the van who viciously killed so many thousands of good people and changed us all forever. thank you for watching. i'll see you back here tomorrow night, 6:00 p.m. eastern. if you can't watch live, set your dvr. you know what else you should do. follow me on twitter, instagram, and i'll see you tomorrow night. "hardball" with chris matthews starts right now. "hardball" welcomes elizabeth warren. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. massachusetts senator and progressive champion elizabeth warren became the breakout surrogate for hillary clinton's presidential run. and throw aside trump's attacks and even insults, warren hit him with a counterpunch and never let up. >> he thinks that because he has money, that he can call women fat pigs and bimbos. he thinks because he is a

celebrity, that he can rate women's bodies from one to ten. he thinks that because he has a mouthful of tic tacs, that he can force himself on any woman within groping distance. [ audience booing ] i've got news for you, donald trump. women have had it with guys like yo [ chrs and applause ] on november 8th, we nas ty wome are going to march our nasty feet to cast our nasty votes to get you out of our lives forever. [ cheers and applause ] >> well, warren's fiery speeches and rallies across the country like that one in 2016 were but a prelude to her voice today in the resistance. and who knows what's coming in 2020? the author of this fight is our fight, the battle to save america's middle class, joins us right now. senator warren of massachusetts, thank you. let's do three things in the next 12 minutes.

the breaking news, donald trump, and your book, okay? let's start with the breaking news today. we didn't think this would happen. first, this just happened. here's what hillary clinton said today when asked about her election for president and whether she was a victim of misogyny. let's listen. >> were you a victim of misogyny? why do you think you lost the majority of the white female vote? >> the book's coming out in the fall. just to give you a tiny little preview, yes, i do think it played a role. i think other things did as well. >> senator warren, what do you make of that? she did it slowly and with not a lot of enthusiasm but said, yes, misogyny played a role in her defeat last november. >> so, look, i want to read her book too and see what she has to say about it. but a lot of things went wrong last fall. let's face it. i don't think it's any one thing. and i think what matters most is that now we've got to get out there and talk about what we're going to fight for, what democrats are going to fight for, that we're really going to be out there to fight for

working people across this country. and i just think that's what we've got to keep hammering on. we've got to make it happen because people are counting on us. >> well, you've got a target right now. trump announced that he wants to have a government shutdown. he said it would be good for the country come september. you've been through a couple. you're relatively new to this business of destroying the government in order to supposedly run it, but he seems to be a champion of wting to do it. i've never seen a guy, a woman, anybody say that would be good. >> you know, and that's the thing. when the government is shut down, it costs this country literally billions, even trillions of dollars. we miss out on all kinds of contracts. we shut things down that mean that tourists can't come. it's everywhere. it is -- it is staggeringly irresponsible to say let's just shut down the government. in fact it was the threat of shutting down the government, the fact that the republicans would own it since they have the

white house, they have the senate, they have the house of representatives -- that drove congress toward cutting this budget deal that we're going to sign off on this week. donald trump just seems to helicopter in from who knows where and come up with ideas that are not just bad ideas. they're ideas that are damaging to the working families that he once promised he was going to make this government run for. >> most people have a hard time figuring out who was our greatest president, whether it was fdr or lincoln, but a lot of people go to lincoln regardless of their political party. here is what the president said the other day in the oval office actually about the civil war. let's listen. >> i mean had andrew jackson been a little bit later, you wouldn't have had the civil war. he was -- he was a very tough person, but he had a big heart, and he was -- he was really angry that he saw what was happening with regard to the civil war. he said, there's no reason for

this. people don't realize, you know, that the civil war, if you think about it, why? people don't ask that question. but why was there the civil war? why could that one not have been worked out? >> senator, there's a lot of things he hasn't thought about before, and this one i -- i don't know what he thought the rebels were fighting for in the south "for the recorfor for yea feet they fought for savoe savl. >> and that he somehow thinks andrew jackson, a racist slave owner would have helped avoid the civil war. i don't like to think about the ways in which andrew jackson would have helped avoid the civil war if he'd had the chance. i don't think that's how we built the america of opportunity for all of us, or at least tried to aim in that direction. lord. >> you know, he didn't like indians either. i noticed your book mentioned the pocahontas little poomeme h

has on you. never mind. we won't get into it. i think it's amazing he goes back and saying he had a big heart. i've heard a lot about old hickory, but never he had a big heart for the slaves he whipped. but we all know he was one mean s.o.b. at minimum. >> and there's this fundamental question. does donald trump even get what the civil war was about? >> no. >> from the clip you gave, it sounds like he was some kind of business negotiation rather than that this was truly about enslaved people, something that old hickory clearly supported and was part of. so this is just one more of these -- it's not just baffling when donald trump does this. it really makes you just stop and ask, what is this man's world view? you know, just kind of how does he approach the whole notion of what america is and what america

stands for and what we ought to be out there fighting for. i can't explain him. >> well, i'm coming to something i didn't have planned. i want to go were this now. your speaking ability is really thrilling. you have a mastery -- no, when you're making your point. this is not a comedy act when you're doing it. it's damn good political salesmanship. it's rhetoric of the best political kind. you gret your audience riled up. they're happy. mario cuomo used to do this. you leave people upbeat about what they can get done at the end of the speech. it's not eating spinach. it's not the stations of the cross. when they're done, they they''ry and they can go out and fight. very few people have this talent. you couldn't s hillary was thrilled you could deliver the progressive message in a hopeful way. it isn't all grinding it out. it's joyous self-rule.

and you seem to know how to do it. tell me how you sell that to your other progressives out there so it does haven't to be too academic and too miserable. >> chris, you're very generous to put it that way but i want to be clear. i don't sell anything. i just go out and speak from the heart. for me, all of this is personal. i am a kid whose dad ended up as a maintenance man, and i ended up as a harvard law professor and a united states senator because i grew up in an america that was investing in kids like me, an america that said if you've got the moxie to get out there, the rest of us are going to pitch in and build enough opportunities that you'll be able to do whatever it is that you can. and then i watched from 1980 forward, with ronald reagan and deregulation and trickle-down economics and cutting taxes for those at the top so there was

less money to go into education, to go into infrastructure, to go into basic research, to create that vigorous economy and to create opportunities for our kids. i've watched that shrink up and shrink up and shrink up for 35 years. that's basically the story of this book, but more importantly, it's the story of what i'm out there fighting for. and i want everybody in this fight. that's why i wrote this book. i want to see more people in the fight because let's face it. this is our only chance now. donald trump could deliver the knockout blow to american families. >> how do you convince the working person out there, a lot of women too, white women -- i hate the way we do it, almost like an apartheid, we go by c k categories. how do you say, he's got a good voice. he knows how to make his case but it's all basically wrong for your interests. see, there's a problem. you're a progressive and a good one. you know how to make the points. i don't call it salesmanship,

but just to be able to get it across. a lot of times it comes across when the liberals make their case as cultural superiority, looking down on people. they say, wait, a minute, they're talking down to me. how come liberals get hit with the rap they're talking down to people? >> well, because sometimes they do. you know, look, i'm not going to get out there and tell people they somehow heard things wrong. i think the real point is we've got to talk with everyone where they are. that's what's critically important. and let me say this about donald trump. donald trump got out. he tapped into a real anger in america, a legitimate anger in america. people who are angry because their kids can't g an education without getting crushed by student loan debt, angry that their kids can't get decent jobs in this economy, angry that after a lifetime of hard work, that nobody can afford to retire with some

dignity, angry that they bust their tails and just keep falling further and further behind. so here's how i see this going forward, and that is i don't have to make jokes about donald trump. i don't have to talk about, you know, name-calling or anything else. for me, it's now he is building a record. he's no longer a candidate. he has a record. every day he's signing off on laws. he's doing executive orders. he's getting out there and making policy. our job is to focus on what he does, and then to hold him accountable because at the end of the day when we hit the next round of elections, 2018, the question is going to be whose side did these folks fight on? the republicans out there fighting for the rich and the powerful. donald trump out there fighting for the rich and the powerful. we democrats, we're out there fighting for working people, and we need to not only make it clear, we need to actually do it. >> what do you make about the presidency?

i know you don't want to talk about it. i'm going to try it because you do have the stuff, and i think you know it. you don't have to say it. everybody else knows. we had howard dean on last night. i'm not sure what he's up to, but he said the next democratic nominee for president, when we get around to it, will be under 50. now, i don't know where this comes from because i have a sense that pizzazz isn't age-related and excitement isn't age-related. trump is pretty old by any standard, and he's got whatever it is, certainly an ability to sell himself. do you think there's anything to do with age coming up in terms of picking the nominee? >> you know, i got to say, i just don't know. >> that's a good answer. >> it's true. >> that's a goodnswer actually. >> but what i want to say, i you give me a chance, i'm going to make a different point. that is i understand why you and others talk about what's going to happen in 2020. it is interesting, and obviously it's monumentally important. >> it's coming. >> but today is coming, you know. tomorrow is coming.

what donald trump does between right now and the time you and i wake up tomorrow morning can be -- can totally move this earth. >> i know. >> what donald trump will do during the day -- no, but let me make a point here. it's that we've got to be in this fight right now. >> i agree. >> we have to get people into this fight now. >> the thought that hillary clinton would win and serve in the president for eight years, it was not only conventional wisd wisdom, it was smart thinking. and so the democrats don't really have, as you would say in the red sox bullpen, you don't really have something in the on-deck circle. there's nobody ready to be president because there's no time to get ready. the reason i talked to you about running for president is i'm trying to get you excited about the fact we need leaders in this country on the progressive side. your book, the faith is out fight. by the way, you can get this on amazon right away. i do like to sell books here. progressives watch this program,

and i think it's a book to get your head around a lot of things that senator warren is going to be talking about for the rest of her career actually. >> yeah. >> i think this is the central you here. >> it is. this book is really about my life's work, and it's about the stories of whose affected it and it's about how we get in the fight and are effective. >> my student loan was $2,800 coming out of holy cross, payable at 3%. when you finally got around to it after grad school, after the peace corps, that was doable. thank you so much, senator elizabeth warren from the bay state, massachusetts. the commonwealth. coming up, president trump's readiness to meet with authoritarian rulers like the leaders of north korea and the philippinesetting off alarm bells in d.c. and around the world. critics wonder where his head is right now, but does donald trump have a strategic reason for saying the things he's saying -- these nice, almost smarmy things about the head of north korea? what's he talking about?

that's ahead. plus hillary clinton speaks out on the 2016 election, saying one reason she lost was because of russia's interference, and she strongly suggests the trump campaign was coordinating, was in cahoots with the goals of vladimir putin. and in the "hardball" roundtable tonight, some other things clinton said today about why she didn't win. she wanted to win and should have won maybe. the letter from fbi director james comey and misogyny in this country. she also took a few shots at the guy who beat her. finally let me finish tonight with the trump watch. this is "hardball," where the action is. ♪ ♪ ♪

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[ applause ] >> today president obama himself tweeted his reaction to kimmel. quote, well said, jimmy. that's exactly why we fought so hard for the aca and why we need to protect it for kids like billy. and congratulations. we'll be right back. widespread pain drained my energy. my doctor said moving more helps ease fibromyalgia pain. she also prescribed lyrica. fibromyalgia is thought to be the result of overactive nerves. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. woman: for some, lyrica can significantly relieve fibromyalgia pain and improve function, so i feel better. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet.

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welcome back to "hardball." the white house said today president trump and vladimir putin had a very good conversation about ending the violence in syria today. the president didn't offer specific praise for putin as he had in the past. critics note dictators have been recognized by the president favorably. this weekend he said this about north korea's kim jong-un. >> he was a young man of 26 or 27 when he took over from his father, when his father died. he's dealing with obviously very tough people, in particular the generals and others. and at a very young age he was

able to assume power. a lot of people, i'm sure, tried to take that power away whether it was his uncle or anybody else. and he was able to do it. so obviously he's a pretty smart cookie. >> ha. it sounds like howard cosell talking about the young muhammud ali. you were born in the ghetto. it was rough. what a ridiculous thing. also the president said he'd be willing to meet with kim jong-un. here we go. >> i would absolutely -- i would be honored to do it if it's under the -- again, under the right circumstances. >> also this weekend, president trump spoke by phone to the leader of the philippines rodrigo duterte, a man who has been accused of ordering extra judicial killings in his country. he also said president obama should go to hell. that's nice. according to the white house, it was very friendly conversation, and president trump enjoyed it. he also invited him to the white house as we know. last month, president trump praised the leader of egypt, who had been criticized by human

rights groups for overseeing mass arrests and torture. >> we agree on so many things. i just want to let everybody know in case there was any doubt that we are very much behind president el-sisi. he's done a fantastic job in a very difficult situation. >> after a referendum in turkey expanded the powers of its president, president trump placed a call to congratulate him on his recent victory in the election. by contrast, international observers and even the u.s. state department raised concerns about the fairness of that election. anyway, his history of praising dictators is a long one. trump even had some nice words to say about saddam hussein. >> saddam hussein was a bad guy, right? he was a bad guy, a really bad guy. but you know what he did well? he killed terrorists. he did that so good. they didn't read them the rights. they didn't talk. they were a terrorist, it was over. >> anyway, joining me now is "the washington post" robert costa, a real trump watcher,

former republican national chairman michael steele, and "time" magazine's jay newton small. i guess i'll start with jay and then i'll go to somebody else. but, jay, there is a strange affinity here by our new president. he's still a new president, for what we used to call -- we still do, strongmen. you know, tito. these are just tough guys that kick butt, and they don't have to have any law or senates in their way. >> they have no one to answer to, and they don't have to deal with the press, that pesky press. >> no checks and balances either. >> don't have to worry about congress and passing bills. >> he seems to like these guys. >> all the things he complains about regularly that isn't a democracy that really bothers him. maybe he wants to be a strongman. maybe that's something he would find appealing. look, it's so topsy-turvy. like, you know, he's criticized

and gotten into fights wit italian prime minister malcolm turnbull, had this frosty relationship with angela merkel of germany, our closest allies, right? but he loves these guy who's are historic total foes. they're the bad guys, axis of evil, right? all of a sudden he's they're great, admirable, strong. >> is this a godfather thing, keep your friends close, enemies closer? is that brilliant or just an affinity? what do you make? you're his boswell? >> that's kind of you to say, chris. here's what i think based on my reporting. there's a long time streak in this president towards military figures, towards strong figures. it goes back to his days at new york military academy about the way fred trump would talk about the country, talk about the military. and as much as he has scrambled the norms of domestic policy, we cannot forget he has scrambled the norms on the international front. he does not believe in international institutions in the way most american presidents

always have. he has not believed on having pressure on these totalitarian or authoritarian figures throughout the world. this has upended american foreign policy in the same way he's upended domestic policy. >> do you think it's part of his anti-establishment attitude, which is just if everybody else says these guys are no good, i'm going to say something good about them? just defiance. >> i think that's the right word. there's a very strong bright line of defiance there. if the conventional wisdom and behavior is in this direction, then donald trump is clearly going to take the alternative path. but to build off what robert just said, there are two aspects of trump's personality on this that i think are important to understand. what do all of these individuals that you rightly laid out have in common? two things. one, popularity and power. and those are the two things he respects particularly in tandem. they're popular because they rigged the polls and they forced the -- you know, the rhetoric around that. they're powerful because they're able to do that, but then how

they use that popularity to enforce their power and use their power to reinforce their popularity, that's something that trump -- >> i thinkou're right. i ink, robert, the idea of popularity, because who brags more about their hand size and their crowd size more than this guy? people like me is a big part of his life. he wants to be liked, not just powerful. he wants both of it. >> you have to remember the isolation here. we talked during the syria strikes about mcmaster and tillerson and mattis supposedly being this new influence, moving the president in a more traditional hawkish direction. but what we see today with these interviews is the president remains isolated. who is echoing president trump when it comes to these comments? no one within his cabinet is echoing these comments because it's the president alone. >> anyway, hillary clinton today criticized president trump's talk of meeting with kim jong-un. let's watch that. >> negotiations are critical, but they have to be part of a broader strategy, not just thrown out on a tweet some

morning that, hey, let's get together and see if we can't get along, and maybe we can, you know, come up with some sort of a deal. that doesn't work. >> well, senator john mccain criticized the president's positive words for the leaders of north korea and the philippines. watch him. >> i don't understand it, and i don't think that the president appreciates the fact that when he says things like that, it helps the credibility and the prestige of this really outrageous strongman. i wish that the president would consider much more carefully his comments, particularly in praise of a north korean -- he's worse than a dictator. he's a despot. i run out of add jektives and adverbs. and this guy in the philippines has praised extra judicial killings of people. 7,000, i've been read, have been

killed. you can't praise that kind of behavior and not raise conrns around the world. >> i wonder, robert, you know the guy better than i do -- the president. i wonder whether he thinks -- and i think it's worked in the past, the charm and flattery almost always works, even with the worst person you know. you tell them how great they are and in the back of their mind they go this guy is on my side in life. is he working kim jong-un? >> i think you're on to something there. when i was talking to some white house officials, they reminded me today that the president thinks in transactional terms and that his flattery is part of how he sees politics. but of course the consequence for this is there are major concerns in the foreign policy community about a president who thinks in transactional terms when it comes to kim jong-un and other dictators because that really tells the world about how the u.s. sees these people. >> you know, i think one thing we can figure out about kim jong-un, it's all about flattery in his country. you look at people regimented in

line like tanks. every person with the same file to the slightest crease in their face. this guy insists on flattery. the haircut, the whole absurdity. no one would ever give him an honest answer about anything, you know. so he obviously thinks that's the only language he can understand is total, utter flattery. oh, you're looking thin today, dear leader. you know, excellent barber work on your hair. i mean look at the guy. he obviously didn't subject to any criticism in life. >> well, it's just -- >> look at these guys. they're frightening. look at this is more like -- >> and he starves his people. i mean this is a country in total chaos when it comes to human rights and with poverty. >> but it's just so jarring because literally over the weekend, donald trump was saying, well, i might bomb north korea. then the next day, he's like, oh, but you know what, i might meet with the north korean president as well and he's kind of a great guy. it's the same thing with putin. >> let's talk geopolitics, sophisticad stuff. we all grew up obvioly in the

western world wheree see everything from the western view. we look at russia, bad guy. champi china, bad guy. when the world was changing in my life, the berlin wall was coming down, one of the big events like the kennedy assassinations, i found out that the last bad boss of east germany, his number one dream in life was to be received at the white house. and we never understood that part of him. add bad as these people with be, they had a notion of wanting to be respectable someday. and in some dark, crazy part of kim jong-un's mind, maybe he wanted to be respected. i don't know. that's what trump may be working. i'm trying to think this thing through. >> this is a cultural off ramp for someone like un who very much absorbed american culture through basketball to reinforce that mind set. here's the rub with all of that. you're still a bad guy. >> i agree. how do you work a bad guy out of nushlg weapons? >> you know, i don't care how

much we kind of mesh up -- >> anything that gets this guy away from the trigger. >> every time we try to ascribe some sort of master plan and rhyme and reason to what donald trump is doing, he always like then completely steps all over that. it's just i don't know that there's actual strategy involved here. >> okay. thank you. robert costa, as always, thank you. michael steele, thank you. and jay, you're great. thank you. up next, hillary clinton speaks out about why she lost the 2016 election. she strongly suggests trump and the russians were in cahoots. that's the heart of this whole investigation, trying to nail that thing. this is "hardball," where the action is. you were made to move. to progress. to not just accept what you see, but imagine something new. at invisalign®, we use the most advanced teeth straightening technology to help you find the next amazing version of yourself. it's time to unleash your secret weapon. it's there, right under your nose.

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i'm milissa rehberger. here's what's happening. former south carolina police officer michael slager is pleading guilty to ferlt civil rights charges in the 2015 shooting death of an unarmed black man. he faces up to live in prison for the killing of walter scott. in another videotaped shooting that sparked protests across the nation, federal prosecutors will not bring criminal charges against the two baton rouge policemen involved in the fatal shooting of alton sterling last summer. back to "hardball." welcome back to "hardball." in an interview today, president trump's former 2016 opponent, hillary clinton, came very close to suggesting that there was collusion between the trump campaign and russia during the 2016 campaign. >> every day that goes by, we learn more about some of the unprecedented interference, including from a foreign power whose leader is not a member of

my fan club. it was clear he interfered to hurt me and to help my opponent, and if you chart my opponent and his campaign's statements, they quite coordinated with the goals that that leader who shall remain nameless had. >> all this comes as the president appears to be taking an accommodating stance towards the kremlin these days. after acknowledging in january that he thought russia was responsible for meddling in the election, the president now seems to be extending more benefit of doubt. let's watch. >> you don't think it's funny that they, the russians, tried to meddle in the election. >> that i don't know. if you don't catch a hacker, okay, in the act, it's very hard to say who did the hacking. with that being said, i'll go along with russia. it could have been china. it could have been a lot of different groups. >> the president almost slammed the investigation into the

potential collusion telling the washington times the russia story is a fake story. it was made up so they can justify the fact that hillary clinton lost the election. meanwhile trump's former national security adviser michael flynn is being investigated himself for failing to disclose foreign payments from russia. but president trump says that it was former president obama's job to vet flynn because flynn's security clearance was reviewed or renewed, in fact, in 2016. >> i do feel badly for him. he served the country. he was a general. but just remember he was approved by the obama administration at the highest level. and when they say we didn't vet, well, obama, i guess, didn't vet because he was approved at the highest level of security by the obama administration. >> he was also fired by them. i'm joined by u.s. congressman elijah cummings. congressman cummings, i guess there's so many questions that jump out at me, but you've been into this case for so long, so many months.

why do you think trump is so -- his face changes when you bring up russia. he gets angry, defensive. he snarls. what's that about? is that because there's a couple conversations he knows he shouldn't have had? what do you think is going on here? >> keep in mind that the president said that none of his associates had had any contact with the russians. now we see that just about every one of them did. >> yeah. >> i think he feels uncomfortable. one of the things he's very sensitive about, he does want anyone to believe that the russians' interference with the election had any effect on the outcome. you don't even have to get to that question. the fact is that we know for a fact they did interfere with our elections. but i think it's -- i guess it's a paranoia, but one thing i've noticed is that when we tried to get documents with regard to general flynn -- and, by the way, in a bipartisan way -- the white house did not give us one shred of evidence with regard to the vetting process, what kind

of documents he may have signed or may have submitted when he came in for the job, and what happened -- any documents surrounding his relationship with russia and turkey. and then, finally, any documents regarding his firing from the white house. >> is it possible or plausible that flynn has all kinds of problems? he didn't fill out the right forms. he was a bit sneaky in terms of answering questions. he was embarrassed by the money he took from the risussians for that speech over there. he may have his own set of problems that may make him vulnerable, and he does haven't anything on trump. i mean is that possible? he doesn't have anything on trump? >> well, i don't -- i don't think so, but, again, that's what we are investigating. that's why we need the documents. but his lawyer -- i don't think a lawyer would say that he has,

quote, a story to tell -- that is mr. flynn -- if he didn't have a story to tell. so i really do believe -- and, chris, i practiced many years. a lawyer doesn't throw out an invitation to give his client immunity if there's not something there. >> well said. let's look at this. the associated press is now reporting that former acting attorney general sally yates will testify on may 8th, that's pretty soon, that she, quote, alerted white house counsel don mcbegan about discrepancies between the administration's statements on flynn's contact with the russian ambassador and what really transpired. this is kislyak, and this is these conversations he had. it turns out according to mcgann that flynn was caught having substantive conversations with the russian envoy, the ambassador to this country, about sanctions. that's the serious business of this whole -- this is the ball game.

if you can show that he was dealing with him on the sanctions issue as part of their whatever acocahoots deal. >> the question is, chris, why would he have been talking to the russians about the sanctions? and what did the president know about that? i mean, and then keep in mind he fired him -- that is the president fired him for telling an untruth to the vice president, but he fired him threes weeks after he knew it, after the president knew it. so why is that? so i think every day, there's a new question that opens up, and then of course the president cozies up to putin. and so we've got to figure it out. and i think, again, this is a fight for the soul of our democracy. >> well, mr. flynn, general flynn knows everything you're trying to answer. he has the answers in his head right now as he watches. this is fascinating stuff. thank you so much u.s. congressman elijah cummings of maryland. up next, more on hillary clinton's interview today and the reason she gave for the loss

in 2016. she blamed the comey letter -- fair enough -- and misogyny. we'll talk about that which is defined by webster's dictionary as hatred of women, especially by men. hmm. that's ahead. you're watching "hardball," where the action is. will your business be ready when growth presents itself? american express open cards can help you take on a new job, or fill a big order

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welcome back to "hardball." earlier this afternoon, hillary clinton sat down for a trank discussion on a range of topics from syria to north korea and of course the 2016 election. >> did we make mistakes? of course we did. did i make mistakes? oh, my gosh, yes. you'll read my confession. but i was on the way to winning until a combination of jim comey's letter on october 28th and russian wikileaks raised doubts in the minds of people who were inclined to vote for me but got scared off. >> hillary clinton, who was speaking at the women for women international charity function in new york, seemed to let her

guard down and at times eagerly needled our tweeter in chief. >> remember, i did win more than 3 million votes than my opponent. [ applause ] so it's like, really? >> il a tweetomg. >> fine. better that than interfering in foreign affairs. if he wants to tweet about me, i'm happy to be the -- you know, the diversion because we've got lots of other things to worry about. and he should worry less about the election and my winning the popular vote than doing some other things that would be important for the country. >> anyway, her appearance comes shortly after the publication of "shattered, a behind the scenes look at clinton's doomed campaign," which is currently number one on "the new york times" best-seller list. for now, i'm joined by the roundtable tonight, ned ryan, jennifer jacobs, white house reporter for bloomberg, and of

course jonathan capehart, opinion writer for "the washington post." all of you, i thought it was interesting that little allusion to the idea that trump had some help from the russians. interference in our foreign relations there. i thought it was quite a reference there. >> absolutely. she said, yeah, i made some mistakes. i'll tell you in my book all my mistakes. but this was the wikileaks from russia and this was james comey sending that letter just before the election. she said if we had had that election a few days earlier -- >> it's hard to argue with that. if you say a week and a half out, who knew. jonathan? >> allusion to russian interference? there was russian interference. >> we all thought she would win anyway, but when the comey thing hit, all the undecideds sort of flipped. >> sure. i think she's write. but let's put that quote that she said, i would have won. she was quoting something that

nate silver wrote, and that's what keeps getting lost in this discussion. everyone who picks up a paper tomorrow, who is reading online thinks that she said, i would have won on -- >> why is she quoting this guy? >> it was part of a larger question. >> if she dn't believe him? >> i'm just talking issue with people starting the quote at, i would have won, instead of saying, nate silver said i would have won. >> she didn't have to bring up nate silver. she brought him up. i wouldn't have brought him up. she wanted to document her thinking with somebody else's testament, but so what? >> she's living in a world of if's and but's. the fact of the matter is she was a terrible candidate. she ran a terrible campaign. it was a dysfunctional campaign. >> how did she win the nomination? why was she so close at the end? >> it was almost like she was the bob dole of 2016. >> wait a minute. not the greatest -- >> misogyny, what do you think?

>> she was a terrible candidate. >> she said she was a victim of misogyny. she acknowledged that. >> she claims a lot of things. >> what do you think about your mood right now? do you think that's -- >> no. i'm just saying she wants to -- >> i mean you're coming across as -- >> when somebody breaks up and says, it's not you, it's me, she wants reverse and say it's you, not me. >> you really don't like her, do you? you talk like you really don't like her. >> a lot of american voters didn't like her. >> you don't like her personally either do you? >> i don't like her politics. >> you don't like her. >> i don't like her politics. >> jonathan. >> you make your point, and then i'm going -- >> the democrats are still stuck in 2016. you made some great points over the weekend that the democrat party is not in the greatest place. >> i don't call it the democrat party first of all. go ahead. i call it the democratic party. that's an adjective. >> they're making some wrong

decisions. they learned nothing from 2016. >> you know who hasn't learned -- [ overlapping voices ] >> talk to the president of the united states, who can't help but, in meetings with reporters, saying, look at my lap. look at my electoral map or talking about his electoral win with foreign leaders. >> but here's the thing. he won. they lost. democrats learned nothing from 2016. >> you know what i think? james carville, i don't care what anybody says about the guy, the southern accent, he's really smart. the reason they won the '92 election and the '96 election and why they lost the 2016 election is they didn't listen to guys like him. work hard and play by the rules is lingo to talk to working class whites. make abortion safe, legal, and rare. talk to catholic voters and conservative voters about those issues as if they matter. they matter as much as liberals, okay? they didn't do that. >> no. >> so i think mistakes were made, you're right. the roundtable is sticking with us.

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president trump told me in the white house yesterday that barron and melania are indeed moving here. they have selected a school here in d.c. and they've enrolled him. >> of the 20 or 22 people rumored to be running or thinking of running for president on the democratic slate, i'd say the one person to keep your eye on is new orleans mayor mitch landrieu who is doing a great thing in his city of removing the four confederate monuments out there on sanctuary cities, and he is a white southern mayor who gets it on race. >> he gets the black vote big time too. i know he did. i was down there moderating those debates. anyway, ned ryan, jennifer jacobs, jonathan capehart. when we return, let me finish tonight with the trump watch.

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trump watch, tuesday, may 2nd, 2017. the scary thing happening right now if you haven't noticed is that instead of donald trump adapting to the government, the government is adapting to him. when trump came up with his nominee for the supreme court, there was a senate requirement that it would take 60 votes to get the nominee confirmed. that's how many votes it would take to end debate and bring the matter to a vote. used to take, i mean. in order to accommodate trump's choice for the supreme court, the united states senate lowered the bar from 60 votes down to a simple majority, and with the vice president being for the nominee, that means just 50 senators. today trump called for the same simple majority to be made sufficient for senate votes on government spending. in other words, he wants to flip senate rules as if he were

flipping properties in manhattan. a case could be made that trump likes world leaders who have total power and would very much like having that total power himself. we should keep our eyes on him. and that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "all in" with chris hayes starts right now. tonight on "all in." >> remember, i did win more than 3 million votes than my opponent. >> hillary clinton returns with a vengnce. >> i was on the way to winni until a combination of jim comey's letter on october 28th and russian wikileaks. >> tonight, as the president of the united states once again casts doubt on russian election sabotage -- >> i'll go along with russia. it could have been china. it could have been a lot of different groups. >> -- his former opponent raises the strongman alarm. >> i was your secretary of state, and we do speak out about rigged elections. then -- >> trump got roll