follow me on twitter @greta or check out my facebook page for behind the scenes videos and so much more. "hardball" with chris matthews starts in just a few seconds. don't miss chris. he's got a good show tonight. good night. get your friends to watch. did we elect a hawk? let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. donald trump likes to provoke with his tweets and blunt talk. he shakes things up to keep himself in the news. but when it comes to dealing with the world, that tendency can be dangerous. president trump has issued threats to the leader of north korea. he's bombed a syrian government airstrip, and his secretary of state now suggests the trump administration may break apart the iranian nuclear deal and said that iran is a threat now to the united states. well, late today at a joint

press conference with the prime minister of italy, president trump had this warning for iran. let's watch. >> as far as iran is concerned, i think they are doing a tremendous disservice to an agreement that was signed. it was a terrible agreement. it shouldn't have been signed. it shouldn't have been negotiated the way it was negotiated. i'm all for agreements, but that was a bad one, as bad as i've ever seen negotiated. they are not living up to the spirit of the agreement. i can tell you that. and we're analyzing it very, very carefully, and we'll have something to say about it in the not too distant future. but iran has not lived up to the spirit of the agreement. and they have to do that. they have to do that. >> well, for the record, mr. president, just this week the united states state department certified, quote, that iran is compliant through april 18th with its commitments under the joint comprehensive plan of action.

that is the nuclear deal. i'm joined by washington most column jew gene robinson and kathleen parker. what's up with trump? why is he more catholic than the pope here? the state department says they're complying. >> exactly. well, the position of the u.s. government is that iran is complying. now, it may be all this noise from trump. you know, people have suggested it's kind of the madman theory of foreign policy, you know, and then make them think you're crazier than they are and they'll be scared or they'll do what you want. you know, that's difficult to pull offme. nixon pulled it off. but he was quite brilliant. he was a crook, but he was brilliant and he had kissinger. donald trump is not a brilliant diplomat, and he's got jared. >> what is the motive? i do think there's a trumpian -- let me go back to kathleen. i think there's a trumpian attitude that if you want to look good in the news, control the news. which means do something every hour that makes people talk about you. whatever it is, tweet, do something, focus it on you.

but this is a little dangerous. we do have a deal with iran. you know, i used to hear that was a meern probliddle eastern . now we're playing the middle eastern role. we have a deal. what is the advantage in shaking it up and starting to call iran our enemy, which he's doing? >> well, chris, when you say what is the advantage, that presupposes a strategy, and i would love to think that there's a strategy as gene was saying, that this was aimed at confusing people. but i think in most cases, we've seen over and over that what trump says and does has no basis in strategy. and when he and his cabinet members are contradicting each other in whatever they project to the world, that's not -- i don't think that's helpful. i don't think people are saying, oh, gee, i wonder what they're up to. i think they're simply not talking to each other. i would love to think that he sat down with behalf nikki haley and said, look, i want you to say that we're going to be tough

on that, and i'm going to be the statesman and same with rex tillerson. they're saying completely opposite things. yes, this is confusing people, but not in a good way. and the stakes are so high. we're not talking about, you know, maybe we're going to, you know, draw another red line in the sand. we're talking about people being prompted to advance their nuclear programs. as gene said and you have said, you know, iran is abiding by the rules according to our own sources. i'm afraid that donald trump has the same sources here as he did on the -- you know, the wiretapping in his office. >> yeah. i mean one of the implications is this very likely weakens the hand of moderates in iran. it can have a real impact inside iran, which is not -- you know, it's an islamic republic. it's not a monolith, and there are forces in there, and he's strengthening the hard liners. >> over the past two years, donald trump has consistently criticized that deal, but it has been less clear what he will do about it. let's watch.

>> my number-one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with iran. >> they have become rich. they have become powerful. the deal is one of the worst negotiated deals of any kind that i've ever seen. >> it should never have been made. it was totally one-sided against the united states, and frankly against much of the middle east. >> to iran, you said they will do what i tell them. how do you make them do what you say? >> they will know i'm not playing games. i study contracts. no matter how bad this contract is, i will make this contract be enforced to such an extent that they will not be able to do it. then i will do things that you won't believe. >> you know, winston churchill, my hero, once referred to john foster dulles as a guy -- he's a bull that carries his own china shop with him. and, kathleen, it looks like he just wants to fight with everybody. it's like a groucho marx

character, i'll fight anybody in the house for a dollar. why does he want to have a constant face with north korea, iran, and maybe not russia because that's his bromance, including europe? go ahead. >> that's his m.o. when he doesn't like what someone says, then they're the enemy. when he doesn't like the media, then we are the opposition party. so basically he approaches all problems and all nations as if they were each and every one of them oppositional to him. so his idea that america first would -- you know, that america would always be first in any negotiation, in any policy decision, that's fine and good but not if that means that every person, every nation is suddenly on the enemies list. and if they're not, we're going to quickly make them join the enemies list. i mean what's going on in north korea is frightening and now china's military is preparing

for this possible missile launch, this nuclear missile launch from south korea. now, they may just be bluffing. you who knows? but what trump is doing is pushing, pushing, pushing the envelope and i don't know what sort of response he's hoping to get, but i think he's making the world a much more dangerous place. >> let's talk about the way we voted in the last election. i voted for hillary. i admit it. i'm proud to vote for hillary. i thought she was a good candidate. but one thing i didn't like about hillary is i thought she was a hawk. i thought she supported that iraq war and she stuck with it for years. it probably cost her that election the first time against barack obama. i thought one thing good about trump is he would say these stupid middle eastern wars, and here he is ginning up trouble. is this jared, your buddy, the one you mentioned? is he his kissinger that he wants to fight? >> look, what he's actually done in office in terms of the middle east has gladdened the hearts of those sort of hawkish traditionalists --

>> guess who? lindsey graham. his tail is wagging over this guy. anyway, donald trump ran for president, as i said, criticizing america's involvement in the middle east in wars like iran. criticizing the hawks in his party like lindsey graham and calling hillary clinton trigger-happy. let's watch. >> you can't fight two wars at one time. if you listen to him and you listen to some of the folks that i've been listening to, that's why we've been in the middle east for 15 years, and we haven't won anything. >> obviously the war in iraq was a big, fat mistake. th >> they lied. they said there were weapons of mass destruction. there were none, and they knew there were none. >> unlike my opponent, my foreign policy will emphasize diplomacy, not destruction. sometimes it seemed like there wasn't a country in the middle east that hillary clinton didn't want to invade, intervene in, or topple. she's trigger-happy and very unstable. >> i would be very, very

cautious. i think i'd be a lot slower. she has a happy trigger. >> well, that was the part that caught my interest. anyway, yesterday just to show how things have gone 180, kathleen, senator graham, who loves this hawkish stuff, one of the republican party's biggest hawks could hardly contain his glee -- that's the word for it -- at trump's hawkish posture. let's watch lindsey. >> i am the happiest dude in america. we've got a president and a national security team that i've been dreaming of for eight years. he's got the best national security team i've seen since i've been in government. i am all in. keep it up, donald. i'm sure you're watching. don't let these guys talk you out of being tough because you need to be tough. >> well, kathleen, you're responsible for him. you live down there. you may have voted for that guy, but he is the hawk of all hawks. he is giddy over the fact that trump now looks like he's mr. gunman. >> i was happier when senator graham was cracking jokes on the

second-tier debates, but there's no surprise that he's a hawk. that's been his position all along. what is surprising is that trump has switched gears, you know, so completely. on the other hand, you know, we've learned through experience now that donald trump never really means anything he says, and if you don't like his policies, you just have to wait five or ten minutes. but he has completely changed on this hawkishness, and i don't quite understand who's whispering in his ear. >> well, jared kushner. is he a hawk in the middle east although this is all over the place. this hawkishness is global now. it's almost like he wants to fight with the iranians again while they've settled down for a while. he certainly is pushing the -- >> who is jared kushner, please? i don't remember -- yeah. [ overlapping voices ] >> it is the roman ovs is. there's jared kushner moving with the family. i don't know where ivanka is.

ivanka sits next to the president of the china. it's all a team. >> by the way, i don't think it's a team sport being for trump, but the family is definitely working together. kathleen, it's great to see you down there. coming up, the trump-russia connection. trump adviser carter page is back in the news. his now curious trip to moscow is what prompted the fbi to investigate possible collusion between the trump campaign and russia. by the way, the only country he doesn't want to fight. plus bill o'reilly a big payout. he may be out of fox news, but he's getting a hefty check on the way out the door, $25 million. that's pretty good. and tonight, the great ron howard is here to talk about his new movie. it's about the untold story -- this is fascinating stuff. albert einstein, who may well be america's most famous immigrant. finally tonight, let me finish with trump watch. you're not going to like it. this is "hardball," where the action is.

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how's this for a plot twist? the federal lawsuit brought by a so-called dreamer who has been deported to mexico has been randomly assigned to district court judge gonzalo curiel, the same judge donald trump attacked during the campaign. judge curiel famously presided over the fraud case against trump university. trump said the judge was biased against him due to his mexican family heritage. trump settled that case in november for $25 million without admitting any wrongdoing, and we'll be right back after this. we're on to you, diabetes. time's up, insufficient prenatal care. and administrative paperwork... your days of drowning people are numbered. same goes for you, budget overruns. and rising costs, wipe that smile off your face. we're coming for you, too. for those who won't rest until the world is healthier, neither will we. optum. how well gets done.

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welcome back to "hardball." "the new york times" is reporting right now that it was carter page's intriguing trip to moscow last summer that first aroused the bureau's suspicions that the trump campaign might have been coordinating with the kremlin during the 2016 campaign. according to the times, quote, that trip last july was a catalyst for the fbi investigation into connections between russia and president trump's campaign according to current and former law

enforcement and intelligence officials. in the months that followed, they said more evidence came to light including intercepts of russian officials discussing mr. page and other trump associates. well, page's visit to moscow was days before he and other campaign associates chatted away with the russian ambassador out in cleveland at the convention. that's also in the language of the republican party platform was eased over -- what was eased over u.s. sanctions on russia. we also know that the trump campaign had approved page's trip to moscow according to politico. this follows cnn's report this week that the fbi used the christopher steele dossier -- that's the mi-6 guy, to obtain a fisa warrants on page. officials say that means investigators may have independently corroborated parts of the dossier. joining me right now is democratic congressman david kes leecy. congressman, thank you for joining us. the do you have information on this that you can't tell us about because i'm curious. i want to learn more.

>> no i don't although i think if you look at all the evidence we do have, there are a series of events that are pretty suspicious. here is carter page. he goes to moscow, comes back, go tos the republican national convention. the only thing they change in the party platform is a pro-russia policy as it relates to ukraine. shortly after he returns back to the united states, the wikileaks begins the release of the e-m l e-mails stolen from the dnc. then you have carter page, who has changed his story. first he said, no, i'd never met ambassador kislyak at the convention. then he acknowledged to your own chris hayes he did. then he said we never talked about sanctions. then he admitted in a subsequent interview, well, maybe we did talk about sanctions. so you have a changing story, some very suspicious behavior. this is the foreign policy adviser to the presidential candidate, and it's a reason we need to get to the bottom -- >> that's what trump calls him. >> yeah, he was, absolutely. >> back when he admitted he existed. the times reports it is unclear what exactly about mr. page's

visit drew the fbi's interest. when asked about his trip to moscow last week, page couldn't seem to get his story straight. first he told cnn he did not discuss the lifting of u.s. sanctions on russia with anyone in moscow. let's watch. >> did you ever talk with anyone there about maybe president trump, if he were elected, then candidate trump, would be willing to get rid of the sanctions? >> never any direct conversations such as that. i mean, look, it's -- >> what do you mean direct -- i don't know what that means, direct conversations. >> i'm just saying no -- that was never -- never said, no. >> but then in a subsequent interview, he didn't appear so sure. >> it sounds like from what you're saying it's possible that you may have discussed the easing of sanctions. >> something may have come up in a conversation. i have no recollection, and there is nothing specifically that i would have done that would have given people that impression, george. >> but you can't say without equivocation that you didn't

discuss the easing of sanctions? >> someone may have brought it up. i have no recollection, and if it was, it was not something i was offering or that someone was asking for. >> you know, i don't know whether he talks like he's been lawyered up or not or he's just af little diszy, but the guy seems to want attention. the way he answers on questions is a guy na wants to be intriguing. what's he up to? >> he comes across as squirrely. his answers are kind of evasive. >> what's a direct -- what's an indirect conversation? >> and whether he's doing that purposefully, whether that's just the way he talks and speaks, it's hard to know. >> he's like a fan dancer in a burlesque show. he wants you to focus on him, but he wants you to tease you away from it the whole time. >> and if he was working for the trump campaign or the russians or cooperating with the fbi, none of them would want him to do this. the most intriguing thing you just read in that little excerpt from "the new york times" was when it said and other trump associates.

so we're focusing on carter page. his name seems to be front and center. >> you think he's a decoy duck. >> i'm not sure he's a decoy duck, but the fact there are others they wering looing at who might have been more central or more important and maybe not running to the cameras at the moment. >> trump and others have down played page's role. however, trump appeared to know exactly who carter page was when he identified him as a member of his foreign policy team in an interview with "the washington post" in march of last year. >> we heard you might be announcing your foreign policy advisory team soon. >> if you want, i could give you some of the pnames. carter page, ph.d. >> he even knew his degree. he throws in the fact he's got a doctorate, and now he doesn't even know this guy. >> it's like that line in the casino jack movie where kevin spacey says you're nobody in this town until you haven't met us. it's like the minute he becomes -- it's identified that he may have engaged in some misconduct here or some connection to russia, they suddenly don't know him, just

like paul manafort played a small role in the campaign. >> so you get to big a big shot in washington by being someone nobody wants to admit they know. thank you. love rhode island. up next, president trump raised record amounts of money for his inauguration. catch this. you can raise any amount from anybody. now we're finding out that these big money donors are hoping to get in return. we're looking for the gimmes. this is "hardball," where the action is. 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. lwho's the lucky lady? i'm going to the bank, to discuss a mortgage. action is.

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i'm meelsz rehberger. a police officer has been shot and killed by a gunman in paris with isis claiming responsibility. duncan crawford is live in paris for us. duncan, what do we know so far? >> reporter: well, there's been a huge security operation in the center of paris tonight. it all started at around 9:00 local time when an attacker drove up in a car along the shaumz e lee say, this very famous avenue packed full of tourists and local people, and opened fire on a police vehicle, shooting dead a police officer, injuring two others severely, and also injuring a passerbiin the process. the attacker tried to flee on foot but was shot dead by the police. after that, there was this huge security operation with police in full body armor, carrying assault rifles, fanning out around the street, telling people to get away from the

area. isis have claimed responsibility for this attack in a tweet which is affiliated to a news agency links to the group. the french president has said he believes that it is a terror attack. at the moment, we don't know the identity of the person responsible. there are reports tonight that a property in the east of paris is being raided by police. >> duncan crawford live in paris. thank you. back to "hardball." hillary clinton may be the most corrupt person ever to seek the presidency of the united states. >> we're going to drain the swamp of corruption. >> it's time to drain the swamp in washington, d.c. >> and you're right about the swamp. say it again. >> drain the swamp! >> you better believe it. >> drain the swamp!

>> drain the swamp. we're going to drain the swamp of washington. we're going to have fun doing it. we're all doing it together. >> there goes the peanut gallery again. welcome back to "hardball." president trump promised to drain the swamp of corruption and influence of money in politics when he got to the presidency, but there's little evidence that this president has made good on that promise. contrary to what he said as a candidate, many believe he's actually making the swamp deeper. when he repeated his rallying cry during this joint session of congress, it was met with laughs. let's watch. >> we have begun to drain the swamp of government corruption by imposing a five-year ban on lobbying by executive branch officials. >> as it turns out, big money contributions from friendly donors to the president's inaugural committee are paying off for them. billionaire casino magnate sheldon adelson gave the biggest contribution, $5 million. he wants a ban on online poker

sites that compete with his luxury casinos. new york jets owner woody johnson gave $1 million. trump plans to nominate his as ambassador to the uk. coal magnate and energy executive christopher klein gave $1 million as well. trump overturned many obama era energy regulations and vowed to bring back coal jobs. and billionaire kelsey warren, whose company is building the dakota access pipeline gave $250,000. trump promptly approved the pipeline. is the swamp being drained or is it getting deeper and dirtier? we have a political reporter from "the new york times." this is going to be pretty cut and dry. i am not shocked, nor do i think it's the worst thing in the world. but basically giving big contributions to candidates and then being rewarded with public benefits like ambassadorships is probably not evil. it may not even be sordid. but it is certainly part of the swamp. and he comes in and he says i'm going to get rid of this swamp and then he gives this guy a nice little thank you note, a fantastic opportunity to be ambassador to the uk.

now, okay. but it isn't changing anything. it's the same old deal, isn't it? >> it's the same game. look, the ambassadors are the least of it. that's been true forever. it's how you pick, you know, half of the ambassadors as donors. but what's fascinating here is if you consider the swamp to be bureaucrats, sure he's draining the swamp of government employees by cutting the government. but if the swamp is the interplay of money and special interests and corporations and unions and government all at the same time, well, that swamp is not very drained. what we saw at the inauguration is that the swamp threw president trump a big party. >> yeah, and i was thinking about adelson. there's a guy that throws his money around. let's face it, he's got the money. these guys go out and genuflect to him in vegas. fine, if that's his little pastime, his hobby, okay, we'll live with it. but he shouldn't be getting anything back for it. he of course wants to move the embassy. i don't think that's going to happen, to jerusalem, because that's just trouble. but this thing about poker

sites. explain that to me why a guy who owns casinos at macau wouldn't want to have online gambling. >> he has some of the best casinos, the bell auj oagiobell herben. his are greats. others like caesar's and a couple other chains doing less well. what they see as online to expand their brand. adelson is the only guy among the big casino owners pretty much who wants to p to the online gaming and he's joined by the small casinos. some of them the original ones that aren't luxury destinations in the poconos, so it's all about who is helped and hurt by the growth of online gaming. sheldon adelson is a ten pole in the coalition to stop it, and he's trying to get the white house and the trump administration to, you know, intervene there and try and crack down on it. >> money talks. follow the money. anyway, there's also perks for those who backed the president during the campaign itself like

visits to the white house. last night, sarah palin, kid rock, ted nugent, there they are. nugent called for president obama and hillary clinton to be tried for treason and hung. by the way, the correct thing is hanged, over benghazi. in 2014, he was also recorded calling obama a sub human mongrel. now these guys are being rewarded. i used to think when you went to the white house, you showed a little respect and actually reverence for the place. look at these clowns, including the former governor of -- is this just come on by, we're going to enjoy the fact that we won, they lost. >> look, president trump is loyal to the ones who brought him to the dance. sarah palin was an endorser. i'm not sure about ted nugent. great guitar player but also known for making racist statements. he's kind of a jackass. i'm not sure why you would have the guy over at the white house with the former governor of alaska. >> three jackasses. thank you so much. up next, the hardball

roundtable and bill o'reilly's ouster. he said he's going to get a big payout, 25 million bucks to say good-bye. and later, ron ourd. we're going to have a great discussion with howard talking about ien sign. think about immigration. think about the bomb. einstein. you're watching "hardball," where the action is. at lincoln financial, we get there are some responsibilities of love you gotta do on your own. and some you shouldn't have to shoulder alone. like ensuring your family is well taken care of, today and tomorrow, no matter how life unfolds. visit lincolnfinancial.com today to learn how we can help you plan to protect your family's financial future.

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it is the end of an era here at the fox news channel. as we mentioned earlier, bill o'reilly is leaving this chair and this network after more than 20 years. bill has been the undisputed king of cable news and for good reason. he is an incredibly talented broadcaster who raised the bar for interviewers everywhere. >> welcome back to "hardball." yesterday bill o'reilly's nearly 20-year career at fox news came to a screeching halt when 21st century fox ended its association with its successful host. mr. o'reilly issued a statement himself that read in part, it is tremendously disheartening that we part ways due to completely

unfounded claims but that is the unfortunate reality many of us in the public eye must live with today. cnbc citing a source with direct knowledge of the situation reports that the averager will receive a maximum of one year's salary. nbc says his annual salary is worth about $25 million. he gets that. according to "the new york times," for 21st century fox, payouts retotal $85 million, the vast majority of that in exit packages is being paid to the men who were ousted from the network because of the harassment allegations. for more on o'reilly's ouster, i'm joined by the "hardball" roundtable. ken vogel, ha das gold, and alfonso aguilar, former chief of the united states office of citizenship under president g.w. bush. i'm impressed by your title, but go ahead. why don't you start this, alfonso. it seems we're talking a big corporate decision with a lot of money going out the door, certainly to the women who have

won these suits because they were right and they were unjustifiedly treated but the money is also going out on the other side, on those accused. >> it's a tough decision for them. i mean bill o'reilly is a star -- was a star at fox. he was there for 20 years, an incredible audience. i mean the first quarter of this year he was getting 4 million people as an audience. >> he's getting like $200 million a year in advertising. >> that's pretty big. but when you have all these allegations and several settlements, you have to let him go. the question is where does o'reilly go from here? i think he has a loyal conservative audience. i don't think he's going to have a show in another -- >> did you watch him a lot? >> i was on his show on several occasions. >> did you watch it, though? >> i did. i think it was very fair. what i found refreshing about bill o'reilly is he gave opinion, and he never said he was a hard news reporter. he said, i'm giving you opinion. i appreciate that at a time when we have too many journalists giving opinion but trying to

say -- >> well, there are opinion journalists like me. >> but you're saying you're giving opinion. we do have journalists saying -- >> i know. walter conci walter cronki >> one thing i think people have to keep in mind is this was just as much as a business decision as a moral decision and a way to help change the culture at fox news, which the murdoch sons are trying to do. >> you think it was a cultural moral rather than a financial decision? >> i think it was definitely a financial decision because they've known about some of these allegations now for years. >> what hit reality yesterday? >> you do have to keep in mind that in mid-may, off com over in the uk is going to submit a decision on whether fox and their parent company is fit and proper in order to buy a bigger stake in sky news. >> who makes that judgment, that they're clean enough? >> it's the media regulator in the uk. it's a clause called fit and proper. you can't get more british than fit and proper. it's a pretty broad designation.

if they decide in some way that not only the allegations but how fox news handled them, that could affect that decision. they had to make a quick move on it. >> this is like getting a gambling license in vegas in the old days when the mob was out there. >> that's a pretty good analogy. in fact, their previous effort to buy sky news was scuttled in part by the allegations around the hacking scandal of the british tabloids, so this is a second run at this trophy, sky news, that the murdochs really want, and they're not going to let bill o'reilly get in the way of it. the other thing to remember is fox news is such a profit center that they can afford to pay out these settlements, and additionally they're increasingly concluding that no matter who they put in these slots, the 8:00 p.m. slot, they're going to do well. >> look, roger figured this out. he figured out that there's a lot of conservative people out there, middle class, working class, whatever, who felt that the media was all liberal in its tenor. the tv you watch in prime time, all the shows are pro-gay

rights, liberal, tolerant. and the newspapers, the big newspapers, the times, "the washington post," have a reputation for being liberal. so he said, okay, except for radio, which the conservatives have always owned for something, a.m. radio, where is that market going to go? o'reilly is gone. where are those viewers going to go? >> nowhere. he's just a cog in the machine. whoever they put in their did. >> you'i'm saying as long as th stay relatively consistent with that party line that you just laid out -- [ overlapping voices ] >> whatever i think of them, rush limbaugh has a certain kind of talent, whatever it is. >> well, they're not going to put up a sha lub. they're going to put up someone who is good. >> we also have to think of the advertising money. he had a large audience, but he was losing advertising money. at the end -- >> it's empty calories. >> that means losing consumers. >> correct. >> and that means women. >> if you have high ratings but nobody is paying for the commercials, some of those

commercial breaks in the last couple weeks were as short as a minute or a minute and a half long, which is very short. >> you start doing the japanese steak knives, you're in trouble. our roundtable is staying with us. up next, these people tell me something i don't know. this is "hardball," where the action is. what i'm thinking, just by looking in my eyes. but what they didn't know was that i had dry, itchy eyes. i used artificial tears from the moment i woke up... ...to the moment i went to bed. so i finally decided to show my eyes some love,... ...some eyelove. eyelove means having a chat with your eye doctor about your dry eyes because if you're using artificial tears often and still have symptoms, it could be chronic dry eye. it's all about eyelove, my friends.

dearthere's no other way to say this. it's over. i've found a permanent escape from monotony. together, we are perfectly balanced, our senses awake, our hearts racing as one. i know this is sudden, but they say: if you love something... set it free. see you around, giulia ♪ we're back with the "hardball" roundtable. >> well, the trump campaign is settling a lot of lawsuits that emanated from protests and stuff on the campaign. but my sources tell me that a

guy who sued the trump campaign saying that a staffer pulled a gun on him ended up trying to settle for $300,000. they rejected it. that was a bridge too far. could be going to trial. >> wow. hadas. i never heard that statement. >> it was a state director in north carolina allegedly pulled a gun on a staffer in the north carolina trump campaign. >> a think tank in russia, they've discovered how to actually created the strategy for how they were going to influence the election. this had been circulating among the top people in russia. >> you think that was related even though it was in june or may that have been a parallel effort to what was going on from putin himself? if that trump think tank was -- >> not trump. russian think tank. >> i know but it was closely connected. the timing thing seems like it may be a parallel operation. >> there's a big story about puerto rico. it's big in the hispanic community.

>> is na your brown? >> yes. >> i want to hear it. goea >> 3.5illion u.s. citizens that don't have full political rights under a federal appropriations congress authorized a new pleeb side for puerto ricans to decide their political future. the government of puerto rico passed legislation to allow the people of puerto rico to decide between state hood and independence but required sessions to certify the ballot. he did not certify the ballot. thank you. when we return, the great ron howard joins us to talk about the new series "genius." this is "hardball," where the action is. they'll call back. no one knows your ford better than ford and ford service. right now, during the big tire event, get a $140 rebate by mail, on four select tires.

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enbrel, the number one rheumatologist-prescribed biologic. who's the new guy? they call him the whisperer. the whisperer? why do they call him the whisperer? he talks to planes. he talks to planes. watch this. hey watson, what's avionics telling you? maintenance records and performance data suggest replacing capacitor c4. not bad. what's with the coffee maker? sorry. we are not on speaking terms. what is time? a deceptively simple question, yet it is the key to understanding relativity. it is also the reason my hair is going gray. [ laughter ] >> welcome back. that was jeffrey rush playing

albert einstein in the new series, genius, which premieres next tuesday on t. it it's a person store that's gone unfold for years from his rebellious youth to his escape from nazi, germany. genius captures the brilliance of a world renowned icon. here's another clip. >> are you still too busy contemplating the secrets of the cosmos to solve this equation? >> no, sir. i've already solved it. >> leave, now. >> on what offense? >> your mere presence -- >> that is not an objective reason. >> out! >> natural law of a constant multiplied by x equals the natural law of 1 plus v squared. and since c equals y over x, that gives us the final

function, x squared plus y squared minus cxq equals zero. i'm speaking truthfully, sir. you spoil my respect for the future of prussian mathematics. >> wow. i'm joined right now by the executive producer, the legendary ron howard. ron, this is fascinating because, you know, we're talking a lot in politics. you watch politics about immigration, and here's probably our most famous immigrant ever. >> yes. >> we lucked out and got him. he came here. tell us that brief story. he got here. he got past hitler just at the right time apparently. >> well, he had been on a hit list for years and finally his second wife, elsa, implored him to finally go and leave germany. and at that point there were some groups in the united states, conservative groups that had him on a list, and j. edgar hoover was responsive to that and that influence and sort of tried to keep him out and block

him. and we depict that. hoover continued to track him as well even as he was in the united states and was looking for ways to extradite him, get him out. >> let's show that clip. it's another clip about showing how hard it was for albert einstein, who basically changed history for us for the better, trying to get into the united states. >> may i remind you your country has invited me, not the other way around. >> yes, professor. but you have a history of -- how shall i put this? controversy, which calls into question your loyalties. >> my loyalties? >> it is my job to ensure that any individual comes to our shores does not pose a threat. >> if you wish to talk about threats, perhaps you should take a look outside your window. have you noticed the charming fellows in brown shirts who call me jewish swine? they want people like me dead. >> if you are referring to the national socialist party, they

are not in power. >> oh, no? you want to take a walk with me? >> professor, i have not called you here today for a lesson in german politics. >> i'm not giving you one because i doubt you'd be smart enough to be in my class. >> albert. >> dr. einstein, i am conducting this inquiry at the request of the director of the united states bureau of investigation. >> hoover? >> yes, mr. j. edgar hoover. >> what does he want with me? >> he's been quite interested in your political activities and affiliations since your first visit to new york. so unless you answer my questions to his satisfaction, you will not be granted entry to the united states of america. >> well, ron, you've got some great talent working for you there. i mean jeffrey rush was in "shine" where he played that somewhat mentally disturbed genius pianist, and there's that young fellow we all got to like finally on mad men who is

playing the creepy bureaucrat. >> great actors, you know, were attracted to this material. jeffrey rush, an oscar winner. johnny flynn who played the young albert is incredibly talented. more importantly, the two of them really worked well together to create one cohesive look at this man. and it was as a person who considers himself an actor's director, that's kind of my favorite aspect of the whole process. it was really inspiring to see them and see what they -- you know, the humanity that they could bring to the character without ever sentimentalizing him. >> you know, your scope is amazing. you did of course apollo 13. you did of course our favorite around here, is splash. you did politics and nixon. which by the way on screen and the theater, i don't know which is better. langella is just believable, how good it was. of course you talk about the media and the paper, another favt of mine.

>> thank you. >> how do you show a guy in television -- this was going to be on television. how do you show somebody inventing the theory of relativity? how do you show that? >> well, you know, look, this is for national geographic. so, you know, the details have to be there. the science has to be right. but it's meant to entertain, and mostly what i'm trying to do in these situations is create a kind of an emotional context for the audience so that they understand that something is driving our character whether it's russell crowe as john nash in "a beautiful mind" or jeffrey rush or johnny flynn as einstein. once you development that empathy, then it's a kind of a -- you know, it's suspense because what these people are doing is they're -- you know, they're challenging a frontier. the frontier is the darkness of sort of what is unknown.

they're willing to move out of that light of what's known into that darkness, and they dedicate their lives to it. and it turns out there's a great deal of drama in that. both brian grazer, my partner in imagine believe in that and have found audiences very, very responsive to our ambition to characterize that drama. and it's such an advantage to have the ten hours to tell this story because, in fact, it's so eventful. there are so many twists and turns. instead of having to -- we still had to make editorial decisions. we still had no narrow our scope from time to time believe it or not because, you know, his life and also the way it's depicted in the book this is based on is, you know, is incredible, eventful in ways that surprised me, which is probably why i wanted to work on it and direct it. >> i love the way you -- from what i understand about the story, it's curiosity.

i remember john huston, the great director that preceded you, i think dick cavett asked him on the air because he's past his sex life, past liking food, he's breathing on an oxygen tank frankly. >> i saw him on a set. >> and he said what keeps you going? he said interest. >> yeah. >> i think it's great because that's probably a combination of you and einstein. it's curiosity that drives you to do these projects. >> it's been a great period in that way to be able to work on this. i did the beatles documentary that was out last year. that was fascinating. if learned a lot with that. and, you know, look, movies, television, what i internet has done, what technology has brought us is just a -- you know, this ability to really not play to a lowest common denominator broad appeal always, but to really be able to talk to people who are going to be interested in the subject that you want to work with. and it's really inspiring. so i'm finding it to be probably the richest, creative period of my life. >> i think it's great.

i've watched the crown. i've watched night manager. i watched big little lies. these series go about eight or ten episodes. they're not like a four-year sitcom or a four-year series that gets a little tired in the third year. it's a great format as you say. >> this with national geographic is launching an anthology, and they announced last night they're going to pick up season two, which will be a different genius. we haven't selected the genius yet. we have a short dynamic list, and we'll be choosing soon and announcing that by the time that this season of "genius" concludes. >> let me pitch ben franklin, okay? another walter isaacson special. da vinvinci. he's coming up next. >> the list is exciting. we hope we get to do it for years and years. >> i'm glad you're with us, sir. ron howard. "genius" premieres next tuesday. it's on television. you got to watch this next

tuesday on national geographic channel. >> thank you. when we return, let me f finish with trump watch. you're watching "hardball," where the action is. 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.

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trump watch, thursday, april 20th, 2017. winston churchill once called an american secretary of state the only bull i know who carries his own china shop around with him. is this what president trump is doing right now? he dominates every hour with news about north korea or iran, news that will keep him in the news. this could get dangerous. if the president thinks the only way to keep control of the news, a mission on which he is clearly committed, is to gin things up on some possible warfront, sooner or later we're going to have a war. why is he doing this? why is he talking about opening up the nuclear treaty with iran? since when is it an american practice to cut a deal, then start haggling about the deal you made? weren't we the country complaining that's precisely what other countries do?

you know, the way we could characterize the position of other countries, what's mine is mine, what's yours is negotiable. how did we americans get to be this way, always stirring things up, never letting anything settle down, always trying to ep coo the heat on? again, you look for trouble. pretty soon you get it. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "all in" with chris hayes starts right now. tonight on "all in." >> the press reported there was like a give up. there's no give up. >> trumpcare rides again. >> the plan gets better and better and better, and it's gotten really, really good. and a lot of people are liking it a lot. >> tonight the president's new desperate push to reverse the greatest failure of his first 100 days. plus -- >> we have a contest on billoreilly.com. guess where bill's going? >> game sherman on the jaw dropping payout for bill o'reilly as a new akuser speaks out. >> i'm sitting there minding my