in the wrong direction. but anyway, ambassador, thank you very much for joining us. >> we have no choice but to try. >> indeed. thank you for watching, viewers. have a great weekend. i'll see you back here monday night 6:00 p.m. eastern. follow me on twitter, @greta. coming up, "hardball" with chris matthews. two strikes, you're out. let's pl "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. president trump's ordered to strike syria also struck at the heart of his america first approach to avoiding foreign entanglements, especially in the middle east. there's news tonight of a second strike. this one hits at the very trump people, those causing trouble in the white house itself. get ready for that second explosion to hit alt-right steve bannon, establishment surviv survivalist reince priebus, or both any moment.

big winner, hawkish son-in-law jared kushner and h.r. mcmaster. again, big loser. america first, steve bannon. but first those 60 tomahawk missiles trump sent flying last night when a pretty dramatic shot at trump's bromance with putin. while they got an hour's heads up last night t could still mean trouble. the strike was ordered in retaliation for a reported chemical weapons attack earlier this week which killed over 80 people including children. today, russia is maintaining that no chemical weapons were used. according to officials, last night's target was the same military airfield that was used to launch those deadly chemical weapons attack. u.s. officials tell nbc the strike destroyed aircraft and infrastructure like fuel pumps. syria claims at least six people are dead. it all unfolded as president trump hosted the chinese president at mar-a-lago. when the chinese delegation departed shortly after the missiles were launched,

president trump gathered against with his national security team to be briefed in a makeshift situation room. roughly 30 minutes later, the president delivered his remarks on the strike, which he said served the national security interest of us. >> it is in this vital national security interest of the united states to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons. >> internatial reaction has been largely positive with support from germany, france, israel, and the uk. however, russia was quick to condemn the strike. but let's be clear. russia itself bears key responsibility for syria's use of chemical weapons in the first place. in a 2013 deal, that's four years ago, with the united states, the kremlin guaranteed -- guaranteed that all chemical weapons would be removed from syria. they promised to get rid of those weapons, the russians. secretary of state rex tillerson said clearly russia has failed

in its responsibility to deliver on that commitment from 2013. so either russia has been complicit or simply incompetent, he said -- our secretary of state -- in its ability to deliver on that agreement, closed quote. well, when a special emergency session of the united nations security council, ambassador nikki haley went further in calling out the kremlin for their support of syrian president bashar al assad. >> it could be that russia is knowingly allowing chemical weapons to remain in syria. it could be that russia has been incompetent in its efforts to remove the chemical weapons. or it could be that the assad regime is playing the russians for fools. the world is waiting for russia to reconsider its misplaced alliance with bashar assad. the united states will no longer wait for assad to use chemical weapons without any consequences. those days are over. >> that u.n. ambassador you're watching there, i believe, has been fully weaponized

politically. she's a star of the future. watch her. now the united states military is assessing whether russia was complicit itself or even assisted in syria's chemical weapons attack on its own people. i'm joined by nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel. he's near the turkey-syria border right now. richard, where does this stand internationally, the whole picture if you can give it to us? >> reporter: well, let's just start with the immediate aftermath of the strike. so far as you said, it appears to be contained. there are no indications that russia is going to retaliate militarily. syria doesn't seem like it is interested at all in retaliating militarily, and there are hundreds of american troops in syria. there have been some condemnations from russia and from syria, but theve been fairly muted with the syrian government calling this foolish and russia sticking with its narrative that there were no chemical weapons used and that the u.s. couldn't go it alone, and that this was illegal. but when russia is really angry, the world knows about it.

and it seems like russia is content to move on with this. there is still a meeting scheduled for next week in moscow between putin and rex tillerson, the secretary of state, that hasn't been canceled. so if this was a one-off, and by now it seems like it was a one-off, at least for now, it seems like that russia is prepared to move on from this. the international reaction has been positive except from russia, syria, and iran. >> let me ask you about the use of weaponry. we could have gone with flying planes over syria. that's always more dangerous because you get hit by triple-a fire or sams or whatever. you have more skin in the game, more accuracy perhaps. but you also, in the case of stand-back weapons like these cruise missiles, is that a sign that we're really in retreat or we're on advance? what kind of a political signal does it give the countries like north korea? >> reporter: i think it was -- and i was told this by a u.s.

official, who is very well briefed on this, that it was a happy coincidence that this took place right at the same time as the meeting with the chinese president in order to send a message to him and through him to north korea that the games have changed, that the u.s. will act with its military, will not waste time. and i think that it was -- president trump was proud to show that message at that time. it doesn't change much on the ground to answer your initial question in syria. the u.s. -- what the u.s. policy is in syria right now remains unclear. is it now a policy to go after bashar al assad and to remove him? it doesn't seem to be. is the policy to back syrian rebels to get them to overthrow assad? that also doesn't seem to be the case. it just seemed to be an attempt to respond to a specific incident, to say we will not

tolerate the use of egregious chemical weapons. and there can be a case made that this was in the u.s. national security interest because there are american troops in syria. and it would benefit the united states since there are troops there to deter bashar al assad from using chemical weapons, so you can make an argument that this was clearly in the u.s. interest. >> i think that's a crystal clear report. thank you so much, nbc's richard engel over in turkey right now. lawmakers on capitol hill were briefed on the president's actions last night. while many for both parties have praised the president's use of a limited strike, some have concerns over his apparent contradiction in policy. assad's reported use of chemical weapons came just five days, for example, after secretary of state tillerson appeared to project a hands-off approach to syria. and here's what he said last week. >> i think the status and the longer-term status of president assad will be decided by the

syrian people. >> well, now tillerson appears to have reversed himself as he told reporters today, quote, we will start a political process to resolve syria's future in terms of its governance structure and that ultimately in our view will lead to a resolution of bashar al assad's departure. that's a switch. joining me is the democratic senator from connecticut, chris murphy. if you were asked yes or no last night, would you have approved the president's action? >> i wouldn't have. i wouldn't have because i think he needs congressional authorization first, and i don't think you can view it in isolation. in isolation, it is a proportional response, but the fact of the matter is this military engagement that the trump administration is involved in is much bigger, and i don't believe this is ultimately the end. you're right, we do have troops inside syria. that means this might not be the final act when it comes to air strikes against the syrian regime. and if that's the case, i don't trust the ability of the trump

administration to be able to thread this needle. i would not have authorized this strike. i would come to congress first in large part because i think that's what the constitution demands. >> how long would it have taken to get approval by the entire congress for this strike? how many days? >> listen, it would have taken days. perhaps it would have taken a week. make the strike would have been a little bit less effective when it was said and done. but the constitution doesn't give the power to the president to decide these questions unilaterally. the fact of the matter is this was a pin-prick strike. it killed a couple of syrians. it took out some equipment. that equipment would have still been able to be found a week from now. >> right. >> a pinprick strike doesn't have to happen immediately. it can happen after congressional authorization occurs. >> what would have stopped -- well, i'm going to argue this because what would have stopped the syrians? they're not the good guys of the world, of using the old trick of the bad guys, which is to bring women and children somewhere into the bomb site to fill it so you couldn't hit it, or if you did hit it, you would be

villains of the world. they're not going to let that area stay pristine from personnel so we can hit it. maybe the russians would scatter, but i don't think the syrians would have scattered, do you? if we pick a target like th, somewhere where there are no people at that point. would they have allowed that to happen? >> maybe they would have made it harder to hit this specific airfield, but the importance of that airfield is largely symbolic. we didn't go over the chemical weapons stores. we went after a handful of planes and equipment. we could have done that somewhere else. my worry is that ultimately we're talking about a much broader engagement. we're spending all this time talking about this air strike, and we are largely blind to the fact there are about 600 u.s. troops with no well-defined mission, with no exit plan, that we may end up having to defend for a very long time. >> let's talk about policy as you wish. let's talk about tillerson, switching from five days ago

hands off to we're going to get rid of assad. how do you read that, positively or negatively? >> well, it's head-spinning -- >> but it's different. so what do you make of the difference, of the change? >> so i think donald trump watched tv, and he saw -- >> are you with him on this? are you with him on this switch towards an interventionist mode right now, which is we're going to help dump this royal family of syria? >> absolutely not, right? this is a return to the kind of hubris that donald trump campaigned against, the idea that the united states can, you know, be the great power that ends up settling scores between tribes and sects inside the middle east. we cannot. we can help be part of the political process and lend humanitarian support. but the idea that we are going to be the ones that decide who controls syria just greatly overestimates our impact in that region. >> well, tod senate majority leader, republican of course, mitch mcconnell was asked why he now supports president trump's decision when he opposed a

similar proposal under president obama when obama did what you want him to do, senator, propose it to congress, and congress didn't act. here's mitch mcconnell. >> senator, you have opposed military intervention in syria in the past as recently as 2013. what makes last night different? >> let me tell you the difference. secretary kerry, i guess in order to reassure the left-leaning members of his own party, said it would sort of be like a pinprick. but this was a strike that was well planned, well executed, went right to the heart of the matter, which is using chemical weapons. so had i seen that kind of approach by president obama, i'm sure i would have signed up. >> do you believe that, senator murphy, what he just said? that he would have -- >> nope. >> it sounds to me like he was just covering himself here. >> yeah, that's cover. the fact of the matter is the obama administration made it pretty clear that this is exactly the kind of strike that they were going to carry out. >> what does that tell you, the fact that congress sat on its

hands when you much preferred, and i did too, of course, obama. he followed the correct procedures of the constitution as you see it and got nothing, and he's been blamed ever since for not acting when assad crossed the red line. >> let me say this. there are legitimate differences. there's a difference between using chemical weapons once and using it ice, ght? having done it a second time, that is reason for some people to change their opinion, but that's not what's going on here. what's happening here is that republicans didn't want to support a democratic president using military power in the middle east. they're willing to support a republican president. this is pure politics coming from, i think, most republicans. >> did you support the call last time when it was from obama? >> no, i didn't. i was one of the -- i was actually one of the few to actually vote against it as a member of the foreign relations committee. >> so it isn't just a need for getting congressional approval. it's to get your approval, and you don't give it. >> here's the problem. >> in either case.

>> if we don't weigh in on questions like this, then congress is never going to have a role in foreign policy. there's no way to argue that the president has the ability to carry out a military attack against the syrian regime when there's no imminent threat against the united states. maybe this is a small proportional attack, but there's no end to what president trump will be able to do unilaterally if congress doesn't weigh in on this. >> okay. i understand the principle. thank you so much, chris murphy, senator from connecticut. i'm joined by former state department spokesperson nye area ra hack. what do you make of that? is this good policy to hit them proportionally? to hit the airfield and its facilities and infrastructure where that plane took off to drop those chemical weapons? is this a proportional and appropriate act by our president? >> it is certainly good public affairs, and it is certainly good politics based on the reaction we've seen in the last 24 hours. but we don't know what the policy is. that's part of the challenge right now. >> what about the action itself? what do you make of the action? >> for those who believe in

humanitarian intervention militarily, this is what people have been waiting "for the record" several years. but part of the humanitarian intervention is takingar of the human beings who have been forced to flee the country. now, 11 million syrians displaced. thousands who have been killed. what is going to be the resolution for them if this is about the beautiful babies as the president mentioned? our borders are now closed to any syrian refugees. other countries are bearing the burden. so how are we able to be compassionate by attacking an airfield. >> you know what i thought the other night when i heard it. are you compassionate, mr. president? why aren't you compassionate when you say things like i hope obamacare implodes. that said, i don't want to make the perfect the enemy of the good here. either you like this policy or you don't. what do you make of it? >> i do think this is a proportionate response. if the goal here is to deter further chemical weapons use, it may succeed.

>> why does he do it? why does assad knowing the whole world is watching, knowing t? the russians have guaranteed he want do it. chemical weapons are wrong and everybody is saying they're evil. they were outlawed basically after world war i. why does he do it? >> it's ininevitable that a newment new president is going to be tested. after the information we heard last week about assad's future is up to the syrian people and we don't have a dog in this fight -- >> is this one of those things where we sent the wrong message, where we said we aren't going to defend korea. then north koreans attack south korea. we were going to defend kuwait. the iraqis attack kuwait. the problem was three or four days ago when tillerson we don't care. >> i think that was a problem, and i think this strike does not actually change the situation on the ground. it doesn't change assad's calculus. he's still winning on the battlefield, and he can hold out. >> you know what i was thinking the other day.

even ten people are killed, they are ten people that are not alive right now, probably not bad people at all. he gets up in the morning. he still gets the right jelly on his croissant. he's still living in a palace. we're not punishing him. we're punishing some of his pawns. so i always wonderbout the injustice of any kind of military action because the royal family sits the squatting in their happiness. >> if you are syrian and you are hearing about u.s. military strikes and military intervention, part of your question is how is my life changed? if the bombs are russian that are falling on me or my own government attacking me -- >> what should we do? >> i think humanitarian intervention with an actual follow through policy of diplomacy. >> i think we should use this for leverage for a stronger diplomatic process. timer son needs to go to moscow with some very strong words. >> i think you have to hope they'll cut the rope with these

people. in i were russian, i would say, you know, i was with you until you started using chemical weapons. the world hates you. why did you do it? >> those are good talking points. >> i would do it. i don't know it in russian. i know it in english. anyway, thank you. it's always great to have you. coming up, heads may be rolling soon in the white house. actually trump's senior white house staff may be in trouble. the president said to be tired of all the infighting among his staff. that means steve bannon and reince priebus could be axed. the latest coming up next. this is going to be fun by the way. as they say in washington, no one is ever late for a hanging. plus some big developments in the russian investigation. "the new york times" reports that the cia new russia was working to get trump elected early, like back in august of last year and that unnamed trump advisers -- this is the phrase they used to the cia -- might be working with the russians. this was back in august they thought the trump people were up to something. there's also new questions tonight about why jared kushner -- well, he failed to disclose his contacts with the russians as he applied for a top secret clearance. it's right on the form by the way. have you had any contacts with other governments, blank.

all that is coming up. the "hardball" round table is here with much more on the political reaction to that serious strike last night both at home and abroad. timely we compare rule by the trump family to the real thing. a eat look at the future king of england tonight. this is "hardball," where the action is. i was really surprised that i wasn't finding all of these germans in my tree. i decided to have my dna tested through ancestry dna. the big surprise was we're not german at all. 52% of my dna comes from scotland and ireland. so, i traded in my lederhosen for a kilt. ancestry has many paths to discovering your story. get started for free at ancestry.com. itbut one i think with quesa simple answer. we have this need to peek over our neighbor's fence. and once we do, we see wonder waiting. every step you take, narrows the influence of narrow minds.

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welcome back to "hardball." last night president trump's evolution from isolationist to interventionist was in stark display. let's watch.

>> years of previous attempts at changing assad's behavior have all failed and failed very dramatically. tonight i call on all civilized nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in syria and also to end terrorism of all kinds and all types. >> well, candidate trump came into office promising a dramatically different approach to assad and syria. >> we can't fight syria and assad, who is not a good guy, but we're backing people to fight assad. we have no idea. look at hillary clinton, what happened with libya. >>omow syria and world war iii don't go along great to me. we can't be fighting assad, and when you're fighting assad, you're fighting russia. you're fighting a lot of different groups. but we can't be fighting everybody at one time. >> you can't fight them both.

you got to pick your guy. you got to pick your guy. and i'll tell you who i'd pick. >> but she's trigger-happy, and she wants to start shooting wars in syria. what the hell are we doing with syria? i mean i've listened to what she says about syria. we'll end up in world war iii over syria with her, believe me. >> we'll end up in world war iii with hillary. anyway, the strikes on syria come as the president's chief strategist steve bannon and his son-in-law -- i guess he's a bit of a hawk -- jared kushner are locked in an epic battle over which way to steer this president and the country. reports are heads are about to roll in the trump administration because the president is unhappy with the infighting among his top advisers and is determined to see it end. the white house pushed back on those assertions of course, but according to the "new york times," both trump confidants

are clashing over policy. quote, mr. kushner's more inclined toward intervention in the middle east, while mr. bannon would prefer the united states remain as uncommitted as possible. those are starkly different points of view. "the new york times" or actually the new york magazine is reporting that steve bannon argued against striking syria because it did not advance the trump doctrine of america first. for more i'm joined by jeremy peters, reporter from "the new york times" and an msnbc contributor and the great eli stokols, now the great white house reporter. you're are moving up there, aren't you? you first. let's talk about this. bannon is very clear. you can call him yault rigalt-r. he's basically a nationalist. he's america first. it's us. we're not getting involved in the middle east. no troops on the groujd. we're staying out. the president of the united states talked just like that in the campaign. now the president goes in. the same way i think hillary would have gone in. he was righ hillary's a bit of a hawk, and he was a bit of a hawk last night.

>> well, the job changes you, right? it's easy to talk about these things on the campaign trail, and trump basically used the bannon point of view and that rhetoric on the campaign trail. but now in office you see him cre cedeing so much control to kushner. >> what's his strength over the president? >> i think he sort of doesn't get out over his skis. he keeps it very close to the vest. but he's sort of the power broker in the west wing. i think what you have with bannon, bannon didn't like this attack, didn't want to do it. but i don't think he spoke up all that strongly. he's pushed back on our questions to him about, you know, we hear that you didn't want to do this. he said, no, that's not true. >> of course they say that. >> but he doesn't have the juice in the administration right now to pick this fight. >> he was downgraded. he had his e paul lets wrripped off whereas kushner is right up there at the big table all the time. >> i wouldn't overread too much into that because kushner was always having a seat at the table there in the cabinet room.

bannon was usually in the shadows. >> wait a minute. bannon was wrong on this fight. jared kushner was in there with mcmaster who is the hero in the white house, that those guys won their way. >> bannon is a victim of two things. his own ambition and his ambitions outpacing trump's patience, and the disarray in the white house. he's a victim of that as well because without mike flynn, you don't have steve bannon on the national security council. you don't have the necessary reorganization that has to happen after mike flynn is fired. so then steve bannon comes off as a casualty of that. >> but he's being blamed for the disaster of mike flynn, those 24 days that he was the national security adviser. >> bannon is? who gets blamed for the crazy escapade of nunes being offered up little bits of documents, thatidnight raid tt everybody laughs at. >> they all deserve the blame because they're trying to reverse engineer an alibi. but your point about kushner going to iraq i think is important because what you see there with the joint chiefs, what you see there with mcmaster, they're cultivating someone that they know is very

important. >> the chinese are doing the same thing. the chinese think kushner is the hot act right now. >> they absolutely do. they understand these family die nasty dynamics. they get it. >> let me ask you about corporate life, where trump comes from sort of. my limited experience with corporate life is if you're up for ceo and you're like 52 years old and the other guy 52 years old and the other guy gets it, you're gone because they don't want you to around. can there be a kushner in the white house and a bannon. if bannon doesn't get to be the top adviser to the president on everythi everythings, does he need to go? >> a reorganization of some type is under consideration. it's not going to happen until after this chinese summit. maybe it happens over aesz ter weekend when they hope no one is paying attention. but there is a political role for steve bannon in the white house. just because he's had his demotion doesn't mean that he's out altogether. >> let's get into the fun of washington, the kremlin wall.

who is up to take over reince priebus? i know most of these guys. i don't know gary cohen. i know david urban who helped trump win pennsylvania. i know wayne bermans one of the smartest lobbyistsn knowing everything in washington. you go to him for brainpower. kevin mccarthy, the guy from california, number two guy, i don't think he's going to give up what he has because you never know when he'll be speaker. let's talk about the other guys. how do you pick somebody from the swamp to clean up the swamp? these guys are swamp creatures. i like them. >> trump likes them though. i think gary cohen is another person who has had conversations with the president about this position. those two may be the top two names. you just never know. >> i wouldn't write reince -- >> does he want a top pick who will kick butt? i think that would be berman or urban. or he wants a nicer guy like reince preeb snus. >> i wouldn't write reince off

at this point. with trump, you're riding high in april. you're down in may. you never know what's going to happen with this guy. he changes his mind constantly. we saw this over the course of the campaign. don't write any of these people off. >> every time he makes a change, it doesn't end the infighting. the infighting is a by-product of the way trump manages. >> i think he wants cleanliness and order and i think he's tired of losing. he got beaten on health care. it's been a slow slog. he hasn't looked good, and he needs points on the board. i think he's going to bring in an urban. we'll see. thank you. congratulations. "the wall street journal." by the way, the a section, totally straight. the op-ed page, a little wacky. up next, new developments in the russia investigation including a new report that the cia was aware that russia was working to get trump elected earlier than we thought andhat then cia director john brennan told leaders in congress that unnamed trump advisers might be working with trump.

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vita coco coconut water, hydration comes naturally. hi, i'm richard lui in the msnbc newsroom. a suspected terrorist attack in sweden's capital as a trouble plows through a busy shopping district killing four people and injuring 15 others. one individual has been arrested, but a manhunt continues for one more. it is the latest in a series of vehicle-based attacks across europe. tonight the eiffel tower going

dark in memory of those killed in sweden. the tower also went dark after recent attacks in london and saint petersburg. now back to "hardball." welcome back to "hardball." big developments tonight in the investigation into russia's election meddling here. "the new york times" reported today that the cia had evidence of russia's effort to help trump in the election earlier than we thought. and before anyone else. the times reports that in late august, ten weeks before the election, john brennan, then the cia director, was so concerned about increasing evidence of russia's election meddling that he began a series of urgent individual briefings for eight top members of congress, some of them on secure phone lines while they were on their summer break. officials said mr. brennan also indicated that unnamed advisers to mr. trump might be working with the russians to interfere

in the election. of course that's what we're trying to find out right now, to nail that one down. joining me now is ericlish blou who wrote that report, and also terrorism analyst, our friend malcolm nance. i want to start with eric on this one. tell us what's new here because we went all around this thing. the role of the russians, their purpose in the campaign, our campaign, and what role the trump people played. >> well, if you go back to last summer, which was when the concern about the russian hack of the dnc really erupted, the thinking, the conventional wisdom within washington for at least a while was the russians are just trying to muck with the election. they're not targeting anyone in particular. they're not putting their finger on the scale. they're just trying to sort of threaten democracy and poke their finger in our eye. what came out in classified briefings that we're only now just learning last summer to members of congress was, hey, we think now there's indications that the russians are actually trying to help trump get elected and hurt hillary and damage her election. that was a finding that would

come out months and months later officially after trump had already been elected. >> that shows that the people working for president obama, professionals like brennan, weren't out there leafletting this information to the world. they weren't out there trying to help hillary by exposing the trump -- >> that is true. they were sort of boxed into a corner because they thought if they were too aggressive sort of in putting this intel out there, they would look like they were trying to up hillary and politicize in the intel. >> i saw in your piece, but it wasn't in the lead, which was the role the trump people played. the word "might" is used. how much power does that word have, might have been helping the russians? >> enough that they're telling mitch mcconnell, pharry reid, ad paul ryan in these briefings that there are indications some people in the trump universe might have been involved. and that's the question today. >> this steps behind your reporting, but wouldn't that say to the trump people, get off this thing? if harry -- he's not going to tell the trump people, but if mitch mcconnell told his fellow republican party and said

mr. trump and your people, be careful. you're being watched. you take any more action than necessary -- in fact you do anything in helping the russians, you could be involved with a logan act violation or worse. >> you would think. my understanding is mitch mcconnell was pretty skeptical of this intelligence and also dismissive of it. the other problem for the cia was that they don't want to get involved in domestic intelligence. that what's the fbi's bailiwick. >> malcolm, put this together with your other analysis. >> what i make of it is that john brennan by august 25th had developed a lot of tension thin that we still don't know about. by the time he took this information to the gang of eight, that means he had personally high confidence in the collection he had seen, which means it had been analyzed. he had seen raw traffic. if he used the phrase that trump associated might have been involved, then that means that he has a probability of somewhere about 75%. but he took that to the gang of

eight and tried to convince people with technically hair on fire that the united states was under attack. and we were saying that on this channel, you know, between july 25th and august 25th almost every day. but for the director of the central intelligence to finally say that and bring it to the top decision makers in congress tells you that this was very, very serious. >> it sure is. we're going to learn more about this as it gets to the heart of the investigation under way right now by the fbi with that special unit looking at it. eric, great reporting. print is god right now. "new york times," washington post. malcolm nance, thank you, sir, as always for your expertise. when we return the political reaction to president trump's strike last night in syria and more on the looming shake-up at the trump white house. you're watching "hardball," where the action is.

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welcome back to "hardball." president trump's retaliation

against syria drew bipartisan praise overnight even from those who have criticized his temperament as commander in chief. let's watch. >> all i can say about this president, he has the instincts of ronald reagan in many ways. he's an emotional man, but he's also a very smart man. i think he feels that he did the right thing by those children. >> i think it's important that assad get the message and frankly that others get the message around the world that when they step over a line into the use of unconventional weapons, that they are taking a very significant risk. >> i'm glad that the president has shown trust in his national security team, which is outstanding. >> well, that's interesting. joining me right now white house reporter annie carney, clarence page, and francesca chambers. i want to hear from all of you the politics. we've talked about the substance. how is this selling among trump people, middle of the roaders, and trump haters?

annie? >> i think that there's some concern among his base that this is a contradiction of his america first policy but i think overall this is good for him politically. it makes him look decisive and strong. it distracts from the infighting inside the white house and the dysfunction on other levels. it puts in front, mattis and mcmaster and tillerson and people who are taken seriously as foreign policy experts by democrats and republicans alike. it makes him more -- it was a conventional move that even hillary clinton earlier in the day had said she would do the same thing. >> she said it before he did. >> she did. i think that overall it's a political win for him and it makes him look more independent from russia. >> it may cover his tracks from a year of kissing the guy. clarence? >> war has a short-term effect of boosting a president's st sture and popularity. trumpust lost ann coulter. >> laura ingraham, too. >> people who believe in his america first approach, this is

not america first. this is a reversal of that. the question is how long is he going -- how is he going to handle syria now? but i think on the whole, yeah, it's a plus in the short term. >> jessica? >> at the same time, he also got john mccain, who i think that may be the first time that we've ever heard john mccain say something nice. >> lindsey too. >> i love lindsey graham. now he's comparing him to ronald reagan all of a sudden? so he's gained a lot of people on his side. but there's also strange bedfellows being made about the people who were against this. you've got rand paul on one hand and justin amauj. you've also got elizabeth warren very against this, doesn't like this. >> what's senator warren saying? >> as many democrats are saying, that he should have come to congress. you have to have constitutional authority for this. but also what's his plan? what's the next move? and there's many republicans and democrats asking that same question. >> don't you like these guys like chris murphy? i like the guy but he comes on and says he should have asked us. of course we would have said no because they always say no.

let me ask you about the battle within. okay. you're an america firster. washington warned us don't get involved when foreign entanglements. everybody has a breaking point when they say, yeah, i'm generally against getting involved in other people's struggles but i'm not going to stand by when we can do something about it. >> i think we have to talk about policy, which trump does not have. he doesn't have a syria policy. he's not been a policy man in general. we knew that. now we're seeing the consequences of it. in a case where he is driven by tv images, which is very much like how the elder george bush got us into somalia. >> as are most people. >> that happens buthe question is what are the consequences of it. you know, i enjoy seeing that donald trump has a heart because how can you not be moved by -- >> just remember, we all -- not everybody. i think i speak for most humanity. nobody liked w. ignoring what happened in katrina when he flew

by in the airplane. if he had showed up with a bunch of water bottles for people at the building down there -- >> but barack obama even said that one of the things that haunted him most from his own presidency was that he didn't get involved in syria, that he let that red line cross. but to your point about going to congress about this, it would have taken weeks. it may not have happened at all. and that essentially is what happened in 2013. he was going to ask for permission, found that it wasn't going to happen and that is why -- >> it reminds me of abortion rights which is a morally tricky issue. it's just another dodge. i'm sorry. bring it to congress so we can -- you've stirl got to make decisions. the round table is sticking with us. up next, these three will tell me something i don't know. this is "hardball," where the action is.

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lost amid the news of the strike on syria was today's jobs report from march, and it was worse than analysts expected. the economy only created 96,000 jobs, half of what economists were anticipating. the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.5%. that often happens because less people are looking for jobs. we'll be right back. i let go of all those feelings. because i am cured with harvoni. harvoni is a revolutionary treatment for the most common type of chronic hepatitis c. it's been prescribed to more than a quarter million people.

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we're back with the "hardball" roundtable. tell me something i don't know. >> the mitt romney for senate rumors. >> in utah? >> are realer than you might think. mitch mcconnell said today he

spoken to romney running. >> i think romney runs and wins with 80%. >> stop making fun of jared kitchener, donald trump's son-in-law, because a number of foreign policy experts say the fact that he's got president trump's ear is enough to give him stature with over seas government. >> right here, the chinese, too. >> yeah. >> looking forward to next week in donald trump news. the u.n. secretary -- sorry, nato secretary general is coming to the white house. to your point, chris, it will be interesting to see if trump's america first foreign policy survives after this and whether or not he's more interested in defending nato countries. >> nato is one of the best things we've ever done and playing with it is crazy. thank you. up next, we compare jared, ivanka and the rest of the trump family with real royals. a real royal family. we'll be back after this.

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welcome back to "hardball." i've said president trump acts like he has a royal family running the country. the real royal family is in brittain. here's a clip from the net flick "the crown." >> come on. you'll never catch a fish. >> that poor boy. >> cast it. >> watch what i do. >> he's wonderful with ben. >> i still think he's too hard

on him. taking o his own frustrations on an innocent ild. >> well, the new book "prince charles the passions and paradoxes of an improbable life" sheds light on his world. i'm with the author. she writes about the clintons, kendis and the royal next king. >> why is it i go to safeway, there's hardly anybody there and i have time to read and everything is about kate middleton, the royal family. why are we americans royally crazy? >> i think we've always been fascinated. actually, we used to be ruled by them but i think the fascination, the obsession really began with the marriage of prince charles to lady diana sense ser atencestencese -- spe. and then kate came along and married william. >> i'm as superficial as a lot of people. i shouldn't be, but i am.

most people would look at princess diana one of the most beautiful women ever in the world like jackie kennedy. he doesn't seem to appreciate her much. he goes and maris an older woman he's buddy with. doesn't seem that romantic. what went wrong with that wetting? th -- wedding. >> princess diana was lady di. >> camila he fell in love with in 1972. >> even though she was married. >> she wasn't married. >> she was the girl for him. >> then she got married. >> she got married. her father and the father of the man she loved at the time andrew parker bowles actually publish the an engagement announcement in the times and forced the proposal. he was a philanderer and he broke her heart. she went back to prince charles. prince charles was under terrible pressure to get married. he had to get marri by 30. his duty was to marry.

diana looked on paper as if she was the one. they were 12 years apart. they had no interests in common. they had only been together 12 times when he proposed to her. >> wow. >> he didn't know her. she didn't know him. and the marriage was doomed. >> tell me about charles. he seems like a stiff to me. what's charles about? he's going to be king of england. >> he is. i met him in 1991 by complete happenstance. i was shocked how different he was from the old foggie. >> did you like him? >> he was charming. one of his grandmother's beloved best friends. he kissed her on the cheek, asked her about her health. i was -- >> queen mum. >> queen mum. >> what about elizabeth, is she cold? >> who? >> his mother. >> his mother. no, she's a very warm person. when i wrote about her, i had to sort of part the curtain and show the warmth and humor and everything behind her. >> sally bedell smith, i've known her forever. this is a beautifully written book. it reads like an angel wrote it.

if you want to read an amazing book, i'm not saying it's beach reading but it's definitely easter reading. it's beautiful. it's beautiful. the book's called "prince charles the passions and paradoxes of an improbable life." that's "hardball" for tonight. "all in" with chris hayes starts right now. >> tonight on "all in". >> as you know, i would never have loved to have been in the middle east. >> the trump transformation. >> tonight i ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in syria. >> the fallout from last night's middle east military intervention and what the president's sudden change means going forward. >> all i can say about this president, he has the instinct of ronald regan in many ways. >> plus, new questions about the long-term effects of last night's strike as the humanitarian crisis continues. >> we cannot in one breath