. you're watching "hardball" where the action is tonight. ugh your . introducing flonase sensimist. more complete allergy relief in a gentle mist you may not even notice. using unique mistpro technology, new flonase sensimist delivers a gentle mist to help block six key inflammatory substances that cause your sympto. most allergy pills only block one. and six is greater than one. break through your allergies.

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welcome back to "hardball." january 20th, of course, donald trump stood on the west front of the u.s. capitol, he put his hands on two bibles, two better than one, and took the oath of office. and 33 days later that has been some wild ride. let's watch. >> this american carnage stops

right here and stops right now. >> do you think that talking about millions of illegal votes is dangerous to this country? >> no, not at all. >> without presenting the evidence? >> many people feel same way i do. it's not a muslim ban but we're totally prepared to work it out very nicely. you see it at the airports, you sea it all over. it's working out very nicely. >> as of today we're officially putting iran on notice. >> the action taken in yemen was a huge success. >> i noticed chuck schumer yesterday with fake tears. i'm going to ask him who was his acting coach. "the new york times" wrote a big long front-page story. it's a joke. where are you from? >> bbc. >> here's another beauty. the press honestly is out of control. the level of dishonesty is out of control. to be honest, i inherited a mess. it's a mess. at home and abroad. a mess. you look at what's happening in germany. you look at what's happening

last night in sweden. sweden. who would believe this? sweden. i turn on the tv, open the newspapers and i see stories of chaos. this administration is running like a fine-tuned machine. >> my favorite. anyway, late today, some breaking news. president trump rescinded the rules that allow transgender students to use the bathrooms of their choice while at school. we'll be taking a closer look at the president's first month all together tonight at 10:00 eastern on a two-hour special here on msnbc. it's going to be a hell of a two hours. right now i'm joined by tonight's roundtable on "hardball," montel williams, former talk show host. naval intelligence officer. nbc's katy tur. trump's campaign, by the way, nobody did it better. jonathan, o ppinion writer with the great and flourishing "washington post," in a nose to nose battle to the finish line with "the new york times" these days and also a msnbc contributor. i want to start with snajonatha. he's dying to say something good

about trump. here's what i want to do. this is going to be a summer hill. wide-open school here, right? what can you say about the first month of donald trump's presidency? flat-out. >> chaotic. horrendous. unfocused. undisciplined. you want me to keep going? i think -- >> did he say i think before he thought -- you just say i think. was there a thought behind this first month? was there a rational choreography to it? >> i cannot see any evidence that there is any rational choreography to anything that he's doing except he had a bachbl bach basket of campaign promises and -- >> a basket of deplorables perhaps. >> i didn't say that. a basket of campaign promises he said he was going to take and executive order after executive order -- >> seems like steve bannon said now you're going to do this you promised, going to do this, you promise zb promised. >> you put out an executive order.

>> he didn't want to be accused of saying one thing and doing another. got into office, went one by one on his major campaign offices so far, signed executive orders. now it's up to congress to fund them. if they don't do it, he can say, listen, i did what i said i was going to do and this is what happens when you put things in government. congress is not working. don't blame me. blame them. >> montel, your thoughts. give me some deep thoughts now about -- you've been thinking about this. i talked to you before. >> i'm a guest, i've kept my mouth shut. i look at the television and i watch reporting and i blow up. i call people. then i write op-ped pieces. and i'm thinking in terms of what he said yesterday about the fact everybody's jumped aboard. he 100% decrying any form of racism. well, if he was, why do we not see him standing on television saying we are going to use the power of my office to hunt down everyone who turns over any tomb, or any grave, any gravestone? i'm going to hunt down every single person who attacks or has filed a false complaint against any synagogue in america. he not doing that. >> he doesn't want to shake

apart his coal wligs. >> 25% of his voting group understands that they agree with him and all the nasty rhetoric. you got to remember something, very recently -- >> so the dog whistle was heard by the dogs. >> yeah. the campaign is all about protecting america. let's remember something that nobody has reported on yet. up until miami, or orlando shooting, there were more people killed in this country by white separatists and cops k s killed. he's now going to change the office that goes after terrorist attacks and call it the office -- >> why do you think he's doing that? >> because, again, he doesn't want to -- >> offend. >> -- offend that side of the -- of his following that right now wants him to be more anti-everybody. look, i jump aboard this not because i'm trying to say one, we start with muslims, now we're with jews. tomorrow it's blacks. already -- >> he started with blacks. birtherism. >> you're right. sorry.

started with blacks. now all of his rallies, recently tl there were people who were handicapped. >> let's go to my point here, how much of he -- how much of him is show? in other words, i wondered about the decision in the ninth circuit to say this is motivated by anti-muslim sentiment. i don't think he has any sentiment about anybody. he's all about trump, getting ahead where he wants to get, biggest guy in the history of -- every table, every restaurant, every kitchen table is talking about him. i think that's his goal, to be the biggest guy in the yuuniver. >> part of me wants to say he's 100% show but i know a lot of folks who know donald trump really well and, you know, i do these check-ins with them, tell me about who he is, what does he believe. >> sure. >> do you think this is fundamental to his ideology? when you talk about liberal causes, gay marriage and whatnot, they'll say, no, he doesn't really care. there is a threat in there about protecting, quote/unquote, america.

and protecting the identity of america. >> does he mean northern europeans? is it ethnic? >> i will let the audience decide what they think that that means but i think it's clear. i -- >> it's clear? i'll let them decide but it's -- >> the rest of america -- >> i second -- i stand with katy. >> listen, i think that he has -- he has -- there's a reason he came out on the first -- when he announced his run for president -- the presidency, by going after latinos. there's a reason he did it. and he feels that immigration is undercutting american values, changing the face of america and he understood that people felt that way, too. wasn't just him saying it. >> yeah. >> so that's why he -- >> how much of this is -- guys, we're all in the business of communicating, how much of trump's success has been his ear, his ability to hear what works? >> 100% ofsuccess. >> jonathan? >> i will give him that but what he's hearing is some really ugly stuff.

i mean, he's going after -- >> 45% of the american people buying the ugly? our latest polling here -- >> some are. >> he's at 42%. >> yeah. some are. you know, to katy's point, yeah, people are concerned about immigration and concerned about all of that and, you know, worried about the direction of the country and american values but american values also are being put to the test as we watch -- >> who's -- the pebest proponen you would put up against him for american values? who would be in the big debate. i understand what you're saying, i agree with it. who is out there with the showmanship, the communications ability to deliver the good message against what you think is the bad one. >> the one man who just left the office. >> thank you, well said. that is brilliant, actually. the round table is sticking with us, we already forget about -- i mean -- >> president obama. >> he should have been at the end of our lips. and a reminder, join us tonight with brian williams and rachel maddow and myself for a special two hour look at president trump's first month in office.

it won't be any better than what he just said. we'll be back with the hits, the messes and the president's first days in office. what he's gotten right and wrong. trump the first month at 10:00 on msnbc. this is "hardball," where the action is. ♪(music plays) ♪ heigh ho ♪ heigh ho ♪ heigh ho heigh ho it's off to work we go here's to all of you early risers, what's up man? go-getters, and should-be sleepers. from all of us at delta, because the ones who truly change the world, are the ones who can't wait to get out in it. because the ones who truly change the world, customer service!d. 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. 100% u.s.-based customer service. here to help, not to sell.

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and your medicare. you made a deal a long time ago." now, it's congress' turn. tell them to protect medicare. >> right now, hourly and payday -- part day child care and child enrollment in cdc centers for our military soldiers has come to a stop. you can't drop off your children anymore for part time or day care because we can't hire new employees to fill some of the centers that are now having to -- >> that's not helping our troops. >> okay, peter popoff, rep him in the 1980s, televangelist who was caught conning his artist and exposed on johnny carson? he's back on b.et. doing the same thing, people are buying it and he has a bentley now.

"gq" found him. >> according to the great "washington post," in president trump's first 34 days, he has said 133 false or misleading statements. >> well, i love the jacket. >> thank you. >> explain. >> it's brunello cuccinelli, it's a nice puffy coat cut in the form of a blazer. >> i'm just teasing. >> you asked because i told. >> you have the clothes. thank you, jonathan, katy and montel williams. when we return, we'll finish with trump watch. you're watching "hardball."

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trump watch, wednesday, february 22, 2017. well, tonight 10:00 we tackle the untackleable, trying to make sense of the trump presidency one month into its infancy. think about the rabbits he gave us to chase after. the bragging about the size of his inaugural crowd. who are you going to believe, him or the pictures of the empty space on the washington mall? or his dark claims of millions of illegal voters who gave california and, oh, yeah, new hampshire, to hillary. or the crazy grudge match he had with nordstrom's or last week's rant in the east room that had the whole room thinking we'd elected the headless horseman as our president. but the rabbit he is release with such regularity, the numbers, arguments, nordstroms, were only the bedlam backdrop. looking over the last 30 days you'll see headlines divided into two neat halves. two weeks of the muslim ban and the court fights over it,

followed by two weeks over the russians and what kind of footsy trump and his lieutenants might have been playing under the table. finally the latest story, the town meetings, with them another disconnect. people showing up to protest focused on kachen table issues and still are. health care, for example, and the osteoporosiser issues they've ignored, donald trump on his way to the white house, the wall, the muslim ban. so many layers. so many compartments out there, so much to put together in our mind and say that's what happened this past month. do you think trump knows how crazy he makes our minds go? does he know how to mick things up so madly that only the hatter himself is setting the table? that's "hardball." thanks for being with us. a lot more at 10:00 with rachel and brian, our two-hour trump special. trump, the first month. "all in" with chris hayes starts right now.

tonight on "all in" -- welcome to the winter of voter discontent. as the resistance grows to a fever pitch, the white house resorts to alternative facts. >> just because they're loud doesn't mean there are many. >> tonight, the town hall phenomenon sweeping america. the republicans who won't face their constituents and what such enormous and early protests mean for president trump. then -- >> nothing was wrong with the first executive order. >> the white house gives up the game on the travel ban that started as a muslim ban. >> you're still going to have the same basic policy outcome for the country. and filmmaker michael moore on his guide to resisting donald trump. >> quiet, quiet, quiet. >> when "all in" starts right now. good evening fro