>> watch that full interview at msnbc.com/mavericks. catch me tomorrow on morning joe, first look. "hardball" with chris matthews starts right now. in your face. let's play "hardball." ♪ good evening. i am chris matthews. democrats are fighting. the democrats led by schumer and pelosi golt t in the president' face. the battle was over the border wall, whether it is worth shutting down the government over. trump says it is. schumer says it is a fight they're ready for. democrats are fighting and may well be winning now after trump declared he would be proud to shut down the u.s. government if he doesn't get his way. >> one thing i think we can

agree on, we shouldn't shut down the government over a dispute. and you want to shut it down. you keep talking about it. >> the last time, chuck, you shut it down. >> oh, no. 20 times. >> i don't want to do what you did. >> 20 times you called for i will shut down the government if i don't get my wall. >> you want to know something? you want to put that on me. i'll take it. you know what i'll say? yes. if we don't get what we want, one way or the other, whether through you, through military, through anything you want to call, i will shut down the government. i am proud to shut down the government for border security, chuck, because the people of this country don't want criminals and people that have lots of problems and drugs pouring into our country, so i will take the mantle. i will be the one to shut it down. i'm not going to blame you for it. last time you shut it down, it didn't work. i will take the mantle of shutting it down. >> new york new york, two guys fighting it out on the corner. the televised sparring, as

president trump and congress remain at odds over passing a spending bill for the u.s. government to fund parts of the government past december 21st, next friday. and president trump's demand for $5 billion for the wall along the rio grande. minority leader pelosi reminded him who would own a shutdown. >> the american people recognize we must keep government open, that a shutdown is not worth anything, and you shouldn't have a trump shutdown. >> did you say a lot of -- >> you have the white house, you have the senate, you have the house of representatives, you have the votes. >> after the meeting, senator schumer continued to knock trump. >> this trump shutdown, this temper tantrum that he seems to throw will not get him his wall and it will hurt a lot of people because he will cause a shutdown.

>> i am joined by a white house correspondent for pbs news hour. david cicilline, and eli stokes. why are the democrats fighting? i watched the election of 2016, i remember that. trump behaved boorishly, hovered over secretary hillary clinton, behaved a behaved awful toward her. now they want to be seen with this guy. >> i don't know they want to be seen. it was a televised conversation. >> they knew the cameras were on. i think it is good. >> democrats are fighting to be sure we keep the government functioning. democrats have supported border security. we voted for an additional $20 billion. what democrats don't want to support is wasting taxpayer money on this foolish wall.

the president's own chief of staff said this is not an effective way to secure the border. we gave them two proposals. pass the appropriations bills, do a continuing resolution, keep the government open. the president made a political calculation, he thinks it is to his benefit to speak to the base, make it look like he is fighting to keep america safe. it is just not true. >> and the democrats believe they benefit politically by fighting trump on the wall. wrong or right? >> i think that's accurate, chris. they made the calculation that the wall has become the political figure of the debate and this fight, and it is bigger than a wall. this is why i think to david's point, they've already authorized and supported $20 billion of funding. why don't we follow through on funding, do the $5 billion we need to secure the border, get it taken care of to fix the border so american citizens are safe and sound and have a functioning border. >> 300,000 come in illegally, we

have tons of people here illegally. there is a challenge of illegal immigration. how do you effectively change the failed policies. >> use technology, we should be smart about it, we invested in border security, use drones, satellites. be smart about the way you're doing this. we are the ones fighting for a comprehensive plan. we supported $20 billion in additional funding for border security. >> go ahead. >> i want to say what we saw was a made for tv moment. president trump wanted this moment, he wanted to be seen as someone who is strong -- >> who wanted it? >> the democrats also wanted a fight. pelonancy pelosi kept saying th cameras need to be gone. she can't talk, she's in the middle of being speaker. she hit back quickly and hard. >> reminded me of nikki haley.

she said don't mischaracterize my situation. i think your ally, nancy pelosi, was benefitting from today. >> absolutely. >> i think it was a strong moment for her. she didn't want to be seen as someone talked over. she let the president finish his point, didn't talk over him and interrupt him, then came up with the idea. >> i want to ask you, i don't want to put you in a corner, you're probably a reasonable old time republican, but he comes in with a man spread legs out. weird the way he sits. it is all attitude with trump. then the guy next to him, ed mcmahon, what is he doing, he is sitting there, like he is in passive mode. schumer is in new york mode. let's bring in eli stokel. what happened after that meeting? some of it seemed like performance art on both sides.

look, was it real? were they really angry at each other? >> i think afterwards the president based on reporting i am getting out of the white house, the president was frustrated after the meeting. aides briefed him going in, aides are aware, sometimes you brief a president, he doesn't always follow the plan. this was supposed to be a short photo op, supposed to give a picture of the president working with the democrats, incoming how the majority, trying to get a deal done. and then they're supposed to leave. the president likes to sometimes keep cameras in the room. pelosi was trying to help him say we'll talk when the cameras left, but it sort of spiralled out of control. when the president left the oval after pelosi and schumer, the number of people saw him storm out of the oval, walked into a room just off the oval office and had in his hand a folder of briefing papers and scattered them out of frustration, threw them across the room and

expressed frustration to people that were present, mainly with chuck schumer, his old new york sparring buddy he felt got the better of him, goaded him into a remark how schumer wouldn't make eye contact with the president, was actually looking back at cameras as he was making comments to the president, but directing comments to the camera. it frustrated the president more than what worried his aides which was comments he made, taking ownership of the shutdown. >> i want to point out something, thank you very much for that reporting. i'm watching the president, and i am reminded of pretending there's a wall there, this mime, he thinks there is a wall, but there's no wall, congressman. he keeps talking about the wall, there is no wall, congressman. >> that's why we need border security if that's what you're referring to, chris. that's why a wall is part of border security. it is part of making the border

secure. but it is not the only thing. and that is where i think the opportunity lies for a compromise position to come out end of the day. >> i think the president showed in front of the american people failure to be a good negotiator. he said if you don't give me what i want, i am shutting the government down. he claims to be a great negotiator. the american people saw him fail in terms of negotiating a real solution. >> i want to add this, there's an aide that e-mailed what please told lawmakers. it is like a man hood thing, as if man hood could be associated with him. she was going for the jugular. >> man hood would ever be associated with the wall or him? >> with him, president trump. as if manhood would be associated with president trump. that's what she told lawmakers on the hill when she got back after the meeting. you have nancy pelosi capitalizing on the meeting, saying we didn't back down. talking about manhood, not something you hear from her

often. >> is that appropriate? >> i think she's reflecting the will of the american people. give democrats the house, american people don't support wasting money on a wall. she did that in as adult manner and put the president in his place. >> a week from now, next saturday, are you going to get a bill? >> this is all drama. this is all theater, chris. i have been here long enough watching this. this is posturing, playing to people's bases. end of the day you get a deal done. >> either there's a wall or not going to be a wall. he says $1.6 billion wall, but there's no wall. they never passed the thing. he wants 5. the democrats say zero, they're not going to agree on two and a half. >> if he is serious on border security, there's a compromise with technology, fencing, more

agents. there's a way to get more border security. if it is wasting money for a wall, won't do it. >> the president took a swipe at nancy pelosi over the potential she faces to be reelected speaker this january. watch this. >> i don't think we really disagree so much. i also know that nancy is in a situation where it is not easy for her to talk right now, and i understand that, i fully understand that. >> please don't characterize the strength that i bring to this meeting as leader of the house democrats who just won a big victory. let me just say -- >> and that's why the country is doing so well. >> let's talk about this. you're the only woman of the four of us, besides being a fantastic reporter. this thing about no more bs, no more man splaining. >> i think we saw nancy pelosi

give the president space to do what he wanted to do, then say stop and listen to me and to the strength i'm bringing. that was nancy pelosi being polite but clear about her stance. i think she was saying no man splaining here. >> the president made his case for more funding to build the border wall, at one point writing people do not yet realize how much of the wall, including effective renovation has already been built. but an nbc fact check of the claims found no new concrete wall has been built along the u.s. mexican border. nada, no wall. and congress never approved funding for any of the eight different prototypes. as i mentioned for fun, trump's imagination of a wall reminds me of the french mime, acting like

he w he was touching a wall. he acts like it exists. >> he made this such a center piece of his administration. he can't admit he has been unsuccessful making it happen. it is not a good way to secure the border. but he is speaking to the base. he is imagining it is done. >> congressman -- it is a 2,000 mile long border. can we afford a hard wall? >> we're talking about barriers. a wall, a fence. you heard d.c. speak, you heard concrete wall is what you fact checked. there are steel walls. there are walls on the border today. there are areas of the border that need a functioning wall to keep us safe. that's what this is about. this is about a wall from the left and a wall from the right. political theater. at the end of the day, american people want the border secure.

that's what we're going to get at the end of the drama. >> is this a 2020 issue? >> i think it is a 2020 issue, a repeated issue until we fix the issue which i think dave and i agree on. comprehensive immigration reform is necessary. there's a path to success, we can lead it in the house. >> just need to talk to the president. >> get with the people living here 20, 30 years, not going to tell them to go home. the other thing, stop illegal hiring. >> you got it. >> and if you want to vote for it, it will happen. bring it to a vote. why don't they vote on it. >> i think there are a lot of people scared for their jobs, this is the holiday season. while you talk about it as political theater, there are federal workers that wonder if they have a job and money on christmas day. so i think americans want this figured out. >> i agree. coming up, maria batina.

she just pled guilty today. according to the plea agreement, is cooperating with federal prosecutors. and jared kushner makes a rare television appearance where he deflected a question on accusations about the saudi prince. he is defending this guy, the murderer. why? we'll get to that. why does the son-in-law have any authority to do anything, let alone speak for our country on behalf of a murderer? and president trump having a hard time facing realities. finally, start with the war on truth and war for truth. the good guys. this is "hardball" where the action is. at fidelity, we help you prepare for the unexpected

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with her confession, maria butina is the first russian to admit to trying to influence u.s. politics. it could shed more light on their activity. the 30-year-old russian national stands accused of culminating republican politician and the nra on behalf of the kremlin is entering a plea agreement with prosecutors. maria butina will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the law governing foreign agents operating in the united states. she's the first russian national since the election of 2016 to plead guilty to a crime relating to russian influence pedaling. she acted at the direction of a russian official to establish unofficial lines of communication with americans having power and influence over u.s. politics for the benefit of the russian federation. it also says in a message to a russian handler, she stated she

laid ground work for an unofficial channel of communication with the next u.s. administration. and while her case was not brought by the special counsel, robert mueller, her cooperation with him could be of assistance to his probe. for instance, back in july of 2015, it was butina's question, her question in public to donald trump that prompted candidate trump to say for the first time he favored lifting sanctions on russia. here is the question and part of trump's response. >> if you would be elected as president, what would be foreign politics especially in relationship with my country and do you want to continue the politics of sanctions that are damaging both economies, or do you have any other ideas? >> i don't think you need the sanctions. i think we would get along very, very well. >> it is amazing to see him doing this in plain sight. joining me, congressman from texas on the house intelligence committee, and kim wehle, former

prosecutor. congressman, sometimes a lot of this is digging up information nobody can find and finally finding it, but a lot of what trump did in terms of reopening a different relationship with the russians is right there. get rid of the sanctions. tell us what you know about the woman, butina. maria butina. >> this is an interesting development in the fact that she's going to be cooperating with the federal government because it really opens up an avenue for prosecutors to find out a few things. first, how deep and extensive the russian connections are for the nra. remember, there was reporting and news about the nra possibly accepting russian money. this will be somebody who could tell us more about that. also about the relationship between the nra and some people in donald trump's circle, between them and russian oligarchs. she was close to alexander torshin of the russian central

bank. at first appearance it may seem it was a russian that was here, a grad student, but this is somebody that took an nra delegation to moscow, had a meeting with the russian ambassador to the united states or russian foreign secretary. so an ordinary person, you think about an american that's a grad student in london or anywhere, they wouldn't be able to just get a meeting with people that high up in the government unless they, themselves were very well connected and probably working on behalf of the government. >> do you think it is possible that russian oligarchs were spending money through the nra in the u.s. to get trump elected? channeling money through the nra? >> i cannot say that definitively or conclusively, but i think it is worth further investigation, yes. if you ask me do i think it is possible, yes, i do. >> this whole thing, here is somebody with a russian accent obviously, a student visa person who blatantly comes out, talks

to the president about eliminating sanctions. then he says yeah, i want to do it. this is right out in public. the russians want us to drop the sanctions, trump is up to doing it, and they have this being in bed together. >> it is a graduate student at a campaign rally, that's the person he calls. and this is the question. he has a very detailed answer. the question of sanctions ties into the mueller investigation because i think the outstanding question is what is the reason for so much lying to federal prosecutors about the entire process? one of the possibilities is quid pro quo. we'll lift sanctions, you help us. even though this is not brought by the mueller team, this butina plea is critical to the russian collusion. >> he is unfazed by news that they implicated the president in a scheme to break finance laws by paying off two women for silence. we know about that this weekend. here's how orrin hatch reacted

in an interview with cnn yesterday. >> concerned about what the federal government is alleging here. >> well, i think the democrats will do anything to hurt this president, anything. >> it isn't the democrats, it is southern district of north korean, u.s. attorney. that's who -- of new york. u.s. attorney. >> all i can say is he's doing a good job as president. >> this guy is from utah. this comes as 44 former senators of both parties published an open letter in "the washington post" to the current members of the u.s. senate. the senators wrote we are entering a dangerous period and feel an obligation to speak up about serious challenges to the rule of law, the constitution, our governing institutions, and our national security. we urge current and former senators to be steadfast and zealous guardians of our democracy by ensuring that

partisanship or self interest not replace national interest. seems like 44 former senators are talking to people like orrin hatch. stand up for the constitution and stopping such a hack. that answer was a hack's answer. i don't care? i don't care if he broke campaign laws? >> you're right, chris. that's the thing. orrin hatch has been a senator a long time, in many ways had a distinguished career. it is almost painful, appalling to see him really damage his reputation, basically in the last few years of his time in washington, and what the 44 people are basically saying is that it is time to put country over party and you've got to not be so, you know, committed to the president that you basically overlook any wrongdoing that he commits, and unfortunately the republicans that have come out and said something for the most part all have former by their names.

you don't have former congressmen and senators, everybody on this building that are working here still refuse to acknowledge even on a basic level that the president has done anything wrong. >> you are so right, congressman. kim, let me ask about the russian thing. no other way of responding to it but laugh at it. so many russians trying to get through the door to influence our politics to get to trump. >> it is stunning and the connections i think we are into 14, 16 connections between the campaign and russians. it reads like a spy novel. seems like almost too impossible to be true, the facts are coming out with such fervor. the question was raised by ex-senators, what are we going to do about it. that's one for the ages. >> like a russian novel with all of the names. so many names. but it is outrageous.

thank you for coming on. and next, we're hearing from trump's son-in-law, what a character he is and his crusade, that's what it is on behalf of the killer of an american journalist. that's what he is doing, that guy, the first son-in-law has no authority under the law, but is representing the united states, saying i'm on the side of the killer. that's what he's saying. this is "hardball" where the action is. - [narrator] the typical vacuum head has its limitations, so shark invented duo clean. while deep cleaning carpets, the added soft brush roll picks up large particles, gives floors a polished look,

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welcome back to "hardball." jared kushner, the president's son-in-law and middle east adviser has been an unflinching ally of the crown prince. according to the times, he continued to chat informally with the prince even after the murder of jamal khashoggi, he offered advice on how to weather the storm. the cia has high defense he ordered the murder of khashoggi. down played it on fox. let's watch. >> i think our intelligence agencies are making their assessments, and we're hoping to find justice where it should be. we're focused on the broader region, figuring out how to bring a deal together between the israelis and palestinians. that conflict went on way too long. the president is focused on bringing the different parties together. we're hopeful in the next couple

of months to put out a plan that not every side is going to love. >> according to a transcript of the murder which was obtained by cnn, khashoggi gasped as he shouted he couldn't breathe, as a death squad set upon him. they proceeded to dismember his body with a saw once they killed him. he is one of the guardian journalists selected by "time" magazine as person of the year. the magazine selected them because of the war on the truth. the president followed suit, saying he is standing by the crown prince bin salem. he says the prince is strongly in power. whatever that means. e eli rejoins me. and then to bobby. there's stupid and defending what's obviously a murder, premeditated murderer. everybody knows he is a murderer. they're seen in the world as

supporting a murderer, then they do it because they think somehow saudi arabia is going to back up israel's right to control jerusalem. i don't understand how the defenders say israel can have the holy land. the whole proposition sounds insane and i mmoral because it s based on murder. >> that's a fair summation. they're waiting to see what we deliver with a peace process, they're saying just wait, just wait, this is going to happen. news flash, this has been elusive. his primary qualification aside from being the son-in-law, he has known netanyahu since childhood. he is effectively a proxy for naught in the process. >> he is not going to give away

jerusalem, as if any israeli will. bobby, you know more about the middle east than i do. i have to tell you, that part of the world is not easy. the immorality of a peace plan on a murder coverup is awful. >> yes, it is immoral, impractical and completely overestimates mbs, the crown prince's ability to do good, underestimates his ability to do tremendous harm, through the two years he has been effectively in charge of his country, of saudi arabia, mbs has done enormous damage. he led his country and others to war. he has broken up the arab unity by blockading qatar. he has done enormous damage to american interests. the idea that the president and

his son-in-law think that he is going to somehow pull a rabbit out of a hat and save this nonexistent middle east peace plan is preposterous. that's bad politics, immoral as you said a couple of times, and impractical. it is just not the way the world works, much less the middle east. >> they have a notion, i hate when i see this, like we're going to buy a bunch of rooms at the trump hotel in d.c., that's like something in the middle east, a little bribe. then they say we'll get the son-in-law, he is like a crown prince and work him, he doesn't know anything about the middle east. whe we'll whisper in his here this nonsense. this guy knows nothing. they have transcripts where they have vetted the guy, he doesn't know anything. >> there's greater reporting by "new york times" about how the saudis marked jared kushner a couple of years ago during the trump campaign and said he's the guy, he's going to be our ticket

in. they've effectively manipulated him. you step back parallels between the administration's approach to saudi arabia and to russia are striking, not just the blanket dismissal of the u.s. intelligence official conclusions in the khashoggi matter, in the russian election, wiping those away and choosing to believe the adversaries instead. also, you sit here and watch the way they deal with the administrations. they're trying to convince americans that the u.s. benefits from an improved relationship with russia, from the strong relationship with the saudis. they haven't really laid out the case, made the case effectively for why that matters, what we're getting from it. they're saying we get a peace process, point to arms deals that why menegotiated by the la administration, but haven't shown why they're bending over backwards. >> what's it look like there, what's the world in the middle

east. how do they see the royal to royal relationships going here with jared against mbs? >> well, i think there's a lot of shaking of heads and wondering how it is possible. mbs' behavior, had a couple of years, they're used to seeing him behave like that, used to seeing him make rash, reckless decisions that do a lot of damage. the fact that the united states is going along with this, that it is over and over defending him, despite american intelligence agencies, the american congress over and over again saying this is the guy who should be held responsible. despite that, they're seeing that the white house and jared kushner continue to defend mbs. they just don't know what to make of it. they can't believe the white house can be so credulous to buy into the idea that mbs, prince of saudi arabia, is somehow

going to be the great hope, the great arab hope of the trump administration. >> while he murders journalists. thank you. up next, president trump is having a hard time facing realities in front of him. does he think if he says it enough over and over people believe him? 40% of the country believes what he says because they don't think about it, they say yep, yep. you're watching "hardball." when my hot water heater failed, she was pregnant, in-laws were coming, a little bit of water, it really- it rocked our world. i had no idea the amount of damage that water could do. we called usaa. and they greeted me as they always do. sergeant baker, how are you? they were on it. it was unbelievable. having insurance is something everyone needs, but having usaa- now that's a privilege. we're the baker's and we're usaa members for life. usaa. get your insurance quote today. so shark invented duo clean. while deep cleaning carpets, the added soft brush roll

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and accessoriesphones for your mobile phone. like this device to increase volume on your cell phone. - ( phone ringing ) - get details on this state program call or visit you know, i don't mean to embarrass you, but i'm a rather brilliant surgeon. perhaps i could help you with that hump. >> what hump? >> that's "young frankenstein." just as igor couldn't face the reality of his hump, president trump is having a hard time facing realities in front of

him. in a series of tweets, he said newly built walls for stopping the car van of migrants on the southern border. the reality, newly built walls don't exist at all. congress never approved funding for anything. no prototypes, nothing. nothing he wanted done has been done, yet he said it was the wall that kept the so-called caravan from crossing into the u.s. the president tweeted he is having no problem filling the soon to be vacant chief of staff job. the reality is that trump is scrambling to find a replacement, since his first choice turned him down. friday, following the release of three court filings that allege the president direct an illegal campaign finance scheme, trump tweeted totally clears the president. it is outrageous. joined by tonight's "hardball" team, former congresswoman donna

edwards. ryan williams, republican strategist, former spokesman for mitt romney. and steve wiseman. author of "the chosen wars." all right. let me ask you about the president. is he deluded when he says things like the wall when he knows it is not there, when he says i love, everybody wants to be my chief of staff and nobody wants to be chief of staff. >> here's an understatement, the president has a difficult relationship with reality. today that was proven in the oval office when confronted with truth after truth and he denied it. i think he does it for his base, he does it to rally them. that works with them. just doesn't work with the rest of the american public. >> salesmanship. is he a salesman that believes his own bs? >> i'm not sure. i think he is trying to speak to the base. i think these are emotional

tweets, it is an emotional reaction more than political strategy. there's no one in the white house on the press team, legal team, anybody telling him to do this. this is him reacting. >> my image is route 40, one of the old county roads, there's a guy at the bar, you know the president says that wall stopped the caravan. i think there are people that believe it literally, the words he puts out. there's no wall, the caravan didn't get stopped. >> the caravan worked for him up to a point, right? it was the subject of the last couple of weeks before the election. i loved what we saw today, the cold open for "saturday night live," don't you think? >> the democrats think they can win the election if they just stand up to the guy, right? just standing up to him something that a lot of people on the left, i say that positively, people on the progressive side don't feel the

democratic party has been tough enough, pushy enough. >> today that was underscored. when nancy pelosi looked right at the president and said trump shutdown and said it twice because he pretended not to hear it, i think the democrats love that. i think today you could see why it is people need nancy pelosi as speaker. she walked all over top of him. >> he tried to talk to schumer, and schumer wouldn't give eye contact. he was talking to the press. in an interview with reuters released, president trump says he is not worried about getting impeached. according to reuters, white house correspondent jeff mason, it is hard to impeach somebody who hasn't done anything wrong. he defended payments his former lawyer made to two women that had alleged affairs with the president saying number one, it wasn't a campaign contribution. if it were, it was only civil. even if it was civil, there was no violation based on what we did. okay. what do you make of that. that's a good defense.

i didn't do anything wrong, and if i did it, it wasn't wrong. >> that's what he's got now. the latest version of the michael cohen affair, his explanation. >> steve, he admits that payments were made, may be a civil violation, so what. >> he did. he should have gone a step further which john edwards did, said i did this, but it was to protect my family, my wife. that's how john edwards as i understand it got off, not by denying the reality that trump has. he should acknowledge the payment, maybe focus on his motivation if he wants to get off the hook. >> not that it matters, but he undercut that argument over and over again with tweets and statements, so -- not that he couldn't come back to it because he does all the time, but the fact is that the president did something unlawful, and i think congress has to figure out what to do with that. >> if he were as smart as he thought he was, he would say i set up a deal with national enquirer before i ran for office, i had it set up, the

same mechanism when i was running. it wasn't for a campaign issue, he could have, but he didn't. with 2020 on the hoorize on, move on.org has a straw poll, showing beto o'rourke topping the list with a narrow lead over joe biden, rounding out the top five, bernie sanders and ckamal harris. why do you think harris is lower in the group. >> i think move on or the activists, people that knock on doors, people that give small donations, what surprised me is one, not that beto was at the top, that was a group enthusiastic for him and remains so, but also the same group that did endorse bernie sanders in 2016. surprise, joe biden as high as he was among progressives when a lot of people don't view him as

progressive. >> brian, do you think people begin who are most politically committed saying we have to win this, we have to get a winner. >> i think the real story how badly elizabeth warren is doing. these are her activists. >> is this a function of the dna test? >> i think it is. they're looking at her, thinking she's damaged goods. guy like beto might be a better option. if we see more polls like this, it will be trouble for warren as she tries to get it off the ground. >> are you for trump if he runs again? >> i am for the republican nominee. president trump. >> who are you most afraid of? >> at this point, no one. i think biden has name id, is a more moderate candidate. i don't think he makes it through a democratic primary. >> if he gets past the primaries, look out, right? >> we'll see. >> i'm surprised biden did that well. it is not a matter of name recognition, these activists recognize names of everyone.

the fact that they rated him as high as they did was interesting to me, good news for him. >> do you think days of nbc november doesn't count are over? >> of course they want to win. but you can seem to think he has a strong base. >> democrats love primaries. >> this will be one great campaign. i hope it takes awhile. i'm afraid democrats will make a decision too fast in a couple of weeks. let the whole country get involved, let california and texas get involved, by may or june of 2020, they have the best possible team. it has to be a team. has to have somebody of color on the team, a woman on the ticket, put it together like a new york state ticket in the old days. that's what i say. the round table sticking with us. you're watching "hardball." with my hepatitis c,

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we're back with the roundtable. donna, tell me something i don't know. >> some of those democratic wannabes are making phone calls to the no longer existing superdelegates to try to get their support. >> and they don't exist. there's no vote there? >> no, but they still want them. so they're making the call. >> ryan? >> congressional republicans are quietly preparing for several resignations in the first six to eight months of the kocongress,o keep your eyes peeled for a few special elections. >> why are they quitting? >> they don't want to be in the minority. look for another job. >> isn't that funny? i always thought it would be great job to be a congressman and not have to do anything.

steve wiseman with a great book. >> chris, when president trump had some visitors for hanukkah the other day, he referred to israel as your country. that really alienated america's youth. and as i say in my book, "the chosen wars," judaism became an american religion in which jews discarded their identity as a nation, and embraced their religion as a religion, an american religion. they were really annoyed and are annoyed when they're accused of dual loyalty and being a nation loyal to israel. >> and that's what lindbergh did back in the bad days of the' 30s. you've heard the jewish people as being from another -- >> yeah. well, it's frankly run through a lot of the anti-semitic dog whistling and code words of the last year. >> i -- when i think about your theme, i think it's true with all the religions. all religions in america are a

little different than the european versions of it. and more -- they're just more different. i can't get into -- it only causes me trouble. i'm roman catholic, but there's a little difference over here. donna edwards, ryan williams, steve wiseman. when we return, let me finish tonight with the war on truth and the good guys in the fight. there are good guys. you're watching "hardball." i don't know what's going on. i've done all sorts of research, read earnings reports, looked at chart patterns. i've even built my own historic trading model. and you're still not sure if you want to make the trade? exactly. sounds like a case of analysis paralysis.

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let me finish tonight the same way "time" magazine is

ending the year. a high tribute to the journalists of the world who have delivered the truth and martyred for doing so. the magazine pays special honor to jamal khashoggi, "the washington post" columnist who the cia believes was ordered killed by the saudi arabian crowned prince, mohammad bin salman. there will, i predict, be no statute of limitations on this crime. president trump and his first son-in-law, jared kushner, can defend the saudi prince all they want. they can hope that the headlines will fade, that the editors of our country's newspapers will relent and move on, but it won't happen. why? because those who report and edit the news, as a calling, cannot sit back and let the fact of jamal khashoggi's killing fade away like an old newspaper, because to do so would be to betray the most fundamental of journalistic principles, the duty and right to report the truth. here is the unblinking reality. if jamal khashoggi had written what mbs, the saudi crowned

prince liked, he'd be alive today. instead, he is dead. to turn our back on this fact runs against basic human morality, thousand shall not kill. it runs against the first amendment and the constitution. it runs away from a crime scene that blackens all who defend the killers, especially the one who gave the orders. and that's "hardball" for now. "all "all in with chris hayesais right now. tonight on "all in." >> we should not have a trump shutdown. >> a what did you say trump? >> with impeachment talks talking, the president faces the democrats. >> the fact is you do not have the votes in the house. >> tonight, the extraordinary showdown in the oval office. >> if we don't get what we want, one way or the other, whether it's through you, through military, through anything you want to call, i will shut down the government. >> okay. fair enough. >> and how chuck schumer and nancy pelosi put a realtime