Motherinlaw among the victims . She was not. Im sorry . Was he fired . We know he was released from the army. And wed have to refer to the air force on that. It was the air force. Where was the selfinflicted Gunshot Wound . Turkey, the head. Thank you. There have been unconfirmed reports that the suspect may have taken a hostage in the car. Its been floating around cnn and other outlets. Any truth to that . That is not confirmed. Mentioned. Apparently he thought the shooter might have attended the same church. Not true . Im not aware of the shooter attending this church. He had Family Members that attended. His spouse attended this church. Im sorry, commander, did you say that the grandmotherinlaw was not a victim . Oh, the grandmotherinlaw . Were not aware of that at this time. Earlier you told us the suspect had called his father. You expand on that conversation a little bit, tells us if the family has been cooperative, if youre interviewing them . They have been cooperative. And i really cant expand on that because of that cooperation and communications and out of respect for them. One of the victims was reported pregnant. Be that change the number of murder counts charged . That number was included. One of the victims was pregnant. Im sorry . Was this intended to be a Revenge Shooting . That attended the church regularly . I cant comment further on that. We know there was conflict between the families. And whether that was revenge or not, it would be speculation on my part. Did you say that the grandmother were not aware were unaware if she is one of the victims. But you cant say no for sure . I cant say no. Sir, could you speak to the messages that the shooter sent to his motherinlaw . I cant. The phones are being explored at this time. And i dont have that information. Officer, officer, if the crime was not racial, not, you know, religious motivated, if we say right now that he came to kill the motherinlaw . There are many ways that he could have taken care of the motherinlaw without coming with 15 loaded magazines and an Assault Rifle to a church. I think he came here with a purpose and a mission. And thats my how many magazines. Im sorry . How many magazines . You said 15 earlier . There were 15 magazines collected here at the crime scene. And how many of those magazines were empty . All of them. Thank you for coming out, ladies and gentlemen. This will be the last question. Well we will have a briefing for you tomorrow. Continue to follow us on twitter, and also through email as well. What time . Well announce that on email and twitter as well. What is the name of the gentleman speaking . Can i ask you a question . A joint federal and state Law Enforcement briefing in sutherland springs, texas on the shooting there. As we mentioned, well continue to bring live updates when warranted. We return now to an edition of hardball already in progress. Offer you something and get you to do a favor. What were seeing and what is so consistent about all the players here is that they were all eager to take the bait, so to speak. These dangles that were put out in front of them about information and access to russia. You notice that there are no Financial Connections here other than turkey, which we may understand flynn may have actually had turkeys connection was through a russian. But this isnt like they have lots of South African financial contracts or brazilian. Theyre all consistently russian. The russians put a lot of emphasis on this election, and they clearly decided this was their super bowl. And they were going to go after as many people as possible. And every one of them may have bitten. And were going to find out from the Mueller Investigation if in fact some of these people are just unwitting assets or if some of these people might be actual agents working for russia in their employee, knowing what they were doing. Is that what you see . What i see is i see many people who just see russia as this financial pot. And that all of them may have had some stake in future Financial Holdings whether its Michael Cohens emails about the future trump towers, whether it was just about getting hillary clinton. But all of them seem to understand that raising the sanctions and getting rid of the Magnitsky Act would make these oligarchs in russia very rich. And thats an inducement for them to be rewarded. And if thats the case, then it clearly spells out why everybody took on all of these meetings, from sessions to these low level guys. There was going to be something financial in their future for it. And it wasnt just for good relations with the United States and russia. But its all very, very suspicious, you know. Especially when you consider the amount of effort they did. Thats when i begin to think rico. A rico charge. Running a criminal operation, that theyre all doing it together. Despite being portrayed as a low level volunteer, nbc news is reporting now that George Papadopoulos, who has pleaded guilty in connection with the russian probe had a more public role on behalf of the campaign. Those activities include a panel discussion at the Republican National convention, along with Foreign Senate Relations chair bob corker and others. He also spoke on behalf of the campaign to the Russian News Agency interfax in december. And met with israeli leaders as a Foreign Policy adviser. What do we make of that, Tom Hamburger . What do we make of this guy, this nobody being presented as a somebody throughout the campaign . Well, george, there is that seeming contradiction. The president and the campaign staff, the Trump Campaign staff tell us George Papadopoulos was a nobody, had no influence on the campaign. And that may in fact by the case. He wasnt paid. He was named by then candidate donald trump as one of his Foreign Policy advisers. But the fact is he was not paid by the campaign. He wasnt active in the campaign, and wasnt wellknown. At least in trump tower. But what we do know as you just suggested is he led some senators both at the time of the republican convention, led some in europe and in israel, and would discuss when doing these seminars, would represent himself as an adviser to the Trump Campaign. Did the same when he met with some governor government leaders. And some of those meetings we think set off some alarms and may have led the fbi, the Justice Department to become interested in george. And i just wonder whether we shouldnt all be buffaloed by this nonsensical distinction between unpaid and paid. I dont think Henry Kissinger gets paid. Its all about influence and getting in close to somebody who may be president of the United States. Thats a tremendous asset for people in their business. Anyway, we have learned now, as we have learned now, the attempts to downplay papadopouloss role in trumps orbit fits the same pattern weve seen from trumps defenders in the case of Michael Flynn. Paul manafort. Lets take a look back sat some hoff those moments. It was such a minor part. I think the one person i dont think ive ever spoken to him. Even general flynn was a volunteer of the campaign. And then obviously there has been discussion of Paul Manafort who played a very limited role for a very limited amount of time. In the case of mr. Page, mr. Gordon, some others, that they really have very attenuated contacts to the campaign that i managed for the last three months. I know mr. Manafort. I havent spoken to him in a long time. But i know him. He was with the campaign for a very short period of time. I never heard of papadopoulos. He never showed up at trump tower, never had any interaction with any of the Campaign Leaders around me. Do you remember George Papadopoulos during that march meeting . I dont remember much about that meeting. It was a very unimportant meeting. It took place a long time ago. Dont remember much about it. Paul was not there for very long. What people dont mention, paul was not there for a very long period of tile. What was it that convince youd he had to be let go . I think we found out he may be involved with certain nations. And i dont know exactly what it was in particular. Anyway, he headed up the campaign the entire summer. Let me go back to julia. What do you make of this i dont know nothing approach to all these people . Of course it makes since that the Trump Administration would want to be distancing themselves from this. But it also makes sense that the russians would want to go after people who might be at a low level, who might be able to exert who might block to exert their influence like a George Papadopoulos, knowing that they could pinpoint these people. It is a way for them to sort of cozy up to the boss. Yeah, make their bones. Its pattern, right. And of course thats a pattern that mueller wants to show. Even people who may not have been directed by the boss, if it was understood within this campaign or this administration that this is how you please your boss, that shows something there. And so i think it makes sense that both the russians would start with lower level and the Mueller Investigation would start with lower level. But when we get to someone like Michael Flynn who was appointed to be the National Security adviser, i think its a hard argument to make that he was some low level person that had no contact with the president. Julia ainsley, we rely on you so much day to day. Thank you so much for your great reporting. And Malcolm Nance as well. Coming up, the president says the gunman who killed 26 people at a texas church was deranged. And the issue he says isnt guns but Mental Health. He says predictably, its too soon to talk about guns, even though americans once again, including children were gunned down by a man with a militarystyle rifle. Plus, new polling shows a very tight race. Democrat Ralph Northam has a slightly, i mean slight. But will gillespies campaign using Trump Tactics pay off in a state that trump lost . And trump is not backing off his fire and fury talk against kim jong un. He is over in asia right now we know, and he says weak rhetoric has gotten us nowhere with north korea. Its now been revealed that the pentagon has determined that the one sure way to destroy all of north Koreas Nuclear sites would be by a ground invasion. And that is scary. Finally, let me finish tonight with the right and wrong way of dealing with a possibly nuclear conflict. This is hardball where the action. I just got my cashback match, is this for real . Yep. We match all the cash back new cardmembers earn at the end of their first year, automatically. Whoo i got my money hard to contain yourself, isnt it . Uh huh let it go whoo get a dollarfordollar match at the end of your first year. Only from discover. Senator rand paul is recovering right now after being physically assaulted by a neighbor at his home in kentucky on friday afternoon. According to the criminal complaint, the neighbor, dr. Renee boucher, walked on to senator pauls property and tackled him to the ground. The senator suffered five broken ribs and bruises to his lungs. Given the severity of his injuries, its unclear when senator paul will be able to return to work. Dr. Boucher was arrested and charged with assault. His lawyer released this Statement Today saying that the altercation had, quote, absolutely nothing to do with threatening texts. The churchs pastor Frank Pomeroy and his wife scheherri e away yesterday but their 14yearold Daughter Annabelle was killed in the attack. Today they spoke to reporters. Lets listen. Weve had a long night with our children and grand babies we have left. She is going to share this with you. Our church was not comprised of members or parishioners. We were a very close family. We ate together. We laugh together. We cried together. And we worshipped together. Now most of our Church Family is gone. Our building is probably beyond repair. And the few of us that are left behind lost tragically yesterday. As senseless as this tragedy was, our sweet belle would not have been able to deal with losing so much family yesterday. For more im joined by nbcs Steve Patterson who is in sutherland springs. Steve, these children, do we have any idea what it seemed like, the horrible incident . Was it just a guy going into the church with a semiautomatic weapon, an ar15 or whatever and just spraying the room, including the children . Was he targeting the children . Keep in mind he was clad in all black as he entered there. It must have been a Tear Fight Situation for the parishioners that were inside the church. We what we do know, being on the ground here in sutherland springs, the homesteads and the mom and pop shops and the farm steads are the lifeblood of this community, that church was the Beating Heart here of that community. Community members dealing with the fact that if its not broken, it has at least fractured this sense of community because of the terror that was inside that church. What we do have is a seemingly clearer portrait of the shooter. And as you mentioned, the motivations here which are becoming apparent. Weve been speaking to Authority Figures who have been telling us the threatening Text Messages were sent almost as early as Sunday Morning to that motherinlaw who is believed to be a member of that congregation. Ironically, not in the church at the time of the shooting. So we know immediately right off the bat here that this was not a shooting based on radicalization, on racial motivations, on religious motivations. That this may have been a targeted shooting based on an ongoing domestic situation from Family Members. Thats the word that were getting from authorities. Thats who we believe he may have been targeting inside that church. Were also getting a clearer portrait of kelly himself who is a member of the air force, was on an Air Force Base in new mexico from 2010 to 2014 with his wife and infant son. Court martialed in 2012 for assaulting his wife and stepson, fracturing his skull. Court martialed for that violent incident. Investigators are trying to piece together how he was able to buy that weaponry that was on him seemingly almost every year up until the shooting, including the piece of weaponry they believe he used to bring inside the church and commit mass murder. 20 as you mentioned injured from the gunfire. 10 of them still in critical condition, clinging to life after that shooting. Chris . Thank you so much. Nbcs Steve Patterson in texas. Well, President Trump, who was in japan today, called the shooting an act of evil. He blamed, quote, mental illness, not guns. He said that lets watch. I think that Mental Health is your problem here. This was a very based on preliminary report, very deranged individual. A lot of problems over a long period of time. We have a lot of Mental Health problems in our country, as do other countries. But this isnt a guns situation. I mean, we could go into it. But its a little bit soon to go into it. Fortunately, somebody else had a gun that was shooting in the opposite direction. Otherwise it would have been as bad as it was, it would have been much worse. But this is a Mental Health problem at the highest level. Its a very, very sad event. Its these are great people and a very, very sad event. But thats the way i view it. Im joined right now by u. S. Congressman Joaquin Castro of texas. Mexico and canada dont visit like this. They dont have Mass Shootings regularly or assassination attempts throughout their history. What makes us different . Why do we allow it . Well, most of all, the governments unwillingness and congresss unwillingness to do anything about it at this point. And, you know, it was an incredibly sad and tragic event yesterday. But unfortunately, one that were not unfamiliar with at this point in the United States. And for me to think that the gunman bought that weapon in my hometown of san antonio is very sickening and sad. Its also for texas another haunting episode of mass violence. You know, in 1966, we had the shooting at the ut tower. Sure. When i was in high school, we had the 1991 lubys killing in killeen. And Lee Harvey Oswald got his rifle by mail order. Why not . Its easy. Let me ask you about President Trump and his position. Didnt he oppose efforts to make it difficult for someone who has mental problems from getting guns . And now he says this is just a mental incapacitation issue. Its not a gun issue. Well, theyre related. The guy had a semiautomatic and ar15 that is capable of shooting all those rounds in a matter of a couple of moments. If you had an old musket from the times when the Second Amendment was passed, he would be able to maybe fire off one round, not very accurately every half hour or so. I mean, weapons were weve got the right to carry arms back when they werent that dangerous. Now were talking about weapons that can fire and spray basically killing 7 months old and 77yearolds all in the same minute. Yeah, there is no question that the founders never accounted for idea that you would have a ghun that could kil 26 people in a matter of seconds. We keep being presented with this false choice that the issue is either one of Mental Health or of guns. And in fact its a combination of both. What we need to do is two things. First, do everything that we can to prevent guns getting into the hands of the wrong people. So that includes things like Background Checks, universal Background Checks that are supported by 90 of americans. But also congressman, i think this guy got through one despite his Military Record and Dishonorable Service and beating up his wife and hurting his child very grievously. And still he managed to swim right through it. Well, thats why you need the second part. Its a fact that some people are going to be able to get guns illegally or even legally and still go out and try to kill people. The second part of this is you have to do something to limit the damage that these weapons can impose. That means either banning Assault Rifles or limiting the number of bullets in a cartridge. I think it requires both of those strategies to be successful. You know, maybe we need licenses of certain kinds of weapons for certain kinds of people. Maybe if you live out in the boonies and youre shooting up old cars or your totally safe. But it ought to be highly restricted to have certain kinds of weapons, i think. U. S. Congressman Joaquin Castro. Were still watching your career, sir. Were rooting for you. Thank you. A lot of career up there maybe in a fews years. Were down to the final hours for the race in the virginia governor. And gillespie has adopted the donald trump playbook by turning the election into a culture war is. But this tactic really going to pay off . I dont think so. I dont. This is hardball, where the action. [dont stop me now by queen] hello, im milissa rehberger. New information coming out of a News Conference on the texas gunman. The autopsy is now complete. He sustained three Gunshot Wounds, two from an armed citizen, one was selfinflicted. The air force says it failed to enter the gunmans Domestic Assault charge into a federal database that would have prevented him from buying the gun he used to massacre 26 people. Florida State University has banned all greek life following the death of a 20yearold pledge in an unrelated case of a Fraternity Member charged with the sale and trafficking of cocaine. Back to hardball. Welcome back to hardball. Its election evening in virginia. As voters choose their next governor, the race is very close. Northam and gillespie have been rung neck and neck for week news. Five polls out give northam the edge, but indicate the race is still up for grabs. A poll by the New York Times has northam lead big 3. Christopher Newport University shows a 6point advantage. Quinnipiac has northam on top by 9 while fox news shows the democrat lead big just 5 points. The very latest poll from Monmouth University out just this morning shows a 2 point race. For more im joined by the great larry sabato and former Oklahoma Republican congressman jc watts. Larry, tell whats you think of this race overall, the color of it, the nastiness of it, what the cultural messages should be to the country so far on election eve. Chris, its not been a thing of beauty, thats for sure. First of all, there have been a lot of mistakes by both sides. And lately by the democrat. And then you have those vicious negative advertises, again, on both sides. But most of the recent ones have been on the republican side. So its not a campaign i would recommend for a course in campaigns and elections. Its not a model campaign. Having said that, look, virginia, as you know well, has been spending more and more democratic. Thats in president ial years. When you have a turnout of mid 70s in the registered population. Thats going to drop tomorrow to somewhere in the 40s. And democrats disproportionately drop out of the electorate in these off off year races. Thats where gillespie has upset potential. Id still say northam is the leader and the most likely winner. But gillespie has put it in a position where he can win. He can upset northam. Whats the smart move by gillespie . Is it not diagnose trumpesque, but not bringing trump in . Is that the smart move if he wins . Oh, absolutely. He kept trump at arms length in person. But he took all of trumps issues and put them into some vicious Television Ads that were saturated throughout the state. And sure enough, the trump voters have responded, and its almost like trump had appeared. In a political sense, forget morality or history or any values, was it smart for northam to come out for bringing down all the statues . No, it was not. I understand, as you said, the morality of it. And of course im here in charlottesville. I get it. But from a political standpoint, that was not a wise move. He backed off of it. But of course he stuck with the original position, as politicians always are. Yeah, let me bring in jc watts, my friend jc. Thank you for this. I know youre from oklahoma, and thats your home and pride. Looking at this virginia race, what do you make of this problem. The democratic side on an ethnic front where they basically say as we say in philly cut somebody from some promotional material, some leaflets. The African American running mate was dropped from his name and face werent even mentioned in this county there in this leaflet distribution. What do you make of that as a political issue that republicans and some African American republicans are trying to exploit . Well, chris, ive seen that happen for the last 20 plus years. When i first ran for congress, you know, my democrat opponent took a picture of me and my High School Senior picture with the big afro that was so big you couldnt have gotten it in your frame here and put it in a commercial and basically said is that who you want as your Congress Person . And i know that those kinds of things happen. That northam took his black Lieutenant Governor off of his mail pieces. That happens. And my thing is, as ive said for the last 20 years, its going to happen. But when it does happen, just be consistent. If its a republican that is doing it, you need to beat him up. If its a democrat thats doing it, you need to beat him up. And i think northam over the last few days, i understand from talking to your producer that, you know, there has been some highlighting of what has happened. And i saw an article over the weekend where governor wilder was consistent, as i said, that he came out. The former governor, black democrat governor of virginia came out and was critical of that. And kudos to him. I hope that when it happens on the republican side, you know, black republicans, white republicans ought to be consistent and do the same thing. And doug, Water Matters in that state. A digital advertisement being run on facebook now is imploring black voters of virginia to oppose northam, the democrat, over his treatment of his running mate for Lieutenant Governor justin fairfax. Lets watch. Ralph northams campaign deliberately took justin fairfax, the only black statewide candidate off his Campaign Flyers to appease other supporters. If northam cant support his black Lieutenant Governor, why should black people support him . Send a message to northam loud and clear. We wont be thrown under the bus. Decode the results tomorrow night. Lets Say Gillespie pulls an upset. What would that tell the country . It would tell the country until republicans running in 2018 that they can do what gillespie did. Hold trump at arms length, that theyre in a purple competitive state or a blue state, but adopt some of the trump issues. It will cut even in suburbs that normally vote liberal. I think northam is going to squeak it. I think you do too, larry. Lets see what happens tomorrow night. I hope youre around. Larry sabato, the great professor at the university of virginia. And former congressman jc watts, a great friend of our program. Were going to have all the results tomorrow on hardball at 7 00 eastern. And then our whole program is coming back at midnight for an hour. The Assembly Votes could tell us in virginia how the rest of the country is going to vote for congress in 2018. Up next, ahead of his trip to south korea, President Trump ramps up the rhetoric against kim jong un. It comes amid a scary assessment from the pentagon that the only way for us to destroy north Koreas Nuclear sites is through a ground invasion. A second korean war. Youre watching hardball. Lower premiums . Extra benefits . Its open enrollment. Time to open the laptop. And compare Medicare Health plans. Why . Because plans change, so can your health needs. So, be openminded. Look at everythinglike Prescription Drug plans. And Medicare Advantage plans from private insurers. Use the tools at medicare. Gov. Or call 1800medicare. Open to Something Better . Start today. Your body was made for Better Things than rheumatiod arthritis. Before you and your Rheumatologist Move to another treatment, ask if xeljanz xr is right for you. Xeljanz xr is a oncedaily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. It can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. Xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. Dont start xeljanz xr if you have an infection. Tears in the stomach or intestines, low Blood Cell Counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. Your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz xr, and monitor certain liver tests. Tell your doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. Xeljanz xr can reduce the symptoms of ra, even without methotrexate. Ask your rheumatologist about xeljanz xr. Accused of Obstructing Justice to theat the fbinuclear war, and of violating the constitution by taking money from foreign governments and threatening to shut down News Organizations that report the truth. If that isnt a case for impeaching and removing a dangerous president , then what has our government become . Im tom steyer, and like you, im a citizen who knows its up to us to do something. Its why im funding this effort to raise our voices together and demand that elected officials take a stand on impeachment. A Republican Congress once impeached a president for far less. Yet today people in congress and his own administration know that this president is a Clear And Present Danger whos mentally unstable and armed with Nuclear Weapons. And they do nothing. Join us and tell your member of congress that they have a moral responsibility to stop doing whats political and start doing whats right. Our country depends on it. Welcome back to hardball. President trumps in the middle of a 12day, fivecountry trip through asia where along with navigating diplomatic relationships, he is focusing on the threat that north korea poses, of course. Here is what he said yesterday about that in japan. The era of strategic patience is over. Some people said that my rhetoric is very strong, but look whats happened with very weak rhetoric over the last 25 years. Look where we are right now. Well, this comes as the pentagon said in a letter to congress that, quote, the only way to locate and destroy with complete certainty all components of north Koreas Nuclear weapons programs is through a ground invasion. Well, democratic congressman ted lieu and Ruben Gallego had asked the pentagon for that hypothetical assessment. Lets bring in the round table, susan page, Washington Bureau chief for usa today. Eli stokols, wall street reporter for the wall street journal. And msnbc political analyst darlene suberville. What do we make of the fact that this document, the assessment of the need to go in on the ground to get those Nuclear Weapons knocked out has gotten out into the papers, has reached pyongyang . Is that provocative in itself . You know, i think it might have calm effect on some of the provocative rhetoric weve heard from the president. Believe me, americans do not want to see a ground war in korea. Thats for sure. With u. S. Troops going into north korea to secure Nuclear Weapons. That would require not only ground troops, but north korea might respond with chemical and biological weapons. So this strikes me as being something that underscores how very costly the military option would be in north korea. Eli, do you think that maybe you know more about the trade craft of reporters involved. Do you think that was leaked in an attempt to do what susan just said, to forestall such an option being taken . Perhaps. But aside from that, the military option, again, there doesnt seem to be public support for a prolonged ground war. The consequences of any sort of Military Action against north korea would be probably immediately felt and devastatingly felt by the 20 Million People in seoul, south korea. Yeah. So what youre left with in this situation is what youve had all along, and that is diplomatic efforts. And its hard to see this administration engaging real seriously in that. About a month ago, the president undercut his own Secretary Of State saying, rex, dont waste your time talking to north korea, secretly back channeling and trying to work something out with the north koreans. And you heard his rhetoric this morning, talking about my rhetoric. My rhetoric. Some people say its tough. But weak rhetoric hasnt gotten us very far. Its not about rhetoric. Strong or weak, thats not a plan. Thats not true diplomacy. It seems like the consensus among Foreign Policy folks that i speak to is that this administration has not really engaged seriously enough in the really detailed conversations with the chinese, with other allies in terms of pushing a more unified, a more intense diplomatic effort in this area. Darlene, what does the associated press, and what do you know about the possibility of russia helping, of putin and our president sitting down perhaps in hanoi or saigon and trying to work out some deal whereby the russians really help put the pressure . Because the russians under the leadership of joseph stalin, were the ones who approved the korean war in 1950. Well, its possible. President trump on his way to japan told reporters on the airplane that he wanted putins help on the north korea issue. Theyre supposed to meet when they get to vietnam later this week. And well see what comes out of that meeting. What about the whole question of the president . Do you normally i dont mind i dont like politicians who kick the can down the road. But sometimes kicking the can down the road avoid as nuclear war. You kicked that can down the road during the entire cold war from 47 to 91 and avoided a conflict between the United States and russia, a direct conflict. I just wonder does trump have a point here . To say you know, weve kicked the can down the road in terms of Nuclear Development in north korea, and look what its gotten us . A country on the verge of having all that it wants and were sitting there watching it happen. We better move. Thats certainly true. And it is true that the policy that his several of his predecessors have followed did not succeed in forestalling the continued development of north Koreas Nuclear program. But some people do look at the cold war as a kind of example of what can work in keeping the peace in a positive way. Because urge the administration to consider a policy of containment, to try to contain it the way we contained the soviet union for decades that is not a policy that President Trump has been willing to embrace. He continues to say that a weaponized a north korea that has Nuclear Weapons is unacceptable to us. Well, thats a position he is going to have to fight for. Your last word from you, eli. How it is going to end up in the next few days do you think in the trip . Is this trip going to have a salutory effect, advantage of having at least move this towards some sort of alliance with russia against kim jong un . I think it will be pretty tough to get russia to move on. This i dont see what leverage the Trump Administration really has in getting Vladimir Putin to stop some of the economic relationships and deals that he has made with north korea. But i think to susans point, you know, its not emotionally satisfying for this president to accept and to publicly state that containment may be the smartest policy here. Yeah. He likes it makes him feel good to talk about how this is the people who came before him. Its their fault, and we can do it better. It just doesnt portray a fully nuanced understanding of a really complex situation that really, you know, if you talk to Foreign Policy experts, folks who were involved in the last set of talks with north carolina. That will tell you there are no good options here in dealing with the north koreans. I think politically, trump would like to tell people well handle it. But at this point, beyond rhetoric, i dont really see a plan to do that. When we come back, the roundtable is sticking with us. All three will give me scoops youll be talking about tomorrow. This is hardball, where the action is. burke at farmers, weve seen almost everything so we know how to cover almost anything. Even a swing set standoff. And we covered it, july first, twentyfifteen. Talk to farmers. We know a thing or two because weve seen a thing or two. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum ltry align probiotic. N your Digestive System . For a nonstop, sweet treat goodness, hold on to your tiara kind of day. Get 24 7 digestive support, with align. The 1 doctor recommended probiotic brand. Also in kids chewables. Im up here in boston on my tear for Bobby Kennedy. Ill be speaking to what im told will be a soldout crowd at the john f. Kennedy president ial library. The book has definitely tapped into something. Ill be back in washington, d. C. Tomorrow for coverage of the virginia governors race. As i said, ill be on hardball at 7 00, the usual time as the polls close. And then back again for a special hour of coverage starting at midnight eastern. And well be right back. What is your nationality and i would always answer hispanic. So when i got my ancestry dna results it was a shocker. Im everything. Im from all nations. I would look at forms now and wonder what do i mark . Because im everything. And i marked other. Discover the story only your dna can tell. Order your kit now at ancestrydna. Com. Darlene, Tell Me Something i dont know. Well, this is something you probably do know. But i think its something thats not getting the attention that it deserves. And its the fact that almost seven weeks after Hurricane Maria slammed into puerto rico, significant numbers of people there are still without electricity and without drinkable water. I think we all should know that in spades. Anyway, eli . Well, today on capitol hill, some people caught this, but the House Republicans began the markup of their tax reform plan. And we got started to get a sense of some of the deductions and cuts that are not going to exist anymore if this bill is signed into law. The Tax Policy Center also released an interesting study today saying by 2018, if this bill goes forward, 12 of americans would actually see their taxes go up. And in 10 years out, nearly 30 of americans would see their taxes actually rise as a result of some of the deductions and things that this bill threatens to take away. Thats why theyre rushing it through. Anyway, susan . So weve been keeping touch with a panel of trump voters for the past year. Since were coming up on the oneyear anniversary of trumps election, we asked them to name the best thing and the worst thing trump has done over the last year. No consensus on the best all over the map. The worst thing, more than half say its his tweets and provocative behavior. They say trumps mouth is undermining the president from being able to get things done. The one thing that will never change. Thank you. Good to have you on, dar lee superville. The right and wrong way of dealing with possibly a nuclear conflict. Youre watching hardball. Infusion and serious allergic reactions can happen during or after treatment. Entyvio may increase risk of infection, which can be serious. While not reported with entyvio, pml, a rare, serious Brain Infection caused by a virus may be possible. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, experience frequent infections, or have flulike symptoms, or sores. Liver problems can occur with entyvio. If your uc or crohns medication isnt working for you, ask your gastroenterologist about entyvio. Entyvio. Relief and remission within reach. Another day of work. Why do you do it . Its not just a pay check, you actually like what you do. Even love it. And today, you can do things you never could before. Youre developing ai applications on the cloud. Finding insights hidden in decades of medical documents. And securing millions of iot sensors. So get back to it. And do the best work of your life. Anyone who calls it a hobby wordoesnt understand. We know that a persons passion is what drives them. [ clapping ] and thats why every memorial we create is a true reflection of the individual. Only a Dignity Memorial Professional can celebrate a life like no other. Find out how at sanfranciscodignity. Com. Let me finish tonight with this north korean danger. Im up here in boston speaking tonight, as i said, at the john f. Kennedy president ial library on the topic of robert kennedy. With President Trump in asia visiting korea on the trip, its important to recall americas past success in avoiding a nuclear war. We are obviously getting close, far too close to that kind of Nuclear Standoff this country faced in the early 1960s. The main thing we learned that time when the soviet union was caught placing intermediate range Nuclear Missiles in cuba was to give the other side a way out. A Nuclear Standoff is no time for a test of testosterone to battle over who is more macho, who has the biggest hands. The trick in the case of kim jong un of north korea is probably not to make fun of him, to make him feel diminished, to make him feel he needs to prove his whatever. The trick is probably to give the north korean dictator a sense of having achieved what he needs, enough stature and importance to his people to hold on the power. The trick i would think is to get through this episode and hope we have a more stable situation in the years ahead. In 1962, a couple of steps got us through. First the kennedy brothers, president bobby decided not to launch an attack on the missile sites. For one thing it might for another thing, Bobby Kennedy argued we americans dont launch sneak attacks. We dont do pearl harbors. What the kennedys did do is cut an under the table deal to pull our outmoded missiles out of turkey in exchange for the russians pulling theirs out of cuba. It worked. When youre looking at the prospect of nuclear war, its good to have cool hands at the table, people who can imagine consequences, who act on those consequences and not on their gut. The gut can be an extremely dangerous guide when dealing in weapons that can destroy