i promised an update on the menendez trial. a jury said they're deadlocked today and the judge is ordering them to reconvene tomorrow for more deliberations. we'll have more updates as warranted throughout the week. that does it for show. i'm out of time. i'll see you tomorrow at 6:00. "hardball with chris matthews" start now. can't take more. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm chris matthews in los angeles that stampede you hear is the republican party running away from their senate candidate in alabama, roy moore. washington republicans are lining up to call on him to drop out of the race, starting with majority leader mitch mcconnell. >> do you believe these allegations to be true?

>> i believe the women, yes. i think he should step aside. >> are you encouraging a write-in campaign? >> that's an option we're looking at, whether or not there is someone who could mount a write-in campaign successfully. >> would it be senator strange, do you think? >> we'll see. >> senator orrin hatch echoed mcconnell and said "i believe luther strange is an excellent alternative." luther strange said he is highly unlikely to mount a write-in campaign. susan collins said she has heard what moore said i did not find his denials to be convincing and believe he should withdraw. todd portman and lindsey graham all came out today calling on moore to drop out immediately. and senator cory gardner of colorado said if moore wins the senate should vote to expel him because he does not meet the ethical and moral requirements of the united states senate. that's cory gardner. in a fundraising e-mail today

with the subject line mitch mcconnell's plot to destroy me, moore hit back. quote, apparently mitch mcconnell and the establishment gop would rather elect a radical pro-abortion democrat than a conservative christian as the next u.s. senator from alabama. meanwhile, another accuser has come forward today against roy moore. beverly young nelson said she was sexually assaulted by moore when she was 16 and moore offered her a ride home from her job at a restaurant. she spoke with reporters today, along with her attorney, gloria allred. >> mr. moore reached over and began groping me. him putting his hands on my breasts. i tried to open my car door to leave, but he reached over and he locked it so i could not get out. i tried fighting him off while yelling at him to stop. but instead of stopping, he

began squeezing my neck, attempting to force my head on to his crotch. at some point he gave up and then looked at me, and he told me -- he said, you're just a child, and he said i am the district attorney of etowah county. >> while she said moore signed their high school year book, quote, to a sweeter more beautiful girl i could not say, merry christmas. christmas 1977. love roy moore. and he wrote this "d.a.." nbc news has not verified this account. tonight moore told a local television station nelson's allegation is absolutely false. he said he didn't know her. yesterday moore told a crowd of supporters he was planning on suing the "washington post" who broke the story last week that moore pursued teenaged girls, including a 14-year-old. let's watch.

>> just three days ago, the "washington post" published another attack on my character and reputation in a desperate attempt to stop my political campaign. these attacks involve a minor child are completely false and untrue for which they will be sued. >> for more on this former adviser to rand paul. also kyle whitmore is a columnist with the alabama media group. and ryan williams is deputy national press secretary for mitt romney's campaign in 2012. let me start with elise jordan. i've seen you on "today." i've been out traveling here. tell me what your sense is of the republican party's reaction. it looks to me mitch mcconnell may be the lead bird on this. he is signaling he wants this guy out of the race. that dispositive? is that going to cue everyone

else? i just heard ted cruz has just gotten off moore. he is against him taking the nomination here. >> well, as of now, it sounds like pretty much every republican has been calling on roy moore to step out of the race. but the question remains whether roy moore will actually do that. and i seriously doubt that roy moore would ever drop out of the race on his own volition. i really do not think that certainly senator mcconnell telling him to drop out would make him force his hand. >> what do you make of his stonewalling, denial that he knows any of the women, saying the whole thing is put up by the left wing media, that it was all a concoction worthy of suing by "the washington post." in other words, you to believe him against all the witnesses, all the people making these charges and the media. you to believe him as the lone person in this whole case telling the truth, and absolutely 180 from what everyone else is saying that takes a lot of confidence in his

soul, don't you think? to believe that he is that pure, that true, and everyone else is dark as hell and they're evil claims. everyone is working against him except he is the good guy. it seems like it's asking a lot of mr. trump and mr. bannon, of course. >> well, chris, and also his brother comparing roy moore to jesus. i think that's a little bit much. and i would hope that any christian would object to any human being comparing themselves to jesus christ. but that seems to be roy moore, what he is all about. your other guest, kyle whitmore had an excellent column in the alabama website that talks about how roy moore would sign bibles. he would autograph bibles. so i think surely this is a man with a definite messiah complex. >> let me go to kyle on that question. what i was impressed was the statement by mr. moore. if you vote for the other guy

doug jones you're voting for abortion rights. that may be his last resort which is to focus this not on him or the other candidate but your values in terms of that moral issue. >> listen to who we're not hearing from right now. you're seeing lots of national republicans walkings away from roy moore you. haven't seen one alabama republican walk away from roy moore. we have a precedent here. a little more than a year ago, martha roby, representative from alabama, turned on then candidate trump after the "access hollywood" tapes came out. she nearly lost her election last year because that of to a write-in campaign from trump loyalists. she is going to have a really hard time next year winning reelection. and so a lot of republicans here have been very, very quiet. no one is speaking out. no one is saying that roy moore shouldn't be alabama's candidate except for people who aren't in alabama.

>> and so that implies that there -- if you think it through, they don't mind the consequence that he actually becomes their senator for a number of years. maybe a couple of terms. that doesn't -- in other words you're saying this culture war is so strong, it's what side are you on and that's the end of the argument? if you're on the other side, you're on the other side. >> i know that there are republicans in this state who are horrified by that prospect. but remember, roy moore is trumpism without trump incarnate. he is the candidate when donald trump came down here to endorse and campaign for luther strange, there were people who went to those campaign events who said to our reporters, yes, i love the president. i want to go see the president. that's why i'm here tonight. but i'm going to go to the polls next tuesday and vote for roy moore. he has a stronger following here in his base, and his base is not

the entire republican party here. but it's a big portion of it, that has fanatical devotion to him and will believe him before they believe one accuser, two accusers, four accusers, five accusers, and certainly "the washington post." >> "the washington post," get that. "the new york times" reports some people in the white house now are considering a radical suggestion to fill the alabama senate seat vacated by jeff session. give it back to jeff session. if moore stays on to win, it would leave republicans with the difficult question to stop him from being seated or seat him and immediately expel him from the chamber. that scenario brought up by two white house officials who spoke up on anonymity would be for governor kay ivy of alabama to immediately point jeff session to his seat when it became vacant. here is the scenario you. let the guy win. he wins the republican

nomination. he gets sworn in. immediately the senate votes 2/3 to expel him. and jeff sessions is named by the governor to be the senator he once was before. is that credible with the voters down here, kyle? >> no. and i think -- well, some, but not all. and that fanatical base that roy moore has, remember, the reason why roy moore got as far as he did was because the republican establishment was trying to force a candidate, in this case luther strange, on alabama. and alabama didn't want it. >> i get it. >> it was a smelly appointment to begin with. and if you're talking about -- we've already rejected in the state one candidate who was put in office by a smelly appointment. if you try that again and you try after having rejected -- mind you, you're talking about a situation where alabama voters hypothetically would go to the polls and select roy moore to be

their senator, and then you're invoking the fine print of the constitution to say no, he can't really be your senator. we're going give you somebody else instead. i don't even think that jeff sessions' brand here has the strength that roy moore's brand does. >> let me go to ryan williams. what about the rest of the republican party? i've been waiting for the republican senators, the highest officials in the republican party nationwide to stand up to trump. and on this issue, unlike any other issue they chose to separate for him. what do you make of it? what is going on here? why has every senator, including all the ones in the west which is conservative, and the south as well. now they have ted cruz joining the list today. it doesn't matter where you're from, the deep south or the rocky mountain west, they're coming out against this guy, roy moore. and they're willing to break with trump. do they think trump is going to catch up to them in the next 48 hours or so and say you were right? i'm going dump the guy too? >> well, i think they're showing

real leadership. obviously the allegations were serious. roy moore's explanation over the weekend was not nearly good enough. it was terrible. and that's why i think you're seeing a number of people run today. and you're seeing leadership -- >> by the way, he is not disputing it. no. >> he said i'm not going to dispute any of this. go ahead. >> nope. he is tracking the media, trying to rally his base. i think that's why you're seeing people jump off right now. you're seeing leader mcconnell leading the way on this. i think he did a good job for his members by coming out this morning, protecting the rest of them. we have to see how president trump responds. the white house has issued statements. the president himself has said he'll address this when he returns. he'll have to. he needs to tow the line that has been set by the senators here and call for mr. moore to get out of the race. >> what is your hunch about the republican leadership and the democrats? can you see them combining for are two-thirds vote to expel him if he wins? >> i think so. that could potentially happen there is precedent here with senator bob packwood in the past over allegations like this. there is precedent for this type

of removal. i think it could happen given just the swift condemnation we've seen from senators. not just people like mcconnell, but like ted cruz now. we're seeing the entire spectrum of republicans. i would assume all democrats would be on board with something like that. i do think if he did get elected which still is possible, there could be a move, a successful move towards expulsion. >> elise, i want your thoughts on this. you're in the media now. and you know how we all talk in the media. you know our worlds. do you have a sense -- i have a sense that things all come together. snakes come in pairs. that's an old phrase. there is an atmospheric thing that takes over. i think the harvey weinstein thing, kevin spacey thing, all this seems or the pairing up, bunching up if you will into one big somebody better say no. what do you think? >> thing is a huge societal moment. i think that we're actually witnessing human progress in women are coming out and they are airing the allegations, and

they are confronting the men who assaulted them. and they're being believed for really the first time in history. it's not immediately being thrown back on them and they're being blamed for it. granted, some of that has happened and it's horrible. but overwhelmingly, the women are being believed as they should be. as they are brave enough to go out and to air the very worst time and terror of their lives. and we should believe them. we owe them better. and we should do better. >> thank you so much, elise jordan. it's great to have you as a colleague. and think kyle whitmore with a tough assessment and ryan williams for national look. coming up, donald trump says he trusts putin and takes him at his word when putin says russia didn't meddle in our election. it's the most blatant example of trump putting his trust in russia first over the analysis of our own intelligence community here at home. and he did on foreign soil. plus, after the democrats

won big last week, can they really return to the same faces to challenge donald trump in 2020? and former l.a. mayor antonio villaraigosa are with us tonight. and trump got along great with rodrigo duterte, a dictator of the philippines. trump laughed when called our media spice and didn't hold duterte accountable for human rights abuse and killing people. why does the president of the united states seem to love dictators and strong men so much. finally, let me finish with 1968. this is "hardball." and we covered it, july first, twenty-fifteen. talk to farmers. we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two.

♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ ♪ this holiday, the real gift isn't what's inside the box. it's what's inside the person who opens it. ♪ give ancestrydna, the only dna test that can trace your origins to over 150 ethnic regions... ♪ ...and open up a world of possibilities. ♪ save 20% for the holidays at ancestrydna.com. president trump this weekend sidestepped questions about the alabama senate account roy moore. when asked by reporters on board air force one if moore should leave the race, trump responded i've been with you folks, so i haven't gotten to see too much. and believe it or not, even when i'm in washington and new york, i do not watch much television.

trump went on the say i don't get to watch much television, primarily because of documents. i'm reading a documents a lot and different things. well, trump deflected questions, mark short, the director of white house legislative affairs said moore should be afforded the opportunity to defend himself. here he is. let's listen. >> i think we here in washington have to be careful as well in this. roy moore graduated from west point. he served our country in vietnam. he has been elected multiple times statewide in alabama. the people in alabama know roy moore better than we do here in d.c. what moore has said is this week he plans to come forward with more evidence to support his innocence. >> and if he -- if that evidence doesn't work, what does that mean? you guys are going to step in? is this senate seat that important? >> there is more senate seat important than the child of child pedophilia, chuck. that's the reality. having said that, he has not been proven guilty. we have to afford him the chance to defend himself. >> be right back.

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welcome back to "hardball." president trump is proving once again that old habits die-hard. after his private meeting with vladimir putin at the apex summit in vietnam, trump was asked by reporters where they discussed russia's meddling in the 2016 election. the president said of putin that every time he sees me, he says i didn't do that, and i believe, i really believe that when he tells me that, he means it. the president also slammed the former leaders of the intelligence community here who concluded last year that russia was to blame. quote, they're political hacks. you brennan, you have clapper and you have comey. comey is proven now to be a liar, and he is proven to be a leaker. so you look at that. and you have president putin very strongly vehemently saying he had nothing to do with that. well, the president's remarks made on foreign soil earned him a swift rebuke who said there is nothing america first about taking the word of a kgb colonel over that of the american

intelligence community. here is how trump attempted to clarify his remarks yesterday. >> i believe that he feels that he and russia did not meddle in the election. as to whether i believe it or not, i'm with our agency, especially as currently cuted with their leadership. i believe in our intel agencies, our intelligence agencies. i've worked with them very strongly. >> however, as three former cia officers pointed out in a "new york times" op-ed, quote, it was only after a public outcry that president trump seemingly begrudgingly cast his lot with american intelligence agency, at least for the time being. joining me is the co-author of that op-ed, john cipher who served in moscow and democratic congresswoman jackie spears, sits on the house intelligence committee. congresswoman and sir, i've got three possible options here. one trump just believes mr. putin, president putin. number two, he wants to smile them up, shine them up because

he does hope for some kind of rapprochement that helps to do business with them regard to north korea and with regard to the middle east, especially syria. and the third option, i don't know what he is doing here. he is not telling the truth himself. that he know there's was meddling, and he damn well isn't going to admit it. what do you think? congresswoman, where are you on that? the option or interpretation of why trump seems to have this resistance to change bromance with mr. putin? >> well, there is a couple of reasons, i believe. one is the bromance is something that has a lot to do with how he got elected. i think it doesn't fit his script if in fact we make the clear statement, which we already have, 17 agencies, 17 intelligence agencies have said that russia meddled in the election. but if they meddled in the election, then he is not necessarily the president of the united states, because it's

tainted. and so he doesn't want to be known as a tainted president. so he promotes this putin propaganda that clearly is false. >> let me go to mr. sypher on this. what is this about i think kgb people know how to lie. i mean, they know how to lie effectively and convincingly. i watch "the americans." i've been taught. and i've done a little bit of these people over the years in politics when they come to washington to try to talk to us. and i know they know how the lie. why does trump believe their lies? doesn't he know they're state craft, their trade craft? they lie. communists lie. >> very true, very true. chris, at one of our training facilities over the bar is this large wooden plaque. admit nothing, deny nothing and create counter accusations. spy craft is all about lies. mr. putin grew up in the kgb,

the soviet kgb. he ran the brutal internal security service there in russia. he has lied. he is a professional liar. he lied about the shoot-down of the malaysian airplane in ukraine. he lied about little green men in ukraine. he lied about a state sponsored secret doping program to include paralympians. he lied about chemical weapons used in syria. this is what he does. so for the president to suggest that he trusts his sincerity means he is not listening to his experts, his diplomats, his intelligence agencies or common sense for that matter. >> well, in a late-breaking story, today julie yaffyy of the atlantic was in regular contact with wikileaks. the messages which were turn over to the congressional investigators show wikileaks actively soliciting trump jr.'s cooperation. quote, at no point during the ten-month correspondence does trump jr. rebuff wikileaks which

had published stolen documents and was observed to be releasing information that benefitted russian interests. quote, we can say with confidence we have no concerns about these documents. what do you make of this? again, congresswoman, we're back into this endless contact between the trump people and the russians. they seem to think it's fine and dandy to flirt back and forth, exchange offers back and forth without any sense that this might be a hostile power. >> you know, the more documents that i read, the more convinced i get that there was intentional coordination between donald trump's campaign and the russians. julian assange was an operative for russia. now this is the same person that the president when he was a candidate, i love julian assange. i love wikileaks. we have mike pompeo who has called him and wikileaks a nonstate organization that is an

intelligence organization that is hostile to the united states. >> so how do they put that together? if it's hostile, why are we dealing with them? >> good question. >> mr. sypher, what is the story here? what do you make of this? this is all new to me that an organization like wikileaks becomes a conduit for the russians, agit prop, if you will. what do you make of it in our candidate's team including his son are dealing with them? >> well, this, again, fits that pattern of a constant failure to do the right thing. all of these people over time, they had months and months and months for somebody in that campaign to say accepting stolen documents from a hostile power is wrong. dealing with an organization that has published hundreds of thousands of classified cia, state department, dod cables is wrong. mr. papadopoulos, mr. trump jr. who then informed all of their

people there had multiple opportunities to talk to the fbi, to do the right thing, to back off. so what this does is it shows that if we haven't seen collusion yet, we've certainly seen a willingness to include. -- collude. >> what do you think of the expression the fish rots from head? do you think there was direction from trump to his peoples? none were told stay away i from the russkis. nobody got that message. they were all ready any meeting, any conversation in the offer. they all seemed to have their hands out and their hearts out. gee whiz, it's so great you're offering us a friendship pact here. >> so the candidate donald trump wanted dirt on hillary. and he said we're going to have more dirt on hillary coming out. they were in bed in my view with julian assange and with those who were cutouts for the russians. and i think it's going to become clearer and clearer as time goes on. that is the way they operated.

and never once did i doubt that the president, then candidate trump, was engaged on every detail. he ran -- he ran a family company. so he was -- he was trained to kind of be involved with everything. and i believe that donald trump jr. and his father were in constant communication. >> last question. yes or no, do you think the good guys are going to catch them? >> well, i will leave it to others to decide if crimes were committed here. but there is no doubt that this activity over time is unethical, immoral, and unpatriotic. and again, like i said, it shows at least a willings to collude and consistently do the wrong thing when given a choice. >> same choice to congressman speier. will the good guys catch them? >> the good guys typically win out. i think we'll have any number of indictments and i think some people are going to sing before

it's all over. and i think we'll be able to make the definitive conclusion that there was coordination. >> it sounds like a gangster movie. somebody is going to sing. thank you so much. u.s. congresswoman jackie speier of california where i'm at right now, and john sipher. thanks for your article and thanks for coming in. coming up, he see already running, but should democrats be looking to put a fresh face at the top of the ticket? anyway, the folks of "saturday night live" are mocking the party as old and out of touch. actor bradley whitford is here to talk than in his new spielberg film "the post". this is "hardball," where the action is. david. what's going on? oh hey! ♪ that's it? yeah. ♪ everybody two seconds! ♪ "dear sebastian, after careful consideration of your application, it is with great pleasure that we offer our congratulations on your acceptance..." through the tuition assistance program,

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welcome back to "hardball." after last week's victories in virginia and new jersey,the democratic party seeing glimmers of hope for future election. but when it comes to party leadership, one could argue the party has a youth challenge. only one of the top five being promptly mentioned for president will be under the age of 60 come 2020. senator chris murphy, he is the only kid in the group. and joe biden turns 75 next week, told the "today" show that he was open to a run. hey, look, he is running. let's stop the game here. don't be coy here, joe, uncle joe. let's watch. >> i'm not closing the door. look, i've been around too long. i'm a great respecter of fate. but who knows what the situation is going to be in a year and a half from now.

i don't have any idea. i'm in good health now. i'm in good shape. knock on wood, as my mother would say. but i just don't know. i honest to god. that's the truth. >> well, "saturday night live" is not giving anybody a break on the age issue. over the weekend, "snl" poked fun at the democratic age gap. pay attention to the faces here. let's look. >> you love us again! >> and we haven't felt this confident since the day before trump won. >> you love our fresh new ideas delivered by fresh new faces like me, nancy pelosi. >> and me, dianne feinstein. >> and me, chuck schumer. >>y yo soy tim kaine. >> and i'm team player donna brazile. >> and we also have some great new leaders waiting there the wings, like hot young thing elizabeth warren, and also that's right -- >> it's biden time! >> and i'm still around too.

>> anyway, for more i'm joined by former mayor of los angeles, the city we're now in. and kern county for governor of california, antonio villaraigosa. and actor bradley whitford. one of the national chairs for get america covered which is working to increase awareness and getting people enrolled in the affordable care act. you're with trump on this? >> trump has said he thinks everybody should have health care. and people with preexisting conditions. and the reason this bill has been so hard to kill sits been so successful. it's gotten 20 million people ensured. jobs, as trump says has increased. costs have come down. and people know they need to go to healthcare.gov before december 15th. >> back when i was a kid, i thought eisenhower was old. you're a strapping young guy at 60. what do you make of all this? have we got an age problem? >> i think brad is right.

it is a bipartisan issue. we have to stand up for the notion that health care is a right, not a privilege. and we're seeing that in both virginia and new york, the people voted on the issue of health care and voted against republican candidates. do i think age is an issue? i think the age of our ideas is an issue. i think we got the start -- >> so you think a president pushing 80 could be a confident president? pushing 80? >> i think that's pushing it. >> yeah. >> but i think that the next president has to start talking about the economy, an economy that is rigged. an economy that is not working for enough people in this country. i tell people as an example, i'm all for the shared economy. its future. but the shared economy has to share. i'm not against wall street, but when wall street continues to support policies that hurt working and middle class people, i think we should stand up to those kinds of policies. >> hey, brad, actors i'm told when they get much older than

you have a hard time memorizing lines. do you think that is a problem for a president? i'm sorry serious, remembering names. we going to get a problem here? you guys are dodging the ball here. you're dodging it. you're dodging it. nancy pelosi and all these guys and what's his name, bernie? bernie these ages, late 70s we're talking about. >> i understand. i think normally this would not be a possibility for joe biden. i think there may be an opening for joe biden coming out of this. >> for one term? >> coming out of this chaos, maybe runs with somebody young like jason kander or joe kennedy. it worries me that kamala harris i think is perhaps interested in running. what's interesting about this discussion is if we had this discussion four years ago, three years before and we said donald trump was going to be the nominee, we would be laughed off. >> here is what i'm talking about.

everybody who is watching this show is thinking about this stuff. but you're not supposed to talk about it. there is no doubt that people love joe biden. but they're thinking wait, there is such a thing as an age issue when it comes to football, baseball and being president of the united states. different ages. but how far can you push it? how far can you push the fact that you've got to be 24/7 ready to take on the worst question in history. what are we going to do about a nuclear war. you got to be sharp. >> i will say this, our party has not done a good job at cultivating new. >> yeah. >> leadership. younger leadership, but also more diverse leadership. >> yeah. how do you do it? how do you do it? >> i think you got to do what they did in virginia. you got to go find those people, people who are in the trenches, nurture them, get them to run for office. >> all kinds of people, transpeople, everybody. >> everybody. >> sikhs. >> america is the most diverse place on the planet. we should be having people who represent us who come from every place.

>> how about having somebody from california? >> i think that's a great idea. who better to take on a president who is anti-mexican and wants to build a wall than somebody who has built bridges his whole life and has the last name of villaraigosa. >> and has executive experience. now that i've shined you up and i like you as a friend, bradley, steven spielberg, the greatest movie director in history has a new movie about guts in the media. it's inspired by "the washington post" role in publishing the pentagon papers which helped expose the massive cover-up, the 40-year cover-up of the skroefts the vietnam war. the movie comes as president trump has attacked the very principle of the first amendment, calling everything fake news he doesn't like. out in time for christmas. let's watch a bit of "the post". >> can i ask you a hypothetical question? >> oh, dear. i don't like hypothetical questions. >> well, i don't think you're going to like the real one either. >> do you have the papers? >> not yet.

>> this is a devastating security breach that was leaked out of the pentagon. the most highly classified documents of the war. >> the times has 7,000 pages detailing how the white house has been lying about the vietnam war for 30 years. >> the way they lied, those days have to be over. >> i hear it's a fabulous movie. >> i hear that too. i haven't seen it yet. i saw tom hanks the other night. and he said i've been in some good movies. and that is a real i good movie. >> that's saying a lot for that guy. mayor, good luck. >> good to see you. thank you. >> antonio villaraigosa and bradley whitford. mixed group here. a soft spot for vladimir putin. but he is not the only man who win over the president. last night the president was sung to by the authoritative lead other telephone philippines. why does president trump hit it off so well with dictators? you're watching "hardball." well, you know why. nnecessary e.

and hey, unmanaged depression, don't get too comfortable. we're talking to you, cost inefficiencies, and data without insights. and fragmented care, stop getting in the way of patient recovery and pay attention. every single one of you is on our list. at optum, we're partnering across the health system to tackle its biggest challenges. at optum, we're partnering across the health system accused of obstructing justice to theat the fbinuclear war, and of violating the constitution by taking money from foreign governments and threatening to shut down news organizations that report the truth. if that isn't a case for impeaching and removing a dangerous president, then what has our government become? i'm tom steyer, and like you, i'm a citizen who knows it's up to us to do something. it's why i'm funding this effort to raise our voices together and demand that elected officials take a stand on impeachment. a republican congress once impeached a president for far less.

yet today people in congress and his own administration know that this president is a clear and present danger who's mentally unstable and armed with nuclear weapons. and they do nothing. join us and tell your member of congress that they have a moral responsibility to stop doing what's political and start doing what's right. our country depends on it.

welcome back to "hardball." president trump told reporters this weekend that he believes russian president vladimir putin's claims that russia didn't meddle in the 2016 election. but putin's not the only strong man or dictator to win over the president lately. today trump had this to say about rodrigo duterte, the authoritarian lee eleader of th philippines. >> we've had a great relationship. this has been very successful. the asean conference has been handled beautifully by the president in the philippines and your representatives. and i really enjoyed being here. >> well, the "new york times" points out that shortly after boasting about that great relationship with duterte, the philippine president shut down reporters from asking further questions. quote, as journalists shouted questions about whether mr. trump would press mr. duterte on human rights, the philippine president quickly silenced them. you are the spies, duterte told

the reporters. talking about our reporters, by the way. the remark solicited a hearty laugh from mr. trump before the journalists were led out of the room. let's bring in catty case, jeremy peterson with "the new york times." and anita kumar. ani anita, you were there. what do you make of the president enjoying a dictator as he mocks the very notion of the free press, and it seems the two buddy there's were in on it. >> yeah, i really think he has again over there and he admires the strength that he sees in them. he admires they can quickly get things done so easily. it's not messy like democracy. so i think that his background as a businessman, and he comes to these countries and he sees how these people, the rulers can kind of get things done. and so he relates to that. >> you think that's a reasonable judgment by him? >> that they have strength or they can get things done? that. >> he should admire -- i'm just

teasing. >> yeah. >> i think it's a terrible job. of course let me go to jeremy. for years there has always been an argument. during world war ii when we had to fight the dictatorships, us and the british and how to get people behind us. you had to get the votes of people in parliament, you had to move congress with you here in this country. it's always a little more complicated in a free society than it is in a dictatorship. but we have never had anybody fall in love with the other side on this issue. >> trump is a very binary thinker. it's strong/weak, beautiful/ugly, low energy/high energy. and in his mind there is probably no greater offense than being weak. of course he doesn't care the means through which you achieve that strength, as he has praised putin and praised the president of china, as he has praised duterte. so he is willing to tolerate some pretty abhorrent behavior as long as the leader seems to

have a command over his people. and more importantly, is respected. but i think that this shouldn't be surprising given that you're talking about a guy who foreign policy during his campaign was all about receding from international affairs. the united states was no longer going to be the global policeman, the moral compass for the world. so he is perfectly fine without having the lectures or delivering these lectures that other american presidents have based on their sense of america as kind of the center of the moral universe. . >> well, caddie, our country has had to hold hands with people like stalin over the years during world war ii. this president has no trouble hanging out with people who knifed people to death as a 16-year-old kid. he bragged about killing when he was mayor. when he held that position, he said he killed three other people himself personally. didn't that make you a little squeamish to be hanging out with this guy? you wouldn't want to sit next to him on an airplane, i don't

think. >> and trump is sitting next to duterte and smiling and joking with him certainly gives the president of the philippines some stature at home. i think anita is right. this is not about the original strong man whether in the middle east or al sisi in egypt. this is the system. he is clearly frustrated by having to operate within the confines of a democracy. he has spoken recently about how he is very unhappy he can't get involved constitutionally as president more directly with the fbi or with the justice department. >> yeah. >> and that's what he is kicking against. it's not so much the individuals, it's the system of government that he finds so difficult. he is not intellectually wedded to the downsides of democracy. now he sees the downsides of it new that he is president rather than the upside. >> trump's warmth towards the presidents of the philippines and china has not extended to the north korean leader, of course. trump wrote on twitter why would kim jong un insult me by calling me old? when i would never call him

short and fat. oh, well, try so hard to be his friend. and maybe some day that will happen. i have no idea what that means. he doesn't want to be his friend. he just called him short and fat in that sentence saying he didn't call him short and fat. i have a hard time interpreting what trump is actually -- he is calling the guy short and fat or trying to claim some sort of victimhood for not having called him short and fat. what does this statement mean? it's too hard a question, i'm sorry. >> no, it's an easy question. it doesn't mean anything. it means that our president is an impetuous guy who can be baited by somebody who is trying to get a rise out of him. that's exactly what happened here. we've talked a lot about putin being able to push the president's buttons and draw him in and use his skills as a soviet spy. i think that's exactly what kim jong un is doing with president trump. he know house to push his buttons. >> but actually, he has flipped on kim jong un. because way back in the spring he was saying he would be honored to meet him.

and he called him a pretty smart cookie. he can go either way on people. >> what did you think of the song fest the other day in the philippines in manila? president joining in a duet for our president? what do you make of that? >> i don't know what to make of that actually. but you're right. they did seem to have a pretty good -- oh, we're hearing the singing. ♪ >> the guy's not tony bennett. the round table is sticking with us. up next the three will give us three scoops we'll be talking all week. this is "hardball," where the action is. where your data lives, down to the very server. it keeps your insights from prying eyes, so they're used by no one else but you. it. is. the cloud. the ibm cloud. the cloud that's designed for your data. ai ready. secure to the core. the ibm cloud is the cloud for business. yours.

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i'm in los angeles tonight for "bobby kennedy: a raging spirit." tonight i'll be speaking at live talks l.a. in santa monica. and then tomorrow to a sold-out crowd at the commonwealth crowd in palo alto. and thursday the town hall in seattle. the crowds have been warm and i must say inspiring. my finish tonight is dedicated to bobby kennedy and the history-changing event that happened in this city, los angeles, 49 years ago. we'll be right back. in every to. in every to. small businesses show their love to you. with some friendly advice, a genuine smile and a warm welcome they make your town... well, your town. that's why american express is proud to be the founding partner of small business saturday. a day where you get to return that love, because shopping small makes a big difference. so, on november 25th get up, get out, and shop small.

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eight hundred dollars when wet switched our auto and home insurance. with liberty, we could afford a real babysitter instead of your brother. hey. oh. that's my robe. is it? you could save seven hundred eighty two dollars when liberty stands with you. liberty mutual insurance. we're back with the "hardball" round stable. katty kay, tell me something i don't eknow. >> hundreds of isis fighters were whisked out of raqqah. the coalition didn't like it but knew about it. now the fighters are at large, and some of them may be heading to europe. >> why did they let them go? >> because that's what the fighters on the ground, the kurdish fighters wanted. that was the deal that was done.

it was a dirty secret of raqqah. it was a bbc investigation that found this out today. >> thank you so much. jeremy peters? >> the conservative pushback to the roy moore stories of child abuse have ranged from the predict to believe the what about bill clinton? he did some bad things to the utterly bizarre well, like she was 14 and that's two years away from the age of consent in alabama. you can expect to hear more of those types of arguments. it's going to get a lot uglier. there are teams on the ground who are sympathetic to moore, digging up more dirt they think on the women accusers as we speak. >> awful. anita? >> yes. i want to tell you something about the virginia race from last week which is that the loser, ed gillespie, the republican, garner in order votes than any other gubernatorial candidate in virginia history except of course the winner, ralph northam, which basically tells you that the turnout was so huge. it was nearly half of the people eligible to vote turned out that

even the loser, who was down nine points got so many votes. >> thank you so much. big turnouts help democrats. thank you, katty kay, jeremy peterson and anita kumar. we'll be right back. hey, man. oh!

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let me finish tonight with what happened in this city of los angeles in june of 1968. bobby kennedy had just won the california presidential primary over eugene mccarthy when he was shot and mortally wounded in the ambassador hotel. to those of us who lived through it, that event and the 1960s

themselves, the spirit of bobby kennedy and of those times, especially the presence of candidates like bobby and gene mccarthy lives on in the hopes we still have for our country, for our ability to live together, for lead twers capacity for empathy, for unity and for moral authority. bobby's spirit survived the 60s. had he lived, bobby would turn 92 next week. so much of america's recent history would have been so different. for one thing, the american war in vietnam which would have been much shorter. my book on robert kennedy offer morse than resistance to today's direction, it offers defiance. that's "hardball" for now. "all in" starts right now. tonight on "all in" -- >> he said you're just a child. >> new accusations in alabama. >> if you tell anyone about this, no one will ever believe you. >> another woman comes forward saying roy moore sexually assaulted her when she was 16. >> mr. moore attacked me when i was a child. i