and show stuff they can't get off. >> who can forget obama dancing on ellen. chris hayes just post the this photo on instagram with his new baby. our hearty congratulations. and a programming note because chris is spending time with his family, i will be right back at 8:00 p.m. eastern filling in for him tonight. "hardball" starts now. democrats play hardball. let's us play "hardball." good evening, i'm chris matthews. in washington, in a defiant press conference, president trump called the special counsel's russia probe a democratic hoax. he insists that no evidence of

collusion has been found though investigators have issued no such conclusion. and while the president's lawyers are negotiating how the special counsel will ultimately question the president, trump says it's unlikely he'll sit down with the investigators at all. here was president trump today. >> would you be willing to meet with him without condition or would you demand that a strict set of parameters be placed around any encounter between you and the special counsel? >> well, again, john, there has been no collusion between the trump campaign and russians or trump and russians, no collusion. i've been in office now for 11 months. for 11 months they've had this phony clouds over this administration, over our government, and it has hurt our government. it does hurt our government. it's a democrat hoax that was brought up as an excuse for losing an election. certainly we'll see what happens. when they have no collusion and nobody's found any collusion at

any level, it seems unlikely that you'd even have an interview. >> well, this comes amid mounting signs that democrats seeing the game republicans are playing in either covering up or distracting from the truth are taking matters into their own hands. they're now stepping up to fight republican efforts to hide and polite size the facts emerging from the investigations of russian meddling and potential collusion. today democrats on the senate foreign relations committee issued a comprehensive report on russian meddling around the world asserting that president trump has neglected to protect this country from russian aggression. report finds that as we approach the 2018 mid-term elections the u.s. still lacks, quote, a coherent, comprehensive and coordinated approach to deter the russian threat. it warns that, quote, before never is this so clear a threat been so clearly ignored by a u.s. president. speaking this morning the ranking democrat on that committee, senator ben car demerlin known as a security

hawk issued a chilling opinion of president trump's leadership. >> following attacks like pearl harbor, 9/11, u.s. presidents have rallied the country and the world yet today the current president of the united states still barely acknowledges the threat posed by mr. putin's repeated attacks on democratic governments and institutions. >> well, in a related move yesterday, democratic senator dianne feinstein decided to defy the chairman of the judiciary committee and release the testimony of glen stern. in his testimony simpson explained how he came to hire former british intelligence officer christopher steel producing the dossier the republicans have tried so hard to discredit. this morning the president attacked diane fine stand. the fact that sneaky dianne feinstein who has on numerous

occasions stated that collusion between trump and russia has not been found would release testimony in such an underhanded way and possibly illegal way totally without authorization is a disgrace. must have tough primary. joining me is our panel. let me go to senator kunz on this. it seems to me that democrats now, if they're watching what the republicans have been up, in terms of distracting from, undermining, whatever, this probe of the russian connection are taking matters into your own hands and saying it's time to get the truth out even if the republicans don't want it out. >> that's right, chris. i support what senator feinstein on the judiciary committee did in releasing the transcript of the glen simpson interview. something, by the way, that mr. simpson urged us to do. why? because a number of republican members were trying to distract from or undermine special

counsel robert mueller's investigation by misleadingly suggesting that it was because of this steel dossier, because of this fusion gps funded research that the whole investigation by the fbi into possible collusion between the trump campaign and russia began. we now know that's not the case, that there were other sources from foreign intelligence, from someone in the trump campaign that led the fbi to begin investigating this question and while the president in today's somewhat belligerent press conference incested there's no collusion, no evidence of collusion, that conclusion has not yet been reached. i think all of us, republicans and democrats in the senate, have an obligation to make sure that we respond to russia's attack on our democracy in the 2016 election and that we fully prepare for our next elections. i commend senator carden on foreign relations for releasing this strong and comprehensive report you referenced that issues a real clarion call to defending america's elections.

>> you know, you and i grew up, me before you, i was older than you, but i have to tell you i grew up with the idea that the republicans were tougher on the defense and good for them. now it seems to me that this republican party led by trump could be accused as ben carden, your neighbor from maryland suggests, sort of appeasing the russians. why does trump again and again cover for the russians. i'm not going to look into any of this stuff and they're going to screw with people's elections. i'm not going to do any of that. why is he doing that? why is he covering for putin? >> it is really hard to come up with any coherent or positive explanation for why president trump, as candidate trump repeatedly complimented vladimir putin and aggravated or annoyed our democratic allies and as president trump he failed to lead our allies in the western democracies and to defend our nations against russia's

provocations and interferences in the elections of so many countries, not just in the united states, chris. also germany, also france, also the u.k. and a dozen other smaller countries across europe in this fairly detailed report he lays out the case. he has utterly failed to respond to a direct attack on what makes america a democracy, credible, free and fair elections. >> the financial help, for his hotel chain? is there money behind all of this niceness? >> that's not yet been proven, but it certainly raises questions because the president's behavior and his conduct is drastically out of step with a long tradition, bipartisan tradition of standing up and defending america's democracy. and as you put it, going back to our childhood of republicans being the tougher party on standing up to russian

aggression in particular. why he's doing this, we don't have an explanation in detail or proven yet, but it certainly raises very troubling questions about whether there are financial complications or there is some sort of a relationship that was started in the course of the campaign that has led him to take these unprecedented positions and to fail to protect the united states and our democracy. >> i hope we can follow them. attacking senator feinstein, president trump may be barking up the wrong tree. in her decades long public career she's been known to be a force to be reckoned with, from her early days on the san francisco parole board she upheld law and order and more recently one applauded her dogged support of the torture command. here she goes. >> can we just get your reaction to the president tweeting about you saying that your actions in

releasing these transcripts are illegal? >> oh, i don't believe they are, and obviously i wouldn't have done it if i thought they are. the one regret i have is that i should have spoken with senator grassley before it, and i think the american people have a right to know. i don't think -- there's nothing that's classified. i don't think there's anything that's highly problematic, but at least it's a clearing of the air so that the facts are out there. >> does it offend you when the president calls you shady in a tweet? >> well, he tends to call people names very quickly so i'm not alone. >> heidi, this is the first time i've heard somebody being called sneaky for putting the truth out. she's not hiding it. she said you want to know how the cia -- rather, the fbi got involved in looking into the russian probe, they got a heads up from the australian guy way before they got this dossier and for some reason, we know what the reason is, republicans want to say it's all about the dossier.

>> point for point it takes down the argument that somehow this was a witch hunt, you know, funded by hillary clinton's supported backers. and it goes through that including where the seed money comes from. the seed money from this investigation came from the washington free beacon and who funds that? paul singer, the gop mega donor. it shows that the orders that were given to steele were pretty simple. they were, don't draw any conclusions, partisan conclusions, just get the facts about what trump's relationship is to russia. it also has some embarrassing stuff in there, too. trump says i don't have any ties to russia. this shows pretty elaborate financial ties to the surrounding countries where russia parks its money. there were a lot of things in there that republicans probably don't want out there. >> as i mentioned, glen simpson's testimony undercuts the republican argument that the christopher steele does cierre

was part of a hit. steele felt professionally obligated to bring his findings to the fbi, not because of politics but because, quote, he was very concerned about whether this represented a national security threat. jason, in the real world if you find that somebody is screwing with your elections and is involved with all kinds of hanky-panky, you bring it to the authorities. if you see something, say something. we're all taught that taking amtrak. i'm sorry. they're making this into something that shouldn't be talked about. we ought to know why there was an fbi probe, why comey was probably fired, because he was getting to something, and here dianne feinstein did a public service of putting out the transcript so this guy, simpson, could tell us how it started. >> she was very, very nice in that interview there. she was basically, come at me. i just did what the american public needs, which is find out what this gentleman is talking about. the fact that republicans keep wanting to keep this behind closed doors and then leak what they want to leak when it's

convenient to them is what leads this into being such a problematic situation overall. >> it looks like a coverup to me. >> exactly. >> following his attack, that's the president's on dianne feinstein, the president went after the probe itself saying the single greatest witch hunt in american history continues. there was no collusion. everybody including the dems know there was no collusion and yet on and on it goes. russia and the world is laughing at the stupid at this they are witnessing. republicans should finally take control. senate chairman chuck grassley was asked about that tweet today. let's ask him. >> the president said that the republicans should take control of the investigation in light of the release of this transcript. are you losing control of this investigation and should you regain control? >> i don't know what the president has in mind and i don't think i better comment until i have a discussion with the president on that point. i don't intend to have a discussion with the president on that point and i hope he doesn't call me and tell me the same

thing that you said he said. >> thank you, senator. senator, it looks like your older partner there is wise enough to stay away from this one. what is -- what is the situation now as you see it, the lay of the land in terms of this probe? are the republicans now worried that this thing's getting somewhere in terms of the finances of the president, this is going to go beyond possible collusion to the question of what trump's business relationships were that may have preceded it and given it context and perhaps affected how he has been dealing with the russians as you were talking a few moments ago? sore is or is it because they think they've won the game and there's nowhere to go. what causes them to cover it up? >> there's a lot of different actors so i think it's a mix of both, chris. i am genuinely concerned about special counsel robert mueller. his ability to complete this investigation, to see it all the way through and a number of republicans have joined in efforts to try and protect

robert mueller, make it harder for him to be fired by the president because i think all of us recognize -- many of us recognize that it's really in president trump's best interests, it's in the best interests of the rule of law and our society and democracy for this to be seen through to the finish and for us to know once and for all whether there is evidence of collusion. for the judiciary committee, our jurisdiction covers the department of justice, the fbi and i would hope that chairman grassley would change direction and be willing to work more closely with ranking member feinstein and that we could re-engage in a constructive way. their staff counsel have been disagreeing and they have been fighting now for several months over which witnesses to bring in, which direction to take this. i think there's been serious efforts by some republican senators to take us off track by focusing on things that date back many years. allegations about hillary clinton rather than focusing on what is right in front of us, whether or not there was obstruction of justice and the firing of the fbi director and

whether or not we are adequately prepared to protect our democracy from meddling in the next election. that's what we should be working on. there are real threats to this and there are some here i think in the capitol who are throwing sand in the gears and trying to distract and there's others who i suspect genuinely believe that there's nothing to this at the end of the day. >> okay. >> regardless of their views, i think it's in our best interests to make sure that it gets to the end, that robert mueller is able to finish a full investigation. >> only a minute left, heidi and jason. do you think the democrats are going to sit around and let the republicans hide this thing? >> i think they've realized they've given them well over a year. we have another election coming up. not only do we have a strategy, we don't even have an autopsy, for example, what happened with the social media companies. this stands in contrast to pearl harbor and major events like 9/11 but to smaller investigations like watergate, like whitewater. when committees actually stafd

staffed up and deployed the resources. >> why are republicans backing up trump? i know republicans love to cut taxes for the rich. that's sort of endemic, but why are they going along with the russian cover up? why are they so pro moscow all of a sudden? >> two things. >> never were. >> the pro moscow thing is sort of happening under obama. they thought he was a stronger leader. the other thing to remember, this is what you always see with trump, it's not just the russian collusion. collusion may or may not be illegal. that's impeachment issue. they're concerned about obstruction of justice. trump says you call me a liar and a thief, i'm not a thief. that's where the democrats -- >> i don't see the party of ronald regan here anymore that was anti-communist. >> thank you so much. coming up, author michael wolff describes a white house on

an office where president trump weeks havoc on advice. leon panetta served as chief of staff to a president. and trump's bloody nose strategy on north korea. does he think he can launch a strike on kim jong-un and that he's going to take it? plus, president trump said he should pass a law of love. he's alienating his base when it comes to immigration? you bet. who's afraid of the big bad wolff, that's wolff with two fs. is he painting a new picture of health, one that he thinks he needs to face. this is "hardball" where the action is. record shop. frank knowns northern soul, but how to set up a limited liability company...

what's that mean? not so much. so he turned to his friends at legalzoom. yup! they hooked me up. we helped with his llc, contracts, and some other stuff that's part of running a business. so frank can focus on the beat. you hear that? this is frank's record shop. and this is where life meets legal. in january of last year texas congressman sam johnson became the first house

republican to announce that he would retire at the end of 2018. and later that month kansas congresswoman lin jenkins called it quits. in april came the news that iliyana ross leighton of florida was retiring. then it was tennessee congressman john duncan. by september there were three more big names, pennsylvania congressman charlie dent and dave like heart all of whom represent swing districts. by the end of 2017 six more republicans announced their plans to leave the house. and they continue to fall in 2018. three more, including california's ed royce have called it quits as of last night. today an 18th house republican announced that he will retire at the end of his term, california congressman darrell issa. i issa was considered very

vulnerable having barely won 2016. the dominos continue to fall. today issa made it number 18. democrats need just 24 seats to regain control of the u.s. house and we'll be right back. but we know a lot about drama. from scandalous romance, to ridiculous plot twists. (gasping) son? dad! we also know you can avoid drama by getting an annual check-up. so we're partnering with cigna to remind you to go see a real doctor. go, know, and take control of your health. it could save your life. doctor poses! dad! cigna. together, all the way. dad! hey, need fast try cool mint zantac. it releases a cooling sensation in your mouth and throat. zantac works in as little as 30 minutes. nexium can take 24 hours. try cool mint zantac. no pill relieves heartburn faster. discover card. i justis this for real?match, yep. we match all the cash back new cardmembers earn at the end of their first year, automatically. whoo! i got my money! hard to contain yourself, isn't it? uh huh!

let it go! whoo! get a dollar-for-dollar match at the end of your first year. only from discover. i realize that ah, that $100k is notwell, a 103fortune. yeah, 103. well, let me ask you guys. how long did it take you two to save that? a long time. then it's a fortune. well, i'm sure you talk to people all the time who think $100k is just pocket change. right now we're just talking to you. i told you we had a fortune. yes, you did. getting closer to your investment goals starts with a conversation. schedule a complimentary goal planning session today.

the people around him have no elusions. they know who this guy is. they know what trouble he can wreak and one of the reasons that they are there and that they continue to stay there is the hope that they can mitigate this, they can stand between him and the havoc and chaos that he is inevitably prone to. >> welcome back to "hardball." that was author michael wolff on "hardball." in his new book "fire and fury" talking about an isolated president and doesn't seek or accept advice from anyone. let's watch. >> is there anybody in the white

house as a general adviser, someone in the loop, in the room when there's something critical going that he trusts as a brain? >> no, absolutely not. >> anybody? >> absolutely not. the one thing you cannot say to donald trump is you can't praise somebody else's intelligence. he's been repeatedly asked this question, who do you turn to? who do you get your advice from? who's your -- who's -- who's your mainstay and he -- >> sure. >> -- always says, it's me. i'm the person i turn to for advice. >> okay. is this any way to run a white house? i'm joined be by someone who would know, leon panetta served as chief of staff to president clinton. he also served as secretary of defense and cia director under president obama. mr. secretary, thank you. it's honor to have somebody on who's a public servant who has some willingness to talk about what it takes. what do you make of this portrait we have here.

i said it was like a twilight zone where this little kid is scaring this whole town because he has all of this power and they're afraid of doing anything but please him. >> chris, i think we've -- we've known for a long time now that we have a very unusual president who is erratic and very unpredictable and obviously is pretty focused on who he is and how to basically please him. you know, i think the book in large measure confirms what the press and others have been saying about the president and this white house for the last year. the problem is he's now using people from the inside and that makes it more worrisome, but at the same time, look, the american people will ultimately judge this president for who he is. >> you know, you and i have had

discussions. the idea of a president is you can pick anybody you want, pick people smarter than yourself. trump, i'm not knocking these people as individuals, hope hicks and steve modi, young people. they're apparently his conciglieries. they're the people he goes to in a fix. what do you make of that? >> i think those are the standards he used as a developer in new york. his basic approach is that he was the one who knew everything about everything and that he could basically tangle with anybody because he felt he was the person who had all the answers. i think he's pretty much brought that series of values as a

developer to the white house, and that's the way he's serving as president. >> well, here's one i don't think he brought with him. earlier this week axios reported that the president isn't spending as much time in the oval office as most presidents do. he's starting his official day much later than earlier presidents, around 11. this is for more, quote, executive time which means tv and twitter time alone in the residence. what do you make? i mean, suppose -- i was kidding last night. it's not the 3:00 a.m. phone call you worry about, it's the 10:00 a.m. phone call. where's the president? he doesn't even come downstairs to meet people because he's watching fox and friends and god knows what else and twittering? i don't know. you've got nobody like this, i know, but go ahead. >> you know, based on my experience, usually you set up a schedule to kind of fit the

president's rhythm and make sure that, you know, he can -- he can basically do some of the things he needs to do in order to handle the responsibilities of that office, but we're looking at a schedule that at least on paper and as reported runs from 11 to 4:15 in the oval office and, you know, my concern is that there are just too many issues that confront this president, any president during the day and whether or not they've worked out a way to ensure that the president is made aware of these issues in the middle of this kind of schedule is what concerns me. i just -- i just think -- you know, i understand you want to keep the president calm and cool and be able to do the things he wants to do, but he also happens to be president of the united states and commander in chief

and as a result he has some very huge responsibilities that have to be met. >> well, here's one, mr. secretary. even though south korea and north korea have opened up their communications. "the wall street journal" says the white house is considering a risky approach. according to the journal u.s. officials are quietly debating whether it's possible to mount a limited strike without igniting an all out war. the idea is known as the bloody nose strategy. react to some nuclear test with a limited strike against a north korean facility to bloody pyongyang's nose and illustrate the high price the regime could pay for its behavior. the hope would be to make that point without inciting a full bore reprisal? how dangerous would that be and hope that he wouldn't fire all or any of his artillery on the

south, on seoul? >> i just think that whoever came up with that approach really doesn't understand the risk involved with the north korean leader. first of all, it violates a principle that the president himself has talked about, which is that you don't openly talk about whatever military options you're thinking about. obviously this is now out in the public and north korea is going to be more than prepared to deal with any kind of response. secondly, there are huge risks here. you can't just give north korea a bloody nose and expect that they're going to hold back in terms of retaliating against the south. they've got thousands of artillery pieces, thousands of mortars set up that can do incredible damage to seoul. so it's a risk that frankly is -- is just one that no president has been willing to take because of the consequences. i just think this is a situation

where the better course for this president is to keep the pressure on north korea, keep the sanctions on, keep building up our military presence, develop a missile shield to protect our country and south korea and continue to try to see whether or not the south koreans have been able to open up some further discussions here to talk about the nuclear threat that all of us want to deal with. >> well, last week the president bragged about the size of his, quote, nuclear button, of all things, and today gave a thumbs up to what he calls good talks. they were handing him the latest shot of it. as you know, with the president, president moon of south korea, he had some really great meetings. his representatives had a great, great meeting.

and i had some very good feedback from that so hopefully a lot of good things are going to work out. i think it is much better to work with russia. it's very much better having to do with north korea where we currently have a problem that never should have been my problem, it should have been a problem solved many years later but it was given to mea long with a business mess of other things. >> he's so partisan. let me ask you, mr. secretary, about this line he gave out today. he referred to dianne feinstein, your long-time colleague. i know you respect her a lot, as we all do, who work worked out there. sneaky dianne feinstein. using a term like that, sneaky, on someone who had put out to the public what's been going on in terms of this probe, this russian probe, it just seemed to me -- what do you think? it's the kind of language we've been getting from trump and i think it's bringing us all down. your thoughts? >> i think the worst thing this president does is basically

tweet out his emotions and what he's thinking and using the kind of terms that he used against senator feinstein. it really demeans the office of the presidency and, frankly, it demeans him. i just don't see how you can conduct a presidency when one day you're sitting down with members of congress trying to see if you can work out a resolution of some serious issues on capitol hill and then the next day start tweeting names against senators who are participating in that meeting and also beginning to denounce the very things that you tried to work out. i mean, it's that kind of roller coaster ride that i think makes most americans very uncomfortable about how we're going to operate with this kind of president. >> i wish you were running the show, mr. secretary, but you're not, he is. thank you so much for coming to

us tonight. i wish we could have you on a lot more than we do. senator -- actually, not senator, former defense secretary, former cia director, former u.s. congressman, former chief of staff at the white house. leon panetta. thank you for your public service. up next, president trump says he's ready to strike a deal on immigration. his base, the right wingers out there, want nothing to do with it. ann kolter called this the lowest days of his presidency. maybe he's doing something good to get her after him. this is "hardball" where the action is. this is what our version of financial planning looks like. tomorrow's important, but, this officially completes his education. spend you life living. find an advisor at northwesternmutual.com. the center of the how canneighborhood?r house first, mix liquid gold velveeta with the one-two kick of ro*tel's

diced tomatoes and spicy green chilies. then, find space for extra parking. lots and lots of parking. ancestrydna can pinpoint where your ancestors are from... and the paths they took to a new home. could their journey inspire yours? order your kit at ancestrydna.com woman: i'm a fighter. always have been. when i found out i had age-related macular degeneration, amd, i wanted to fight back. my doctor and i came up with a plan. it includes preservision. only preservision areds 2 has the exact nutrient formula recommended by the national eye institute to help reduce the risk of progression of moderate to advanced amd backed by 15 years of clinical studies. that's why i fight. because it's my vision. preservision.

♪ it's so hard to believe ♪ but it's all coming back me. ♪ baby, baby, baby. all you can eat is back, baby. applebee's. before i hadburning,oting, pins-and-needles of diabetic nerve pain, these feet... grew into a free-wheeling kid... loved every step of fatherhood... and made old cars good as new. but i couldn't bear my diabetic nerve pain any longer. so i talked to my doctor and he prescribed lyrica. nerve damage from diabetes causes diabetic nerve pain. lyrica is fda approved to treat this pain, from moderate to even severe diabetic nerve pain. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions, suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worse depression, unusual changes in mood or behavior,

swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling or blurry vision. common side effects: dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, swelling of hands, legs, and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who've had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. now i have less diabetic nerve pain. and i love smoothing the road ahead for others. ask your doctor about lyrica. welcome back to "hardball." yesterday's freewheeling and chaotic immigration meeting left many on the right wing and the left confused. many of president trump's statements yesterday stood in sharp contrast to things he had said on the campaign trail. let's watch.

>> we don't need a 2,000 mile wall. we don't need a wall where you have rivers, mountains protected. we will build a wall. don't worry about it. it will be a great wall. it will be a real wall, folks. i feel having the democrats in with us is absolutely vital because this should be a bipartisan bill. this should be a bill of love. truly, it should be a bill of love and we can do that. but it also has to be a bill where we're able to secure our border. >> ted cruz is very weak on illegal immigration and bush is so weak that he calls it an act of love, right? i'll take the heat, i don't care. i'll take all the heat you want to give me. you're going to have to. we have to make a whole new set of standards. >> can you follow that? anyway, yesterday 54 media gave some of trump's supporters whiplash and left them wondering what's behind the shift. let's watch them. >> when kevin mccarthy is the

hard liner on immigration in the room, i think we can call this the lowest day in the trump presidency. i mean, he was clearly trying to overcome the bad press of this michael wolff book by showing, oh, he's in command, but in fact what he did was fulfill every description of him in the michael wolff book. this is a disaster. it was the lowest day of his presidency. >> well, tonight president trump was asked to clarify his position by the conservative newspaper, the washington examiner. let's take a look at that answer. >> would you be willing to sign an immigration deal that ultimately does not include -- >> no. >> would that be a red line for you? >> no. >> got to include the wall. we need the wall for security. we need the wall for safety. >> well, in another interesting reversal ironically in the same day breitbart asked of steve bannon, the white house asked if he would be attended the forum in davos, switzerland.

trump will be rubbing elbows with the global elite he raled against. what's with his new found bipartisanship and does his bleak 2018 prospects have something to do about it? stay tuned. we'll get into it. i think trump is changing because he's scared to death he's going to lose the house and lose the house which has subpoena power and that means impeachment and that's why he's decided to be mr. reasonable in the last 24 hours. we'll be right back. remember our special night?

abdominal pain... ...and diarrhea. but it's my anniversary. aw. sorry. we've got other plans. your recurring, unpredictable abdominal pain and diarrhea... ...may be irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea, or ibs-d. you've tried over-the-counter treatments and lifestyle changes, but ibs-d can be really frustrating. talk to your doctor about viberzi,... ...a different way to treat ibs-d. viberzi is a prescription medication you take every day that helps proactively manage... ...both abdominal pain and diarrhea at the same time. so you stay ahead of your symptoms. viberzi can cause new or worsening abdominal pain. do not take viberzi if you have no gallbladder, have pancreas or severe liver problems,

problems with alcohol abuse, long-lasting or severe constipation, or a bowel or gallbladder blockage. pancreatitis may occur and can lead to hospitalization and death. if you are taking viberzi,... ...you should not take medicines that cause constipation. the most common side effects of viberzi... ...include constipation, nausea, and abdominal pain. stay ahead of ibs-d with viberzi.

welcome back to "hardball." president trump made a nod to his lengthy televised meeting. his first cabinet meeting of the year. >> welcome back to the studio. nice to have you. yesterday we had a bipartisan meeting with house members and senators on immigration reform, something they've been talking about for many, many years but we brought them together in this room and it was a tremendous

meeting. actually, it was reported as incredibly good and my performance, you know, someone dauld a performance, i consider it work, but had great reviews. >> whoa. anyway, what accounts for the president's shifting views on daca, on his new found interest in bipartisan? let's bring in the roundtable for that. donna edwards from maryland, chris wilson is a republican pollster and former executive director of the texas republican party and annie linsky. what's he up to? he has to show he's mister i listen to all sides, he doesn't. he acted reasonable. he made a show. he made a joke about it. this is post modernism. he calls it a studio. he's calling his cabinet room a studio because it's all for show. >> he talks about his performance. i don't think there's any real strategy here. what i do believe is president

trump doesn't have any core beliefs and so when you don't, you just grab at anything dep d depending on who you're talking to. you can see in that meeting he's talking to dianne feinstein. she's making a case and he's nodding and he agrees. no strategy. >> the one in front of him. is that all it is? i think it's all reaction. i think that wolff book shook him to his core because it's true, because the people around him are fearful that they're basically baby-sitters and it's scary to him that he's being seen by his own people that way so he has to create this whole new reality that he's reasonable, he has meetings with people and he listens. >> so we're into season two of the presidency. there's two schools of thought here. one is that he's taken a clintonian approach and moving to the middle on immigration. i would call it more the bush approach to the republican primary which worked out well. >> jeb bush believed it. >> that's right. the other aspect is he is now trying to dial that back because he recognizes very quickly that

the base that elected him, both in the primary and general election, is now rejecting this action and it has the -- it probably puts the republican majority even more in peril if it wasn't much. >> the other day he gets a briefing out at camp david from all of the leaders of the house and senate. their job is to get themselves re-elected. they said we're in trouble. we're losing a member every day jumping ship. the new guy today, darrell issa jumping ship. they're saying to him, we're going to lose the suburbs. we're going to lose the burbs around the big cities. you're going to lose the house. that means they have the power of what do you call it -- power of subpoena? once you get subpoena power, that's impeachment. the black caucus is for it and you're finished so you better sharpen up and get the suburbs under control. what did he do yesterday? he acted suburban, reasonable,

tolerant, negotiating, compromising. it was like he was running in the philly suburbs. >> i think you said this is sort of a post modern meeting. i would say it's a post camp david meeting. i think there's no question that republican leaders when they talked to trump laid out the map. the house map, the republicans if they lose 24 seats, they lose their majority and that -- >> they've lost 18 guys by retirement as of today. >> that is terrifying. and this is something that, you know, the republicans that i talk to, whether they are, you know, never trumpers, whether they're libertarians, wherever they come from in the sort of republican tent, they are all worried about losing house seats and just the question is how many are we going to lose? so 24 is the magic number there, but then you go over to the senate, a chamber which if you look at the map it should be a slam dunk for republicans and suddenly losing alabama it begins to make you wonder, gosh,

could you also lose arizona and could there even be more in arizona and lose both of them or lose one of the two of them? because the map has changed so much. so i think what he saw is trump perhaps scared by that book certainly, but trump scared by what he heard. >> the big bad wolff book. at the cabinet meeting he added another item to the 2018 agenda. the publication of that book. let's listen to his latest idea. >> we are going to take a strong look at our country's liable laws so that when somebody says something that is false and defamatory about someone, that person will have meaningful recourse in our court. the current liable laws are a sham and a disgrace and do not represent american values or american fairness so we're going to take a strong look at that. we want fairness.

>> so much for the first amendment. first he wanted to stop publication of the book and now he wants to sue the people who published it with the implication that it's dishonest. that's how he's going to win the case in court. >> what? >> nobody says it isn't true. >> he can take a strong look but he's not going to find anything. the president thinks that he lives someplace else, that he's not governed by a constitution. >> he lives in london. >> first amendment. he clearly doesn't understand that. if i had a dollar for every time as a public official somebody said something i didn't like, that wasn't true i'd be as wealthy as donald trump. >> anyway, the roundtable is sticking with us. up next, each of them will tell us something we don't know. you're watching "hardball."

liberty mutual stood with me when this guy got a flat tire in the middle of the night, so he got home safe. yeah, my dad says our insurance doesn't have that. what?! you can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance. ♪ ♪ there are two types of people in the world. those who fear the future... and those who embrace it. the future is for the unafraid. ♪ all because of you ♪ ♪

as. well, president trump said yesterdayed that he would beat oprah winfrey if she dared to run against him in 2020. well, today, we heard from the competition on the democratic side. senator elizabeth warren, a leading contender for the 2020 democratic nomination had this to say about a possible oprah bid. let's watch. >> oprah winfrey for president. your thoughts? >> you know, wasn't that a fabulous speech? and hearing oprah's voice and her energy and her passion and her determination, it's inspiring to all of us. and, she shows great leadership. and i'm delighted that she's doing it. >> delighted that she may run for president? >> you know, that'll be up to oprah. i don't think anyone tells oprah what to do.

>> we'll be right back. medicin, but we know a lot about drama. from scandalous romance, to ridiculous plot twists. (gasping) son? dad! we also know you can avoid drama by getting an annual check-up. so we're partnering with cigna to remind you to go see a real doctor. go, know, and take control of your health. it could save your life. doctor poses! dad! cigna. together, all the way. dad! and i heard that my cousin's so, wife's sister's husband was a lawyer, so i called him. but he never called me back! if your cousin's wife's sister's husband isn't a lawyer, call legalzoom and we'll connect you with an attorney. legalzoom. where life meets legal. at ally, we offer low rates on home loans. but if that's not enough, we offer our price match guarantee too. and if that's not enough... we should move. our home team will help you every step of the way. still not enough? it's smaller than i'd like. we'll help you finance your dream home. it's perfect.

oh, was this built on an ancient burial ground? okay... then we'll have her cleanse your house of evil spirits. we'll do anything, (spiritual chatter) seriously anything to help you get your home. ally. do it right.

we're back with the roundtable. donna edwards, tell me something i don't know? >> well, if you go to maryland and you look at maryland's 9,800 daca recipients, our state, like other states around the country, are going to realize that this is millions and millions of dollars that's going to come out of their gdp. they're not going to stand for it. >> you mean, if the people are grabbed? . >> that's right. >> chris? >> at this point of the committee chairman that took over in 2013, five of the six have announced the retirement -- >> why are they all leaving? >> they don't want to serve in leadership anymore. they're just done. mike mcconnell standing. >> why are 18 republicans leaving? >> they don't want to run with trump at the top of the ticket or they want to move in. >> guys in their early 60s make that decision. if there's a life tleo lead

somewhere else, they make that decision. >> ear marks, the president started talking about bringing back an earmark. >> what's an earmark? >> it's a pet project that members of congress -- >> and you attach it to a bill. >> like a purse museum or something like that. and the interest thing about earmarks is conservative groups tried very hard to get rid of them and they succeeded. their biggest ally in that fight was a congressman from indiana known as mike pence. and his chief of staff at the time, who was mark shoc short, the legislative director at the white house. >> i think it helps the president to bring in, if it's a close vote in the house, he can get a couple votes with ear marks. thank you, donna edwards, chris wilson, and annie linskey. you're watching "hardball." i work overtime when i can get it.

i need my blood sugar to stay in control. so i asked about tresiba®. ♪ tresiba® ready ♪ tresiba® is a once-daily, long-acting insulin that lasts even longer than 24 hours. i need to cut my a1c. ♪ tresiba® ready ♪

tresiba® works like my body's insulin. releases slow and steady. providing powerful a1c reduction. my week? hectic. my weekends? my time. ♪ tresiba® ready ♪ i can take tresiba® any time of day. so if i sleep in, and delay my dose, i take it as soon as i can, as long as there's at least 8 hours between doses. once in use, tresiba® lasts 8 weeks, with or without refrigeration, twice as long as the lantus® pen. (announcer) tresiba® is used to control high blood sugar in adults with diabetes. don't use tresiba® to treat diabetic ketoacidosis, during episodes of low blood sugar, or if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. don't share needles or insulin pens. don't reuse needles. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause dizziness, sweating, confusion and headache. check your blood sugar. low blood sugar can be serious and may be life-threatening. injection site reactions may occur. tell your prescriber about all medicines you take and all your medical conditions. taking tzds with insulins like tresiba® may cause serious side effects like heart failure. smoourkt. mark shortt. ng your prescriber.

get medical help right away if you have trouble breathing, fast heartbeat, extreme drowsiness, swelling of your face, tongue or throat, dizziness or confusion. ask your health care provider if you're tresiba® ready. covered by most insurance and medicare plans. ♪ tresiba® ready ♪

trump watch, wednesday, january 10th, 2018. we all know the story of the frog and the pot. you raise the heat ever so slowly, the frog hardly notices as the pot is climbing in degrees until it is too late and the frog is part of the soup. donald trump has raised the sleaze in our country's public life every moment since he first entered into it. he called the president of the united states an african-american, a foreigner, someone who had snuck into the country and assumed an american identity. well, then he covered each of his republican rivals with sleaze, then topped it off by calling his general election rival "crooked."

crooked hillary. and the country let him get away with that. his allies loving it, his opponents assuming it was a part of the act, a kind of infanti infantili infantilism. and today he called one of the country's finest public servants sneaky. he said that of a person who led her city of san francisco with cool and stoic courage in a moment of horror, who as mayor and then all these years as united states senator with dignity and wisdom and i say greatness. i don't look up to all of those who hold public office, but i do look up to her, because you cannot fake dignity or wisdom or greatness. and with his sleazy attack on feinstein today for daring to bring to light information about the russia investigation, trump has brought the civil life of this country to a new level of incivility. he's made it normal, if we dare use that term, to call your opponent, no matter who it is, anything, no matter what it is. donald trump, congratulations. you have made this country a

land where sleaze is the political environment itself. and that's saying something, sir. that's "hardball." thanks for being with us. "all in with chris hayes" starts right now. tonight on "all in." >> would you be open to -- >> we'll see wlahat happens. certainly, we'll see what happens. >> president trump sidesteps mueller. >> nobody ea's found any collus at any level. it seems unlikely you'd even have an interview. >> tonight, why the president is changing his tune on an interview with the special counsel and why he's ordering republicans to take control of the russia probe. then -- >> welcome back to the studio. >> the president's performance on immigration. >> greet reviews by everybody. >> igniting a right-wing meltdown. >> whoo. this is a disaster. it was the lowest day of his presidency. it's not disputing the michael wolff book.