rhetoric. >> that's not how the u.s. speaks. >> i appreciate christina bringing in a lyric. you'll get us next time? >> i might even sing. >> you might even sing. a little levity on a serious day. "hardball" starts right now. fire and fury. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm steve kornacki in for chris matthews. president trump issued a dramatic warning to north korea. it came hours after the news that u.s. intelligence officials have couldn't clued that had north korea has successfully developed a nuclear weapon he small enough to foit a missile. the "washington post" was the first to report the news. nbc news has now confirmed it. the post citing from july 28

that determined, quote, north korea has produced nuclear weapons for ballistic missile delivery. a mile spoken to many experts believed was years away. today, that is new jersey golf club, president trump issued this warning. >> north korea best not make any more threats to the united states. they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. he has been very threatening beyond a normal state. and as i said, they will be met with fire, fury and frankly, power. the likes of which this world has never seen before. thank you. >> all right. i'll joined now by nbc chief foreign affairs correspondent, andrea mitchell, special assistant to president obama for national security, and gordon, author of nuclear showdown,

north korea takes on the world. thank you all for joining us. a very big day here. andrea mitchell, a couple questions. let's start on the nuts and bolts in terms of what u.s. intelligence knows. it sounds like as it speeds up the timetable potentially for what north korea is capable of, how competent is u.s. intelligence that they've got and what does it mean in terms of the potential for north korea pull off some kind of fake would affect the united states. what does it mean for a timetable for their ability to do that? >> those are all very good and tough questions. i would call this an estimate or an assessment from the defense intelligence agency which is a little more forward leaning than some of the others. this is not an intelligence wide, or a community wide assessment by all the intelligence agencies. but it is alarming. it is alarming because the timetable is so much faster, the pace of this is so much faster

than what had been previously assessed. the fact is on the 11th of july, they fired off a missile that could reach denver or chicago. this was not expected to happen for another year or so. and now they believe, from this agency, that they have managed to miniaturize a weapon that he could go inspied icbm. they have not set solved the reentry of this problem nor testing it for accuracy, for effectiveness. but that said, this is a much more ram i had pace. it reduces to months rather than years the front line of what could be possible by north korea. and that obviously makes it a lot sooner that they could really materially threaten the united states. it has to raise questions by the administration of what kind of options diane feinstein saying that the president's response was bombastic, criticizing it and saying we should initiate without pre conditions, diplomatic talks.

john mccain saying he thought presses's rhetoric was not helpful and he cannot imagine any president from eisenhower through reagan would use that kind of rhetoric unless he is prepared to carry it out and he does not think the president is prepared to carry out military action. >> let's stay on it. president trump's response. it was so striking. we just played that clip from his golf club in new jersey today. he sat straight up when that news came. just before that he was reading a script about opioid addiction. he was reading. the changing body language was striking, but stay on that point. i think the question is this is a president who says he looks at president obama, what president obama did with syria, he said barack obama's mistake was drawing the red line. he, donald trump, would never draw a red line. those statements he made promising fire and fury if north korea goes any farther with this, does that amount to a red line here? >> it certainly could be

interpreted that way. and it is perhaps a message to china and to others to really pay attention. now, obviously, we have diplomacy in play. the sanctions are a nonmilitary response. those new sanctions. very effectively done by the u.n. ambassador and carried out in the recent asian summit by the secretary of state. so there was praise for that diplomacy, for that circling the wagons, lining all the asian countries. 25 asian countries, asian pacific countries including russia and china and the united states leading the way against north korea, isolating north korea. now the question is will china really live up to it? many people are doubtful. it is a front door but not closing the back door on the economic pipeline to north korea. so there was a lot more room for maneuvering. this new assessment clearly has raised the stakes, because the president and his advisers seem to feel they needed to send a very strong message, which they

did. now north korea has already responded with a threat against guam. this is because of the b-1 bombers flying overhead based in guam. >> in terms of of that response from north korea, let me bring in someone very familiar with the north korean regime. you have the president making this statement about fire and fury. now you have reports frommer north korean state media that the response from kim jong-un is to say, okay, we'll wipe out guam. a u.s. possession of guam. how do you interim rhett the response from north korea? >> guam is always going to be in the sights of north koreans and clearly in response to the fire and fury message. the other thing the president was trying to do, i think as andrea mentioned, was to signal to the chinese that the u.s. is running out of patience. more importantly, he was trying to reemphasize deterrence.

when the north koreans are confident in their arsenal and they will be fairly soon, they'll use to it blackmail the united states. not just guam but los angeles. they want to break the treaty with south korea. they want our troops off the peninsula. >> do they take this seriously? when they hear donald trump thauk way, do they say this guy really might attack us? or do they say he's constrained, the u.s. talks tough? >> i think they might have yawned a little bit. when they think about it, i think they're going to be concerned. trump is very different from every precedesing president. he used language that does not, in the american vocabulary. so i think they are worried that he is unpredictable. this is richard nixon's madman theory. the idea is to convince the rest of the world that they have to do what we want because we're crazy enough to do something completely unimaginable. >> andrea was reading off the

responses from a united states politicians, leaders on both sides of the aisle, expressing concern, maybe even alarm over how the president addressed this in public. but you have rex tillerson who has been working on the sanctions with china, trying get north korea to the table on this. now you have the president talking this way. one of the questions this raises, this is a key question. the president faulk way today, does that reflect the president himself deciding on his won't the cameras in the room, this is what i'm going to do? i'm going to sound tough, do a dirty harry routine some or is this strategic on the part of entire administration? is there some sort of strategic thinking mere this will buttress tillerson here in the negotiations? is there coordination in the administration? or is this a president throughout on his own? how do you interpret it? >> i think those people who have been hoping there would be some sort of strategic thought coming out of this administration have

been disappointed time and time again. on this north korean policy we're all over the map. the secretary of state himself has said, there will be no negotiations until, he said there's no conditions. the president, the secretary of defense, the u.n. ambassador have all been out of will sync. it makes you wonder what they use it for if they're not going to coordinate policy. i have no doubt this was off the top of the president's head. he felt this is role he needs to play but it is clear he hasn't thought it through. has the statement unlike anything we've seen out of a president in the nuclear age. president obama used to say, super powers don't bluff. if you're going to make a statement like this, that you're going on threaten to use nuclear womens against north korea, all you're doing is increasing the prediction a conflict are erupt. the north koreans will strike first and they'll feel need to do so and beat us to the punch and that's not the way the united states has maintained stability and security in the

region for 50 years. >> so where does this go? we've got, it looks like blustery rhetoric, your response in north korea. that you said. we'll try to wipe out guam. nobody thinks that's where they are right now. but in terms of, with the statement trump put out today, what can he tolerate from north korea going forward that is not going to make it look like he is letting they will cross his de gloo glookt red line? >> just nasa january, that he said an icbm won't happen. i think he's already embarrassed and that's part of reason he's put forth such bluster. the problem is not what president trump says or jong ki jong-un says never response. is there a north korean fishing investigate that he will gets fired upon? is there a powerer issue? it was said during cuban missile

crisis, why isn't there someone somewhere who never gets the word? we're not in control of the situation and neither are the north koreans and that's why we work very hard over the next 50 years to make sure weer coordinating with our allies, we're not the ones adding gasoline to the fire quhas president trump did today. the timing is so interesting. you have a new white house chief of staff. john kelly. somebody with a military back ground who came in with a lot of hopes of folks in washington, both sides of the aisle, maybe there would be more discipline, a little more organization, a little more chaos. now you have a situation where this is the president's response immediately after being confirmed with the greatest foreign policy crisis of his presidency. this is his response with john kelly this as his chief of staff. >> what is surprising is that defense secretary mattis has made it very clear that a war

with north korea would be catastrophic. that there really isn't a viable, preemptive option. we don't know where everything is. we couldn't take it all out. they have conventional artillery that would for 48 hours rain down on south korea. there are 100,000 citizens in south korea, as well as 28,000 u.s. troops right there. the distance between the dmz and seoul where there are 25 million people is about the distance from washington to baltimore. so we've had a lot of warnings from very cautious military people in this administration. and we now have a military man very well regarded who was the chief of staff. that's what is so confounding about this particular response, the rhetoric that was used. we don't have a hotline even at the height of the cold war, i covered the cold war with the reagan years, and before gorbachev when there were soviet

leaders who were not communicating in any kind of way the president of the united states other, than the soviet ambassador in washington. but there was a hotline. there were fail safes. we don't have any communication like this other than an antiquated administration with the north korean ambassador and that has not been working effectively. >> i think everybody, their mind is on there. could this lead to a military confrontation? if the timetable is speeding up, if they are looking at this nuclear capability as the solution to so many of the problems they face as a state. if that's their attitude, will the united states have to say, can we tolerate this cape sgilt is there a chance the united states could live with that? could tolerate that? or does it reach a point where a military option down the line, there comes a consense us the united states has to do to avoid

that. >> we deterred the soviet union for decades. we're deterring china now. the issue is whether north korea is stable enough to deter? and i think so. we have to look at some of the things that happened this year in the regime, starting from about mid-january, going to mid-february, indicating real turbulence inside the ruling group. if that ruling group is as turbulent as it looked in that period, then we have to have a whole review of where we're going with this. we may decide we have to use force. there are a lot of things we can do that are nonkinetic. talk about sanctions on north korea, much more severe than on saturday. we can go after chinese banks which have been money laundering for the north koreans, we can stop the equipment to the north korean ballistic missile systems. there's a lot to do before we exhaust all the nonkinetic options. >> okay. thank you all for being with us. much more, of course on, this during the show tonight.

coming up, the political reaction to the big north korean news. what is behind that hard line rhetoric from president trump and what is next after his promise north korea will not be able to put a nuclear head on a missile on his launch? this is his first grave foreign policy test as a president. that's ahead. plus the news that president trump himself through his attorney has corresponded privately with robert mueller who is negotiating president trump's foreign russia ties. and we have new polls. overall, the numbers do not look very good for the president. we'll find out what it could mean for trump, for his party, and for the democrats who of course are hoping to take back the house and maybe more in those mid-term elections next year. and finally, the round table will weigh in on the north korea crisis and more things you may not know. this is "hardball."

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americans are uneasy about the threat posed by north korea as well as the president's ability to handle it. according the a new cbs news poll out today, good timing on this. 61% are uneasy about trump's ability to handle a nuclear situation before the one in three americans confident he can deal with it. the president said that threats from north korea would be met with fire and fury. much more on this. we'll be right back. if you're told you have cancer, explore your treatment options with specialists who treat only cancer.

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we're always working to make our services more reliable. with technology that can update itself. and advanced fiber network infrastructure. new, more reliable equipment for your home. and a new culture built around customer service. it all adds up to our most reliable network ever. one that keeps you connected to what matters most. welcome back. the news that north korea could now fit a nuclear warhead on a missile that might reach the united states represents the biggest foreign policy test of the trump presidency to date. the intelligence assessment comes after the president appears to draw a red line, what attempted to a red line on north korea's rapidly developing weapons program. it won't happen, he said.

he was warned that north korea is the most urgent problem he would confront upon taking office. despite president trump's confrontational rhetoric in the face of the threat today, politico is reporting that behind closed doors, the trump administration is pursuing a strategy that's not all that different from president barack obama's approach. joined now by robert costa, national political reporter for the "washington post" and political analyst, and susan page is the washington bureau chief for usa today. robert costa, let me start with you. if you could take us behind the scenes, one question on people's minds as they watch trump deal with this in a very public way, how prepared is he behind the scenes? a president who came in with no foreign policy experience, obviously. there have been reports that maybe he's not as interested in the briefings he received as president, as past presidents have been. of course, he has all the military folks around him. how prepared was he over the

last few months behind the scenes to deal publicly with what he is confronted with now? >> based on my reporting, the president has been briefed each week. sometimes each day about the threat in north korea. this has happened at national security meetings, h.r. mcmaster has been doing a lot of. . he has briefed at national security meetings during the week at the white house. the pace of which this is unf d unfolded has confronted the president while he's on vacation. he is go working with general kelly to figure out a strategy and a response with mcmaster as well. >> susan page, we've seen this, how many times in history with all sorts of president dozen we see this? i don't think that north korea was an issue that donald trump particularly campaigned on. he talked about it here and there but if you look at the debates, this was not a subject that was pre eminent in the campaign. it didn't seem to motivate him to run. we've seen this a lot.

george w. bush didn't expect to be dealing with 9/11, but here we are. six, seven months in, donald trump for all the controversies, all the chaos of the presidency so far, here he is dealing with something on a very, very serious level and i don't think necessarily he thought he would. >> this was certainly not an issue that animated his presidential campaign. it is not something he talked about much. it was no secret that north korea would be the biggest foreign policy challenge facing whoever got elected president. that wasn't new. but it did not get dealt with in the campaign in a serious way. and of course, as you say, that was in a way not surprising, that often takes, that often happens that a president faces a challenge for which he was not either prepared or was not really in his natural wheel house. the difficulty with north korea for donald trump as it was for barack obama, even for george w. bush who was around, who was serving as president during the first nuclear test, is that the options for what to do are so limited and all of them carry

such serious down sides. >> yeah. >> and the challenge facing president trump is not just a direct one with north korea. he has to figure out, i'm told by my sources, how to have a regional response. what is china's role going to be? he's built a relationship with abe in japan. what is the international response? from the united nations or all the other allies? all of these are big discussed tonight as the president thinks through, yes, he wants the hot rhetoric but he also needs to really craft a response that takes in international order. >> in hanging over all this, sort of the big picture basic philosophical picture about foreign policy and how u.s. interests are defined, speaking about north korea on the campaign trail, donald trump took more of what you might call noninterventionist approach saying countries like japan, if japan could mount more of a defense, should be able to protect itself against north

korea. >> now -- >> a case could be made, let them protect themselves against north korea. they would probably wipe they will out pretty quick. if they fight, that would be a terrible thing. terrible. good luck, folks. end joy yourself. >> so north korea has nukes. maybe they would be better off. including with nukes, yes. >> in the context there we forget with this donald trump in the campaign was talking about other countries having nuclear weapons. of course, japan since world war ii hasn't had the kind of military they had then. maybe they should. but what that gets to in the bigger philosophical questions, donald trump made a lot of noise as a candidate but he also says, bomb the hell out of isis. the idea of being tough with other countries. this could be one of those situations where those two things come into conflict a bit. >> i think when he talked about

america first, let's not get involved in a messy, difficult, possibly deadly situation like the conflict with north korea. the reality is once you're president, you don't have the option of saying no, given our commitments to south korea and japan. so that has been a learning lesson for donald trump. and i think he's been surprised on another as effect on pick up on something robert was saying. i think donald trump thought he could do more to pressure china into handling north korea. and of course, china did join the hispanics were imposed by the tungunited nations the othe day. but the idea that he will fix it, that's not realistic. >> let me ask but this as well. on any other night, this would be our lead story here but there's some news about the trump/russia investigation. it is in the papers. usa today reporting that through his lawyer, trump has sent private messages of appreciation to special counsel robert mueller. that communication was confirmed

by one of the president's attorneys who said without elaborating, the president has sent messages back and forth. another lawyer familiar with the matter now telling nbc news, only pleasantries were exchan exchanged. of course you had the whole thing with comey and trump. >> the question in our minds, is this appropriate for the president 22nd a special counsel? to be sending these friendly messages at a time when he is also denouncing the investigation as a hoax. and just to know, has the story that is based 100% on named sources, john dowd telling us, these positive respectful messages were sent. this is quite at odds with the president's public posture. >> okay. we'll try to get into that later in the show. some big breaking news on multiple fronts. thank you. we appreciate that. up next, donald trump trying to shore up his base with new

polling. two new polls that do not look good for the president. is it enough for the democrats to capitalize and come back in the mid-term some this is "hardball" where the action is. ♪go your own way copd tries to say, "go this way." i say, "i'll go my own way" with anoro. ♪go your own way once-daily anoro contains two medicines called bronchodilators, that work together to significantly improve lung function all day and all night. anoro is not for asthma . it contains a type of medicine that increases risk of death in people with asthma. the risk is unknown in copd. anoro won't replace rescue inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than once a day. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, glaucoma, prostate, bladder, or urinary problems. these may worsen with anoro. call your doctor if you have worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain

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♪ welcome back to "hardball." we have some news about donald trump and his standing with the american people. some of the people who voted for him, the people who voted for him, three new polls to tell you

about. saying some interesting things here. let me give you the headlines. gallup, they do a daily tracking poll every afternoon. 37% say they have donald trump's approval rating sitting at 37. cbs got him at 36. cnn at 38. it is not a surprise that donald trump's numbers are low. they've been low his entire presidency, they've been low his entire campaign. for close to two weeks now, they've been extra low. at least by donald trump standards. they've been in the 30s. it seems consistent. he seems to be at least for the moment, settling in at the 30s, not in the low 40s. that's a potentially critical difference. between the low 40s and the mid to high 30s. of course we've been talking about north korea, this big crisis. how donald trump will handle it. this is subject to volatility. donald trump seals to be settling in at a new low level for his presidency. keep this in mind if you're a

trump supporter, if you've in the white house, this is number maybe you're paying attention to more. his performance on the economy. how he handles the economy. that's running ahead of his job approval. we don't usually see this but we're seeing an almost 10-point improvement. when we ask how do you think he's handling the economy? 46% approval on that. how do you think he is handling his job, the number goes lower. that's a trend. maybe a separation to keep an eye on. again, the big picture by any modern historical standard, donald trump is rock bottom here. 37%. you see the only mod earn president at this point who comes close to an approval rating this low, it was bill clinton, 44%. obviously, he ended up being a two-material president but remember, he had been higher than 44% early in his presidency. the first few days, first few weeks, he was dropping and then he came back. donald trump has never really been higher than the mid 40s.

so bill clinton was able to get much higher during his presidency. we haven't seen donald trump ever rise to those levels. it seems to be lamb different strategy. the thing we've seen historically, if you have a low approval rating, your party pays at the polls in the mid-term. obama in 2010, he was 44%. you remember the massacre for democrats. a 63-seat gain for republicans in the house. in 2006, bush was in the low 30s. in 1994, clinton was at 43%. 40 years of democratic control of the house disappeared in that election. reagan in 82. republicans didn't have many seats to lose in '82. and remember, donald trump's numbers, lower than clinton, lower than reagan. so history says this is a very bad place for trump. not just for trump but for the republican party. for more, i'll joined by michael steele. and the director of programming

for sirius xm. thanks to both of you for joining us. i think it is clear to say there is been slippage for donald trump. from the low 40s, that's been where his sweet spot has been. now into the 30s, i guess the question is, if you get to a campaign atmosphere in 2018, does polarization, does polarization of the country bring it back into the 40s? or does he need to do something else? >> no. i don't know if it brings it back into the 40s. i think what the president has to be cognizant of, i'm sure many republican operatives are, among independent voters, he is at a minus, a big minus. he has a very, very small number supporting what he's been doing with the administration. that for me is the sweet spot. soft ds for sure. the independent voters will help fill in those important gaps around the country.

particularly in close, tight congressional races. those independent voters can come out. if they're pissed, if their frustrations with the president are still manifest for them, you can see a repeat of what we saw in 2006 while the president is not on the ballot. his party. is and anyone that has that r behind the name could pay a price there. so it does behoove the administration and republicans right now to pay close attention to where these numbers are. they can't afford to have them stay in the cellar much beyond october, november. they have to show some rise and increase. >> we say, by any modern historical standard, this is disaster for republicans in 2018. a president with disapproval ratings. you would think the democrats would be in position for a huge gain. but by any past standard, donald trump should have faced disaster on election day as well. how confident are you that you have a really good grasp on the

nature of his appeal, what he's tapping into, how he was able to win an election with such poisonous numbers and what that could mean for 2018? >> i think democrats are trying to come to terms with that. there are 91 districts that are closer thank not the georgia six which is very close, and swung wildly in fare of democrats, although they came up short. so going into 2018, it is more that finding a positive message. it can't just be anti-trump. that didn't work. but looking beyond 2016 as a lesson for how we should message in 2018. you have to look back to 2008. to 2010. and elections prior to the trump era. i think that actually is more accurate in terms of indicating what we should expect, even though donald trump is a factor in 2018. >> so are democrats giving people a reason to vote democrat the?

or is it, trump is going too far, vote for us. >> you have the dnc, congressional democrats all coming up with messages for their particular constituencies. i think there's a core message. inclusion and opportunity. so it is about diversity being a strength, not a weakness. the antithesis to what donald trump ran on which was identity politics but it was about white identity. i think that's one thing in our analysis of 2016, we're missing. we're putting identity politics against economic issues, as if those two things in conflict with one another and they're not. whiteness is an identity and there are plenty of working class brown and black voters that would come out for democrats if the message was fine tuned. >> i have to ask you a quick question. i'm thinking back to 2010. you were the republican chairman and you can maybe speak to this.

my recollection of 2010, i wasn't sure what they were for. i know republicans were against barack obama and it did seem, they were against barack obama, against the stimulus and they had a pretty good identity. >> we were for something. the galvanizing idea of you taking power away from government. the whole fire pelosi campaign was about. it worked, whether you're running for a local city race or if you're running for governor of your state or the united states senate. the idea was empowering people. when you talk about the he could not is it t not, the constituencies. you have to find a way to create that energy. if the way you're going to do that is a better deal, that's not galvanizing the base. that's not elevating the argument for them to get off their couch is that go out and

support a democrat. meanwhile, republicans are looking over their shoulder saying how much do we have to do to hold this house? and throws two tensions that will be very interesting to watch over the next year. >> all right. by any historic al standard, they are very bad numbers for donald trump. so we'll see with north korea, what will happen. michael steele, zerina maxwell. president trump promised he would meet north korea's he threats with fire and fury. the latest provocative statement he's made. we'll look at the tale of the tape. that's next. you don't let anything

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any more threats to the united states. they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never

seen. >> welcome back to "hardball." that was president trump today with a strongly worded warning for north korea but it comes amid a series of at times been contradictory. >> china is helping us possibly or probably with the north korean situation. i wish we would have a little more help with almost to north korea. that doesn't seem to be working out. as far as north korea is concerned, i don't know. we'll see what happens. i don't like to talk about what i have planned. but i have some pretty severe things that we're thinking about. that doesn't mean we'll do them. i don't draw red lines. we'll handle north korea. it will behand. we handle everything. >> and let's bring in the "hardball" roundtable. beth, a senior editor for nbc

news, and a senior reporter for politico. beth, that statement from donald trump today, fire and fury. one of the things i'm trying to figure out. i'm curious what you think. who do you think his audience was? was this a message aimed at north korea is a message aimed at china to say look what i might do? was this a guy trying to sound tough for the american people? >> i wish i thought that he was being strategic about this. to me he was being as impulsive as he is about many things that he tweets, says, thinks out loud. with the story in the "washington post," this nuclear weapon is in process of being made much sooner than we thought. he wanted to show he was tough. it was the first time he's spoken to the press since he went on his 17-day vacation in new jersey. h this was his chance to get on the record. you can see it in his real

estate dealings. brinksmanship. that fwhorks real estate. >> there was a criticism with george w. bush, some would privately voice that he was a little too much in public trying to sound like an old west sheriff. they wanted him to tone that down. with the bush administration you in there was a cohesive strategy in place. they were on the same page, they were working toward the sail ends. the question with trump, it is not just the rhetoric. is this a president who has laid out, is he participating in a strategy administrationwide or is that still being worked out? >> it is definitely being worked out. we have to remember, this has been decades in the making but it is a strategy that involves diplomatic efforts, serious talks. bringing china to the table, russia to the table. this is japan, south korea, australia, all of our neighbors

in that region. and let's put this into context. we had an incident with president trump where he acknowledged a transgender policy that immediately his generals went back on and said they were unaware of. this is so much more serious than that with this bluster. it would be fine if it wasn't so serious to taking us to the brink. do i have confidence that he is the man in place? absolutely not. do i have confidence there are people around him who can hopefully de-escalate? convince him of the merits of diplomacy? this has gotten far out of hand. we've seen republicans and democrats dial it back. he will have to get with his generals, fortune policy experts, through statements like the and also social media. >> how do you step back from this? already we've seen a bit of a test where he says, fire and

fury. now through state media we have north korea saying okay, we'll wipe guam out. is that something the president now, given the way he talked today, can just ignore? can let go? how do you take a different tone after taking the tone he took today? >> you know, nobody wants what the president seems to be suggesting, seems to be lurking toward. he is taking posture of someone who is acting as if he's crazy enough to do what he's saying. the way you could pin it back to something more responsible, with his administration officials. to claim a victory and say, look, the north koreans aren't doing what they had been planning on doing. they've responded to my threats. now let's go back to the table. any opportunity he who is the declare a victory, to say my loud rhetoric worked, this might be the only way he can walk us

back without this. >> except the regime proves they do ratchet up their own rhetoric. it is almost the chicken and the egg. >> we had gordon chang on earlier. the had north koreans, this is different. this is more of an imminent threat to us. it doesn't sound like they're interpreting that right now and how would donald trump react to that reality. roundtable is sticking with us. up next, a report from one of his foreign republican rivals. this is "hardball." er's disease is out there. and the alzheimer's association is going to make it happen by funding scientific breakthroughs, advancing public policy, and providing local support to those living with the disease and their caregivers.

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jeb bush gave an interview today. >> president trump has just passed the six-month mark of his 200 days now. what kind of grade would you give him? >> he's exhausting. i mean, it is an incomplete grade in the sense that not much has been done. but it feels like the whole world has been turned upside down. he's created controversy where there's no need for it. he should lead. i hope he assumes the mantle of leadership that he has not yet done. >> jeb bush was supposed to be the front-runner for the republican nomination.

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north korea might be president trump's first international crisis. his legacy could be determined by how he handles it. that moment for president bush was 9/11. here's his speech three days later. >> i can hear you. the rest of world hears you. and the people -- the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon. >> i think we all remember he that. the round table is back with us. obviously what we've learned is nothing like 9/11. but that is an example, what happened on 9/11, how that changed the direction of history. certainly the bush pressescy. there was in that moment there, a chance for him to become something different to the american people than he had been

before then. in some ways, a crisis like this tests donald trump. whatever you think of him, he is being tested like he hasn't before. >> looking at that video of president bush, we all said, this is not a man who is ready for this type of challenge. he stepped up to it. he won re-election two years later. his leadership was liedly praised, initially, at least, until iraq and things went south. but it was a time he stepped forward and confront a crisis that was unlike anything else he ever dealt with. this paels in comparison with what could happen with north korea. he is not equipped to handle the whatsoever. he famously said at the convention last year, i alone can fix it. he alone cannot fix this. >> on a scale that is bigger and in many ways more frightening than we've seen before.

anything he's confronlted. it's a question we're asking, does he have something that will change way we view this? it is a test. we'll see what happens from here. the roundtable will stay with me. this is "hardball" where the action is. a millie dresselhaus doll! happy birthday, sweetie! oh, millies. trick or treat! we're so glad to have you here. ♪

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we are back with the the

roundtable. >> it hasn't stopped them from digging into trump and his taxes. expect many structural issues about, how he structured his business entities. >> we'll keep an eye out for that. >> trump grew number queens. for apparently $600 a night, you can stay in the childhood home he grew up in. >> $600 a night? >> yes. >> how about you? >> the nice nerdy political thing, glen campbell who died today. country crooner, rhinestone cowboy, by the time i get on phoenix, he stack first night at the republican national convention in 1980. >> there you go. look at that. we've got some great footage of

it right there. and political nerds out there, where was it? >> detroit. detroit, michigan. that was a good one. i like the archivalal footage. thank you for joining us. that's "hardball" for now. all in with chris hayes starts right now. tonight on "all in," -- >> north korea best not make any more threats to the united states. >> an unprecedented threat from the president. >> they'll be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. >> tonight president trump's rhetorical escalation, following reports that north korea now has its own nuclear warheads. and how a white house rife with inthe identifying will respond to a nuclear threat. >> rosenstein should be ashamed of himself. >> congressman swalwell on the ongoing effort