. >> joining us now, eugene robinson, and he said everybody knows what i'm talking about, so that meansknow what he's talking about. >> well. >> what is he telling his audience there. >> it's that those black people in philadelphia are going to cheat. and somehow they're going to commit massive voter fraud and, you know, and that might swing pennsylvania to the democrats. well, of course, pennsylvania always goes to the democrats, but, basically, this is again, he doesn't use dog whistles anymore, he uses train clacks, and that's what he's doing here. >> this goes to the issue of i mean, hillary clinton, in order to actually be seen as winning this by the other side has to win it by some gigantic margin. anything that's even vaguely close, they're going to fall for that donald trump line. >> well, you know, i'm sure that his most loyal supporters, she could beat him by 50 points and they still wouldn't believe it. so you are never going to get that audience. there are potentially some supporters who will accept a landslide but will not accept a close election, and the rest of the countr

thank you eugene robinson and laura bassett. when we return, my election diary for tonight. vice presidential debate. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. cure cancer million? far off. liver disease treatment. that by voting yes on prop 61 - costs. dollars pass. don't let that happen. it - because one day it might. >>> election diary monday, october 3rd, 2016, the campaign continues on agenda set by hillary clinton and followed by donald trump. that course is directed toward winning women, especially those more conservative women living in the suburbs. if they go for trump, the state of pennsylvania is within reach. if not, his goose is cooked. it's remarkable to see how effective hillary clinton has been the past week in undermining trump with his powerful swing electorate. she's singly responsible for bringing forward alicia machado to the presidential conversation. because she's done it, trump has been pulled off his position. he shou he's been trying to defend himself given by the accounts given by ms. machado. trump is defending himself of being a benefic

"washington post" national political reporter anne gearan, and eugene robinson who is stuck in vegas. you're allowed to leave now, gene. >> if the tables are rolling, why leave? never leave when he's got a hot hand. >> gene, let me ask you about this sort of nostalgic voice from trump after a fiery week, including last night's dinner. he sounds like a guy that's sort of resolved himself, resigned himself to defeat. >> well, that's what we knew. i haven't heard anything like that from trump all year. and it almost sounds introspective and self-aware, which are words i would never use with donald trump or never would have used until we started hearing that. that's the way a candidate talks when they kind of see handwriting on the wall or think they do. and then they'll say, you know, but if everybody turns out, we'll win. the subtext is i kind of think we're not going to make it. >> let me get to another crazy thing, and then the moderator. let me ask this. it seems like he's doing things which are really strange, like first of all, flailing is a pretty good word. why is he going after

i'm joined by annie linsky, "washington post" columnist eugene robinson, who's an msnbc political analysti. let's start here. political impact statement, please. if all we get is this, all we get is that little statement from the fbi director? >> if that's it, and i don't think it will be it, i think there will be more. comey is going to have to talk. i think this ultimately blows over and the election is still advantage clinton. >> no loss in points? >> maybe if she loses a little bit because of voter suppression, maybe there are some of those republicans that were maybe going to vote for her and they decide to stay home instead, and that goes advantage to trump ultimately, but yeah. it's bad, but i don't know that it's game changing. >> so the news suppresses as well as republicans. i never heard it used like that, i didn't know we were suppressing the vote. gene? >> i think it gives trump a closing argument. he didn't really have one, so now he has one. he has something to focus on. i assume this will be the closing argument because he wasn't doing too well with the flailing he was doi

thanks, i have a number of all-stars waiting to get into this game, including steve schmidt, eugene robinson, james carville. your assessment of what you just witnessed? >> i think that pence's objective was to attack hillary, which would endear him to the conservative base. he really did at the end, as i said before, he was very religious guy, i thought he was going to start talking in tongues, he got almost -- meditative when he was talking about abortion at the end. i thought that senator kaine came in and he wanted to keep the tax issue front and center, and he did. we're going to be hearing about nuclear weapons as the campaign goes. that was part of his strategy in the debate. the debate was a little more acrimonious than i thought. kaine was very aggressive, he jumped in a lot. the base of both parties, the democrats saw things they would like, i think the religious people really saw stuff in pence that they liked, that they didn't see in trump. my guess is it's not going to change very much. it will give the religious people something to be excited about. and the democrats will be ex

and eugene robinson calling him a spoiled brat and the nation should turn him on their collective knee anded editorial paceses for the washington post. four differented headlines. trump has to be humiliated and trump thinks foreign policy like survivor. and trump spoiled bride in chief. >> and one that tells me opinion columnist. but usually in a normal campaign and election environment, newspaper oped pages have a balance and not perfectly. but in this election, you have so many conservative columnist who are kind of in the never trump camp. he's beaten upon up by the liberal and conservative columnist. and one saying he was mentally ill. i never seen this. some of donald trump mistakes are are self inflicted. but there is a strong hostility in the the coverage and opinion sector and even in the culture. snl. he likes to run against that sort of thing. it is getting tough for him. >> we'll see on sunday. >> and a fox news alert. last half an hour or so there is an evacuation of london city airport. it is a smaller airport closer to downtown london. passengers started feeling ill, many

mike barnicle and mark halperin, and jon meacham, and in washington, msnbc political analyst eugene robinson. joe, we have been waiting to see if that debate had any affect on donald trump and hillary clinton, and this morning we have got the numbers. >> and not just -- i don't think it's the debate so much as what happened after the debate, the man had what some call the worst week in presidential history and you look at the rambling second half of the performance and the fat shaming and all the other things that happened that week and then makes fun of hillary clinton, her pneumonia, and it really -- it has been a really bad week for him, so you would expect a massive swing in hillary's direction. >> let's look at the states, and now clinton has opened up a five-point lead, 46 to 41. clinton has a four-point lead in pennsylvania, and gary johnson falling four points there. in ohio, trump maintains a five-point lead, with both trump and clinton up since the last poll, and gary johnson down eight. and johnson down eight points in north carolina with clinton and trump both rising again, and c

. >> eugene robinson, the mit an his and columnist with the "washington post."he author of the book, hillbilly, it was very well reviewed and received by the reading public. i don't know whether we start with trump. i get the feeling we're hook at a fire hydrant that has been turned on. >> look, i think that once we had the revelations and then we had trump say it was just locker room talk and i never did these things. which he was pinned down on by anderson cooper. of course, it is natural that we would have women coming out, saying, no, actually he did do these things. >> the pattern of people when they feel unshackled, to use his term. they feel the story is developing. they're not alone. and they feel the message they have kept to themselves is part of the public discussion. this woman is 74 years old. she's talking about something that happened on an air may not. that one, the public kissing. i'm not sure about that. it is very hard to read that. my family does a lot of kissing on the mouth but it is consensual. wasn't because -- it was a sexual advance on

, we have washington anchor for bbc world news america katty kay and msnbc political analyst, eugene robinson. willie, the race obviously it's been a tumultuous two weeks with the tape coming out last friday, the weekend, the debate, and then just this chaotic week that's ensued. and then we have swing state polls that are really sort of hard to follow. hard to pick up a trend because there are some states, ohio, trump ahead, north carolina, it's basically margin of error and others where hillary clinton is moving in front. >> hard to believe it was one week ago today that "access hollywood" tape has come out. donald trump has a slight edge in the state of ohio according to the nbc/"wall street journal" poll. 42% to hillary clinton's 41%. that obviously within the margin of aerror. the nbc/"wall street journal" poll out of north carolina has clinton up 45% to trump's 41%. a suffolk poll shows a closer race in north carolina. clinton, 45, donald trump, 43. and out west, a poll taken for the republican senate leadership fund in nevada hands clinton the advantage there 45% to trump's 39. ten poi

louis just ahead, along with the "washington post's" eugene robinson.n the impact of hurricane matthew and some people finally starting to be able to head back to their homes today. bill. >> a lot of them aren't going to like what they see when they get there, from florida to the outer banks, the stork left its mark. this is the outer banks. they were 100 miles from the center of the storm. no stopping that water in the lower levels. all those homes, all those ruined vehicles. fayetteville, north carolina, the biggest story in eastern nirk was the freshwater flooding from over a foot of rain. two towns are still evacuated because they're worried about dam failures. the tar river included, still has to crest later this week with numerous homes and businesses going under water, and hilton head, that's from the storm surge. that's what six feet of storm surge does. a lot of the downed trees, pine trees, a cleanup that's going to take weeks. let's get to the maps. this is the river flooding, all eastern north carolina and a bunch of these still have to cres

still ahead, hallie jackson, eugene robinson and mike murphy all join the discussion.oment. healthy, free, the world before me, the long brown path before me leading wherever i choose. the east and the west are mine. the north and the south are mine. all seems beautiful to me. gives you a reason to slow down and pull up a seat to the table. that's why she takes the time to season her turkey to perfection, and make stuffing from scratch. so that you can spend time on what really matters. marie callender's. it's time to savor. i just saved thousands on in less than a minute, i found out how much home i can afford. i like how you shop for loans the same way you shop for flights online. i didn't realize that lendingtree you can save money on almost any sort of loan. i consolidated my credit card debt with a personal loan. i found a new credit card with 0% interest for 15 months. you just shop, compare, and save, and it's all free. go to lendingtree right now and start saving. you're at the top of your game.. at work or at play, you're unstoppable. nothing can throw you off

i'm joined by round table tonight, the boston globe's annie linsky, washington post columnist eugene robinson and a "usa today" senior political recorder, heidi. let's start here. if all we get is that little squeezy statement from the fbi director. >> i think if that's it, and i don't think it will be it, i think there will be more, i think comey's going to have to talk, but i think this ultimately blows over and the election is still advantage clinton. i mean -- >> no loss in points? >> maybe she loses a little bit because of voter suppression, maybe there are some of those republicans that were maybe going to vote for her and they decided to stay home instead and that goes advantage to trump ultimately. but yeah, it's bad, but i don't know that it's game changing or outcome changing. >> so the news suppresses as well as republicans. i never heard the word used like that. >> i think it gives trump a closing argument. he didn't really have one and now he has one. he's got something to focus on. i assume this will be the closing argument because he wasn't doing too well with the flailing he w

joined by round table tonight, the boston globe's annie lin skooe, washington post columnist eugene robinsonnd a "usa today" senior political recorder, heidi. lette let's start here. if all we get is that little squiezy statement from the fbi director. >> i think if that's it, and i don't think it will be it, i think there will be more, i think comey's going to have to talk, but i think this ultimately blows over and the election is still advantage clinton. i mean -- >> no loss in points? >> maybe she loses a little bit because of voter suppression, maybe there are some of those republicans that were maybe going to vote for her and they decided to stay home instead and that goes advantage to trump ultimately. but yeah, it's bad, but i don't know that it's game changing or outcome changing. >> so the news suppresses as well as republicans. i never heard the word used like that. >> i think it gives trump a closing argument. he didn't really have one and now he has one. he's got something to focus on. i assume this will be the closing argument because he wasn't doing too well with the flailing

eugene robinson, pulitzer prize winner, "washington post," nicole wallace, whose wisdom we have put offfor several minutes remains with us. and steve schmidt, a veteran of the mccain/palin effort is with us from new york. good evening, my friend. nicole, to you. first of all, you've got the top of the ticket live tweeting tonight. we assume curated. we assume there are people around him talking about the man whose night it's supposed to be about. how do you approach this evening? and would you be happy if pence were at the top of the ticket? >> watching mrs. pence speak, i was thinking about all the republican hearts breaking from coast to coast that that's not the couple at the top of the ticket. mike pence is so reassuring, he's so, you know, i said he's the yin to trump's yang clang clang this morning. and i think he's going to live tweet is perfect because that's who he is. he didn't cede the moment to pence the morning he announced him. >> before he let pence speak. >> and what struck me about that interview is that i'm sure that's the donald trump that mrs. pence has seen. i'm sur

which i think is how a lot of people -- >> eugene robinson theory. >> and nicole's take away as well. but their big take away, in terms of what he said, the shocking thing from the debate, jail to the chief. trump says, if i win, i'd lock her up. i do think that those -- the post and news are always entertaining. but grabbing both of them, even though they took other things away from the debate, both of them grabbing on to trump's physical presence on the stage and the way he loomed over clinton and grabbed his chair and stormed around and stomped around sieged and paced, that will be a big part of the way people think about this stuff. the nonverbal stuff that matters the most sometimes. >> who said it was a dark night in modern democracy. we're back with more right after this. the pursuit of healthier. it begins from the second we're born. because, healthier doesn't happen all by itself. it needs to be ed every day. using wellness t keep away illness. it needs to be and believing a single liy ed every day. millio of others. as a health services and innovation company optum powers mo

"washington post" columnist eugene robinson, an msnbc political analyst and senior political reporter heidi. let's start here, annie and gina. political impact statement, please. if all we get is this, all we get is the squeezy little statement from the fbi director? >> if that's it and i don't think it will be it, i think there will be more, comey will have to talk, but i think this blows over and the election is still advantage clinton. >> no loss in points? >> maybe she loses a bit because of voter suppression, maybe there are some of those republicans that were going to vote for her and decided to stay home instead and that goes advantage trump. but it's bad but i don't know that it's game changing. >> so the news suppresses as well as republicans. i didn't know we were suppressing the vote. gene? >> i think it gives trump a closing argument. he didn't have one and so now he has one. he's got something to focus on. i assume this will be the closing argument because he wasn't doing too well with the flailing he was doing the last couple weeks so it may give his campaign focus and i

washington post" national political reporter, ann guerin, also with me, and "the washington post's" eugene robinson, who's stuck in vegas. you're allowed to leave now, gene! >> if the tables are rolling, why leave? never leave if you have a hot hand. >> gene, let me ask you about this sort of nostalgic voice from trump after a fiery week, including last night's dinner. he sounds like a guy who's resigned himself to defeat. >> well, that's new. i haven't heard anything like that from trump all year and it almost sounds introspective and self-aware, which are words that i would never use with donald trump or never would have used until we started hearing that. that's the way a candidate talks when they kind of see handwriting on the wall or think they do. and then they'll say, you know, but if everybody turns out, we'll win. but the subtext is kind of, i don't think we're going to make it. >> let me get to another crazy -- then we'll get to the moderator. let me ask this. it seems like he's doing things that are really strange. first of all, flailing's a pretty good word. why is he going after michel

. >> associate editor of "the washington post," msnbc correspondent, eugene robinson.nd nicole is here. can we just start with something that we can show you besides ourselves. we begin with new numbers from two key swing states. a new poll released just moments ago shows donald trump pulling slightly ahead of hillary clinton in florida. the bloomberg politics poll conducted friday through monday shows trump in the lead 45% to clinton's 43%. trump is -- >> let's freeze on this for one second. obviously freezing is something that we do very well on graphics. mark halperin, i love what john heilemann said about a month or two ago. if it's within the margin of error, let's not say someone is ahead or behind. it's a tie. florida if you look at the bloomberg politics poll, it's a tie based on this poll but we do look at trend lines. a man who has had two to three to four of the worst weeks ever and this week desecrating the gettysburg battlefield with his speech accusing sexual accusers of doing things that are actionable in the court of law, he's up two in this poll in the