this is humira at work. that's our show. i'll see you tomorrow night live from washington, d.c.ing with cory booker and other special guests. right now, it's "hardball" with chris matthews. >> democrats rising. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. it's the latest sign that the party of trump should hit the panic button. democrat conquer lamb pulled off a stunning upset in last night's special electioning in pennsylvania. deep in the heart of trump country. nbc news declared lamb the an apparent winner early this morning. an ominous sib for republicans in november. trump carried that same district

by 20 points in 2016. overall democratsage overperformed in the eight special elections since 2016 by an average of more than 12 points compared to the presidential race in '16. last night's contest became a litmus test of sorts for the president and his party. today some republicans expressed a sense of dread. >> if you're a republican in a safe seat, you'd better be ready. >> i don't think you need to be alarmed but certainly need to be reflective on what happened. >> every race is a wake-up call. see what we did right and what we did wrong. >> the president who travelled to the district twice dispatched two of his children there, his vice president there, and his top an strategist claimed credit for cutting the loss. paul ryan agreed with the president and that nonsense. let's watch. >> look, i think the president helped close this race.

you saw the public polling. it wasn't looking good and the president helped close this race. >> toldie. meanwhile, trump allis told "the washington post" the poor showing tuesday was not a reflection on the president. instead a reminder the gop should be embracing candidates who emulate the unscripted former reality tv star. here's why last night's results are so scary for republicans. currently there are 114 republican-held house seats now considered easier for democrats to win than pennsylvania's 18th district. that means 114 potential past for democrats in november, all easier than what they pulled the victory at last night. democrats need just 23 seats to take control of the house. taking control would mean dras controlling committees on the house. that means intelligence and judiciary, having subpoena power and ultimately controlling the president's fate through the democrats' control of

impeachment. nearly 60 dras have already voted to move the house toward impeach tag trump. already 60. i'm joined by robert costa, from the "washington post," susan page, "usa today" and our big guest tom perez, chairman of the democratic national committee. susan del%io, republican strategist. the two reporters up top, robert you first, this victory last night. it turned out going into it that if saccone, the republican candidate, had won it would have been an upset. i know we're calling it an upset. it looked so bad for the republicans. if he squeaked a victory, that would have been considered a big one. >> republican lawmakers are very troubled today. they say if you can't win, if a republican can't have a clean win in a district trump won by 20 percentage points in 2016, that doesn't bode well. this is trump country, are, a

land of steel mills and coal mines. it's not the suburbs. it's western pennsylvania. >>ful democrats run marines and always a marine, not axe marine, if they run guys run and clean with no record to run against and they look attractive and everything else going for them, that's the right message. will the democrats get that message? you can't just run candidates. you have to run the right ones in the right places. >> that's the question for perez. primary season just started in texas. look at what happened in texas. there there was infighting going on in those texas primaries a couple weeks ago. a whole round of democratic primaries soon. you won't have conor lamb and roy jones. are they going to have the same war they had in 2016, the bernie sanders democrat versus the establishment democrat or can they come together and have the same candidates and recruitment they had in 2006 when they won the house last an time. >> susan, how does it look in

texas? they're looking at all the big states for the dems come november? >> i think texas is one of those places that democrats often think is about to turn their way. but it seems to me this is maybe still a little bit early in the transition of the demographic and other transition of texas for this to be a great state for them. wham pennsylvania shows, there are republican held house districts in places like michigan and wisconsin and illinois and new york and new jersey that now look much more, the prospects seem much brighter than they did 24 hours ago. >> what about the picking of candidates? it's very hard for party leaders like the one we'll talk to in a second to pick their favorite candidate but there are candidates who look better going in the general election than others. you can be very left, for example, in, some parts of the country and successfully and other parts you'd better not do that, trim your sail a bit going into say places like texas or western pennsylvania. you can be pro-choice but be

careful how you say it, for example. i think the way lamb said it personally pro-life. don't be too militant in that area in certain parts of the country. what do you think? >> you need a candidate that fits the district. the candidate you want to run in california is different from the candidate you want to run in ohio. so that is something that i think the party mounting the challenge, democratic party this time, has to be pretty sensitive to. the question is, will they have that big tent strategy where democrats backed conor lamb even though he said he was not in favor of nancy pelosi as their leader and not in favor of gun control, not in favor of banning assault weapons. this is a question for the party going forward how flexible they'll be on some of these issues that have been litmus tests for party up to now. >> it will be interesting if he says he won't vote pelosi when you runs in the next district where you has to run for a full term. he's not going to get to vote for pelosi in this term.

that props is meaningless. sorry, mr. lamb. tom perez, that's a great question. are you ready to do what's necessary? as he once heard in a great movie, to win 218 votes in the house? find candidates who may not pass the litmus test of the real progressives but pass the test of the voters in that district? >> conor lamb is a great example of what we're doing. i've known conor. >> conor lamb has to does what's best in his district. the beauty was, chris, this wasn't about nancy pelosi. the republicans are -- >> they say it is. >> the republicans tried to make it about the reason he won is because he was fighting for those mine workers who didn't have their pensions. health care was the number one issue, chris, in that district.

and they vote fod for democrats. >> health care in pennsylvania, because health care says to a wife of somebody working or a woman, middle aged woman, if the husband loses the job, that means no health care. it means in all families, you lose your job, you lose your health care. with obamacare, it's even more fragile sometimes. >> what i've been learning, this is not an aberration. this is a continuation of a trend. we've seen it in state special elections in 2018. we've won special elections in kentucky, wisconsin, new hampshire, in florida. the list goes on. the common denominator is we are fielding spectacular candidates. >> how many conor lambs you got in your pocket right now? >> a tremendous stable of remarkable candidates. in texas, we can take on pete sessions and elect the first two latinas to congresses in texas. >> mr. chairman, you found the new jack murtha in this guy, the perfect guy for southwestern pennsylvania. in the wake of last night's

loss, house republican leaders are working on messaging. here's what they had to say earlier today. >> it's important to also talk about what would happen if nancy pelosi became speaker again. last week we got a good glimpse of that because the democrats laid out their alternative to our tax cut plan. they get the majority. if democrats get the house and senate, their bill will raise taxes. >> $40 million in the hands of real people in our communities will go a lot further than if it was just sitting in washington, d.c. >> we need to execute. we need to get our message and make sure our candidates aren't massively outraised and outspent on tv. >> susan, give me a sense what the republican message will be to lose in a safe district for them that's not safe? >> last night's results should be very concerning to republicans. if 2017 was the canary in the coal mine, last night's result

is the first case of black lung for the republicans, there's no question. now what republicans need to do is focus on their district. when they start talking about nancy pelosi in a swing district, the other candidate will talk about donald trump. there were a lot of very good points brought up earlier. how far to the left will some of these candidates go in a swing district against a republican. and that will be the challenge for the democrats. of course, the challenge for the republicans in swing districts is to run from their home base and not from washington. if they run from washington, people are sick of it. that was part of congressman elect lamb's message was he hasn't gone washington. >> is the name trump a plus or negative for the typical candidate for re-election this year? >> susan? >> it's a double edged sword. some candidates need to get the trump base out for them to win.

that could be the margin of victory. at the same time, they can't turn all the independents. >> i'm asking you the question, what's better to be for trump or question him? if you're a republican. >> depends where you're a republican. if you're a republican from a swing district, you can't talk about trump. he'll bring you down. even with trump up 20 points two years ago or not even two years ago, trump does not endorse well. his endorsement is not meaningful. people don't care. that's why his approval rating is in the 30s while people think that the economy is doing well and it's rating in the 50s. >> what do you make, tom perez, you're the democratic leader. i'm blown apart sometimes by what conservatives and evangelicals will taking from trump. they were so tough on clinton. i was tough on clinton. he wasn't square with us about the monica business. a lot of people said move on, a lot of progressives said that. you can see progressives because they are more tolerant.

but when you see a conservative evangelical saying give account guy a mulligan, doesn't that amaze you? does that is work with stormy daniels' stuff and firing your secretary of state like he's a criminal, treating him like a bum. >> is that bad behavior hurting had im? >> you usually get one mulligan every 18 holes. not one every hole. i think what's happening now and why you see donald trump becoming such an albatross is that people understand that he's dishonest. he's deceitful. he promises we're going to deal with the dreamers and then he turns around and does the opposite. he promises on common sense gun violence. then he literally turns around and does the opposite. he pronlss i'm going to help workers out and in green county where you have all the coal miners he's screwing them on the issue of pensions. he's hurting people on health care. it's honesty. the culture of corruption here, and one of the people in this

clip on the republican side, catherine mcmorris rogers has a great opponent in district 5 out in washington state, a woman named lisa brown. i believe we can win everywhere. i was out in washington state recently. we're leading. >> congratulations, mr. chairman. last night you won a big one in pennsylvania. thank you, robert costa. you could talk a lot more about pennsylvania and thank you mr. chairman and susan page. coming up, one day after firing his secretary of state by tweet, donald trump's planning more changes to his administration. he's remaking his cabinet in his own america first image. and surrounding himself with people who agree with him. yes men and yes woman. let trump be trump. of course, that's ahead. plus, students across the country are leading the fight for common sense gun laws. today they protested washington's doing nothing on guns with a nationwide walkout. like the kong gres gres has walked out, too. will it force congress to act?

trump says he hires the best people and likes to listen to many different gaenz when it comes to his actions, it's the opposite. the west wing is a revolving door. if you say something he doesn't like, you're gone. what's this say about trump as a leader? no link in there. finally a big thing that happens 50 years ago tomorrow. this is "hardball," where the action is. ke most of you, i just bought a house. -oh! -very nice. now i'm turning into my dad. i text in full sentences. i refer to every child as chief. this hat was free. what am i supposed to do, not wear it? next thing you know, i'm telling strangers defense wins championships. -well, it does. -right? why is the door open? are we trying to air condition the whole neighborhood? at least i bundled home and auto on an internet website, progressive.com. progressive can't save you from becoming your parents, but we can save you money when you bundle home and auto. i mean, why would i replace this? it's not broken. i mean, why would i replace this? depend silhouette briefs. feature a comfortable sleek fit. as a dancer, i've learned you can't have any doubts. because looking good on stage is one thing. but real confidence comes from feeling good out there.

get a coupon at depend.com u.n. ambassador nikki haley today joined the international community in chastising russia accusing that country of carrying a chemical weapons attack on uk soil. she said the united states believes russia is responsible for a nerve agent attack in britain that targeted a former russian spy and his daughter. she called the attack a defining moment for u.n. security council. let's watch. >> if we don't take immediate concrete measures to address this is now, salisbury will not be the last place we see

chemical weapons used. they could be used here in new york or in citieses or any country that sits on had council. member states say they oppose the use of chemical weapons under any circumstance. now one member stands accused of using chemical weapons on the sovereign soil of another member. the credibility of this council will not survive if we fail to hold russia accountable. >> for its part, and the united kingdom has taken swift action against russia. theresa may voted the immediate expulsion of 238 russian diplomats living in the country. the white house said it supports that decision. is she different than trump or what? we'll be right back. watery near. for all the people who sneeze around dust. there's flonase sensimist allergy relief. it relieves all your worst symptoms including nasal congestion, which most pills don't. it's more complete allergy relief. and all from a gentle mist you can barely feel.

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influences on the president have stoked new fears that an already erratic president will have even more latitude to make impulsive decisions. according to "the washington post," the president as rash decision to go it alone on tariffs and north korea having shaken and learned the west wing staff. with less dissent from his closest advisers they say trump has been liberated to manage his administration as he did his private business. a person who has spoke it on the president tells the "associated press" that trump in recent days has told confidantes he feels emboldened and less willing to put up with disloyalty around him. there are signs more departures could come from the white house possibly including h.r. mcmaster who has butted heads with the president. the uncertainty is feeling anxiety -- feeling it within the west wing as one official tells axios, this is the most toxic

working environment on the planet. this atmosphere is ripping people apart. there's no leadership, no trust, no direction. and at this point, there's very little hope. meanwhile, it was announced today gary cohn will be replaced by larry kudlow, the long time cnbc anchor and economist. joining me is karen bass of california and phil rucker white house bureau chief at "the washington post" and an msnbc political analyst. first the news, phil. you guys know what's going on. you have been sniffing out trouble for a long time now. how many more heads? it seems like trump's kawing it hunting season. he said on the driveway a couple days ago, yeah, i'm almost where i want to get. in other words, more heads to go. >> so chris, i was just talking to a few senior white house officials this afternoon about this. there's a feeling there will definitely be more departures and changes to come. in part because the president is more than a year into this job. he has a clear sense of who he thinks is doing a good job in

the cabinet in the senior staff, who is doing a bad job, who he gets along with and ho doesn't. one official said think of it as a thinning out of the inner circle and he is going to try to rely on people who he feels like get him and understand him. and so that's why you're seeing a move like replacing rex tillerson with mike pompeo at the state department, someone the president has a real comfort level with. >> you know will, just thinking back to our best presidents that succeeded politically. roosevelt had harry hopkins. reagan had jim baker. they relied on certain people. they relied on certain people all the time. they needed a con sill aere. you don't know what this is going to lead to, mr. president or the consequence you haven't considered. you need somebody to second-guess you, not challenge you all the time but be a bigger brain for you. does trump think his brain is enough to answer all the big

questions, make all the big decisions without help? is that what he thinks he can do? >> i think he does. he feels like he knows how to do the job now. in the first few months, he was managed by people like mattis and tillerson and john kelly who is now the chief of staff, the sort of generals around him. he now feels like he can make these decisions on his own and will look to get rid of people creating distractions that create bad headlines and bad political optics for him. the first place to look would be the va where secretary shulkin seems to be under a lot of heat right now. and maybe out soon. >> i was thinking of all the presidents i admired. kennedy i admired. he had ted sorenson around him. people need people. i don't know how you operate. >> absolutely. >> you need somebody to check -- is that a good idea? am i going to cancel that meeting? is that a smart meeting? this guy doesn't think he needs advice from anybody.

>> the problem is if you add to that the fact that he doesn't read, he doesn't want to have briefing memos, he doesn't want information, he comes into the job with very little knowledge and so he has experts around him like mattis and mcmaster and he doesn't want to listen to them. so who he is going to have at his side? basically his friends, donors, people, his kids. >> it is like the romanoffs. i've said that a million times. tillerson and cohn join staffers and cabinet member who have resigned for been fired. only 14 months old. accord to an analysis by a senior fellow at the brookings institution, his turnover rate was 34%, higher than all recent presidencies and more than double the record during the reagan administration during his first year. it's not an ideological problem here. it's just a problem. when you get your head rolled by tweet, you know it, phil, and

you're in africa and the only thing that stops you from being fired while you're there, according to "post" today is john kelly said give the guy a break. don't lop his head off when he's in foreign territory. but warn him, i'm going to do it when he gets home. in other words, trump's inclination was to fire the guy while he's overseas on assignment. why would he want to do that. >> he just decided at that moment he had had it with tillerson. once he decided to make that change, he wanted to announce it. he likes to break his onus on twitter and had to be convinced he needed to wait for the secretary of state to finish his mission. >> it looks bad. >> you know what? it looks however it looks, but look, he waited. he waited till tillerson was back in the u.s. for about three hours and then announced it. go with him on jet lag, get him while he's weak and groggy and then stick it to him.

>> he was sick. >> he had a bug. >> we have to think what it looks like to the rest of the world. we know what the president said about the entire continent of africa. this is his secretary of state's first trip to the continent. >> particularly will be remembered for decades. >> exactly. to me, full attention should have been given to this trip. now what do you think the african heads of state feel? >> if i were in kenya or ethiopia expecting a trip by the most important country in the world and probably the most important state visit and he gets fired on our watch. >> which says you don't consider very much to us. but i have ambassadors in my office all the time who come in and say what is going on in the united states. you know what i say? i tell them beak that foreign policy is a bipartisan issue. you have to come to congress because you can't count on the administration. i can't tell them what the administration's position is. >> i don't think the secretary of state could either.

>> exactly. >> karen bass, great to have you over here. and phil rucker, you guys are doing it. up next, tens of thousands of students today stage aid nationwide protest. this was impressive today calling for action on gun control. will this movement force congress to do anything? how is that for a standard? anything. i'll speak to one of the organizers of the protest. he's a youngster himself. this is "hardball" where the action is. ssential to the health of our communities. which is why we're helping to replenish the mighty rio grande as well as over 30 watersheds across the country. we're also leading water projects in more than 100 communities. and for every drop we use... we're working to give one back. because our products rely on the same thing as we all do... clean water. and we care about it like our business depends on it.

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>> i want to tell you as the representative of march ji stoneman douglas and the community of parkland, what you're doing here today warps our hearts. the opportunity that you have to lead the inspiration that you are taking from the student survivors of stoneman douglas and that the country is taking from all of you is going to change america. >> welcome back to "hardball." that was democratic congressman ted deutch in washington, d.c. today where thousands of students gathered in front of the white house. there they are, to protest inaction on gun violence. exactly one month after parkland school shooting. the protest was part of a nationwide school walkout that took place across all 50 states. listen to some of the students who participated today.

>> it's become evident that students are the one who are dying in these sheet shootings. it's our people. it's us in school. when we're trying to get an education. i won't die saying nothing. >> i'm not here because i'm ready to spread the message to keep our voices being heard. i mean, it's a lot of violence going on. it's time for someone to stand. our youth need to stand up. >> we're educated. we have goals in our lives. and we've got drives and now we have a purpose. >> this afternoon, the house passed the stop school violence act which provides some funding for strength strengthening school security. threat assessment teams and law enforcement training. it does not however address gun control. it's been endorsed by the nra. i'm joined by congressman ted deutch who introduced that house bill and student daniel who helped organize the walkout. let's go to daniel. we don't get noise from you

guys, i mean it in a positive sense. do you think it's going to work? it's worked in florida. they've raise the age to 21 down there. >> i there we're going to start seeing stuff really soon and these protests will turn into voting movements which will turn into the house and senate voting for some actual legislation that will keep us safe. >> what would you like to see? are you united? do you want to raise the age for buying guns to 21, tougher background collection? what do you want? >> all of that. we need a ban on semi-automatic rifles like the ar-15. like i said last time i was here, those weapons don't have any purpose for civilian use and need to be off our streets. >> are you bipartisan? >> hard to say right now. but i think that this is a movement. >> you have trump people with you? young people who are trump supporters with you. >> i saw a guy with a make america great again hat. >> they're in the minnesota

though. >> definitely. >> congressman, this bill, is this the best you can do? >> no, no. >> thank you for saying that. >> of course not. >> i did the math. it's $50 million which is a lot of money by any standard. but for a country of this size and 50 states, about a million a state. are you going to get some guy with a gun standing at the door? not even that apparently. >> here's what you have to remember. don't let anyone tell you that this is a response to what happened at marjory stoneman douglas. it's a good bill. i introduced a bill before the shooting. it's a good small piece of legislation that is a good thing to pass. it's not the response to this. and then don't let anyone kid you because it is. >> some minimal things like there's only one door you can come in. there's somebody there, whether there's a metal detector or somebody armed. i don't mean a teacher but a law enforcement type person. is that where we're at, something like that at minimum?

what do we have as best practices on protecting our students? >> there's now i think finally a discussion that i had this today with one of my colleagues from minnesota. how do we ensure there are best practices in school safety? how do we make sure that's an important debate we're having and focus on mental health. but the things that we have to do are the things that daniel and all of those kids who walked out today are advocating. we have to pass universal background checks. >> you can't get a vote because of this character paul ryan. you know how the house works. if the speaker doesn't bring it up, there's no vote. they won't vote on this stuff. >> i don't think he'll be speaker much longer if he continues to act this way, to be completely honest. 2018 elections coming very soon. >> you think the democrats will do something if they get in there? >> it's likely they will. >> okay. the house judiciary committee held a hearing on the parkland shooting. ryan petty, father of one of the students killed asked why the

massacre wasn't prevented. here he goes. >> the senseless murder of so many including my ownby loved daughter alaina, tests the limits of faith. nikolas cruz and the deadly danger he posed were the worst kept secrets in parkland. every relative knew he was troubled. despite the fact each of these agencies were empowered to take action well before tragedy struck, not one of them fulfilled their duty. testament of their failure is 17 dead children and teachers. 17 more with life altering injuries. a burden we must bear forever. >> daniel, as a student, you're fresh to the experience. most of us have forgotten what it feels like. do you think you could pick out the dangering? the kid who just graduated, he was kicked out. he was unpopular.

can you pick out the ones worth putting under surveillance. >> why do we need to pick out people? >> how do you know picking out this guy, nick cruz? stopping this from happening. >> if he didn't have access to guns, this would not have happened. that's the bottom line. if nikolas cruz -- >> suppose his parents gave him a gun. one of these people shot the parent and grabbed the guns. >> if there was no access to guns, this would not have happened. what more has to be said. >> i hear you. >> chris, if you just -- if you look what happened in the florida legislature for the first time in ikd das they defied the nra and passed 21 to buy a gun and three day waiting period, those are the things congress should be passing right now. we don't know we can always prevent these but if we had that 21 to buy a gun, he wouldn't have been able to guy the gun where he did. if we had background checks, we

would prevent mass killings. after what happened today and the march for our lives in ten days, there is a movement that has been created. these students are going to. >> i'm pushing you because the argument we keep hearing from the right is it's all about mental illness. once they got this guy on trial, they want to execute him. so all there talk about it was mental illness, forget about that. now they want to -- they don't think he's mentally deficient. they want to execute him. >> here's the thing. of course, we should talk about mental health. we can't demonize people with him mental illness. >> they use it as a dodge on gun control. once they get him in trial, he'll want to execute him and don't believe it was a mental case. thank you, congressman. you're a forceful spokesman. daniel gelillo, i've never heard anybody putting together something so fast. >> president trump said he would hire only the best people. in reality, his administration

has proven to be just the opposite. a classic case of do as i say, not do as i do. you're watching "hardball."

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there are those that are saying it's one of the finest group of people ever assembled as a cabinet and i happen to agree with that. >> well, he happens to agree with it being the finest cabinet put together. that was trump back in october. not a million years ago calling his cabinet the finest group ever assembled. he assembled. here's what he said about that same cabinet yesterday. >> so i've gotten a lot of people over the last year, and i'm really at a point where we're getting very close to having the cabinet and other things that i want. >> heads are going to roll. joins a list of things he said that turned out not to be true. he said he would hire the best people. >> we're going to deliver. we're going to get the best

people in the world. we have the greatest people in the world. we don't use them. we're going to use our smartest and best. we're not using political hacks anymore, that's the people that do these deals. they're hacks. >> we want experts, our finest people. we don't want people b level, c level, d level. we need our best. >> since then his administration set a record for turnover. last week he waived off the chaos engulfing the white house saying he likes to listen to people argue then make a decision. >> i like conflict. i like having two people with different points of view. i certainly have that. then i make a decision. i like watching it, seeing it and i think it's the best way to go. i like different points of view. >> and yet, the president continues to get rid of people who disagree with him. his top economic adviser gary cohn was driven out after disputing trump's trade policy. here's what he said about rex tillerson yesterday. >> rex and i have been talking

about this for a long time. we got along actually quite well. but we disagreed on things. when you look at the iran deal. i think it's terrible. i guess he thought it was okay. i wanted to either break it or do something. and he felt a little bit differently. so we were not really thinking the same. with mike pompeo, we have a very similar thought process. i think it's going to go very well. >> perhaps trump's biggest whopper was what he said repeatedly about his 2016 opponent hillary clinton. that's next with the "hardball" roundtable. fees? what did you have in mind? i don't know. $4.95 per trade? uhhh. and i was wondering if your brokerage offers some sort of guarantee? guarantee? where we can get our fees and commissions back if we're not happy. so can you offer me what schwab is offering? what's with all the questions? ask your broker if they're offering $4.95 online equity trades and a satisfaction guarantee.

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we can do that. if hillary clinton were to be elected, it would create an unprecedented and protracted constitutional crisis. >> her current scandals and controversies will continue throughout her presidency. and will make it virtually impossible for her to govern. the investigation will last for years. the trial would probably start. nothing will get done. >> welcome back to "hardball." that was president trump on the campaign in 2016 saying if hillary clinton was elected, the scandals would never end. now just 14 months into his administration, there's a special counsel investigation swirling around his presidency. on top of that today, a hearing date was set for the lawsuit

adult film actor stormy daniels filed against the president and his personal lawyer. let's bring in the roundtable, eli stokols, political analyst, kimberly atkins, chief washington reporter for the "boston herald" and peter emerson a democratic strategist. kimberly, how is this faring? the irony is replete here. >> can you imagine if someone was president when their campaign aides have been indicted? that's what we have right now. there's been an ongoing investigation. no end in sight. and just one scandal and hiccup and problem after another with this presidency. but the same people who decried how terrible that would be if it were hillary clinton largely ignore what's going on on the republican side. >> i keep wondering whether normal people meaning somewhere in the center or center left or center right, not extreme, how can they justify trump's behavior? his basic bad behavior, the way he treats human beings, the way

he treats colleagues firing people by tweet. it's not the way people are supposed to treat -- your parents tell you don't treat people like that when they're going to school with you in third grade or you're president. he or she is secretary of state. nobody acts like that. >> donald trump has been in the public life for such a long time, maybe this is baked in with people, the allegations from women during the campaign. they didn't prevent his election ultimately. and i think that. >> discounted. >> it's just difficult to know. in spite of all the controversy and pending investigation, the white house turnover over 40% in the first 15 months, in spite of all of thanks his approval rating is in the high 30s or low 40s. that's a shocking thing given the sort of chaos we see on a daily basis. >> peter, why does he get away with everything. >> they have nowhere else to go. they're holding onto the hope of his promises. make america great again which translates into jobs and wages

for them. where else are they going to go? the interesting thing is the younger generation breaks up their relationships by twitter. so in some ways quite ironicing that trump just broke up with tillerson via twitter when all the young people i know do the same thing. >> kimberly, i didn't know that was the new way to send a dear john letter is by tweet. >> apparently so. apparently so. i take your word for it. but look. >> that's a safe answer. >> look, the donald trump that they have is the donald trump they saw on reality tv, the donald trump who was the brash talking businessman. that is not a surprise. so what they are seeing is something that was promised on the campaign trail. it's not like all of a sudden he has changed. >> stormy baked in? >> yes. >> almost every aspect of this presidency is meant for public consumption whether it's the tweets or the appointees to the cabinet in many cases drawn from the ranks of cable television.

>> that's true. >> and i think that it is increasingly difficult for the country to tell the difference between entertainment and government and things that actually matter because everybody is consuming this like it's a show. the stormy daniels episode, sam nunberg episode. every day there is something. it's just. >> i don't know. i'm going by this. kimberly, it seems to me people know one thing about the presidency. it's one person that they elect. it's one person. the whole country gets to do it. you pick one person and you have to trust their judgment when there's a crisis like a pilot. you have to trust the judgment of the person up front when there's a crisis. does his behavior suggest you should trust him? >> no, and polls show people don't necessarily -- there have been presidents throughout history -- what's different now, there have been presidents that may not have seemed that trustworthy but they had a good team. he is eroding that team and

trumpfying that team around him. what we'll have to see is the polls that subsequently have that because people think, well, you have john kelly there he's a moderating force. >> how longing will that last? >> that's changing rapidly. you'll have somebody. >> they're sticking with us. up next they'll tell me something i don't know. you're watching "hardball." sha. and the ones we love. who never stop wondering what we'll do or where we'll go next. we the people who are better together than we are alone... are unstoppable. welcome to the entirely new expedition. you or joints. something for your heart... but do you take something for your brain. with an ingredient originally found in jellyfish, prevagen is the number one selling brain-health supplement in drug stores nationwide. prevagen. the name to remember.

you have john kelly there he's a

we're back with the "hardball" roundtable. eli, tell me something i don't know. >> larry kudlow likely to be named to head the national economic council. we were talking about all the people who have left. he loves loyalty. and he love the superficial qualities. how do they look and sound on television. kudlow are remembering back during the transition, he wanted this job that went to gary cohn during the transition. one of the reasons he didn't get it at that time was because trump perceived him not to be loyal enough after the access hollywood tape came out. obviously that's water under the

bridge. >> that's gone. it cost priebus a lot. >> remember daca? we haven't talked about that in awhile. apparently the white house floated another trial balloon of a daca plan to attach the spending bill that has to pass to keep the government funded. some temporary reprieve for recipients in exchange for some border security. one reason you probably didn't hear much about it is because it was dead on arrival with republicans on the hill. >> they still want the diversity. >> they still want the tougher attacks on legal immigration which means that there will be a stalemate. >> they're the bad guys, not him. >> he can change his mind. >> peter? >> so trump is setting yet another example of behavior by another high level appointee in terms of mixing personal business with government business. barry meyers has been nominated to head the national oceanographic and atmospheric agency. he's the owner of accuweather.

he's triggered an inspector general's investigation before his confirmation hearing begins. three former administrators of noaa have called for his rejection. >> he fits the pattern. >> when we return, let me finish tonight with something that happened 50 years ago this week. you're watching "hardball." you know what goes here... and your approval rating... goes here. test drive the ztrak z540r at your john deere dealer and learn why it's not how fast you mow, it's how well you mow fast. nothing runs like a deere. save 250 dollars when you test drive and buy a john deere residential z540r ztrak mower. tailored recommendations, tax-efficient investing strategies, and a dedicated advisor to help you grow and protect your wealth. fidelity wealth management.

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let me end tonight with something i spoke about just minutes before the show tonight at a senate ceremony mark the

half century industry of new york senator robert f. kennedy's announcement for president. march 15th, 50 years ago, he gave an instruction to his aide frank mankowitz "better reserve the senate caucus room for tomorrow 0i6789 robert kennedy hoped to put off walking into this room to declare for president and hoped to do it in 1972 when the matter's nomination would be open. as i readed in bobby kennedy, he didn't want to challenge a democratic president. kennedy was a good politician and knew this wasn't good politics. johnson had just gotten a scare from mccarthy in new hampshire but johnson had not just won but beat him on a write-in without the name johnson even being on the ballot. bobby tried an 11th hour maneuver to change johnson's war policies in vietnam the day before he and ted sorenson went secretly to the pentagon to talk with clark gifford. johnson shot it down and decided it would be admitting defeat on the vietnam war issue.

here was bobby that saturday march 16th, the day before st. patrick's day walking into this room that held so much history for him, so much personal history. the permanent subcommittee on investigations where had he worked for and against senator joseph mccarthy, the rackets committee where he batsaled jimmy hoffa and the same spot where his beloved brother declared for president in 1960. again, is he hoped to wait four years for his campaign. he didn't want to divide the democrats now in three directions, johnson himself and eugene mccarthy. he decided finally that morning he had to try. he saw the war tearing the country apart. he wanted very much to hold it together. and that showed and who came out to salute him along the railroad tracks when he was carried on his funeral train to join his brother in arlington. we'll remember the families of all backgrounds quietly saluting their fellow patriot.

that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "all in with chris hayes" starts right now. >> tonight on "all in." >> they're all watching. because i won this district like by 22 points. >> trump country turns blue. >> this guy should win easily. and he's going to win easily. >> tonight, how the democrats flipped a deep red district despite the president's best efforts. >> look at all those red hats, rick. >> what it all means for november. >> if you're a republican in a safe seat, you better be ready. >> then michael isikoff and david corn on their new best seller. the suspected russian attack in britain and where the mueller investigation will wind up. plus, was ben carson just caught lying about his $31,000 dining set? >> i don't want to open the book and look at the numbers. >> and putting today's historic student walkout to protest gun violence into perspective. >> hey hey, ho, ho, the