turn it up to 11. and say goodbye. thanks for joining us. "hardball" with chris matthews is up next. >> mr. putin goes to washington. let's play "hardball." >> good evening, i'm chris matthews in san francisco. dizzying week for the trump administration. rather than get tougher on vladimir putin, president trump is rolling out the welcome mat. the president intends to follow up another round of talks with putin this autumn.

quote, president trump asked john bolton to invite putin to washington. dan coats told andrea mitchell that he felt duty bound to speak out. >> when you watch that, in helsinki, what was your gut reaction watching him validate vladimir putin's assessment over yours? >> well my thoughts is that i believed that i needed to correct the record for that. and that this is the job i signed up for. and that was my responsibility. >> coats is also one of many who have had to fact check the president when it comes to russia. trump has been at odds with members of his own administration. >> i have president putin, he just said it is not russia.

i will say, this i don't say any reason why it would be. >> my view has not changed which is that russia attempted to interfere with the last election. >> i think that the probe is a disaster for our country. i think it has kept us apart. you would say that was a total witch hunt. >> i do not believe special counsel mueller is on a witch hunt. i think it is a professional investigation conducted by a man who i have known to be a straight shooter. >> offered to have the people working on the case come and work with their investigators. that is an incredible offer. >> the administration is not going to force people to russia to be interrogated by russia and his team. >> i think the united states has been foolish. >> the bigger picture, we need to hold russia accountable.

>> is russia still targeting the u.s.? >> russia has been the most aggressive foreign actor, no question and continue their efforts to undermine our democracy. >> despite his attempts to undo the damage. finding it impossible to hold russia responsible. the latest edition of "time" magazine features trump's face morphing into president putin. mike quigley of illinois sits on the intelligence committee. let me go to congressman quigley, it is not just that he is a russian. it is not just that he is a former soviet. but vladimir putin is a cagey

agent of his time. sworn in, duty bound spy. that is what he is. he could do anything. probably engage in torture. personally has done it all and inviting him into the home of the president of the united states. what do you make of that protocol violence? >> it's scarey. i now served on intel committee for about three and a half years, i have the greatest respect for the members of that community. many of them given their lives to keep us safe. and here we are attacking them. since before he was president of the united states as candidate trump attacking the intelligence community and defending and never attacking mr. putin. it is beyond description. >> steve, what would you make of a democratic president, or a lot of people on the trump side, those lining up behind him again. what would they have done if

barack obama had ckowtowed to a russian leader like this guy has. to be dragged over to moscow for interrogation and on top of that, invite the leader of the former head of the kgb come to the white house for din din. what do you think the reaction would have been? >> president obama if had he had done that, would have been impeached already for sure. the most mystifying thing about all of this is the failing to stand up to a president who has distinguished himself with a singular dishonor. first american president who refuses to defend the country from the attack launched on it by a hostile foreign power at the order of the president of russia, the russian federation

launched a cyber war against the united states interfering on our election process. attack on our sovereignty. this is what george washington warned the country about. remarkable to play out this week and to see over on fox, stay tv, all the excuse making, gymnastics going on trying to excuse trump on this. >> the president, as a candidate promised to put america first. no more taking crap from everything. why is he taking everything in the face from putin, everything. the attacks, the suggestion that they want mcfaul to be investigated.

and now trump is given them exactly what putin wants. to be treated like a human being which he is not. your thoughts? >> i was at that helsinki summit and in the room when the press conference happened. it wasn't just that president trump is treating president putin as a human being. in that regard he was allowing president putin to be the host almost. it could have been happening in russia because he spoke first, clearly had the body language that he was having a good time and this was about president trump saying i am the rightful president of the united states and i don't owe russia anything for my victory. this has become so personal for him. really, it is about trump being first and all the people that i talk to, today i was talking to sources from the department of homeland security and former senior officials from the department of justice who deal

with national security and all of them said the national intelligence community is worried about what president trump said to president putin in the two-hour meeting. worried that he made assurances with president putin and gave away what the u.s. doesn't even know what happened yet. the intelligence community is really, really scared. >> steve, you are such a smart political guy, didn't you get the sense watching putin, he had the secondary characteristics of a guy who had a tortured and licensed job. that smirk on his face. i got this guy in my captivity, i am enjoying this. this is the kind of torture i like as a kgb expert. >> he is a kgb colonel. was and always will be that. he saw somebody standing next to

him who is clearly doing his bidding by design whether it is a by omission or comission. there is a term the russians use, it is useful idiot. and the president of the united states is a russian useful idiot. doing the bidding of a russian autocrat. weakening nato, assaulting the european union. these are all the primary and fundamental strategic goals of the russian federation to weaken nato, to weaken the european union. and the person more than any other human being on all the planet that is doing the bidding of vladimir putin to achieve those ends is the american

president. extraordinarily dangerous moment to ponder. >> are you people going to let this guy, into the house chamber to address the house in a joint meeting. if trump allows you to do that. would you go along with it? >> i don't think we will. but it is up to speaker ryan. my amendment today would have provided additional resources. it failed on a party line vote. the same people, the same republicans who tweeted out disagreeing with the president's accuracies in helsinki today voted against providing resources to prevent cyber hacking, provide training and equipment because our equipment is so old, it can't even handle anti hacking software. against that backdrop, mr. coats talked about how they are coming

after us again on election hacking. my republican colleagues did nothing. >> great if you introduce a resolution, even if it won't get passed by the republican majority. it would challenge them to say it is the will of the house that this man who oversaw an attempt to disrupt and discredit our electoral process, will not speak in this house. that would be great. any chance of that happening? the democrats pushing, pelosi and the rest of you folks pushing. and forcing to either eat it or fight it. >> i agree. today was full throttle engagel engagement with them. >> i hope you challenge mr. ryan to show guts and say know to the president. it is an embarrassment. worse embarrassment if he put

him in the well of the house. meanwhile, president trump is claiming he has been tough on russia. while trying to cast his predecessor barack obama to being beholden. >> look at all of the things that i have done. nobody else did what i have done. obama didn't do it. he was a patsy for russia. look at the statements when he thought the mics were turned off. getting along with president putin, getting along with russia is a positive, not a megtive. now with that being said, if that doesn't work out, i will be the worst enemy he has ever had. >> the sanctions came about under obama.

>> well the president, the white house really does have that same kind of talking point when you ask them about the u.s. policy towards russia. they will say we expelled people, closed russian consulate all over the country. i was talking to the former u.s. representative to nato. he was saying, nato allies, they are going to craft work-arounds for the united states. so the idea that while he is saying okay, i haven't taken away sanctions, he didn't say the word sanctions. nowhere did he say we are going to keep our sanctions strong. so even if the policy is strong for now.

already looking at trump saying we don't trust that guy. >> steve, tell me about chris wray. his conversation today it seemed to be he talked about resigning. he was so concerned about trump's behavior. >> i think you see the remarkable video from the aspen security counsel. at the end of the day, when you look at donald trump's putin fetish, when you look at the things that he has done over the last ten-days. attacks on the nato allies. destabilizing that alliance. lastly, the weakest performance by an american president, the head of state of the united states standing next to a foreign leader in the history of electronic recordings of this type of events. we have never seen a weaker

performance by a president of the united states standing next to any leader let alone one that has attacked the country, attacked the elections process. that is responsible for war crimes across the middle east. the annexation of his neighboring states and his attempts to weaken liberal democracy all across the world. not a single line of opposition to them. it was gutless, it was weak, it was servile and unprecedented for an american president to show that type of weakness. when you look at why is he doing this, there are no good answers. and i think that increasingly, as we look forward, this president is becoming more unhinged. he is becoming more erratic. his behavior is becoming more alarming with each passing day. and though there are all sorts of people that are trying to excuse it away, the whole

country just saw what they saw with their own eyes. and it is not good for this president, and certainly not good for the united states. >> thank you. so much. u.s. congressman quickly. and coming up president trump described it as an incredible offer. in exchange for interviews with russians who have been indicted by robert mueller. unprecedented how it would be to hand over an american diplomat to the kgb. jay former u.s. stenographer joins me. and trump is back on the attack. once again, labelling the media as the real enemy of the people. the "hardball" round table weighs in. mike huckabee weighs in.

and the line of attack. we will see what is going on. let me finish with trump watch. this is "hardball." where the action is. cover almo. even a "cactus calamity". (man 1) i read that the saguaro can live to be two hundred years old. (woman) how old do you think that one is? (man 1) my guess would be, about... (man 2) i'd say about two hundred. (man 1) yeah... (burke) gives houseplant a whole new meaning. and we covered it. 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 ♪ but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve short-term memory. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. you shouldn't be rushed into booking a hotel.

with expedia's add-on advantage, booking a flight unlocks discounts on select hotels until the day you leave for your trip. add-on advantage. only when you book with expedia. reaction from christopher wray. including him, one of the republicans going to do about it. now we have george wills joining us. what do you make of that, offering the former u.s. ambassador to the former kgb crowd to interrogate him. >> i suspect, or he will

consider it or by doing it he has no knowledge of his own government. the first principle of conservatism which there is no such thing as rock bottom. what he should have said is a, if i had the power to do, this which i do not, b, i would not exercise that power. he probably, when he says it was an incredible offer by which he did not think it was credible, he meant it was stupendous. and then he said, he was going to consult with his advisors on this. >> on this program and others, we have wrestled with trying to figure out the motive. and i thought for a while, i know i am being too generous, he was going to unite the north, the russians and the europeans against the south, the islamic

threat. that there was some greatness in this, something about syria, israel and iran to put it all together. no evidence of that forethought. and then cya, saving his own situation. and then they have something on him. to down the line to the point of talking to them, letting them interrogate our people. what do you make of this. >> as i say, i think he has minimal regard for and minimal understanding of the rules of american government. and the institutional facts of american government. remember, chris, that during one of the presidential debates among the republican candidates when mr. trump felt compelled to

call upon the defense of his sister. he thinks judges sign bills. so we have a president who would flunk a six-grade civic exam. he doesn't understand the limits on presidential power and the limits imposed not on dejure matters. it is like throwing a puppy into the kindergarten class. >> let's bring in ruth marcus. same question. maybe we will get a clue, maybe a perry mason moment. why would a president throw away

our sovereignty? >> i go back to our friend's trademark phrase. and i think what we have seen this week is some combination of the two of them. i could not agree with george more which is turning us all into former conservism these tays. about the ignorance and naivete and lack of experience that has been on display. and that as a piece of information for what is going on. hey, guy, i've got a great deal for you, so here is how it is going to work. we interview your guys and you interview our guys. if you have zero understanding of government, maybe that sounds like a good deal. if you have any understanding of government, it is a mess.

and the thing that is amazing, is that the president snapped at it and called it an incredible deal. but it took multiple hours and this bizarro press conference. >> george, you know, historic conservative. there was something called, as i recall called the connelly reservation. no american is going to be brought before some tribunal. and here is trump letting this out that we might let our people including our top state department officials be facing russia justice under a kgb colonel. how did this escape from the

conservative philosophy that we look out for our own. >> what mr. putin was doing was cleverly insinuating the problem of moral direction. you have mr. mueller, and he has to go through grand jury, and all the rest, and we have our own understanding, which is our legal system tells us what i tell it to do. but both essentially the same. and it does seem to me that he has succeeded in causing a kind of chaos >> the white house received swift condemnation. some of that came from the president's on allies. let's listen. >> in general, would you envision a world in which you would allow suspects to be interviewed by russian. >> i never want to say never about anything, but it is not high on our list of investigative techniques.

>> it is galling. there is no investigative benefit to that. >> no, i can't imagine any circumstances under which that would happen. it would be disastrous and absurd and there is no way he would do that. why would he? you don't give our own people over to foreign governments and he would never too that, ever. >> the president's former campaign rival weighed in. hillary clinton tweeted ambassador mcfaul is a patriot. jeb bush tweeted not dismissing this absurd request out of hand is an extraordinary sign of weakness by an american president. in some cases it was somewhere in eastern europe or somewhere in south asia. if we had a difficult prisoner from the war of terrorism, we might turn over a prisoner to

those governments because they weren't as dainty as we are. that is a hell of a reference. >> it is a national embarrassment that we did in fact did some of these things. the secret of mr. trump's behavior is that he believes that international relations is conducted between people who become friends and he thinks that in some sense, mr. putin is or can be made into a friend of his. you asked about the conservative pedigree of some of the criticism of him. a good criticism, lord palmer said nations have no permanent friends only permanent interests. and it is the confusion of friendship with interest that is the most dismaying. >> i don't think we have interest or friendship. thank you. up next a former white house

stenographer is giving us a sneak peak inside the west wing sharing revelations about trump's relationship with the media causing alarm. just par for the course of the 2018 world. she joins us straight ahead. this is "hardball" where the action is. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not an injection or a cream. it's a pill that treats psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable after just 4 months, ... with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. and the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. tell your doctor if these occur. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts, or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss.

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director of national intelligence dan coats says he does not advice the president to meet alone. he does not know what happened there. let's watch. >> i don't know what happened in that meeting. i think as time goes by and the president has already mentioned some things that happened in that meeting, i think we will learn more. but that is the president's prerogative. if he had asked me how that ought to be conducted, i would

have suggested a different way. but that's not my role. that's not my job. >> is there a risk that vladimir putin could have recorded it? >> that virisk is always there. >> the director of national intelligence also spoke about trump's controversial about hosting diplomats. >> did you know they were going into the oval office that day? >> i did not. >> what was your reaction afterwards? >> we all learned about it from texts. >> probably not the best thing to do. but no, i was not aware of that. >> in that same interview, coats was caught unaware that the president had invited vladimir putin to the united states for another meeting this fall. he didn't know that was coming. what a team.

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didn't criticize the prime minister. i have a lot of respect for the prime minister and unfortunately there was a story that was done which was, you know, generally fine but didn't put in what i said about the prime minister and i said tremendous things and fortunately, we tend to record stories now. so we have it for your enjoyment if you would like it. but we record when dealing with

reporters, it is called fake news and we solve a lot of problems with the good old recording instrument. >> that was president trump of course last week in london denying that he criticized british prime minister theresa may. trump later apologized. the administration tends to record its interviews, a former white house stenographer who worked under president obama and briefly under president trump, saying that is far from the truth. we were faced with a president who didn't want to be recorded. there cowl be an official white house transcript. just in case the reporter came out with an accurate quotation. but that was then and this was the trump era. joined right now is the stenographer herself author of the new book. corner of the oval.

thank you for your service to the country. when i worked at the white house years ago and back in the '70s and back to the kennedy administration. the white house communication office took down everything the president said starting with the inauguration. you're talking about what was the role of you as stenographers in the obama white house. >> you are talking about waca which records everything. but the stenographers records everything and transcribes it. and so our job is not only to record it, but also provide a written record of exactly what was said. >> so your materials go into the presidential documents which are bound and safe for history. >> yes. >> and the casual conversation with the reporter, for example, obama used to like liberal minded reporters, columnist come

in with a nice chat. tell me how he handled those situations. >> those were done after hours never done during the sitting president's daytime workday. and what was so wild about covering trump, he actually pulled bill o'reilly out of the interview and spoke off the record with him in the oval office for an hour without having a stenographer present. >> where obama he had you record what he said to liberal, favorable columnist. >> right. and during the day, the president's time is not his own. he is working on behalf of the people. if you are having this pre talk that was actually an hour long. >> just to make it straight, obama was on the record with stenographers and trump avoided that, is that the difference? >> indeed. and president trump choosing not to have everything on the record

contributes to chaos. >> any other differences between the two presidents as you record for your history? >> it couldn't have been more different. when i was a stenographer for the obama administration, we learned his schedule the day before. we knew what was covering. they valued our role and as soon as president trump came in, from day one, we weren't there. we were not included. the first interviews with lester holt, the stenographers were not in the room. >> the book is called "from the corner of the oval ." up next, trump's latest depiction of the media as quote, the real enemy of the people. isn't that nice? real shot who is it that could

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welcome back to "hardball." president trump's attempts at spinning his way out of disastrous helsinki. trump insisted russia wasn't targeting u.s. election. former candidate mike huckabee. >> we tried to interfere in elections all over the world ourselves. so let's not be too much patting ourselves on the back how pure we are. >> joined now by the "hardball"

roundtable. what do you make of this equivalence number. i find it odd that conservatives are finding charm and love for the former soviet colonel. >> they said publicly this is not the united states. there is no rule of law in russia. there is no freedom of press, freedom of speech. the elections are often rigged. so to draw some sort of moral equivalency isn't acceptable. >> i don't think eli, that republicans are bragging about what happened down there in

chile. >> we are in this age of partisanship. so this is where you would have republicans sounding the alarms if this was a democratic administration, basically shrugging their soldiers. and so those are the arguments you are hearing. i was in brussels for the nato summit and i heard so much concern from europeans about what is happening to public opinion in this country, the fact that the president just by virtue of taking these different policy positions is swaying more in favor of russia and against nato. >> chris, if i could talk about the nation desperate politics of this. that was a trial balloon that huckabee was set up by donald trump himself a few hours earlier and necessaitated by th ironic results of helsinki and

trump's insane performance. even people like mike huckabee and everyone else on the republican side had to finally quell the initial craziness of helsinki, they had to admit that yes, the russians interfered in our election. so they lost that battle and now they are going onto the next piece of spin which is yes, the russians meddled in our election but we have spent decades meddling in everybody else's election, so what is the deal. that is what this was, minute by minute spin. that is what huckabee was trying to do. >> latest polling, four out of five republicans buy everything trump did. meanwhile blaming the media strategy. quote trump said the fake news media wants so badly to see a major confrontation with russia,

even a confrontation that could lead to war. writing the summit with russia was a great success except with the real enemy of the people, fake media news. this is something. that we are the enemy. >> they are both bashing the press and telling what an incredible summit they had. the problem is they met for two hours by themselves. no one knows what was discussed during this summit. things leaking out with putin briefing his own diplomats. and so it is really hard to assess whether the summit was a success like he said it is or was. >> chris, he is managing, once again, president trump by criticizing the media, he is changing america public opinion.

he is now doing it on russia and done it on whether the russians meddled. >> how about on trade, on fiscal policy. he has moved the republican party like he is the lion king. trump is out there touting up joe biden is his easiest victim in 2020. what is he up to? >> trying to cause as much trouble as he can within the democratic party. number two, he wants to have a fight with someone at all times. he and joe biden have a history. and have exchanged sharp remarks in the past. i had joe biden up to my class at penn. he was fantastic with the kids there. he inspired them and they are not all wild eyed liberals. he is widely respected. and if the battlegrounds are going to be as they were,

michigan, pennsylvania, ohio, et cetera, joe biden is a guy that has credibility. mainly, it is trump trying to get into the news cycle and trying to get a jab and trying to divide the democratic party. it is just the beginning of what they are going to do. wait until donald trump gets ahold with the people on the left. that is what trump is going to be spending a lot of the next two years doing nothing but trying to cause fissures. >> nixon was good at that. up next these three will tell me something i don't know. always learning that. you are watching "hardball." or . now deli fresh flavor is for everyone. like those who like... sweet. those who prefer heat. and those who just love meat. for those in school. out of school. and old school. those who like their sandwich with pop.

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katy, tell me something i don't know. >> trump had been outmaneuvered by president putin. now starting to hear that trump's critics so keen in criticizing, do they want war. getting frustrated. >> eli? >> talked to some republicans this week in the aftermath of helsinki, and they tried to hold their fire but increasingly frustrated. they said to me, they hope the president could golf in the next couple of months and talk about anything other than russia. i texted one, the white house has invited putin to washington. and the response i got back is one word, nightmare. >> yes, especially before the election. h howard? >> conservative sources of mine who know a lot about nra.

watch out for further investigations of whether russian oligarchs funneled money or conspired to funnel money through the nra blindly to influence the trump campaign. that is going to be a live investigation to look at. and my sources say there may be a there there. >> thank you. when we return we finish tonight with trump watch. you're watching "hardball." ♪

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. trump watch, i have wondered these last days what it would have been like if president trump's predecessor would have been doing what he has been doing. what if barack obama stood with him, putin. and why not ask if the president's legions of supporters had been confronted. i assume trump brigades would have accused obama of engaging too comfortably with this country's foe. so what gives? is it the standard set for obama good enough for trump?

isn't the loyalty straight enough to guide any and all american leaders. tell me why it is okay to sprinkle your national foe with love as long as you are a republican doing it. it is okay to say it is okay. sorry, i forgot we have been here before in comparison with what is okay with donald trump but not okay by a mile for his predecessor. suppose that conversation trump had on the access hollywood was that of barack obama. what would have happened? do you think he still would have been elected president? you think so? so throw it all together. the siding up to putin, and saying with a straight face that you are judging trump

objectively. fact, four out of five republicans say they have -- approve how trump handled himself in helsinki. thanks for being with us. all in with chris hayes starts right now. >> breaking news, vladimir putin is coming to the white house in the fall. >> say that again? >> the president invites vladimir putin to washington. as he leaves his own officials in the dark. >> i don't know what happened in that meeting. >> new reporting on what the president promised to putin and what to expect in their second meeting. plus, the republican response to democratic measures to reign in the president. >> my interview with the putin critic, the president considered turning over to russia. i think that is an