but it's very volatile. >> ben rhodes, are you still with me? hey, ben, are you still with me? do i still have ben roahodes on the phone, guys? hey, ben, are you still with me? >> yeah, i'm still here. >> as we continue to watch this unfold, i wanted to ask you, if this -- if this happened on president obama's watch, how -- how would you advise -- how would you have advised him to respond? >> well, i think, you know, the first thing you'd be doing is urging the chinese government to pull back and show restraint here. if they're not going to do that, part of what you'd be doing is you'd be going around the world to all your allies, european allies, asian allies and try essentially speak with one voice in condemning this violence we see. you'd be going to the united nations perhaps and try to have an emergency session devoted to this issue. and you'd be making very clear, and, again, trying to mobilize many different countries to speak out against this kind of oppression. and trying to speak to all those major banks and companies that have headquarters or larger presences in hong

. >> ben rhodes on donald trump's brazen politicization of american intelligence. >>> plus shocking new reporting that the trump administration is still separating migrant families in spite of a court order to stop. >> we're going to keep the families together. >> and trymaine lee investigates one of the central lies of the trump presidency. >> if i win, we're going bring those miners back. >> when "all in" starts right now. >> when you hear politicians and president trump down talking about saving coal mining and coal miners. >> oh, baloney. it's baloney. >> good evening from new york. i'm chris hayes. even weeks -- even before this week's debate happened, the narrative of the democratic primary fight had settled into these ruts, these ruts that are so deep that it's hard to push the conversation out of them to explore any new terrain. the narrative is about a single access of ideological disagreement between two different candidates, the moderates versus progressives as it is often shorthanded, and it goes something like this. on one side are candidates and pundits and reporters who a

they're interested a big one didn't they dressed one of them a big one they addressed one of them ben rhodes in the short time that we have left let's look ahead to the next presidential election next year. what kind of democratic party do you think is going to be capable of beating donald trump with his massive following his dominance of the airwaves his dominance of social media which proved so devastating in the last presidential election what kind of democratic vote is going to be able to i think under the current of the massive following is 40 percent he is the most unpopular us president to run for reelection in my life he sets the news agenda yes everyone then doesn't they dominate. take a look at what. they did have to live with the world as it is the democratic party just routed down from republican party. we won 40 seats in the house yeah and won by the largest popular vote margin in history a midterm election the largest democratic victory in the house since watergate. voters in the european parliament elections have shaken out the continent's politics turning away from the major

well, with me now is ben rhodes who is deputy national security adviser under president obama. involved in politics i believe until obama '08, and he's now an msnbc political contributor. mr. rhodes, long time no chat. nice to see you. >> nice to see you, chuck. >> so let's start first with i'm sure on one hand you have a lot of ways you would like to backseat drive this administration. on the other hand i know you don't want to make this whole thing on this. but, and maybe i'm just throwing you a softball here. but what does an american president, what can an american president do that would keep india and pakistan from suddenly back to talking about a hot war? what does an american president to do to keep south korea and japan from allowing historical differences, how does an american president do that? >> well, the fact of the matter, chuck, is just if the american president was engaged in the normal type of diplomacy and engagement around the world, the defense of democracy and human rights advocacy for an international system with rules of the road that other nations are f

joining me now kristen welker and ben rhodes, former deputy national security advisor to president obama. ben, let me start with you. as a former deputy national security advisor, you're going to a g 7 but you're not going to have a communique. you can't talk about climate change, which two words that were taken out of the osaka communique at the american's insistence at the g 20. you can't talk about trade. what's left to talk about? >> not much, andrea. i went to eight g 7s, and the purpose of that meeting is to meet with your closest partners in the world to figure out common strategy. right now we're talking about a world that's literally on fire if you look at the amazon and the consequences of climate change if you look at the protests in hong kong, iran. you would be wanting to go there, a normal president to forge common strategy with your closest allies. and instead, trump is actually the person that is going to dominate the summit, not because he has an agenda but because all the other leaders will have to figure out how to get through the summit without having him blow it up.

and ben rhodes, former deputy national security advisor to president obama.lk about the nukes and what could have been going on there. is this the after effect of an accident of that mysterious weapon they've been testing? >> yes, i think that something went seriously wrong with a nuclear powered cruise missile. this would be a missile that's powered by a small nuclear reactor. so it's very unclear what happened. as you noted the russians have given conflicting answers and they don't want to tell us the precise technology that they're developing. but, you know, this is a small accident involving a nuclear reactor that has killed five nuclear scientists. >> what is the fallout, literally and figuratively, jeffrey? >> yes, well, there is some fallout it seems. there was an early detection of radiation spikes. the scientists were killed. we don't really know the full scope of the problem because we don't know what exactly they were doing and we don't know exactly what went wrong. they admitted there was a fire and an explosion. there should be some radioactive c

joining our conversation, ben rhodes. everyone else is still here. 've got to get your thoughts on this idea. i mean, i think being called a racist is about the most horrific thing you can say about someone. you've now got eight of the democrats running to replace him calling him a white supremacist. one, do you agree, and, two, is that really good politics? >> well, i certainly agree. and, i mean, look, let's check the videotape here. this is a man who biltd his political brand saying that my old boss, the first african-american wasn't born in the united states. would he possibly be saying that if barack obama was white? no. in his first speech running for president he called mexicans rapists and on and on and on. and the idea that this massive up tick in white supremacist violence that all these white supremacists are saying on these message boards. you know, beggars' belief here, th nicole. should democrats talk about these things or should they talk about pocketbook issues like health care? if you want to be president of the united states, you hav

they're interested a big one didn't they dress one of them a big one they addressed one of them ben rhodes in the short time that we have left let's look ahead to the next presidential election next year. what kind of democratic party do you think is going to be capable of beating donald trump with his massive following his dominance of the airwaves is dominance of social media which proved so devastating in the last presidential election what kind of democratic vote is going to be able to i think under the current but the massive following is 40 percent he is the most unpopular us president to run for reelection in my life he sets the news agenda is a very well then doesn't they dominate in the years that it takes a look at what has got to live with the world as it is or doesn't check the democratic party just routed down times republican party it got sort of we won 40 seats in the house yeah and the and won by the largest popular vote. margin in the history of mid-term election the largest democratic victory in the house since watergate. voters in the european parliament elections have s

joining me is eugene robinson, along with jill colvin and ben rhodes.the bull in a china shop who hauls the china shop with him. why does he have to play john mcenroe wherever he goes? >> number one, he thinks it's his brand, it's his brand to be a nationalist, it's his brand to be i am america against the world, we don't need the rest of the world, we don't need these cheese eaters. that picture that we showed, he's loving it. he's the center of attention. he's loving that moment. they're all having to appeal to him to do something and he's saying no. he eats that up. i think he gets satisfaction out of that. >> except for one guy, he loves boris johnson, the other guy with the hair. the other story, the other wild picture. he wants the other wild man. >> he's not going to love boris quite as much as he thinks. they're going to get along. boris is a performer like trump, i knew him a little bit when i was in london, he was a journalist then. >> he wasn't reliable on facts, was he? >> no, he wasn't reliable on facts. >> i didn't think. >> he's a perform

my thanks to ben rhodes, al sharpton, theres kumar.s now. ♪ >>> if it's friday, it's "meet the press daily," and good evening. i am chuck todd coming to you live from sioux city in the great state of iowa which is the epicenter of the presidential race right now. 17 candidates are in the hawkeye state today alone with more on the way this weekend i just spoke with one of them. senator kamala harris. in a moment we'll show you what she said about supporting gun legislation in the senate which is a major issue today after the president claimed that he, mitch mcconnell, and even the nra, would support legislation that would strengthen background checks which was appen

i'm joined by ben rhodes, former deputy national security adviser to president obama. jill corben, and michael froman, vice chairman at mastercard and a former u.s. trade rep in the obama administration. thank you all. this is going to be very powerful. let's talk about -- i'm a big believer that the trade deficit with china has to be dealt with because china keeps making money off us, which they do by selling us great goods, no doubt about it, we love their stuff. especially their cotton goods and all that stuff, but they use all that exchange they get from us to buy the rest of the world, especially africa. i don't like it, ben. your thoughts about what should we be doing if not this? but let's start with trump. what's he doing? what's he up to? >> the problem is he doesn't really know what he's doing, chris. he's gotten into this, and the only play he's had is to escalate this trade war with the chinese. i don't think anybody knows where this is leading. and the chinese have clearly decided to dig in and to match him move for move. and the risk is that he's not only

ben rhodes, thank you so much. zerlina maxwell, jon meacham and robert costa. >>> coming up, warning that russia is still interfering in our elections. let's listen to his warning. >> over the course of my career, i have seen a number of challenges to our democracy. the russian government's effort to interfere in our election is among the most serious. >> but president trump still hasn't gotten that message. once again, he is coming to the defense of the russians. wait until you hear what he said this time, i mean by today. >>> plus, what the candidates told me last night in the spin room there was a lot of talk about the front-runner, joe biden. much more ahead. stick with us. stick with us. you try hard, you eat right... mostly. you make time... when you can. but sometimes life gets in the way, and that stubborn fat just won't go away. coolsculpting takes you further. a non-surgical treatment that targets, freezes, and eliminates treated fat cells, for good. discuss coolsculpting with your doctor. some common sid

they're interested a big one did they dress one of them a big one they have dressed one of them ben rhodes in the short time that we have left let's look ahead to the next presidential election next year. what kind of democratic party do you think is going to be capable of beating donald trump with his massive following his dominance of the airwaves is dominance of social media which proved so devastating in the last presidential election what kind of democratic victory is going to be able to i think under the current. the massive following is 40 percent he is the most unpopular us president to run for reelection in my life he sets the news agenda is a very well then doesn't they dominate is that it takes a look at what has this got to live with the world as it is or doesn't check the democratic party just routed down from republican party exit from the scene we won 40 seats in the house yeah and won by the largest popular vote margin in the history of a midterm election the largest democratic victory in the house since watergate. voters in the european parliament elections have shaken out

shannon: that in mind all of those things i want to play something ben rhodes who was with president obama, former deputy national security adviser, here's how he characterized how the g7 feels about the us. >> they are moving on from american leadership trying to prevent donald trump blowing up the summit so they can solve problems. >> what do you make of that characterization kick you >> i agree with kay t. the media is focused on the iranian foreign minister doing a party crash at the g7 and all the lambasting of the president, we want to negotiate, in reality they are not sincere, he is implementing the national security strategy which says we are going to begin free trade with democratic principles and that agreement with japan is incredibly powerful and signifies democracies are beginning to come together, slowly needing to get a, took 30 years to get to where we are, it will take a while to get back but he is slowly doing it. shannon: china's vice premier his said this, we are willing to resolve the issues through consultation and cooperation, called attitude and escalation of

joining us now former deputy national security advisor to president obama, ben rhodes.itled what happened to aung san suu kyi dives into how the leader of myanmar went from being lauded on her work for human rights to implicated in what the united nations says is a, quote, textbook example of ethnic cleansing. ben, good morning, it's good to see you as always. we played the clip a moment ago of your former boss, president obama, in the rose garden praising her. obviously the president traveled to myanmar where he praised her as well. what happened between then and now? >> well, it's been an extraordinary decade. what you've had his after aung san suu kyi spent the better part of two decades largely under house arrest, persecuted, human rights icon, she gradually asends to a position of power in myanmar. she's the state counselor where she's the most high elected official in the country. in 2017, 750,000 rohingya were driven across the border into bangladesh. she's not responsible for that. the military operates without her control, but she's been silent so there's been

. >> wendy sherman and ben rhodes, thank you for starting us off tonight. really appreciate it. >> thank you. >> thanks. >>> when we come back, another democratic member of congress, an important democratic member of congress has now come out in support of an impeachment inquiry. >>> and we have new polling tonight in the democratic race for the presidential nomination of the democratic party. we will be covering that poll and seeing where that race is going. let's see, aleve is proven better on pain than tylenol extra strength. and last longer with fewer pills. so why am i still thinking about this? i'll take aleve. aleve. proven better on pain. and now for their service to the community, we present limu emu & doug with this key to the city. [ applause ] it's an honor to tell you that liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. and now we need to get back to work. [ applause and band playing ] only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ who used expedia to book the vacation rental which led to the

. >> wendy sherman and ben rhodes, thank you for starting us off tonight. really appreciate it. >> thank you. >> thanks. >>> when we come back, another democratic member of congress, an important democratic member of congress has now come out in support of an impeachment inquiry. >>> and we have new polling tonight in the democratic race for the presidential nomination of the democratic party. we will be covering that poll and seeing where that race is going. is going. let's see, aleve is proven better on pain than tylenol extra strength. and last longer with fewer pills. so why am i still thinking about this? i'll take aleve. aleve. proven better on pain. how you watch it does too. tv just keeps getting better. this is xfinity x1. featuring the emmy award-winning voice remote. streaming services without changing passwords and input. live sports - with real-time stats and scores. access to the most 4k content. and your movies and shows to go. the best tv experience is the best tv value. xfinity x1. simple. easy. awesome. xfinity. the future of awesome. - th

. >> shannon: with that in mind, i want to play something ben rhodes who was with president obama, former deputy national security advisor. here's how he characterizes the g-7. >> they are moving on from american leadership. they are trying to prevent donald trump from blowing up the summit so they can solve problems. >> shannon: general, what do you make of that characterization? >> i agree 100% with kt. then media is focused on the iranian foreign minister doing a party crash of the g-7 and essentially all of the lambasting of the president, essentially saying we want to negotiate. in reality -- what he's quietly doing is implementing the national security strategy which says were going to begin to align free-trade with democratic principles and that agreement will japan is incredibly powerful. it signifies democracies are beginning to come together. it is slowly knitting together. it took 30 years for us to get to where were at and this is going to take a while to get back but he's slowly doing it. >> shannon: kt, china's vice paris has said, and he's been a key negotiator. he said we'

it is truly extraordinary, and i wonder, one, do you see this the way ben rhodes sees this with america being out of the equation, and who, what do you see as our way back? >> there's no other way to see it then you had president macron taking up the mantel here and it was more less of a g7 but a g6 plus one in terms of president macron taking the lead in those that share likeminded view on climate change and trade war on china, which the fed said earlier this week was hurting the world economy. and i think that's why president trump tried to seem very conciliatory at the end of these press conferences because he doesn't want to get blamed. but it is true american leadership is really absent, especially when you see what's going on in the amazon burning. and i think tleerdss are saying, you know, they don't know where to go right now. do we need to sit out the next two years or do we need to kind of make a plan for the road ahead without the u.s. as leader of the free world? >> amazing. >> i think it's a scary prospect because we've seen over time when american doesn't lead, the world k

my thanks to ben rhodes, al sharpton, theres kumar. mostly allally all, thanks to you for watching. that does it for our hour. i'm nicolle wallace. >>> golf, twitter, and cable news. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm steve kornacki in for chris matthews. president trump left washington this morning, but his problems will most certainly follow him on his ten-day vacation at his new jersey golf club. as jonathan lemire of the associated press notes, his summer vacation comes as he is confronting a storm of crises. quote, his poll numbers stalled and his act to rally the questioned he is being tested by an escalating trade war with china that may slow the economy, rising tensions with iran and north korea, and in the aftermath of the latest mass shootings, pressure to act on guns and face accusations of his own role in fostering an environment of hate. but aides say his attention will be focused on golf, cable news, and twitter. as the president was leaving the white house this morning, he was asked about one of these crises, being called a white supremacist by eight democra

my thanks to ben rhodes, al sharpton, theres kumar. "mtp daily" with chuck todd starts now. ♪ >>> if it's friday, it's "meet the press daily," and good evening. i am chuck todd coming to you live from sioux city in the great state of iowa which is the epicenter of the presidential race right now. 17 candidates are in the hawkeye state today alone with more on the way this weekend i just spoke with one of them. senator kamala harris. in a moment we'll show you what she said about supporting gun legislation in the senate which is a major issue today after the president claimed that he, mitch mcconnell, and even the nra, would support legislation that would strengthen background checks which was apparently news to mitch mcconnell and the nra. we'll get into that. >>> also coming up, we'll have the latest from the fallout on the administration's immigration raids which have left child welfare services scrambling to deal with children. >>> but we begin right here in iowa at a moment when virdly all of the candidates are descending on this s

in the earlier hour, ben rhodes spoke to the importance of the u.s. consulting with its partners and allies. the u.n. has called for restraint on all sides. the president has said i hope it turns out well. but it would be important for the president not to do anything to exacerbate this. he has pulled back on some of the tariffs that he was going to impose on china. largely because of his concerns of an american recession and the american stock market. what really is at stake here is a huge, huge security play here by the chinese. as you point out from your own experience in taiwan, at an incredibly tense moment. it's a tense moment we may face again in the near future. that would be devastating, not only in security terms and in terms of democracy, but in terms of the international economy. >> and richard haas joining us, former state department and national security council official in the bush administration. we've never seen anything like this in hong kong. i was there for the handover, which was so extraordinary, at the end of 1999. this is somet