i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today." ari melber will be back on "the beat." right now, "hardball" with chris matthews. locked and loaded. let's play "hardball." >> i'm katy tur in for chris matthews. president trump has escalated his are rhett ricket on north korea yet again today. here he was an hour ago in new jersey saying he homed for a peaceful solution, but that a bad solution was possible too. >> nobody loves a peaceful solution better than president trump. we will see what happens. we think that lots of good things can happen and we can have a bad solution. but we think lots of good things

can happen. >> what would be a bad solution? >> i think you know the answer to that. >> when you say bad solution, are you talking about war? is the u.s. going to war? >> i think you know the answer to that. >> the president wouldn't answer question on possible regime change in pyongyang. he did say he is considering additional very strong check sanctions and he boasted that kim jong-un hasn't been saying much for the past three days. he also issued this warning on guam. >> if anything happens to guam, there will be big, big trouble in north korea. >> it follows a day of tough talk. this morning, he tweeted military solutions are now fully in place. locked and loaded should north korea act unwisely. hopefully kim jong-un will find another path. the president was asked to explain that threat later in the day. >> what do you mean by military solutions or sxlolocked and loa

as it relates to north korea from is. >> i think it is pretty obvious. we are looking at it very carefully and i home they will fully understand the gravity of what i said. what i said is what i mean. so hopefully they'll understand, peter, exactly what i said and the meaning of those words. those words are very, very easy to understand. this man will not get away with what he is doing. believe me. if he utters one threat in the form of an overt threat, which he has been uttering for years and his family has been uttering for years, or if he does anything with respect to guam or any place else that is an american territory or an american ally, he will truly regret it. and he will regret it fast. >> president trump has been ratcheting up the warnings against kim jong-un all week. on tuesday he said any more threats from north korea would be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. he followed up yesterday with a

series of vague threats. today he was asked to respond to critics who say his rhetoric is only making things worse sflflt my critics are only saying that because it's me. if somebody else uttered the exact same words that i uttered, they would say, what a wonderful statement. they're -- i will tell you, we have tens of millions of people in this country that are so happy with what i'm saying. because they're saying, finally we have a president that is sticking up for our nation. and frankly, sticking up for our friends and allies. >> i'm joined by kelly o'donnell with the president, the "washington post" columnist and republican strategist steve schmidt. a moment ago, the president was asked, we just played it. is the president going to go to war with north korea? and his response was, you know the answer to that. i don't know the answer to that. what was he saying? does anyone on the staff know the answer to that? does north korea know the answer to that?

>> i felt the same frustration. reporters over the last few days have put a question like that to the president. and he has given back that response in some form, where he believes it is obvious order doesn't want to verbalize it more specifically. but clearly, as journalists and representing the public, there are questions. it is unclear. and we have asked him if he has made any attempt to adjust readiness for the military. he's declined to talk about that as commander-in-chief. he has long said he doesn't want to preview or forecast his moves. that's understandable. we don't know if he would put forth a rationale to the american people about where things stand in terms of any military, and or diplomatic response to north korea at this point beyond these suddenly frequent opportunities for the president to engage with a small number of reporters. this is just a small group of members of the white house press pool. one television, one radio, wires

and one newspaper. so it is a very small group who have been with the president over the last couple days. it is a rotating group. and they have been ready with lots of questions. so we've been able to draw the president out on a lot of topics. he's been willing to engage. yet there's some unsatisfying aspects to this because he seems to be floating this strong tough guy image that the president likes to project on behalf of the country. at the same time, a bit of mystery. what does this mean toward north korea? and then being, he certainly within his purview to be very limited in what he wants to say about specifying military things. it does lead people into questions and he says he would protect the people of guam. >> he is talking but it is continually unclear what exactly he is trying to say.

>> if he utters one threat in the form of an overt threat, which he has been uttering for years and his family has been uttering for years, if he does anything with respect to guam or any place else that's an american territory or an american ally, he will truly regret it. and he will regret it fast. >> he's talking about overt threats. i don't know what he means by overt threats. he is talking about locked and loaded. he is saying it is pretty obvious what he means by sxlokd loaded. i don't think it is obvious what he means by that. can you clarify any of that for me? >> i can't. it is certainly a departure from teddy roosevelt, walk softly and carry a big stick. the last three administrations have pursued almost every

conceivable option. the north korean's ability to miniaturize a nuclear weapon, put on it top of an intercontinental ballistic missile. it is a real existential threat to the country. i'm not sure the president is making things better. what history teaches us, is that every leader believes they can control events. but most leaders he are controlled by events. and when leaders are controlled by events, and they begin to lose control of the trajectory of them, and those events spiral, leaders miscalculate. they misjudge adversaries. right at this point in history where the last of the survivors of the death camps, the last of the men who landed on the normandy beaches are coming to the end of their very long lives, it seems to me we're losing that human memory, that

capacity to imagine what a tragedy on a global scale could look like. >> how bad it can be. >> i think we have a lack of imagination in this country. we've been at war for 17 years. more americans would be killed in the first five minutes of the second korean war than have lost their lives in the totality of these wars in iraq and afghanistan. the last korean war, a million and a half koreans died. and korea is one of the poorest countries in the world. today, south korea is the sixth largest economy and this would be the first war fought by a major power in the interconnected global economy in the internet age where global markets move in unison and tandem. and what could happen here, the danger of a miscalculation caused by this bluster and his serial unpreparedness for these issues, and his previous loose talk about nuclear weapons, very, very disconcerting.

i think you see that playing out with the statements made by any one of a number of different leaders from the south koreans who didn't name the president but were referring to him, to the jerel an it's chance lore as well. >> those who don't learn from history are doomed repeat it. >> eugene, he is will saying, they're going to be met with fire and fury. my question to you was, is that kind of language vetted? today we saw him standing alongside his secretary of state. he was alongside nikki haley. are they approving this rhetoric? >> i can't imagine that they are. i can't imagine that threatening it is wise to hear a u.s. president speaking like this. i get president trump probably thinks it is clever to speak to kim jong-un in the kind of language that he uses but it is not. it is not clever. it runs the risk, as steve

schmidt said, of a misstep, a miscalculation. blunders sometimes pile on top of blunders, and lead to conflict. and conflict between two states with nuclear weapons, which is what the united states and north korea are, is really unthinkable. it cannot happen. and i think rex tillerson understands that. i think nikki haley understands that. i'm pretty sure the generals understand what the implications of such a conflict would be. and so given the loose cannon president who keeps mouthing off in this way, we have to hope that the generals and the diplomats are communicating in more measured tones. >> the president brought up the possibility of a military option in venezuela. let's listen to that. >> we have many options for venezuela. by the way, i'm not going to

rule out a military option. we have many options for venezuela. this is our neighbor. we're all over the world and we have troops all over the world and places that are very, very far away. venezuela is not very far away. and the people are suffering. and they're dying. we have many options for venezuela including a possible military option if necessary. >> kelly o'donnell, where did this come from? this is a man who campaigned on america first. he said america would not be the world's policeman. now he is saying he won't rule out a military option in venezuela. >> i think in a broader context, i'm struck by, over these comments today, yesterday, earlier this week, that notion of the president being either taken literally or seriously. we had talked about that during the campaign season. now it is in a much more serious context. there seems to be, even with the acknowledgement of some aides,

the president projecting a unique power that goes with the office that he holds after a time when he has been frustrated by the inability to exert power over congress. but as the commander in chief, as the leader of a powerful united states and a world fraught with trouble spots, he seems most comfortable trying to project this strength and he will do it in ways that are not exact. that are colorful, sometimes to the extreme, that suggest a notion more than speaking in the careful language of diplomacy. and it seems we've this, introducing the notion of venezuela, he also spoke about being concerned that iran was not living up to the spirit of nuclear deal. he touched on a lot of topic areas when prompted by questions. he seems to be finding this comfort zone where the unique office that he holds, and even with the argument about how much power should be concentrated without consulting congress, it seems the president feels he has to exert this image. and he has dominated the

headlines over recent days. he has controlled the headlines in a way that he has not been able to do in broader political terms for weeks. and not to suggest there's a political motive alone, because he bears a responsibility as commander in chief. in terms of getting his own traction for how he projects himself, it seems at the moment, using the strong man language, a threatening tone with a bit of reassurance occasionally, seems to be a place where he's comfortable. >> is this just a psychological tick that he has? is this the president needing to appear as the strongest person in the room? needing to appear as the person who would hit back the hardest? someone who wants to envision himself that way. so he is acting that way to convince everybody around him. >> we've all heard donald trump talk about his love of being a koirnlt puncher. and i think it is clearly true

that humiliation as a political tactic has worked for him against adversaries, business adversaries. but he seems fully unaware of the asian conception of face. so his bluster could be interim retd as humiliating toward kim jong-un. and could it corner him. and we know less about north korea than nearly every country on earth. we don't even know for sure when kim jong-un was born. we know very little about the command and control of this closed society. everybody is focused on what fire means in english or locked and loaded. i'm more interested in the interpretation what locked and loaded is in korean and how is that received in the ears of a 32-year-old tyrant that we know very little about, who runs a country with an iron hand in

absolute control. and that is how misjudgments and miscalculations happen. >> go ahead. >> that's why you have diplomats. that's why you have intelligence agencies. which donald trump doesn't trust and he thinks they're part of deep state. venezuela, military options in venezuela to do what? it is an absurd sort of out of the blue idea that can't possibly have any substance. and when you hear things that cannot possibly have any sub it's stand coming out of the mouth of the president about military action and there's no substance there. how is the world to take that? how is the world to react? this sort of vacuum of american credibility will have serious consequences. >> he is his own adviser which is what he said often. if you haven't already, take a

look at the "new york times" article profiling kim jong-un describing his rise to power, describing his goals and ames. he murdered his uncle. who helped him regain power, helped him keep power. this is what they say. because he wasn't clapping enthusiastically enough for him when he took stage. thank you, kelly o'donnell, eugene robinson and steve smith. what does north korea hear when they hear sxlokd loaded? what about china and russia? what options beyond tough talk we really have. plus the russia investigation. prosecutors are zeroing in on trump's former campaign manager but they may be rattling the white house. what is behind trump's bizarre fight with senator mitch mcconnell, someone he needs on his side, if he hopes to get anything done? finally the conspiratorial memo

that argued the so-called deep state is working the subvert the president because he represents an existential threat to cultural marxist memes and bankers. it actually made it to the president's desk. this is "hardball" where the action is. 's ok that everybody ignores me when i drive. it's fine. because i get a safe driving bonus check every six months i'm accident free. because i don't use my cellphone when i'm driving. even though my family does, and leaves me all alone. here's something else... i don't share it with mom. i don't. right, mom? i have a brand new putter you don't even know about! it's awesome. safe driving bonus checks, only from allstate. sometimes i leave the seat up on purpose. switching to allstate is worth it. tand the alzheimer'sf association is going to make it happen. but we won't get there without you.

visit alz.org to join the fight. . dozen of congressional democrats are urging secretary of state rex tillerson to rein in president trump's rhetoric on north korea. more than 60 house democrats have written tillerson a letter expressing profound concern over the recent statements made by trump saying they have, quote, raised the specter of nuclear war. it goes on to say, we respectfully but firmly urge you to do everything in your power to ensure that president trump and other administration officials understand the importance of speaking and

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i support peace, i support safety and i support having to get very tough if we have to to frequent american people and our allies. >> welcome back to "hardball." that was president trump earlier tonight. it's been decades since americans ran dunk is that cover drills. but the specter of nuclear cover has returned with the latest warning that the united states military is locked and loaded. with many u.s. officials pushing a diplomatic solution, president trump has a number of military options at the ready. something he hinted at yesterday. let's watch. >> we are looking at what

happened in asia. i don't like to signal what i'll be doing but we are certainly looking at it. and obviously, we're spending a lot of time looking at in particular, north korea. and we are preparing for many different alternative events. >> and one of which warned that it wouldn't end well. the u.s. would win but it would be ugly. >> for now, i'm joined by bill nelson, a senior member of the armed services committee and jeanine davidson, former secretary of the navy and the president of the metropolitan state university of denver. first to you. how disastrous would a military option be? >> it depends on the scenario. let's say the united states military and the south korean military have robust military war plans. they've been practicing these for decades.

they could nnstantly update the will. just about every scenario it is bloody and devastating. the north loses dramatically but in every scenario that does not come without a cost. especially to the people of seoul. remember there are some 25 million people living in the greater seoul metropolitan area. we have 28,000 troops stationed on the korean peninsula. another 40,000 in japan. in a robust military scenario, there would be a lot of blood shed. >> senator, the pentagon has told us that they haven't changed anything at this moment. they are as ready as they have ever been. the president is saying, locked and loaded. do you have any idea what exactly he means? >> well, it is the job of the defense department to be ready. so admiral harris, the specific commander and in this case, would be the combatant commander, also, general

raymond, the head of special forces. they have plans on the shelf, i am sure they are dusting those off. but they have been ever since we've had this young unpredictable dictator over he in north korea. so yes, they are ready. i just wish the rhetoric were a little less excessive. >> heated. >> do you think that the north koreans know what locked and loaded means? >> i have no idea. i suppose they can infer from his tone of voice that it is menacing. but the young dictator doesn't have accountability to anyone else. he doesn't have a chain of command. he can pretty well order what he wants. and that is what is troubling. >> is he more unpredictable than

past korean dictators? is he more unpredictable than other dictators that we've seen in the past, faced off against, even in nuclear times? >> well, i think his rhetoric, i think the rhetoric is alarming. but let me say that until we had a president had similar rhetoric, a lot of people weren't paying attention to it. believe me in the pentagon, people have been paying attention to it for a long time. in some cases, we're sort of enured to it. this is how he speaks. this is how he communicates. what's different, we've been watching him test these rockets for years. and every time he does it, they get a little bit better and we've been watching it. when we say we're locked and loaded, the united states military is always locked and loaded. in the pacific, we've been there for eight years. >> so is this just bluster on

the president's part? >> i think it is bluster on both sides. it is nothing new coming from the mouths of the north korean dictator. what's different is the way the president speaks is a little bit hand fisted. he said my same words coming out of somebody else's mouth would be smart. well, there's a nouance here. he's saying to kim jong-un, stop saying this or we'll come after you. that's different than saying, don't act. don't attack us. if north korea attacks us, everybody knows the retaliation would be robust and brutal. kim jong-un knows that as well. the reason people are so upset is the way president trump is pledging. i hope it is a little sloppy on his part. if he means what he's saying, he is talking about a first strike. that's not the situation we want to get into.

>> what else is different is the young dictator is developing into what appears to be a successful icbm. and of course, you've read the newspaper reports that he's been able to miniaturize his nuclear weapons, whether or not to integrate it on the missile. so that is a new and very significant factor. >> and nbc news has spoken to a number of intelligence officials and we've learned the intelligence community is unanimous in their assessment that they have capability to miniaturize a nuclear warhead. the question is will they be able to successfully launch the missile with the nuclear warhead attached. thank you. up next, reporting that federal investigators are trying to get into paul manafort's head. have they also rattled president trump? this is "hardball" where the sacks.

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have you spoken to the fbi director about it? >> i have not. but to do that early in the morning on, whether or not it was appropriate, you would have to ask them. i've always found paul manafort to be a very decent man. it was pretty tough stuff. to wake him up, perhaps his family was there. i think that's pretty tough

stuff. >> welcome back to "hardball." that was president trump yesterday reacting to the fbi raid on the home of his former campaign chairman paul manafort. while he stopped short of saying the raid was inappropriate, his lawyer called it a gross abuse of the process saying these methods are normally found and employed in russia, not america. additionally the daily beast is reporting that behind the scenes, trump aides fume that they are responsible for the deepening legal woes. that now infamous june 9 meeting between the trump campaign and russians close to the kremlin. a meeting manafort attended with jared kushner and donald trump jr. according to bloomberg, manafort disclosed the meeting to lawmakers about three months ago. that's roughly two months before the meeting was publicly

revealed in july. meanwhile, members of the house intelligence committee tell abc news that they want to question trump's personal secretary, rhona graphf. ken, i'm struck by the way the president was speaking about paul manafort. he was treading very delicately, kind of in the same way we've seen him speak about his former nsa michael flynn, being very nice to the two former aides. >> he was. he seemed to be walking a fine line between not wanting to criticize the fbi, who work for the executive branch and he is the head of the executive branch, but at the same time speaking kindly of paul manafort, his former campaign manager. whereas john dowd was talking

about tactics we see in russia. of course, being an experienced litigator, john dowd knows this kind of search is very common. we can look no further handle the general david petraeus whose home was searched in the investigation of his, whether he revealed classified information in light of the fbi. but it does show that robert mueller is not showing any special deference just because it is an associate of the president of the united states. >> it is an early morning raid that they did in alexandria, virginia on paul manafort's home. what sort of message were they sending? what were they trying to get out of it? >> well, i don't know that there's an intent to send a message but we need to see the warrant itself. any execution of a search warrant prior to 6:00 a.m. would require showing of probable cause by the agent's sworn affidavit that there was a need to do it then.

to go in a hurry. there may be danger of destruction of documents, if in fact this was served prior to 6:00 a.m., that would be interesting. i would like the see the warrant. i don't think mr. manafort's lawyers have released it. the message that would be conveyed is that yes, this is a serious matter. moreover, the investigators no longer trust the willingness of the targets or the subject of the investigation to produce documents in compliance with the subpoena. if you want to get documents from somebody, one easy way to do that is to send a subpoena. to get a search warrant means you don't believe that person will comply if you're going to serve a subpoena. it means the investigators believed and persuade ad judge that mr. manafort's house likely

contained evidence of criminal wrongdoing. that's a significant message for anybody involved. >> this happened the day after he was on capitol hill answering questions from lawmakers behind closed doors. so what did lawmakers learn or not learn in those meetings that would mean he that fbi agents would need to raid his home? any idea at this moment? >> i've been guided by my sources not to read anything into it. there wasn't necessarily a connection. something like this, a raid of this magnitude would have been planned well before this hearing. and as em, they had to go to a judge and show probable cause. he appeared before the senate intelligence committee as a way of showing he is cooperating. and clearly the fbi does not agree and that's why they went to the judge to get this search warrant to get to his house. and nbc news reporting is that one of the things they were interested in, banking and.

at a records, related to manafort's work in cyprus and ukraine. >> so the president's personal assistant will be, or could potentially be questioned, according to abc news. that in just a second. i'm curious, what would it take for paul manafort to flip? >> paul manafort has a number of incentives to be cooperative. people flip to mitigate their own potential criminal penalty and also, the criminal exposure of their friends and associates and family members. in this case, according to the reports that we have bred manafort's business dealings, he seems to have implicated his son-in-law and potentially his son-in-law's wife, his daughter, in some of them. those people may have been questioned. it appears that manafort's son-in-law was questioned by the fbi, according to some reports that i've seen.

he might want to shield his family members from potential criminal exposure and in his case, was any target, you cooperate upwards. when you're in that position, you have the topgs give investigators something they're looking for, the involvement of peop people. so the operations manager of a drug cartel, organized crime outfit, their incentive, i can mitigate my own exposure but i have to point the finger up. >> why the president's personal secretary? what could investigators glean from her? >> should i add that nbc news has confirmed that interest on the part of house investigators, in talking on her. she's been the gate keeper for donald trump for decades. she knows everything. she knows other he's met with.

they would probably want to give us the name of every russian trump has met with for the last decade, for starters. what is on his calendar? she was referenced on the e-mail chain with this trump tower meeting. the music promoter rob goldstone said i can get this to your father through her. she is a conduit to donald trump. >> absolutely. up next, a behind the scenes look of the feud between president trump and mitch mcconnell. it started as you might expect, with something the president saw on tv. you're watching "hardball." he c. needs a guy like you. that sounds made up barry. based on a true story... we're sending you to columbia. of the c.i.a.'s biggest secret. i have helped build the biggest drug cartel this world has ever seen. tom cruise. all this is legal? if you're doin' it for the good guys.

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welcome back to "hardball." we're learning more about what triggered the bizarre civil war

between president trump and can republican senate leader mitch mcconnell. today politico reported, trump watched clips of mcconnell criticizing him on the news and wasn't happy. in a terse conversation wednesday, the president made it clear he wasn't to blame for the obamacare failure and was displeased with the criticism he's gotten for it. mcconnell didn't give any ground and people briefed on the phone call, and there were no immediate plans to speak again. meanwhile, republican senators are starting to take sides. orrin hatch, the longest serving senate republican said that he's been the best leader we have other in my time in the senate and i tully support him. >> he should have known he had a couple of votes that turned on

him and that should have been very easy to handle. what happened last week is unacceptable. >> let's bring in the round table. mark thompson is host of make it plain and in a tasha is a senior reporter for business insider. the president is going after mitch mcconnell. they haven't gotten much done in congress. is there a strategy here? >> no. >> is that a joke? no. no strategy. there's never a strategy with trump. he sees something that makes him mad. he lashes out. he doesn't think about the long term effects he needs these he allies on the hill but maybe we should be celebrating. to the extent he is creating more of a divide between himself and republican leadership.

>> i think there's a strategy. i think the strategy is things aren't working. i don't want to get blamed for it so i'll go after congress. that's what i campaigned on. being the outsider. congress can't get anything done. their approval ratings are even lower than mine. >> thank you for having me. that is a reasonable hypothesis. i would add another one. he is acting like his counter part, like a teenager. he sees mitch mcconnell on tv and loses his mind. i think he is making a big mistake. he will need mitch mcconnell, not just to get things done but i think a signal was given by the senate majority leader and the senate. they didn't go into a full recess. they went into a pro forma recess to prevent him from even making a recess appointment so their ally jeff sessions can come back. that's serious. that means they'll be taking

considerably whatever mueller brings him and you don't want to tick off the united states senate when they have to look at criminal charges on impeachment. >> basically, that he couldn't replace someone while the senate was out on recess without having to go through confirmation. is the senate trying to handy cap the president? >> i was going to say i think it is significant that he would clues to pick a fight with mitch mcconnell now. he needs the republicans to pass his legislative goals but he also needs them in case the mueller investigation does find evidence that warrants impeachment. he will need these allies. and 15 republicans, maybe 16 now, have already come out today and have said that they support mitch mcconnell. they've stopped short of criticizing him directly. if his poll numbers continue to

plummet, they would be prepared to turn on him. >> so is anyone going to get in his ear and say you need congress? is he going to say, quit it with mitch mcconnell. he is someone you don't want to fight with. >> it seems unlikely. maybe he'll hear that advice. whether he will have the self-discipline to tate i think is very much in doubt. >> the round table is staying with us. still ahead, a wild conspiracy theory that's been making the rounds in the trump administration. you're going to want to watch this. launch the school year. binders, done. super-cool notebooks, done. laptop setup, done. that's mom taking care of business. but who takes care of mom? office depot / office max. during our "taking care of back to school" sale, order online and pick up in-store in just one hour. and she's off... to another important business meeting. office depot / office max.

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also in kids chewables. earlier this evening, president trump was asked whether or not he expects vice president pence to appear on the ballot in 2020. let's watch. >> you think your vice president will be a candidate for president in 2020? >> i don't think so. i don't think so at all. he is a good guy. he has left for colombia and various other places. he is terrific. he's been a great ally. not just being in the military, but at home. she thinks she's the boss. she only had me by one grade. we bought our first home together in 2010. his family had used another insurance product but i was like well i've had usaa for a while, why don't we call and check the rates? it was an instant savings and i should've changed a long time ago. there's no point in looking elsewhere really.

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i'm back with the "hardball" roundtable. the magazine has published an extraordinary memo written by the national security council

with the title here's the memo that blew up the nsc. it is titled, potus and political warfare. it calls it a sweeping at times could not spearial view of what it described as a multipronged attack on the trump white house. trump is being attacked, it says, because he represents an existential threat on cultural marxist memes that dominate the cultural narrative. those threatened by it are globalists, bankers, islamists and establishment republicans. it made its way to trump's son, don junior, who passed it on to president trump. had he was characterized in the memo as working against trump. natasha, there's a lot to break down. how does a memo that talks about cultural marxist memes,

globalists, slammists, bankers, et cetera. this conspiratorial make its way to the president's desk. >> that's a big question. that's part of the job that john kelly will have now is controlling the flow of information to the oval office. how do you control it when don junior passes on it. >> no one knows how he got it. it was written on personal time. the staffer that was then fired by h.r. mcmaster. wasn't signed off by anyone at the nsc and it made it to the president. this is someone who was appointed by michael flynn and eventually, the decision to fire higgins was to reassert more control over the national security council after mike flynn was forced out in february. >> last time i checked, correct me if i'll wrong, the president's sons were part of the white house. they were clearly just going to be part of the trump organization. what does john junior have a memo like there?

>> i want to know who is running the trump organization. it seems like there are other things occupying his time. it does seem like the central message of this administration is that the world would be a better place if the country were run by are -- i was going to say sub -- if you read this crazy memo, it looks like it has been crowd sourced by like anonymous commenters with. these insane nut job conspiracy theories about how everyone is a cultural marxist member of the muslim brotherhood. maybe it is not so far out in left field that given that wave form he birtherist president. >> should we be surprised? it does sound like what donald trump was saying toward the end of the campaign when he was trying to make a case for why he might lose. >> with all the speculation about the turmoil in the white house, the one person who has kept his job has been steve

bannon. the deep state is part of the administrative state. he said he is there to undermine it. this memo is enabling trump's clinical narcissism. the deep state, meaning the cia, and everybody, nobody has ever accused any of these groups of people of working together before. but only in the administration of donald trump does this happen. if that you had kind of turmoil at the he national security council agency, then how on earth is our national security in good shape when we're on the precipice of a conafflict with north korea is. >> yeah. the national security council, given what's going on in the world. the round table is staying with us. we'll be right back.

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we're back with the "hardball" roundtable. tell me something i don't know. tell me a headline i don't know. we have no time. >> a poll this week found 61% of americans think the president is a cyber bully. >> mark? >> staying with colin kaepernick at 5:00 p.m. >> current and former u.s. state department officials are completely dul founded over trump's decision to thank putin for expelling staff. >> which he doubled down on today. thank you very much. thank you for keeping it short. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us.

"all in" with chris hayes starts right now. tonight on "all in" -- >> if anything happens to guam, there will be big, big trouble. >> the president keep pros voeking. and provoking. >> the words are very, very easy to understand. >> and provoking. >> this man will not get away with what he's doing. >> amid new homes of a back channel. >> the president defends his unrelenting rhetoric. >> if someone else uttered the same words, what a great statement, what a wonderful statement. >> donald trump jr. and the bizarre conspiracy theory at the center of a national security council controversy. plus, new "washington post" reporting on how the trump d.c. hotel is printing money without filling up its rooms. and the white house wants you to know that he was kidding