thanks for joining me on a show we were especially excited about. i'm ari melber. "hardball" with chris matthews is up next. lightning rod. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. we have breaking news in a stunning new report "the washington post" reveals that deputy attorney general rod rosenstein had an effort to keep his own job with the president after the "new york times" reported last september that he offered to wear a wire to record the president. when trump called him demanding answers, he sought to diffuse the situation and assures the

president he was on his team, assuring him he would make sure trump was treated fairly. according to the new administration official, rosenstein said i give the investigation credibility. here's the key line. i can land the plane. i can land the plane. his reassurance to the president was ominous given that he and the attorney general cleared the president of obstruction of justice after the special counsel had not. the other big story is that the president is waging a pervasive disinformation campaign in the wake of the mueller report itself. he is going to say anything to elevates him in the eyes of his people. he is leveling the baseless accusation that the law enfor enforcement institutions have engaged in a coup against him. a coup. with the national rifle association, he spun the story that his political enemies were responsible for the mueller

investigation which he said was a plot to overthrow him and he caught them in the act. here's trump. >> they tried for a coup. didn't work out so well. i didn't need a gun for that one, did i? >> you have been looking at things you wouldn't have believed possible in our country. corruption at the highest level. a disgrace. spying, surveillance, trying for an overthrow. and we caught them. we caught them. >> this filed similar claims in a rant last night on fox news. listen. >> this was a coup. this was an attempted overthrow of the united states government. trying to infiltrate the

administration to -- really it's a coup. everything you can imagine. tried to infiltrate the white house with the lies and the leaks and the overthrow. disgraceful things. this was an overthrow and a disgraceful thing. it's far bigger than watergate. >> this was a coup. this wasn't stealing information from an office in the watergate apartments. this was an attempted coup. >> a coup is a violent overthrow of a government by force, usually carried out by the military in third world countries. that's what happened in south vietnam when the president of that country was something to post in members of as army in saigon. a coup is what happened in chile in 1973 when the armed forces overthrough the president to repressed left wing movements. a coup is not what happened in our country over the last two years n. making such frightening

claims, he is using the words of a dictatodictator. i'm joined by ron reagan and barbara mcquaid and david jolly from florida who is no longer with the party. on this use of the term coup, it's one thing to say deep state was out to get me. now he is saying in his crazy mussolini-style rage that somehow the military and someone was trying to overthrow him, he being the legitimate government. what do you think of the lingo? >> no surprise that there was no facts or evidence presented because it's an absurd claim. it's easy for us to mock his buffoonery, talking about a coup, but this is dangerous talk. you notice the people at the nra convention, they were not booing or laughing, they were cheering that. they were eating that kind of stuff up. it's a prelude of what might happen in the 2020 election if donald trump doesn't win.

he talked like this in the last election and he is setting it up now. if he is somehow turned out of office, it won't be legitimate and his base, who knows what they would do if they thought an actual coup had taken place, let's say in the guise of an election. this is dangerous talk. >> it makes perfect sense. this is what he does. he talks in a language of it was rigged. if he lost the last election and he said he was rig and cheated out of election victory. he is talking about locking uphillry clinton. this is a country where there is no democratic institutions. if you lose an election, it was rig and if you win an election, you arrest your opponents. he talks as if he's in a crazy with country with no institutions of democracy and i wonder if ron is not ready to

pull the plug and say i'm not accepting defeat. i'm not letting it happen. >> that's possible. he is stoking dangerous passions as he does when he talks about charlottesville and other events and ignores the fact in terms of the investigation that one of the reasons he was being investigated is his personal attorney and son and son-in-law was in direct contact with the russians for the white house. if we get captivated by whether or not the language is outside the form and it is, we overlook the fact that what he is doing for a large part of the country is that he is framing this issue and playing offense on the narrative. i lamented for two weeks. i'm not sure his political opponents, particularly house democrats realized they are two weeks behind trying to frame this issue while the president is so successfully doing it for his base and those who will likely turn out for him in 2020. >> what can 2/5 of the country do. 40% of the country which is

roughly his base. he is running about 40% again. they recognize that they think he is somehow the victim of a coup and he is the legitimate leader of the country and everything in the government is working against him like a military overthrowing an elected leader? >> he is taking grievance politics to the lowest common denominator. he is taking it to the nra convention and saying everything that happens in washington, d.c., the reason mr. and mrs. smith distrusts washington is on full display right now. these democrats and conspiracy theorists in washington are trying to undo a democratically held election and because they couldn't beat me at the ballot box, they are trying to do so through a rigged investigation. it's not going to work with everybody, but it fires up his base and he is playing to 50% or 49% as we saw last time. it's going to be effective for a

large part of that if we don't push back on that as those who question the language he is using like you do when he said the word coup. >> what do you make of him talking to the nra that he didn't need a gun to thwart the coup. it's the old remedy for the hard right. use your second amendment remedy. if if you don't like a military leader, knock him off. in other words, if i had a gun, i would be stronger. >> it's dangerous language and we need look no further than the people who acted in response to his rhetoric. we had the pipe bombers sending pipe bombs to a number of members to the media and motivated by his support and president trump. he has to realize that his words have consequences and most leaders choose them carefully so they say things that mean something and they are not

misinterpreted by people to trigger them to violence. >> the mind-bending thinking of republicans are still backing him four out of five, nine out of 10 sometimes. they said it was a witch hunt and saw everything by robert mueller as whimsical when the reality check had been about hillary clinton. if she was accused of getting russian help with our without her help, if that happened, her presidency would be in shambles now. they would be burping her at the sake. the same people who said it's a witch hunt if said against trump. >> you look against the lens of reality and that's not what trump's base is doing. they don't really care about any of that. they like the fact that trump seems to hate the same people they hate. from liberals to brown people to feminists. you name it. trump seems to hate the same people they hate and they love

that. they are going to be with him no matter what. the mueller report, congressional investigations, none of that is going to make a difference. they are with him the whole way. you know what, 40% is not a majority, but the fascists in europe in the 30s never had more than 40% of their populous either. you don't need 51%. >> you speak a raw truth. in the rosenstein story breaking today, "the washington post" reports that the deputy attorney general told the president more than once he agreed trump was being treated unfairly. he was enabling him. in a statement to the post, they said the only commitment he made about the probe, the mueller probe is the same he made to congress. as long as i was in charge, it would be conducted appropriately. it does seem when he said i'm going to land the plane like he's going to limit it. he's going to keep the president safe like he's a passenger on

that plane. your thoughts? >> that's a concerning choice of words. to say that i'm going make sure it's conducted fairly is appropriate, but landing the plane sounds like a certain outcome. we were troubled by the fact that loretta lynch sat on a plane tarmac with former president clinton during the investigation of hillary clinton's e-mails when they talked about their grandchildren. this should be more alarming when they talk about the outcome of an investigation. i have faith in rod rosenstein and the way to get to the bottom of it is to call him before congress and ask him what he communicated to president trump and was this an effort to calm him that things would be fair or an assurance that things would come out okay. >> why did rod rosenstein enable trump. why is he caught? i know long-term civil servants, i worked in government.

they're supposed to work with the elected people and not supposed to be resistant, but not supposed to encourage them in the worst directions. >> that's a great question, the first thing that conjured up was to look at the original rosenstein memo that introduced rod rosenstein to the nation. he introduced james comey and testified to congress that the trump campaign was one of the targets of the investigation. trump lost his mind and summoned rosenstein and said write a memo for why i should fire comey and put the russia stuff in it. rosenstein instead of saying no when he was pushed on a certain issue or kt mcfarland said no, he said i can't go in that direction, but i will give you what you need to fire comey. there was an uncertainty in may of 17. why would rod rosenstein knowing that the president was angry

that comey had fingered him, turn around and justify the wholesale firing of the fbi director. hopefully barbara is right and rosenstein has an opportunity to explain this more, but it injects a lot of uncertainty learning that rosenstein continues to suggest to the president, i can land the plane when all of this started by him agreeing to fire or justify the firing of comey by donald trump. >> isn't that a metaphor for how they did it? pay landed the plane so safely and carefully, we thought the president was exonerated. that's when you clap when the pilot lands the plane really well. trump described himself when asked how old was too hold to be president of the united states. >> how old is too old to be president. >> i feel like a young man.

i'm so young. i'm the youngest person. i am a young, vibrant man. i look at joe. i don't know about him. i don't know. >> i would snefr say anyone is toold, but they make me took told in formers of age and energy. you people know that person anybody. >> that was a testosterone ad or something. i got this new pill and look at me. he was advertising one of the things they advertise online. this makes you bold and potent. there he is talking like that. >> yeah. that's true. i was more interested in what he said earlier when talking about corruption at the highest level and a disgrace. trump always tells you what he's doing. what he's all about. this is just trump trying to be a macho guy, i guess.

>> do you mind if we ask more personal questions? no? come on, we love it. >> the mountains look beautiful out there. thank you. you liven up the show. trump is the first president-elect with the help of the russians and something he refuses to acknowledge. his deputy attorney general said president obama is partly to fwl blame for that. plus, i want to figure out who is the democratic front-runner and who is getting attacked. the challenges are coming after him a day after he announced. stick with us. ♪

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by the way, and mueller finished out his report. no collusion. no obstruction. we get a ruling. no collusion. we essentially get a ruling.

no obstruction. we have no collusion, no collusion. no obstruction, no obstruction. >> what are a rant that was. we heard plenty of what he sees as vindication. what he is silent on is more daunting. that russia interfered in our election. his bottom line. the russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion. the report also makes clear that donald trump was the russians' favorite candidate. his fbi director said that russia continues to pose a very significant counter intelligence threat. >> that hasunabated. fake news, propaganda to spin us up, pit us against each other

and sow divisiveness and discord and americans's faith in democra democracy. that is not just an election threat, but a 365 days a year threat. that has absolutely continued. >> it's not just the fbi who affirmed that russia interfered in the election. it's the director of national intelligence. nsa, the justice department, homeland security and the cia. the former cia director and secretary of defense on president obama. i don't know about this topsy turvy world. how can the commander in chief and the man who defends this country ignore what the mueller report offers as the key note statement that the russians in a sweeping and systematic way interfered in our elections. >> there is no justification for a president who doesn't want to

defend our country from these kinds of attacks from an adversary. let's face it. russia is an adversary. they have been proven to have used a very broad sweeping and bold cyber attack to try to undermine our election institutions. it has been established by our intelligence agencies and established by the justice department and been established by the authorities including the mueller report in volume one that said this was a very sweeping and systemic attack by the russians. to have a president who is not willing to acknowledge that openly, who said in helsinki that he trusted the russians' version that they didn't do this more than he trusted our own intelligence agencies raises concerns about whether or not

this is a president as commander in chief who will truly defend our country. >> as we talked about earlier, president trump has resorted to making the baseless claim that the mueller investigation was an attempted coup. let's watch. >> this was a coup. this was an attempted overthrow of the united states government. they are trying to infiltrate the administration. really it's a coup and spying and everything you can imagine. >> they tried for a coup and it didn't work out so well. [ applause ] and i didn't need a gun for that one, did i? >> mr. secretary, he's is teaching a lot of americans just coming into the political world, maybe teenagers reading the paper for the first time and watching television, i am going to lock up the person i beat and

call it fixed if i lose and by the way, it's a coup if i don't like something done by the justice department. i'm afraid it's teaching people that we are living in maybe the new venezuela. i don't know which country to compare us to now. >> you know, i think what bot r bothers me the most is that the president really treats the american people like we were all chumps. somehow he can say whatever he wants and that the american people will accept it. i think the real strength of our country lies in the fact that the american people are not dumb. they have great common sense. they have great faith in what our country is all about. i think what trump does when he uses those kinds of words is he not only demeans the office of

the presidency, but he sends a signal to the american people that somehow he can say whatever he wants and that the american people will accept it. this is a guy who is playing to his own base. those are the words he is using to appeal to his own base. i think frankly the broad cross section of america is looking at this and is ashamed, really. about the kind of president we have. >> let me ask you about the man who is leading the polls right now to run against trump in the democratic party. that's joe biden. what did you think of his roll out and his chances? >> well, like you, chris, i have known joe biden for 40 years. i worked with him in a lot of different positions. clearly he's got a long record. a lot of people will go after his record.

i think the reality is that in light of all the candidates that are out there, he has a lot of experience in government and he has the experience in governing. he knows foreign affairs and knows what this world is all about and what the united states leadership in that world is all about. i think the most important thing is that joe biden has a good heart. the fact is that we have a president who never has and probably never will have a good heart. that's what people are, i think, reacting to with biden come into the race. >> can't beat that. thank you so much. former secretary of defense, leon panetta. up next, you have to invite us out there to the panetta institute. biden entered the race as the front-runner and the others wasted no time. they are already going after

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i discovered the potential with ozempic®. ♪ oh! oh! oh! ozempic®! ♪ ask your healthcare provider today about once-weekly ozempic®. welcome back to "hardball." the fighting has begun less than 48 hours after joe biden's entry into the 2020 presidential race. the early front-runner was

taking jabs from all sides. bernie sanders took jabs from a fund-raising pitch. with the subject joe biden, the campaign wrote this is sanders' campaign, we are hoping to end it strong, not with a fund raiser in the home of a corporate lobbyist. he was in philly hosted by comcast senior executive vice president, david cohen. comcast owns this network, nbc universal for purposes of full disclosu disclosure. elizabeth warren went after the former vice president when asked if he was too cozy with wall street? >> at a time when the biggest institutions try to put the squeeze on millions of hardworking families who were in bankruptcy because of medical problems, job losses, divorce and death in the family. there was nobody to stand up for them.

joe biden on the side of the credit card companies. it's a matter of public record. >> president trump is in full attack mode, testing out the school yard insults on fox. here he goes. >> i have known joe over the years. he's not the brightest light bulb in the group. i call him sleepy joe. i have known him and he won't be able to deal with president xi. that's a different level of level and intelligence. >> okay. the white house this morning the president suggested biden is too old, calling himself, trump talking about trump, a young vibrant man. biden blew it off on "the view" this morning. >> for he looks young and vibrant compared to me, i should probably go home. look, everybody knows who donald trump is. the best way to judge me is to watch.

see if i have the energy and the capacity. >> would you do one term? >> no. let me put it this way. i may end up if i get elected only have one term. hopefully i can demonstrate not only with age comes wisdom and experience that makes things a lot better. but look, that's for you all to decide. not for me to decide. >> democratic pennsylvania state rep and biden surrogate. thank you very much. >> thank you for having me. >> you came from a neighborhood not far from i grew up. up the street from you guys. you were right across from the temple. i know that area. why did you go for biden. i'm curious. >> i'm excited on your show and a fellow philadelphian. i think with his election

because i think he will be elected. it's going to send a message across the world that america is ready to restore its leadership on the global stage and that we are ready to expand the promise of america to more americans here at home. >> let me ask you about the shots. less than 24 hours. elizabeth warren is taking shots and bernie is going after him. does that say you are the front-runner and you are getting hit? >> listen, i think the polls go up and down, but as a fellow eagles fan, they only try to come after you if they think you have the ball. the good thing about vice president biden and the way he runs this campaign, he recognizes he has to earn every vote and talk to people across this country about the issues they are facing. people in my district, worried about whether or not they will have the ability to collectively organize and stand up for themselves with a union.

worried about whether or not they will be able to send their kids to college. vice president biden has a history of getting things done. passing the affordable care act with president obama that gave care to millions and myself and many activists stood up to this administration and said you are not going to take away that protection for those with preexisting conditions. one day out of the gate and you see $6.3 million raised, the average donation online is only $41. that's the enthusiasm that will drive this campaign and having those conversations is what the vice president is going to do. >> this show is called "hardball." i want to ask you that question. older white guy candidate in 2020. does he need to have a running mate who is a woman and a minority to win the general? >> we need a ticket -- >> you have to answer this

question. >> he needs a ticket that looks like america and i want to see a person of color and i would love to see a woman as well. he is going to have a lot of good choices once he wins the nomination. you cannot measure the drapes. he has to earn every vote. he shouldn't be thinking about who his running mate is until he is the nominee. i don't think he s. >> from north philly. we will have you back. in his appearance on "the view," he sdrudiscussed his handling o anita hill testimony during clarence thomas's hearing when he was sharing the committee. anita hill said the call from biden left her feeling deeply unsatisfied and biden said he wouldn't judge her interpretation of their conversation. >> i'm sorry she was treated the way she was treated. i wish we could have figured out a better way to get this done. i did everything in my power to

do what i thought was within the rules to be able to stop things. >> i think what she wants you to say is i'm sorry for the way i treated you. not for the way you were treated. that would be closer. >> but i'm sorry the way she got treated. i never -- if you look at what i said and didn't say, i don't think i treated her badly. >> i don't think i treated her badly. >> i want to bring in susan page. that answer and your judgment kills the story or not. >> for does not. it keeps the story going. totally predictable. what was surprising is it didn't have a crisp clear answer. the same mistakes were made as an unsatisfying apology in politics. this gets raised with him again and again until he comes up with a more compelling response. >> remember the anita hill hearings. an african american on the

supreme court replacing thurgood marshall and that was the sensitivity. b not about her, but him. remember the high tech lynching charge? that scared the white guys, if you will. biden and the rest were not worried about clarps, bence, bu anita. >> he was chairman of the senate judiciary committee. >> what's stopping him from saying i did wrong or i didn't do enough. >> i learned lessons since then and i would do it differently now. we can hear him say it slow or fast. the answer that i'm sorry that she was treated badly does not take any personal responsibility for the action. >> he is taking shots from bernie. bernie is going after his home. he does like big contributors and she is going after -- elizabeth warren said they are all from delaware.

the corporation. >> when you are the front-runner or a kind of front-runner, you don't want to overstate that. you have the lead to take away. you are going to hear that not just from the liberals like elizabeth warren and bernie sanders, you are going to hear from the centrists. >> you are not my age, but close enough to understand the love i have for boxing. is he going to be able to take a lot of punches or have a glass jaw? >> i covered his two campaigns and both of them he had a glasds jaw. has he learned something since then? two terms. that's a good training session. will this be different than the previous campaigns. >> what about the new york time that is the media said he is boring and the left wing thinks he is not woke. that's a bad combination. >> not up to us, up to voters. we have to learn the lesson. >> next february. will he be in the race next

february? >> yes. >> will he be a front-runner? >> i don't know. >> come on. >> i think this is -- 20 people, there will be people who emerge and a couple of people at the front. >> who is the first to break into double-digits besides joe? >> maybe pete. >> of "usa today," she has the front page stories. the deadly white supremacist rally in charlottesville are back in the spotlight after being featured in joe biden's launch video. he was asked about them. did he back pedal or double down? what do you think? it's trump. back after this. [farmers bell] (driver) relax, it's just a bug. that's not a bug, that's not a bug! (burke) hit and drone. seen it, covered it. we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two.

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welcome back to "hardball." in his campaign launch video, joe biden reignited a conversation over president trump's comments after the 2017 unite the right rally in charlottesville. in august of 2017, a group of alt right and far right groups gathered to protest the removal of a statue on the university of virginia. white nationalists wielded ticky torches and used slurs. a nazi sympathizer plowed his car through a crowd of counter protesters, injuring a dozen and killing heather heyer. president trump had a hard time condemning the alt right rally. >> huh a group that was one side that was bad and a group on the other that was also very violent. there was blame on both sides and you don't have any doubt about it. you had people who were very

fine people on both sides. >> very fine people among the nazi ranks. the president tried to defend and explain those comments. stay tuned to hear what trump had to say on this, maybe his worst day. you are watching "hardball." oh, hey jeff, i'm a car thief... what?! i'm here to steal your car because, well, that's my job. what? what?? what?! (laughing) what?? what?! what?! [crash] what?! haha, it happens. and if you've got cut-rate car insurance, paying for this could feel like getting robbed twice. so get allstate... and be better protected from mayhem... like me. ♪ you wouldn't accept from any one else. why accept it from your allergy pills? flonase relieves your worst symptoms including nasal congestion, which most pills don't. flonase helps block 6 key inflammatory substances. most pills only block one. flonase. staining be done... behr presents: outdone yourself.

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or your asthma worsens. headache and sore throat may occur. haven't you missed enough? ask an asthma specialist about fasenra. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. welcome back to "hardball." president trump is defending comments he made about the white supremacists and neo nazis that

gathered in charlottesville to protest the removal of the statue of robert e. lee. the very fine people statement was answered perfectly. >> [inaudible]. >> i answered that question and if you look at what i said, you will see that that question was answered perfectly. i was talking about people that went because they felt very strongly about the monument to robert e. lee, a great general, whether you like it or not. he was one of the great generals. i spoken to many generals at the white house and many people thought of the generals they think he was maybe their favorite general. people were there protesting the taking down of the monument of robert e. lee. everybody knows that. >> the people protesting the removal were chanting white lives matter and jews will not replace us. there are mixed views about

robert e. lee at best, i don't think he was marching under the swastika. was biden smart not just on moral grounds, but political and strategic grounds to open with you have to get rid of this guy? >> it was ingenious on presidency part. i'm speaking politically because biden's brand comes down to one word, which is decency. leaving aside complains about the president's economic policy and his environmental policy, domestic or foreign policy, what i think most people especially in middle america dislike about this president is the sense that at a basic level, he is an indecent human being and the comments he made at charlottesville bring that home. i think more powerfully and more

pointedly than anything else he has said in his presidency. that is exactly the right point of attack for biden. we may have a strong economy in a year's time and america may be more or less at peace in the world, but what really disquiets a lot of wavering americans who would like and who have not made up their minds on who to vote for, you have a president who shames them. who embarrasses them and embarrasses us and embarrasses me. why choosing charlottesville was morally the right thing to do and politically smart as well. >> your thoughts? >> i agree with bad. it was just strictly in the political sense, it allowed biden to sort of isolate himself against trump. it's me against trump. i need to -- i'm running for president. to save us from this.

he picks the unforgettable, viscerally horrifying moment of charlottesville for impact. it had a lot of impact. he sounded sincere in that video. he's a practiced politician and knows what he's doing, but he sounded sincere. and for the record, robert e. lee was more than a military tacktician. he was the leader of a treasonous military. >> for he had stuck with the union, it would have been great. he didn't. >> he was a traitorous leader of a rebellion. >> you are getting letters. they're coming. >> i want letters. >> i know you are a progressive and running fabulous on that and i get the feeling that a lot of progressives would like the candidate as progressive as possible and still beat trump.

they want to solve that equation. this is a big stakes if we lose. >> i will speak for myself. that would be fine for me. i don't speak for the democratic party. we fight the last war. we struggle to understand what happened in 2016. nobody knows what's happening in 2020. i thank might be right. that might be the general idea. >> as progressive as you can get away with and win. >> a lot of people think that. that's the sort of pervailing view. >> president trump called on sean hannity and accused president obama of spying on him based on a hunch. >> y> i don't know if you rememr a long time ago very early on, i

used the word wire tap and i put it in quotes meaning surveillance and spying and you can say whatever you want. they thought two years ago when i said that just on a little bit of a hunch and wisdom, maybe, it blew up. >> he is spoken for by sarah sanders. they make things up. that president trump made nearly 10,000 false or misleading claims. it was a hunch or he came from nowhere. these comments they make. these are called speaking for the country. >> this is the president of the united states speaking, retailing what he calls a hunch. one of the people who he was quoting at least in a recent tweet was larry johnson of a former cia agent and serial conspiracy theorist. fox news was forced to repudiate

one of the conspiracy theories just a few years ago. this is really about what this president means in a cultural or philosophical sense. you have a post truth administration and presidency who believes fundamentally if i summed it up, the truth is anything he can get away with. if he can get about 40 or 45% of the american people to believe anything and qa none style theories, that furthers his cause to distinguish between truth and lies. that's his strategy. >> you cal great the candidates. thank you, eugene robinson. the senator, the vice president and the man who hopes to be the next president of the united states. you are watching "hardball."

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joe biden who served as number two to president obama for eight years as joined the race for the democratic presidential nomination. to learn more about the front-runner, watch my documentary on joe biden this sunday night at 9:00 here on msnbc. here's a peek. there was considerable thinking joe biden would be a more formidable candidate against trump than hillary

clinton. >> a lot of democrats are thinking that. >> the states that put trump over the top was the rust belt. michigan, pennsylvania. joe biden is from scranton, pennsylvania. do you think he could have won those extra 70,000 votes. >> could joe biden have defeated donald trump? >> i'm not going to speculate. >> the rust belt, your home territory? regrets? >> no. i just wasn't prepared to do it after i lost my son. >> condolences are pouring in for joe biden and his family after his son, beau, lost his battle with brain cancer. >> beau did not want his illness standing in the way of his dad's running. >> he wanted joe to run, but you can't do it. you cannot lose a child and three months later say i'm going to get on the campaign trail. you just can't do it.

>> plan to watch it sunday night at 9:00 and heading in the pack. deciding for yourself. who is the best to take on president trump. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. all in with chris hayes starts now. good evening from washington. i'm ali velshi for chris hayes. new reporting from "the washington post" on deputy attorney general rod rosenstein's tearful plea to keep his job and the assurances that he gave the president during the mueller probe, plus as the president spoke to the national rifle association, there was blockbuster new reporting on the absolute chaos happening inside one of the nation's most powerful lobbying groups. we will have that incredible story ahead, but we begin with today's extremely dangerous rhetoric from the president of the united states. donald trump