page. and you also should go to twitter, follow me @greta. it's a great place to write nasty things anonymously to me. just teasing. "hardball" with chris matthews starts right now. georgia on his mind. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. the polls have just closed in that special election in georgia's sixth congressional district. jon ossoff, the leading democrat in the race, has a chance to wrap it all up and win the seat if he reaches the 50% mark tonight. if he does, it will be a huge whack at donald trump, and this explains the relentless tweets coming out of the white house. donald trump is taking this one personally, tweeting about the race five times in the last two days. clearly the guy's got georgia, as i said, on his mind. late today, before the polls

closed, president trump took one final swipe at ossoff, tweeting, just learned that jon ossoff, who is running for congress in georgia, doesn't even live in the district. republicans, get out and vote. well, this morning president trump fired up two other tweetss about jon ossoff tweeting, democrat jon ossoff would be a disaster in congress. very weak on crime and illal immigration. bad for jobs and wants higher taxes. say no. republicans must get out today and vote in georgia's sixth. forced runoff. an easy way. dem ossoff will raise your taxes very bad on crime and second amendment. oh, last night the president also recorded a robocall to be played on people's phones. here it goes. it's for republicans. >> i need you to get out to the polls tomorrow, april 18th, and vote republican. that way we can cut spending and get our economy back on track and keep america safe. it's already happening. there's only one way to stop the washington liberals from taking your congressional seat and your money and your safety, and

that's by voting republican for congress tomorrow. >> well, the affluent suburb outside atlanta, north of atlanta, is in exactly the kind of district the democrats are eyeing if they did hope to ever take back the house in 2018, which is why president trump wants to fight off any loss. voters had 18 candidates to pick from today, 11 republicans, five democrats. it's an all-candidate primary, and two independents. but donald trump, who hasn't endorsed a candidate -- no personal person, just against this democrat, is focused on that democratic front-runner, jon ossoff. democratic front-runner jon ossoff is feeling confident with his chances. let's watch him. >> the atmosphere, the energy is electric in georgia right now. the early reports are that turnout is high. we're doing everything we can to encourage folks to make their voices heard and to make history here in georgia by flipping the sixth district. >> flipping the sixth district from r to d. anyway, he needs to get 50-plus percent tonight in order to

avoid a runoff. the top republican contender, karen hendel, says not so fast. >> this is a republican district. it's a conservative district, and once we get through this, i think you'll see whether it's me in the runoff or someone else that this district will stay in the hands o a republican. >> well, millions of dollars havelooded into that race, which has turned it into a proxy referendum on president trump's first 100 days. for the latest, i'm joined by susan page, washington bureau chief for usa today, robert costa, and msnbc contributor, and greg bluestein. i guess i should start just to be fair with the local guy, greg. this race has gotten a lot of national attention. explain to me these candidates. how does ossoff run without living in the district. i know it's legal, but it doesn't seem to be politically start. he's living with his girlfriend nearby the district, and he's

bringing 95% of the money from outside the district. i would think any republican could use that easy against him, all three of those points, and they don't seem to be doing it. >> yeah. well, they are in a way, but it is his biggest liability. he lives just off of the district. he lives near emory university where his girlfriend is a medical student. from day one, republicans have been attacking him as an outside of the district sort of creation of liberal democrats like nancy pelosi and outside washington groups. so this is only going to heighten if there is a june 20th runoff between him and a republican contender. >> can he move into the district or get an apartment somewhere? i mean how hard is it to move ten minutes if you're going to run for -- just move. i don't get it. does he ever explain why he doesn't do that? i mean he's spending, what, a huge amount of money in this race. can't he get car fare to get into the district? i'm being sarcastic because i don't quite get it. >> he has raised more than $8 million and already spent pretty much most of that sum.

he says he's doing sort of -- he's supporting his girlfriend, who is a medical student who is about to finish at emory university and will move to the district once she does. but, again, this has exposed a giant liability for his campaign that we have not heard the last of. >> robert costa, what do you make of it as a guy who's just arrived down there doing date line report something. >> i think ossoff has a lot of electricity on the ground. democrats are enthused. but, remember, this is a republican district. this was newt gingrich winning in '78. it was johnny isakson, then tom price. now the president's health and human services secretary. a lot of traditional republicans think this is going to go to a runoff in june. once they can get behind one candidate, they'll have a pretty good shot. democrats have got this narrow window right here in this non-partisan primary to slip in, get the 50%. it's a tough call for a first-time candidate like ossoff. >> what good does it do to win a race in a special if you're going to lose it the next general? if you're going to lose it the

next general election because once regular voting patterns set in, he'll be blown away. i've seen these people get elected to these seats as a fluke, usually after a scandal. i don't get tt long-term plan for that seat for the dems. >> i was in boston a few years ago, chris. you remember that. we were talking then about scott brown. it's all about for the democrats getting away from being a beleaguered party that lost big in 2016, getting their mojo back, starting to think about a wave perhaps. they've got to win 24 seats in 2018 to take back the house. if they've got any hope of doing that, they've got to win in places like georgia's sixth district. >> susan, let's talk about that because i'd love to be devil's advocate which i'm pretty good at. it does seem like they need to get some wins and it seems to be bothering trump a lot, the fact that he could lose this outpost down there. >> if this wasn't going to be a referendum on trump, he made sure it would be by tweeting about it, by doing the robocall. maybe it's going to be a

referendum on him and his presidency in any case. that's why ossoff's residency matters less. democrats are enthused about the -- >> all these people are putting money in there, people on the center left even. >> there are republican voters in this district who are not so enthusiastic by donald trump. he just one it by a point and a half over hillary clinton, so that opens the possibility. this say trump versus anti-trump kind of election, it seems to me. nobody is looking down the road to 2018. everybody is looking at what happens tonight and what signal that sends. >> nationally, jon ossoff has become a vessel as we said for discontent from president trump. i asked him last night about what he thought about the president. let's hear what he says. this is interesting. >> what do you make of him personally? is he a mixed bag, or do you think he's bad? give me a word for him. >> well, i have great respect for the office. i don't have great personal admiration for the man himself. >> robert costa, this guy is

pretty foesprofessional for a y newcomer. i thought i was pretty tough on him last night. he didn't g hurt at all. i asked the questions. he came with a comprehensive immigration program including enforcement, stopping illegal hiring. he seemed to hit everything i could throw at him. >> it was classic matthews. i was watching that interview, and he was staying on his talking points, chris. this is what democrats have to watch out for. it's helpful for them in these fragile, narrow districts to have a candidate that is pretty disciplined. he keeps saying the same thing over and over trying to appeal to moderate republicans, knowing it's going to be tough ahead. he hasn't become this huge character yet in the district. he's someone who lives outside the district. he's 30 years old. he used to intern for john lewis. so he doesn't have a high profile even though he's got high recognition. >> what do you make of him, greg? is he is a plan of the left, a man of the center, the hillary category, the bernie category? if you were a moderate centrist,

say there is such a thing left anymore, how would that person view this democratic front-runner? >> i'd put him just left of center. he voted for hillary clinton. he was a clinton supporter in the primary here last year. his ads and his rhetoric are a lot about make trump furious, stand up against donald trump. but at campaign events, he rarely uses the word trump. he rarely talks about donald trump. instead he talks about more moderate leaning ideas like cutting spending and fixing but not repealing obamacare. >> has he been open about his resume? has he explained who he votes -- i don't know. has he put out the word that he voted for hank johnson, a liberal democrat? is that in his literature? >> oh, yeah. i mean he worked for representative johnson for about five years. >> does he put that out in -- >> yeah. i mean it's sort of the backbone of his campaign is that he worked for johnson for five years. that's where he says he has his political experience in

washington as what he calls a national security adviser for hank johnson. republicans say he's overinflated that, that working for a back bench democrat is no resume to run for congress on. but he says that it gave him his grounding in washington. >> harry reid got elected attorney general of nevada because he was a capitol cop like i was, and i tell you, it made him look like one tough customer. so sometimes resumes get inflated coming out of washington. robert, you had something there. >> greg is spot on. this is a careful candidate. you think about who democrats are going to run in the next couple years. is it going to be bernie democrats? is it going to be more progressives to try to get that base of the party or is it going to be this polished former staffer types like we're seeing with jon ossoff. he's being pretty careful in his interview with you and when he's on the campaign trail. >> susan, how big he is going to be? you write for the people that sort of tells us what to do on television sometimes. front page, top of the fold. here's my suggestion.

if ossoff gets 50% tonight, he'll be top of the fold tomorrow. if he comes in in the mid-40s, somewhere below the fold. it's a bigger story if it's anti-trump. >> no. it's a surprise if he gets 50%. that would be a political -- if not an earthquake, definitely a tremor in a district that ought to be going republican. if he gets 40%, that's a pretty respectable showing. it gets him into the runoff, but it will be harder for him in the runoff against a -- >> what do you think of hendel? >> she's a former secretary of state, but she's lost some elections before. she's tried to walk this middle line. >> she didn't seem like a fireball to me. by the way, she kept saying republican, republican, republican, like it's all she's got going for her. >> let's look which republican comes in second. bob gray, who is backing trump, if he came in second, that would send a different kind of message if it's in a runoff with a trump guy and a democrat. so the results tonight will tell us something about how people at least in this district are

feeling about the president at the 90-day mark. >> reminds me something from churchill that i have to say. so many people spend so much time talking about one congressional race in georgia. but thank you down there, robert. always on the spate. robert date line. there you are. thank you. susan page, robert costa, and greg bluestein. greg, welcome to the show. coming up, the anger against trump isn't about the stop with town halls and protests. the president is under fire right "for the record" his refusal to release his tax returns. and democrats say they're not going to let him off the hook. can trump get anything done with congress comes back from easter recess? how can they do tax reform when he won't even admit he pays taxes -- if he does? later, why is president trump obsess wtd his predecessor barack obama? it seems the only thing trump has been focused on is dissing obama in his rearview mirror. the "hardball" round table is going to talk about that.

all he wants to do is destroy president obama. anyway, he worries more about that than building his own legacy. plus we're going to continue watching that hot special election. we should have results through this show, through "hardball" tonight. nbc's kasie hunt ready to joan us as soon as we get those results. finally, let me finish tonight with trump watch. interesting tonight. this is "hardball," where the action is. (microphone feedback) listen up, heart disease. you too, unnecessary er visits. and hey, unmanaged depression, don't get too comfortable. we're talking to you, cost inefficiencies and data without insights. and fragmented care- stop getting in the way of patient recovery and pay attention. every single one of you is on our list. for those who won'rest until the world is healthier, neither will we. optum. how well ts done. why pause a spontaneous moment? cialis for daily use treats ed and the urinary symptoms of bph. tell your doctor about your medicines,

and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have a sudden decrease or loss of hearing or vision, or an allergic reaction, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis. former president herbert walker bush has been hospitalized but his spokesman said bush was admitted to the houston methodist hospital on friday due to a persistent cough. the 92-year-old has been treated with a mild case of pneumonia and is said to be in good spirits while he recovers. great man. we'll be right back.

bp developed new, industry-leading software to monitor drilling operations in real-time, so our engineers can solve problems with the most precise data at their fingertips. because safety is never being satisfied. and always working to be better.

the issue is not over. he promised during the campaign that he would reveal his taxes. in fact, how many clips have you got here?

he would reveal them after this. he would reveal them after that. i think that people are going to keep demanding it, and they're going to keep demanding it and making their voices heard on this. look, why is it the case that people at the very top should get a bunch of tax breaks, should be able to hide their business dealings when everybody else pays, everybody else gets out there and makes our roads and bridges work, makes our schools work? let's see what donald trump is up to. >> welcome back to "hardball." of course that's elizabeth warren of massachusetts pushing president trump to release his tax returns. so did former congressman joe walsh on msn yesterday, of all people. >> i'm a trump supporter. he should release his taxes, absolutely, katie. and i do think this issue will come back and bite him in the butt. >> well, today in kenosha, wisconsin, president trump said his administration is working on a plan to overhaul the tax code. however, "the new york times" reports donald trump's refusal to release his own tax returns is emerging as a central hurdle

to that campaign promise. democrats have seized on that decision, uniting around a pledge not to cooperate on any rewriting of the tax code unless they know specifically how that revision would benefit the billionaire president and his family themselves. in other words, democrats are saying no taxes, no tax reform. join me right now are two white house reporters, eli stokols and aisha or orozco. now, nothing on tax reform unless we see your taxes to see how it affects you. >> the republicans have struggled to move the ball on any legislative priority even with control of both the senate and the house. we've seen that on health care, and i think on tax reform and you see the president vacillating, going back and forth saying we're done with health care. now we're going back to tax reform or health care, that

quagmire. democrats realize they can weaponize this because it looks pretty obvious that for some reason the president is hiding something related to his tax returns. you know, if they are going to rewrite the tax code for the first time in 30 years, the public should have a right to know -- >> aisha, i think there's always anger from the public. if you voted for trump, it's anger at what i might call the cultural liberals that run the country or run some of the newspapers they think. but if you're a populist of the center left or the left, you don't like big money kicking butt around this country, and trump represents that to you. here's a guy that makes all this money, lives lavishly, spending all the money on his airplane back and forth to mar-a-lago, and won't tell us he pays taxes, if he pays any. i think that sparks a lot of resentment out there. >> yeah, i think that's what the democrats are going to try to tap into, this idea of what is he hiding? he wants to reform taxes. maybe he's just trying to help himself, you know, and he's going to stick it to the little

guiles. they can use this as kind of a boogeyman as you said. tax reform is going to be difficult anyway. this is just something else they can use to poke at donald trump. >> let's watch the people poking. at town halls around the country, republicans are facing crowds demanding that the congress people push the president to release his taxes. let's watch some of the anger. >> i'm wondering if you'll take the initiative to have him release those returns so that we can see what kinds of connections he has with different countries around the world. >> as far as i'm aware, the president said he's still under audit. [ audience booing ] >> my record is clear. i voted against the action in the committee that would have forced the irs to -- [ audience booing ] >> will you ask donald trump to release his taxes? [ cheers and applause ] >> i'm not going to ask the previous president that i served

under to show his birth certificate any more than i would ask this president to show his taxes. >> those are weak defenses because voters have to pay taxes. voters have to vote -- they expect you to vote on tax law. they expect it to be progressive, at least focused on the average person, and they won't push this guy to do what they think everybody ought to do, is to say show your pockets. what have you got in your pocket? >> donald trump has republicans in coness in a really tough spot as they go home t tow halls. they're just being attacked. what you're seeing is it's the same thing that's manifesting itself in georgia's sixth congressional district, this uprising. it's all about a backlash to donald trump, and it doesn't really matter what the issue is, whether they're protesting that he's not releasing his tax returns, whether they're throwing money at a 30-year-old they've never heard of to win a congressional seat in georgia. it doesn't matter what the issue is. this is all driven by frustration, and i think in some ways by regret from voters. you hear first time canvassers,

there was a report in politico that a first time canvasser said why are you doing this in georgia? and she said i have all this regret for not doing more last year. >> i think it's really a gut anger at trump and who he is, who he is, not even particularly what he does. who he is. this guy has all this money, all this glamour around himself, seems to be living like a regal person, a royal person. but the protesters, is it about the fact they think he doesn't pay taxes? is it about his arrogance in not showing his tax returns? or is it this thing about entanglements we're hear something is that just the latest reading on it? people say i don't like him. >> i think it's all of the above. it could be the entanglements. he's very rich. is he paying taxes? but i think also is that even for people that -- some people who may be more sympathetic to him, because he hasn't had a loth of legislative achievements and a lot of things that he's

promised aren't necessarily coming through as fast as he said, i think as that happened, then these issues of the taxes, these issues of transparency become more salient to people. people start really caring, well, what is going on with these taxes? >> he doesn't know a lot of history. can we stipulate? he doesn't know like you can't talk in the civil rhts movement, you can't talk about outside agitators. the southern guys would always say there's outsiders. he's saying people are all being paid now, all the demonstrators out in the street are getting paid. trump was in kenosha today where he signed an executive order aimed at tightening rules for companies hiring skilled foreign workers. here is the president earlier today. >> the buy and hire american order i'm about to sign will help protect workers and students like those of you in the audience today. this historic action declares that the policy of our government is to aggressively

promote and use american-made goods and to ensure that american labor is hired to do the job. >> well, "the washington post" phillip bump today wrote that his position is hypocritical. he said he sold foreign-made products under his name for years. his daughter now is an unpaid white house staffer. of course she continues to do the same. president trump buys foreign products for his hotels and his properties, and the trump family has consistently sought to hire foreign workers for their properties. you know, i think he's like everybody else. you buy what's inexpensive, and you look for the best product, and you don't always know it's american or not. that's a fact. >>le with, the white house's argument on that is that, you know, president trump, he used the system for years. so now he knows how to fix it. so that's their argument that they're selling. whether people will buy it,

that's the question. >> he's really beyond shame, but this did hit a nerve. we were in a briefing yesterday, and when this question came up, you could tell they were not happy about it. the official sort of snapped back at the reporter who asked that question, and it was obvious they don't have a good answer on the hypocrisy of hiring, using these visas at mar-a-lago and then saying these are undercutting american workers. >> one of the greatironies, he talks about infrastructure. guess who are going to be most of the workers on the roads when we build the roads again? hispanic workers. it's going to be a tremendous draw for people. a lot of people have come in, some legally, some not. it's going to be one hell of an operation. >> they're talking about buy american on all these infrastructure projects but those rules only apply if these are publicly funds. i don't know that a lot of these projects will be publicly funded. but, you know, this sounds good. this is the note he hit during the campaign, but whether it makes a material difference in the eyes of the blue collar workers who supported him -- >> i agree.

there's so much emotion in this campaign that the detalgs don't really grab anybody. thank you for joining us. up next, donald trump did his best to do away with former president obama's policies to combat global warming. he still has his sights set now on repealing and replacing obamacare although you can't do both, mr. president. so why is president trump obsessed with this dismantling all the work of his predecessor? that's coming up next. this is "hardball," where the action is. hey. hi. hi. you guys going to the company picnic this weekend? picnics are delightful. oh, wish we could. but we're stuck here catching up on claims. but we just compared historical claims to coverages. but we have those new audits. my natural language api can help us score those by noon. great. see you guys there. we would not miss it. watson, you gotta learn how to take a hint. i love to learn.

thithis is the new new york.e? think again. we are building new airports all across the state. new roads and bridges. new mass transit. new business friendly environment. new lower taxes. and new university partnerships to grow the businesses of tomorrow today. learn more at esd.ny.gov even if you're trying your best.be a daily struggle, along with diet and exercise, once-daily toujeo® may help you control your blood sugar. get into a daily groove. ♪ let's groove tonight. ♪ share the spice of life. ♪ baby, slice it right. from the makers of lantus®, ♪ we're gonna groove tonight. toujeo® provides blood sugar-lowering activity for 24 hours and beyond, proven blood sugar control all day and all night, and significant a1c reduction.

toujeo® is used to control high blood sugar in adults with diabetes. it contains 3 times as much insulin in 1 milliliter as standard insulin. don't use toujeo® to treat diabetic ketoacidosis, during episodes of low blood sugar or if you're allergic to insulin. get medical help right away if you have a serious allergic reaction such as body rash or trouble breathing. don't reuse needles or share insulin pens. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which can be life threatening. it may cause shaking, sweating, fast heartbeat, and blurred vision. check your blood sugar levels daily. injection site reactions may occur. don't change your dose of insulin without talking to your doctor. tell your doctor about all your medicines and medical conditions. check insulin label each time you inject. taking tzds with insulins, like toujeo®, may cause heart failure that can lead to death. find your rhythm and keep on grooving. ♪ let's groove tonight. ask your doctor about toujeo®. ♪ share the spice of life.

let's[ whimpers ] dog. find ping-pong. okay, let's go. find your awesome with the xfinity x1 voice remote. that's amazing!

i'm milissa rehberger. here's what's happening. police say the man who murdered a 74-year-old man and posted the video to facebook shot and killed himself following a police chase in pennsylvania. three people were killed in a shooting spree in downtown fresno. the suspect wrote about racial conflict on facebook. he is also wanted in connection with a shooting from last week. a tree branch fell and killed a u.s. capitol maintenance worker this morning. the man leaves behind a wife and two children. back to "hardball." welcome back to "hardball." from championing the birther movement to accusing president obama of wiretapping his phones or attempting to dismantle obama's legacy on health care and the environment, president trump can't stop looking into that rearview mirror politically.

he's been fixated on his predecessor ever since he got here, and there isn't much the 45th president hasn't blamed on the 44th. take a look. >> look, obama's gone. smart guy. he put things on. '17 is going to be the worst year because he's gone. he knew that was the year. let him be out before it implodes. remember this. when i came into this job, i inherited a mess. it was a mess in the middle east. whether you like it or not, the economy was very, very weak. >> this was a mission that was started before i got here. this was something that was, you know, just -- they wanted to do. they came to see me. they explained what they wanted to do. it turns out his organization seems to be doing a lot of organizing at some of the protests we're seeing around the country and against you. >> i think president obama is behind it because his people are certainly behind it. and some of the leaks possibly come from that group. >> you look at different things

over the years with president obama, everybody. he's been outplayed. they've all been outplayed by this gentleman. > >> wow, last month this president tweeted, terrible. just found out that obama had my wires tapped in trump tower just before the victory. nothing found. this is mccarthyism. how low has president obama gone to tap my phones during the very sacred election process? this is nixon-watergate bad or sick guy. that's a grown-up talking. today he tweeted the weak immigration policies of the obama administration allowed bad ms-13 gangs to form in cities across the u.s. we are removing them fast. anyway, when will this president stop obsessing over the last president and focus on governing the country himself? let's bring in the "hardball" round table. molly ball, jeremy peters, and sabrina siddiqui, a political reporter for the guardian. let's just start at your end, sabrina and talk among

yourselves because this is the question. it's like he wants to set the bar really low, the mess, everything is terrible. so if he has an even mediocre first couple of years, it's better than it was. that's my theory. >> he wants to set the bar low so that he can sell the narrative that he is improving things, turning around the economy, taking us in a new direction on foreign policy when he doesn't have the substance necessary to back that up. so much of trump's success has been incumbent on delegitimizing the obama presidency, some of which incites a faction of his base that also rejected obama, were not comfortable of course with the first black president. that's where you get the birtherism. >> the ends justified the means for him, not for the country. jeremy, it's almost like a disease. it's a tick. when he's talking about almost nothing else, obama come in his ear and he starts talking about obama being --

>> it's the same thing with hillary too. the grievance list that trump has and the grudges that he holds, i mean he makes the clintons look magnanimous. he holds grudge after grudge. >> it's this bitch, bitch. and it's all this whining about the job he took. he knew obama was the last president. he knew he was coming in after obama, who was actually quite successful. now he blames it all on the conditions of the job. >> it's two things. one, nothing is ever trump's fault, ever. number two, it is hard to overstate his desire for validation and affirmation. so, therefore, if he's criticizing how horrible obama has done, by extension, he's doing a much better job. >> molly. >> trump is someone who needs an enemy. he needs a foil. so during the campaign, it was just as much as a tick for him to talk about crooked hillary, and you didn't hear him talk about obama so much. now that he's beaten hillary, now that the democrats are so powerless as to be almost irrelevant, now that he's not

supposed to pick on paul ryan anymore, who can he possibly have as his foil because he doesn't know what the dimensions of the fight are if he doesn't have someone to square off against. i would say too it's still early days. you know, republicans would always make fun of obama for still blaming the bush administration for iraq and the state of the economy years after he took office. >> he had a right to do that. he inherited, crappola. the greatest recession in history. >> it's also true that an incumbent president is not responsible for the conditions that he faces immediately coming in. >> trump is lucky that the unemployment rate is as -- i think that's what he's definitely afraid of, the numbers won't be better than they were under obama. >> i think molly's point is critical here because trump is not the first president to inherit a mess. but at the same time, now that he is the president, he has no one else that he can shift blame upon. he has no opponent that he's running again, and he has to be

held accountable, but as we have seen throughout the course of the last 18 months, donald trump is accountable to no one, and he does not take responsibility. so if you're pointing to the fact that he's not articulated a particular foreign policy, he's just going to revert back to saying, well, the only reason we're in the situation is because of obama whereas, yes, obama mentioned he inherited a mess but articulated his vision. >> we uses to have grown-up presidentsment i can remember them. i remember they came in and actually served with honor and pride and didn't have to trash their opponents. i doubt in hiezen hour ever mentioned truman's name. they just didn't do that. jimmy carter didn't run around trashing jerry ford all day. it isn't what you did. and bill clinton never trashed george herbert walker bush once he got to be president. they were all positive presidents whatever their limits were. they didn't spend all day trashing their predecessor.

>> we've never had a president with the temperament of donald trump. >> it's not normal. >> obama also has been more critical of donald trump since he took office than george w. bush was of obama. george w. bush famously retreated from the spotlight and never said a word in criticism of obama. >> who threw the first stone, trump or obama? >> obama has come out of the wood work repeatedly or he's been asked, but he has weighed in on things trump has done, so i think trump feels he's justified. >> i don't think so. >> you hit on something with the low unemployment because what happened there is as simplistic as it sounds, he needs to make america great again or he needs to be able to tell people that america is great again. it's all about those numbers. if the unemployment numbers, the economic growth numbers show that america is not great, it's the same question that reagan asked in '84 only the inverse are it. are you better off than you were four years ago? democrats will be asking that. >> we will get a number sometimes at the end of the next three years of manufacturing jobs in the united states. if it goes down --

>> unemployment's still low. everybody said the stock market was goi to crash as soon as he got elected. that didn't happen. >> i'm just saying he will be judged by the numbers. >> well, a lot of trump's success in the campaign had very much to do with the salesmanship. it's about the very simplistic message we're making america great again. he may not actually have the numbers to back that up, but only by setting the bar so low, as you said, can he sell this idea to voters, especially if he's up for re-election, that he has made some kind of positive change. >> let's see if he gets a bill passed. he's not going to do health care. he hasn't done tax reform. up next, these three will tell me something i don't know. i think starting with molly. this is "hardball," where the action is. it's not how fast you mow, it's how well you mow fast. it's not how fast you mow... ...it's how well you mow fast. woooh! it's not how fast you mow... it's how well you mow fast! it's not how fast you mow... it's how well you mow fast. they're not just words to mow by, they're words to live by. the john deere ztrak z345r

with the accel deep deck to mow faster, better. take a test drive and save up to 250 dollars on select john deere residential ztrak mowers.

nitrites or artificial mesquite preservatives.added nitrates, now it's good for us all. like introverts. extroverts. (cheering) and even bert. man you gotta' try this sandwich. who's just overt. oscar mayer deli fresh. so good! don't let dust and allergens and life's beautiful moments. flonase allergy relief delivers more complete relief. flonase helps block 6 key inflammatory substances that cause all your symptoms, including nasal congestion and itchy, watery eyes. flonase is an allergy nasal spray that works even beyond the nose. so you can enjoy every beautiful moment to the fullest. flonase. 6>1 changes everything.

we're back with our rounable. molly, tell me something i don't know. a lot of theories about what happened in the 2016 election, what decided the election. how about the vapor vote?

grover nor quist, remember him? i have a new article about him on the atlantic.com, and his theory is that the 10 million vapors in this country rose up and voted republican. >> who are vapors? >> people who smoke electronic cigarettes instead of regular cigarettes. >> they voted which way? >> they voted republican because they want to get the government off their backs because the obama administration was going to regulate e-cigarettes. senator ron johnson of wisconsin, where trump was today, he campaigned actually pretty hard on being in favor of keeping vaping legal, and he barely won the state. >> it's called vaping? it's so ahead of me. jeremy. >> tonight the special election in the suburbs of atlanta. already -- >> we're waiting for results. they haven't come in yet. >> they have not come in. it looks like the democrat is not going to cross the 50% threshold though you never know. already, though, republican outside groups backed by some of the biggest donors on the right are moving their reinforcements in. >> i predict a very negative

special election. >> well, yeah, absolutely because all of these outside groups are coming in and they're going to attack the democrat. they already are. >> so federal agents we're just learning have deported the first dreamer who was protected under obama's daca program. he's a 23-year-old who came to the u.s. when he was just 9 years old. he's now back in his native mexico. he had left his wallet in the car. the agents wouldn't even let him get the wallet, retrieve it so he could show his paperwork, that he was allowed to stay. >> so he was legal? >> he was granted protection under daca. >> i got you. >> it had not expired and he had the paperwork. they wouldn't even let him go to the car -- >> can he get back to the country? >> immigration advocates are trying to get involved, but obviously this would be a question for -- >> why wouldn't they let him get his wallet if he said, at this point i've got protected status? >> they didn't provide a response, and this isotle because trump said he was leaving da in place and he would not interfere. >> i hope an immigration lawyer is watching because it seems

like a good case. anyway, thank you, molly, jeremy, and sabrina. coming up, we're going to head back to atlanta to check on that congressional special election, see if we've got the results in there now. it's 15 to 8:00. we might have it. this is "hardball." we're going to have the reaction in a minute. stay with me, mr. parker. when a critical patient is far from the hospital, the hospital must come to the patient. stay with me, mr. parker. the at&t network is helping first responders connect with medical teams in near real time... stay with me, mr. parker. ...saving time when it matters most. stay with me, mrs. parker. that's the power of and.

bp engineered a fleet of 32 brand new ships with advanced technology, so we can make sure oil and gas get where they need to go safely. because safety is never being satisfied. and always working to be better. went to ancestry, i put in the names of my grandparents first. i got a leaf right away. a leaf is a hint that is connected to each person in your family tree. i learned that my ten times great grandmother is george washington's aunt. within a few days i went from knowing almost nothing to holy crow, i'm related to george washington. this is my cousin george. discover your story. start searching for free now at ancestry.com vice president mike pence reassured japan of the united states's commitment to resolve issues with north korea.

>> in the face of provocations across the sea of japan, the people of this country should know that we stand with you in the defense of your security and prosperity now and always. now, the united states will continue to work with japan, our allies across the region, and in china to bring economic and diplomatic pressure to bear until north korea abandons its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. but all options are on the table. >> we'll be right back. flo: [ amplified ] i got this. guys, i know being a first-time homeowner is scary, but you don't have to do this. man #2: what if a tree falls on our garage? woman: what if a tornado rips off our roof? flo: you're covered. and you've bundled your home and auto insurance, so you're saving a ton. come on. you don't want to start your new life in a dirty old truck. man #3: hey. man #1: whoa, whoa. flo: sorry. woman: oh. flo: you're safe. you're safe now. woman: i think i'm gonna pass out. can you stop using the bullhorn? flo: i don't make the rules.

can iit's where we end up.t,orn? expedia. everything in one place, so you can travel the world better. when you're close to the people you love, does psoriasis ever get in the way of a touching moment? if you have moderate to severe psoriasis, you can embrace the chance of completely clear skin with taltz. taltz is proven to give you a chance at completelylear skin. with taltz, up to 90% of patients had a significant improvement of their psoriasis plaques. in fact, 4 out of 10 even achieved completely clear skin.

do not use if you are allergic to taltz. before starting you should be checked for tuberculosis. taltz may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you are being treated for an infection or have symptoms. or if you have received a vaccine or plan to. inflammatory bowel disease can happen with taltz. including worsening of symptoms. serious allergic reactions can occur. now's your chance at completely clear skin. just ask your doctor about taltz. welcome back to "hardball." let's go right now to nbc news kasie hunt and robert costa. both are with the ossoff campaign headquarters down in atlanta. robert, you first. what do you know about why we're not getting results now? we're supposed to get them by now. >> reporter: polls closed at 7:00, but some of these polling

locations, we're told -- i'm sure nbc is hearing the same thing -- had to be left hope to let more people come in. they were not working properly at some times during the day. so we're probably going to get results at first around 8:00. >> kasie, what do you know down there? do you have any word from the turnout? is it high? >> reporter: isn't that always the question, chris? look, i think that there were -- there was some thinking that if we saw more voters than expected at the polls today, that might actually bode well for republicans only because there was a lot of concern about the early vote and the democratic advantage. but republicans did catch u to democrats in thelate-breaking early vote. the question, of course, those independents. 18% or so of the early ballots were from independents. when we first do start to get results, those could be some of the earliest results we see here. but i think another question and one that's been put to me by the sources i talked to today is how many low propensity voters are

there? are those polls that are showing jon ossoff -- and obviously it's a special election in one congressional district, so we have to be skeptical about all of the polls. if they're using traditional models, they may not be picking up the voters that we think are driving jon ossoff's enthusiasm, which are people who were taken by surprise by president trump and suddenly feel energized to get out and vote now. and that could potentially get him closer to the 50% mark. i will say there are some republicans who are spinning me that they think ossoff will get to 50%. i think democrats are trying to do the other thing. >> reporter: one of the things i'm hearing right here in this ballroom, ossoff's headquarters, from the democratic insiders is they've got to do well in the southern part of this sixth congressional district. that's that lip right around atlanta, before you start stretching up to roswell and the more republican strong holds in the district. the college educated, 25, 35, 45-year-old voters who live in shamably, in brook haven, they need to come out in droves for

ossoff if he wants to run up the numbers. remember, clinton came close here in 2016, didn't win the district. they've got to do pretty well in those tight suburban areas. >> reporter: one thing i've think they've been trying to do is run jon ossoff, someone with a millennial pedigree to reach those very voters, to say, look, this is the new face of the democratic party but who also doesn't put a foot wrong on the issues that older democrats care about. i challenge you to get jon ossoff to say something very interesting or personal. i asked h in an interview what do you like to do for fun, and he couldn't -- he had trouble answering the queson. he said, i haven't had time for very much fun. eventually said i like to walk in the woods. that's my favorite thing. you probably noticed having interviewed him yesterday, it's very hard to push him off message right now. >> yeah. i got a feeling that he has a very narrow focused appeal. it's very regimental. i always like to look at the

back page of a pamphlet somebody hands out, a brochure. i want to know where they went to school, where ther came from, where they grew up. i like to know the high school. i'd like to know all that stuff. i'm not sure he wants to sell that. robert? >> reporter: it's true. i mean he went to a private high school here in the area. his parents still live here, and he's someone who is really -- when i was sitting in a doughnut shop called dandy doughnuts today right outside one of his field offices, they had all these ads playing. the whole local tv is all ossoff ads and he keeps emphasizing in these ads that you can't stop seeing that he worked as a kwoert national security aide for hank johnson, the local congressman democrat, and this has become kind of a campaign issue because republicans say he's overstating the kind of policy work he did for congressman johnson. but that's the kind of voter he wants to reach, the national security moderate who may be uneasy about trump. >> isn't that true that he voted

for a guy, look at hank johnson, who was a man of -- i'm there too, political left on foreign policy. i think that's probably to offset, saying oh, you voted for frank johnson. he's a man of the left. we're not going to vote for you. so he comes out and says -- understand the politicis. it's an image thing, but i think they must have worked it up in their council fires. they figured it out, kasie. make him look like a soldier, a tough guy. >> well, i think it's a classic pitch from a democrat in a conservative state, right? and this of course is a conservative district. i remember when michelle lund was running for the senate, she did kind of similar messaging around national security, and she very rarely said out loud, hey, i'm a democrat. and jon ossoff doesn't say that either. he says, you know, you ask him what's at stake here? he says, well, this is a chance for our community to stand up, and he won't even say donald trump's name often enough. he'll talk about kindness and

decen decency, but he's very, very careful in his language. >> real quick, let's talk about the republicans. remember, there's not a big foot republican running in this race. this was the district of gingrich, of johnny isakson, of tom price. he got 11 republicans, no big name, karen handle has been around for about a decade. this should be an easy win for the gop. they have no big name to make sure it's safe. >> have you guys taken any heat? trumpians taking shots at the media? have you felt there anywhere? >> reporter: i've had democrats taking shots at me. >> you're laughing, robert. any attacks? >> i am, chris, because -- >> any attacks? >> reporte >> i'm not getting attacked, chris, but i've heard the phrase fake news uttered by a few

republicans, but it's something i'm used to. >> reporter: i've had democrats come up and criticize us for saying what they think are false narratives about ossoff. in my view, it's been flipped down here. >> i love it. you're in the action. thank you. thank you, kasie and thank you, robert. when we return, let me finish tonight with trump watch. you're watching "hardball." liberty mutual stood with me

when this guy got a flat tire in the middle of the night, so he got home safe. yeah, my dad says our insurance doesn't have that. what?! you can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance. they open on a game show set in the 70's, in my johnsonville commercial, today we have a new smoked sausage from johnsonville. made with 100% premium pork. some brands mix meats and add fillers, but not johnsonville! contestant #1 bids the closet, so he wins a boat. and he says " i don't want that boat, i want the sausage." what if i told you that boat is filled with johnsonville smoked sausage?

and that's a smoked sausage commercial made the johnsonville way. you had a long, stressful day, and now you need a little help falling asleep. time for unisom sleepminis. the little capsules work fast so you get a good night's sleep and wake recharged. unisom sleepminis. a stressful day deserves a restful night. ♪ unisom sleepminis. ♪ i'm dr. kelsey mcneely and some day you might be calling me an energy farmer. ♪ energy lives here.

trump watch, april 18th,

2017. you'd think this was donald trump's re-election campaign. i'm talking about today's primary down in georgia to replace his hhs secretary tom prize. trump seems obsess with the possibility voters will pick a democrat to replace him, afraid this will send an sos around the country, news that trump's america has fallen. we'll see. i think the obstacle facing this president is not the other parrot. it's not the loss of a seat here or there. it's within the party itself. how is he going to get a majority of thhouse of representatives to raise the federal debt ceiling? how is he going to get that ceiling rais if it's to pay for a wall along the rio grande river, if it's to kill federal funds for planned parenthood? want more? how is he going to get a majority of the house to vote for any tax reform bill when he won't show his tax returns? how is he going to get the house to vote to repeal and replace obamacare? he has obstacles facing him but his biggest worry is his old worry of not looking big enough. that's why he's watching the race in georgia. it's because he's afraid not of

losing real achievements, but afraid of losing the image of achievement. he's afraid it will look like tonight home don't like him. that's "hardball." "all in" with chris hayes starts right now. tonight on "all in." >> i have a little conflict of interest because i have a major, major building in istanbul. >> a presidential conflict of interest in the president's own words. >> i have a major, major building in istanbul. >> tonight, the jaw-dropping story of the president's support for a turkish strongman, and why it's a conflict of interest smoking gun. then as polls close in georgia -- >> hello, this is president donald trump. >> -- could the president's last-minute entry into tonight's big special election backfire? plus tom perez and senator bernie sanders on their tour to turn red