weekend what better time than to tka catch up on our podcast. if you have been listening, please rate and review the show. tweet us. that does it for "all in." waiting for mueller's next move. let's play "hardball." good evening, i'm steve k r kornacki in for chris matthews. we begin with a cloud hanging over the election. the muller investigation. it's showing no signs of slowing down and the president still lashing out at it. and at the attorney general he believes could have stopped the probe. trump last night at a railey in

indiana. >> but our justice department and our fbi have to start doing their job and doing it right and doing it now because people are angry. people are angry. what's happening is a disgrace and at some point -- i wanted to stay out, but at some point if it doesn't work out, i'll get in there if i have to. >> those comments came hours after president trump told bloomberg news his job is safe. >> i'd just like to have jeff sessions do his job and i'd be very happy but the job entails

two sides, not one side. >> trump also said he views the mueller probe as an illegal investigation and insisting there should have never been a special counsel. today they said here. patten also admitted he made a $50 million illegal donation acting as a so-called straw donor for a russian and ukrainian banned for making a deposit. we have a panel here. thank you for being with us. tom, let me zart with you just on this news.

sam patten plieding guilty, what can you tell us? >> is that somebody that was associated with the trump campaign? this is somebody who has connections to people inside the trump orbit. this is somebody who's done them. we have illegal donations coming into the trump campaign. this was something that the trump campaign knew. the paperwork shows this person is a russian and the other one is a ukrainian e iaian oligarch.

they asked somebody to buy the tickets for them because you can't put foreign money into an inug gurl commission. i think that's a pretty astounding headline? >> and we say, yes, this is not the u.s. >> do buy know anything? >> we know from our own reporter that in fact andrew weissman who's one involved in the man na for with the u.s. attorney's office in washington, d.c. -- i'm sorry, cooperate the second

part. yeah, they're definitely a part of this. >> let me bring you in. i know you've written extensively on this topic. i think these names may not be new two and the inug gurl committee? >> we do know federal prosecutors have been interested in contrabugss on -- from the cousin of a russian oligarch who run it? '744 and this is turning into legal matters, criminal prosecutions. the other big thing that tom didn't 34e7ks is that in this plea deal sam patten admitted to lying to congress. he came before the senate

intelligence committee and he lied. now this is key because adam ship and other democrats will have it. lying to congress, which is a crime whether you've sworn or not. they've raised questions about donald trump jr.'s testimony, eric prince's testimony and others. if we're going to get them looking at the testimony given to these committees. lying could open up a whole new horiz horizon. a pa teren we've seen. there will be no developments that will emerge sort of the laymen public like me that will come out of nowhere and will

boom very significant. we're reminded of the potential for developments like this. this sort of tradition in prosecutions of you kind of hold o off. do you have a sense of what we'll be learning between now and election day? >> i don't think mr. mueller is going to a 3w50ird by the policy. he's not goings to bring in anything that's going to be an october surprise. if you know anything about bob miller as he has up to this point, once he has that finding it will be released after the mid term. you have to look back at what

he's willing to date. and planned approach by the president and his folks to grow up there and call this or rigged hunt. we have a situation where mr. flynn has pled guilty, mr. cohen his counsel has plet guilty. mr. man na ford has been found guil guilty. all these various prosecutions were based on facts. people use the term fake facts, fake news, these are facts that people plead guilty to at the risk of losing their liberty and suffering heavy fines. i think we need to keep that in mind when we're talking to mr. mueller and his investigation. >> on this question, you have to

read the memo closely. there's no time that's listed on the memo and really the key to or campaign the candidate and campaign. donald trump jr. is not running for office. darryl jr. i used them as necessary but some we have too keep in mind there. based upon it, what is it, i have to think if you are a republican candidate you're looking at the next two months, wait, no more of this, from today and election day. >> we know it's going to be a

bitter four while trial. >> so we will see products frs most to -- we hope that trump will keep his mouth shut on this. i know. i know. >>. >> you're told that manny for the has to keep a lid on it. >> a republican in a competitive race. if we're dealing with trump coming in,' witch hunt, whatever it speaks, you have swing voters, do not want to hear you talking about this investigation. when you look at the numbers,

that core base support is at 18%. you can go hard on that. you swr to be careful. that message is starting to break through. you move away from the -- you know, you say that mueller should continue. let the mueller investigation go. >> speaking of the poll susan is mentioning there. there is a new poll, washington post, abc news, it asked about robert mueller. it found the majority. 68 -- we saw movement last week. if you look at the trajectory of

public opinion, it was a lot tighter. >> looks like donald trump and giuliani aren't doing too well. the primary people out there arguing that this is awe oh, meal and it looks like. it has a base but it really doesn't wear well with the rest of the public. not with democrats. the more giuliani is out there and you have people like michael cohen out flipping and who knows what he's going to say to the trump organization. chief financial imunmight at

this. it looks like it's getting worse, not better. i think he's in a quicksand position. >> just real quick, one of the jurors in the manafort trial was ready to convict him but they said the evidence was there. to barry's point. presentation of things going on in these trials and the facts are not going to be distorted by giuliani or anyone else when it comes to the dirt. >> i have to leave it there. thank you all for joining us. coming up. remembering john mccain. the country's political -- i'm

going to head over to the big boards with big polling news. enjoy your labor day weekend because when we come back, election season gets into full swing. the "hardball" is going to roungd it up. here's a hint. it has something to do with the 1990s. this is "hard balance," where the aspirin is. n isdvil liqui-gs at booking.com, we can't guarantee

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>> it's unbelievable what's happening with the fake news. these are very dishonorable people but i said in the end it's okay because at least canada knows how i feel. >> we'll be right back. alright, i brought in new max protein

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in every generation there are those who put country first, who pride service ahead of self, who have idealism from a young age. john mccain was such a man. on behalf of a grateful nation, we will ever remember that john mccain served this country and john mccain served this country honorably. >> welcome back to "hardball." that was mike pence honoring the late senator john mccain.

the states man continues to lie in the capital rotunda as the americans stream through. the crowds are not thinning out at all. this morning mccain's former colleagues paid tribute to him. >> half a world away wearing our nation's uniform john mccain stood up for every value that this capital building represents, then he brought that same patriotism inside its walls to advocate for our service members, our veterans, and our moral leadership in the world. >> a patriot who served his country. a man, yes, of the senate, but also a man of the house. a navy man, a family man, a man who made an enormous difference in the lives of countless

people, a man of conviction. >> even in his passing mccain continues to push for bipartisanship having congressional leaders from both parties participate in a replaying ceremony. cindy joined by senator lindsey graham entered the empty senate chamber and sat down at his desk. michael singleton republican strategist. bruce, let me start with you. 1982, that's when mccain was elected to the house, four years later to the senate. an institution in washington, on capitol hill and in american politics. what do you think he would make of the scene here? in the height of the trump era, this outpouring of respect from both sides of the aisle? >> i think he would have been gratified by it. i think he -- he obviously planned it out very carefully

and i think it is coming together in a way that probably exceeded his expectations including the outpouring of emotion. it's most significantly out of respect for john mccain and he intended for us to, quite honestly, come pair and contrast this moment, come pair and contrast senator mccain with the man who is not at any of these funeral services or memorial services, president trump. and i think he would get a sort of grim satisfaction from knowing that one last time he is really showing up this president, that he disdained and the feeling was i guess mutual to some extent. >> it really is interesting, sir michael. we saw the vice president there, donald trump's vice president, mike pence, offering figures about john mccain as a

courageous figure, all of the things you would expect a president to say of somebody in mccain's stature. the president is the head of state. there is the ceremonial aspect. he's expected to show up and say something about a democrat, republican, something bigger than that. in this it fell to the vice president. >> the president did not rise to the occasion, which has been the expectation that i think we as a nation have had for every previous president and it's an expectation that i would hope we would maintain for every other president that will come after donald trump. here you have the late senator john mccain, who was a noble man. he wasn't a perfect man in his own words. admitted that many times. he had noble aspirations about what it means to be a

politician, to be a public servant and bipartisanship. that's something that's fundamentally lacking today. and so it's my hope that during this time as we reflect upon the life and legacy of senator mccain, that hopefully in his moments of quietude, if the president is a self-reflecting individual, he can think of things that john mccain can do which is selflessness. this is a teachable moment that i hope the president will reflect on and rise above the occasion because he hasn't so far. >> donald trump was at a recent funeral of the late reverend billy graham.

he it took nearly 48 hours after the passing to send out a statement and trump insisted he properly honored him. i did everything that they requested and, no, i don't think that i have at all. ruth, it's interesting. i have had conversations with folks who say they are bothered conceptually by the idea that the president of the united states isn't going to be playing the role that you would expect of a president but also given the history with donald trump and john mccain, given the statements he's made, maybe it's better that the president take a back seat. >> the president didn't have a choice to take a back seat in terms of the funeral because it was made clear by senator mccain and his family that the president was kind of

persona nongrata at the events. and he was persona non grata not because he was petty but the moment he dismissed mccain's status as a war hero saying he preferred people who were not captured. he refused to do anything the slightest bit gracious so he disqualified himself and he further sunk to the occasion of aggressive pettiness to keep a veteran's objective of keeping flags at half staff which they are now. i guess i would say no one would expect the president to take this as a teachable moment. the question i really have is

whether people like vice president pence, people like speaker ryan, people like leader mcconnell have any self-awareness as they are saying these words about a man who put country over personal interests, country over party. do they have any self-awareness and the degree to which they are falling short of shows ideals and while i'm a little bit cynical about whether they're able to acknowledge that, i do have a slim theep there's some understanding there. >> you were saying you hope the president takes a moment to reflect that. >> the best sense i get is bottom line, do you win or lose? you're winning on twitter or

you're losing. i do wonder if it's the disdain from mccain's life if he boils it down and, therefore, everything else that comes with that. the military heroism, the stature he enjoys in this country that trump doesn't have any value because he lost. >> but he lost gracefully. donald trump did not win gracefully so maybe that is the way he internalizes this for his own ego. buying into this, which i think is a huge mistake. righteousness knows no boundaries. one thing with john mccain, at least for the most part, on the side of being right because he recognized, again, there was something much bigger at stake here, bigger than the republican party, bigger than the

democratic party. the future for our country and the role we play and the president cannot seem to remove himself from that. >> ruth marcus, thank you both for joining us. >> as we go to break, take a look at the highlights of the mccain tributes we've seen in arizona this week. i'm a blameocrat and i love john mccain. >> a little harrowing, a little bit crazy but a lot of fun and the greatest honor of my life. >> he celebrated differences. he embraced humanity. championed what was true and just and saw people for what they were. >> even though john is no longer with us, he left us pretty clear

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the journey from the brink of war to the negotiating table has been stunningly swift. >> that's fire being pushed from the wind. ushed from the wind within the republican party the highest phone numbers -- 92, 93%. the highest poll numbers ever. ever. isn't that crazy? i actually asked them.

i said, did they do polling when honest abe lincoln was around? you know what, nobody's been able to give me that answer, but i'm assuming they did, okay? so we can say we beat honest abe. >> president trump making that argument last night in indiana. my poll numbers, they are through the roof. the last six months it's been that high. in the hull that's not great. if we're going to keep it around there, we have a shot at holding onto the house. that has been the story. this morning along comes this, brand-new poll. abc news washington post, the president's a prafl, just

before%. there are no republicans telling you they think they can hold onto the house if donald trump's is at 36% or is anywhere near 36%. look at this. only 24% say they strongly approve. one says more than double. over 50%, outride majority of voters in this poll saying they strongly disagree with the president. so it tends to be there. it's not just being unpopular, it's having this kind of disparity and so real on this side. the question of impeachment saying they don't want their candidates to talk about it. that would begin a plurality. 49 to 46%.

the question is is there actually republican opinion. the difference in the trend. maybe it's not what's happening. here's the thing to keep in mind. this poll today has trump at 36%. that's the wrong button. look at this. when all of the recent sort of uproar, he has to go. as of right now even if you factor in this abc/washington post poll, if we go on the road, what do you get? so you're not down to 32, 36, 38, you're down 6%. if you want to think of that as a potential turning point.

this abc news/washington post poll, brutal. is that the start of a big dropoff. that is the big question heading into labor day week end. guess what, labor day recess folks don't think we're going to get that for an answer. he knows it's going to be closer down in the mid 30s. up next, as we're saying, get ready for the ads, for the ralli rallies, for the debates. kicking in after this holiday weekend. we're going to dig into how they're trying to survive it. you're watching "hard ball."

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i have a great relationship with him and we are working together to rebuild our military. we've cut taxes, secured our border. i have a strong endorsement from him and we're going to keep doing that. >> you heard the president loud and clear last night, he needs a real recruit like me that's going to make america great again. >> welcome back to "hardball." with the elections looming, he's working on a harsh strategy. so far he has been mimicking his 2016 playbook tossing red meat to his base by attacking hillary clinton and vowing to build the wall and taking on the president. recent polls show the president's rating with the base high, although not quite as high as before. david tweeting this this morning, you don't lose because you lose your base. that's why it's called your

base. you lose because you lose people that weren't that crazy for you but moved around. beth, let me start with you. sort of of the question we were posing at the board, we are conditioned with trump, there's the oh, this big event is going to change everything and a few weeks later it's changed nothing. there are a lot of tumults there. that would seem to be having an effect we need to back the baseline. >> as you pointed out in the segment, the pulling on his popularity remains surprising. his popularity is it around the 40, 42%.

the question is, as you say, is that enough to come in and save the house seats that are so vulnerable. there's 45 to 75 seats right now, house republicans who are in jeopardy. that's a ton of seats. the president can go out and rally his base. he does motivate people who really love him to come out. 45 to 75 seats is a ton. it's more geared towards republicans but to kind of keep those healthy and in republican hands, it's going to be fund. the house members who were vulnerable, ultimately this will be on trump. 42 is not good. >> in the foot from david from said, it's the folks that voted for you but you weren't that

good. >> it's to try to corral enough to motivate. it's trying to make the idea of democratic control worse than any concerns they have about trump. is there a risk that all democrats will believe in? >> democrats have to carry more than half of the races. these are cross section. this means the experts don't know who's going to win them. democrats have to carry more than half. they shouldn't like those odds. remember what happened after the "access hollywood" tape?

that was in 2016. everybody thought he was toast. he wasn't. >> no. >> this is not a persuasion election. it's a turnout election. if trump is successful in mobilizing that base, getting them revved up and angry and democrats are not there. republicans can hold the house. trump will be embolden. >> it was interesting, the news, trump put this up on twitter. he's going to texas. he's electing democrats. he went by nine points. that was down from where romney was. you have ted cruz running for re-election. texas, ted cruz is on the republican ballot? >> i would say david from is --

from is here. it won't win the campaign in general. if there's not turnout from that base, i think that's what ted cruz is afraid of. i wouldn't even say they're frenemies. >> so cruz said spent the 2016 election dodging his father shooting kennedy. >> if you're cruz, that is the value you place on having trump campaign for you. >> and he knows that that has

10,000 volunteers already and he's raised twice as much money without pacs. >> there aren't that many. this may be the one. everybody knows ted cruz. >> and o'rourke is starting to get a taste of what comes with that, scrutiny. that's been in the news in texas. stay with us. up next, these three will tell me something i don't know. you're watching "hairedball." ♪can i get a connection? than psoriatic arthritis. as you and your rheumatologist consider treatments,

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it helps give him 65% more chewing power. leaving brad to dig in and enjoy. super poligrip. tune in monday night when chris matthews returns. a look at the reality show presidency of donald trump. former star of "the apprentice" has surrounded himself with a number of tv rating people and they all seem to pop up again and again in the scandals and drama that plague the white house. join chris monday, 7:00 p.m. eastern. you're not going to want to miss that. we will be right back. will be . he's been acting more and more like his dad. come on, guys! jump in! the water's fine! tom pritchard. how we doin'? hi, there. tom pritchard. can we get a round of jalapeño poppers for me and the boys, please?

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we are back with the "hardball" round table. beth, tell me something i don't know. >> i just got back from ireland where president trump is going to go visit in november. it was ajounsed today. when i was there on august 28 touchdown government announced

the government election would take place october 26th. they have a 59 day window to elect a new president in ireland. >> meanwhile our 2020 campaign started a couple months ago. >> all right started. you saw the news that donald trump cancelled a 2.1% pay increase for civilian federal employees. the political implications of that haven't been assessed beyond virginia and maryland where a lot of them live. but there are 450,000 civilian federal employees who do not appreciate the rich getting a tax cut while their pay increase does not come in who live in california and texas where there are several kong seats in play. this could be sleeper issue. >> california with seven districts held by republicans but won by clinton. >> tension in the primaries. but now as the season is windsing to a close we are going the look at a score cards.

the establishment is winning. the dccc which says it does not particular its candidates according to ideology their red to blue list has 39 out of 41 winners. >> the establishment mostly wins. beth, jonathan, emily thank you for joining us. when we return, let me finish tonight with the president's antimedia messages which reminds me of some thing that happened in the '90s. everything those old is new again. you are watching "hardball." does this map show the peninsula trail? you won't find that on a map.

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we finish tonight with president inside the news media. it can feel like we are in territory we have never been in before. the president of the united states not just criticizing the press but branding it the enemy of the people, calling it fake news telling americans they have to pick sides, me or the lying press donald trump tells me. in a lot of ways we are in brand new territory here. it has never in the modern mass media era been this blunt this persistent with the identity of an american president. in another way it has been a long time coming. the rise of television gave us broadcast networks more than half a sentry ago w. that a national news media was born of the it evolved from there. cable news, website and everything else that came with the media revolution. through it all the national media, the national press corps has found itselves in the cross hairs of the conservative

movement which for decades has been claiming the press is filled with like minded liberals who put their thumb on the scale. spiro agnew went offer the press. george w. bush spent the final days of his 1992 campaign emmoring crowds to quote annoy the media, reelect bush. >> every one of you know what that means. every witness of you know there has not been objectivity in the coverage. every one of you know -- every one of you know it. and they are having their own debates. all these talking heads. have we been fair? well, this is the way we do it. that's the way we do it. and everyone knows they are covering up the fact this has been the most by yaszed year in the history of presidential politics. the bigger turning point, though, i think came a fewist years after that. i right about it in my new book the red and blue. it's coming out on october 2nd. it's also available for preorder.

i'm a little bit excited about that if you can't tell. the change i'm thinking of though, can be summed up in one name. newt, as in newt gingrich rich, who bristled with that same anger toward the national media. despicable irresponsibility and deliberately vicious he would call it. it was more than blowing off stream. what he also saws with the vast strategic potential. slowly as he rose from the back benches of the house to the top of the gop he made the term media synonymous not just with democrat and liberal but also with the idea of elitism. he got his party to embrace the style that placed them in opposition to the value of everyday americans. it wended 40 years of democratic rule on capitol hill in 1994. gingrich lasted only a few years as speaker. not everybody followed his playbook but he had give them a taste of what they could

achieve. two decades later a celebrity took that playbook, ranched it up the whole way and with newt gingrich rich cheering him on at rallies and on television donald trump rode it all the way to the white house. that is "hardball" for now. thank you for being with us. we begin with breaking news this hour. another associate of paul manafort is pleading guilty today to a federal crime and admitting to arranging an illegal foreign donation to trump's inauguration. samuel patten pleading guilty to charges of failing to recommendingster as a -- failing to register in the u.s. as a lobbyist for a foreign agency. he agreed to work with bob mueller's team. he referred the case to the d.c. prosecutor. perhaps the most striking part of the case is this, admits helping a russian and ukrainian making a $50,000 donation to the trump inauguration committee. of course, foreigners aren't allowed to donate money to inaugural committees. there's no sign trump