Transcripts For MSNBCW The 11th Hour With Brian Williams 20171108

The dems in new jersey, phil murphy, former ambassador of germany, former partner of goldman sachs, handedly defeated Chris Christies long time Lieutenant Governor kim guadagno in that very blue state. As the numbers have rolled in tonight, we have been at the big board tracking them. Steve, i was watching chuck todd at 5 00, he didnt believe in the data. I dont think i believed in the data. I dont know if you believed in the data, but having said that, what just happened tonight . You know, you can call this one the revenge of the suburbs. Lets take you through the road to victory here for Ralph Northam, the democrat. That margin youre seeing there, nine points, biggest margin for a democrat in virginias governors race in 32 years. You got to go back to 1985. How did he put it together . All the attention was on ed gillespie, the republican, and what he was trying to do. He was trying to run on trumpism. He was trying to run on culture issues, on immigration, on these confederate battle monuments and statues, on the m13 gang. He was trying to run on trump issues but he didnt bring trump into the state. He didnt want to campaign arm in arm with him. What was he trying to accomplish . Number one, he was looking at southwest virginia, the rural part of the state. When ed gillespie ran for office here in virginia a few years ago, he did okay down here. He wanted to do a lot more than okay. And donald trump when he ran last year absolutely owned it down here. So the attempt to run on trump issues was to get trump support down here in this part of the state. We can show you, you know what . Guess what . It kind of works. Ed gillespie when he ran here three years ago he only won this county for instance by 36 points. Tonight wins it by 50 if the he got half of what he was looking for. But whats the other thing that ed gillespie was looking for . Northern virginia, the suburbs. The collegeeducated suburbs right outside washington, d. C. Almost a quarter of the states vote is right in there. Now heres the thing, republicans always struggle in these suburbs. But when donald trump ran last year, he did worse than republicans basically have ever done. So ed gillespie was looking at it and saying i dont want to did trump bad, i want do normal republican bad. If i can get the trump numbers in the rural areas and do just normal republican bad in the suburbs, im going to have the formula to win. What actually happened, we can take a look at the story, zoom in on these counties. Ill give you one that tells you the whole story. This is Loudon County right here. Sort of a serburban county outside washington, and Ralph Northam wins it by 25 points over gillaspie. When he ran for the senate three years ago he won this county. Donald trump last year against Hillary Clinton he lost it by 17 points. Gillespie theory was you dont bring trump in, you dont get the trump baggage in the suburbs, you can have that competitive showing that he had in 14. Instead, he even did a little bit worse than trump. We saw that throughout these suburbs here in Northern Virginia. Heres another one. Ed gillespie, he only lost Prince William county by three points three years ago, tonight by 23. Thats basically what trump did last year. Northern virginia, these suburbs, we saw this around the country, these suburbs did not like donald trump at all last year in the president ial election. They were very much against him then. They have not moved an inch toward him, in fact theyve moved even further from him. And tonight it felt like you look at these results, it felt like the voters here, suburbs down by virginia, they have been waiting for a chance do this, they saw Ed Gillespies name on the ballot and what they saw there was donald trump and they voted against donald trump tonight. Your headline was right on, revenge of the suburbs in the commonwealth of virginia. Thanks so much. We know well be seeing you later on. Garrett hake is live at northam Party Headquarters in fairfax, virginia. Garrett, i know you and i both expected a later night. Theyre going to start vacuuming before you know it. This was over so much earlier than expectations. Reporter yeah, and they wont be complaining about that. This was cathartic for the democrats in the room tonight. They have been waiting for Something Like this for the last year. They were surprised by the margin of victory but not disappointed by it certainly. Let me set the scene for you a little bit. I was out with voters today and some of those suburban counties. I spent most of the day in fairfax, democratic strong hold, big numbers there. It was a rainy, gross day in Northern Virginia today and as steve just said, Ralph Northam blew the doors off in these counties. They had huge turnout and huge margins. And the Northam Campaign told me their best poll, their most optimistic poll had them winning by five. So this margin surprised even them. So i think we have a question that all democrats are going want to answer over the next couple days is how did they do it . And the early autopsy seems to revolve around two things. Theyve weaponized the resistance. They found a way to channel this antitrump energy into votes and into volunteers, into door knocks and phone calls. The campaigns been telling me they had more volunteers and more people that were offering to help essentially than they could use. And secondly, they had an authentic candidate. They had a candidate who they thought represented virginia. A lot of National Democrats kind of pushed back on northam, a southern accent, doesnt seem like a highenergy guy. This is a Virginia Military institute educated military doctor who spoke to virginians. And you heard some of that in his victory speech tonight. Take a listen. We live in a very Diverse Society. Its getting more diverse every day. It is that Diverse Society that makes this country great. [ cheers and applause ] and as long as im governor, i will make sure that were inclusive, that we welcome people to the commonwealth of virginia. Our lights will be on, our doors will be open. So, brian, you hear right there thats a rejection of trumpism without saying the name donald trump. I think youll hear more of that kind of language from democrats in the future, but as for the republicans, you know, as steve said, the whole premise of the good gillespie congressman was to be mitt romney in Northern Virginia and donald trump in southern virginia and its clear tonight that was not a Winning Strategy for him. I think youre going to see a lot of other republicans, particularly Barbara Comstock whos a house member in Northern Virginia having to figure out who and what theyre going to be in 2018. With the story behind the story were covering tonight, which is this big democratic win in the Common Wealth of virginia. Garrett, thank you very much. Time now to bring in our leadoff panel this evening. White house bureau chief for the Washington Post Philip Rucker is back with us. Kimberly atkins is back with us as well. Chief washington reporter for the Boston Herald and chief White House Correspondent for the New York Times peter baker who covered virginia politics for a decade. And, boy, virginia politics never ceases to amaze me. Peter, well start with you. What just happened, do you think, in the commonwealth . Well, the Common Wealth of virginia provided donald trump a real thumping, thats the phrase of course weve heard in the past on offyear elections. We should remember, of course, that the virginia governors election comes one year after a president ial election and doesnt necessarily tell us anything what will come after this. Having said that, President Trump had had a pretty good run of the special elections all year. Managed to hold on to a bunch of house seats that were mostly republican to begin with, but democrats had thought they might be able to take. And the resounding nature of this victory, a ninepoint victory far greater than what anybody had expected leave no doubt for debate at this point. What theyre telling the country is there is, you know, room for resistance against President Trump, theres a consequence to a president who has a 35 , 38 Approval Rating. Phil, seniority has its privileges and you got to duck out of the asia trip for 12 days of your life. As you read the dispatches from your colleagues, as you hear the language of the president , as you look at things like body language, how do you think tonight this result broadcast like this are going to play halfway around the world . Well, its a humbling moment for President Trump. Its his first thumping, as peter put it, a real defeat and a rebuke of his presidency and of the kind of issues, these cultural wedge issues that trump has really tried to magnify as president. We have to remember his Approval Rating nationally is at a historic low. Theres been no president in modern history with an Approval Rating as low as it is in this stage of the presidency. And youve got to think that republicans in the congress and the house are nervous looking at these results. Because the story of these house elections in 2018 and the midterms is going to be told in the suburbs just like the ones that Steve Kornacki was just talking about. There are so many house districts there where republicans are going to be defending their seats in suburban areas where trump is unpopular that its going to force the Republican Party i think to develop a strategy thats going to work given what just happened in virginia. And kimberly, lets talk about ed gillespie, the republican candidate tonight who went down in defeat. A lot of people said when he embraced trumpism, if not trump, it wasnt him. It wasnt the guide he had shown virginians he was, kind of a dependable, predictable, conservative republican whos been the former party chairman. He was. I mean he was about as an establishment republican as you can get and actually defeated a more trumplike candidate in the primary. But in the last weeks of this race he seemed to have really embraced this trumpist kind of Steve Bannonesque way of campaigning that focused very strongly on things like immigration, trying to tag Ralph Northam as being embracing immigrants who would become gang members and threaten virginia. And that sort of was the baton that donald trump picked up. Even though gillespie didnt embrace him wholeheartedly, donald trump tweeted his support for gillespie, did a robocall today. As you said, saying that he would keep the state safe. Of course virginias one of the safest states in the country so it sort of belies the facts there. But it really back fired on him. Virginias a big state, but its hard to run than kind of campaign focused to the south thinking that the folks in Northern Virginia wouldnt see it. And those ads were the talk of the town in Northern Virginia by people who are really appalled by that and really motivated to vote against it. Peter, lets talk about 2018 and fraud of course because no two candidates or districts or races are like. Can democrats get by with the Bumper Sticker slogan democrats, because were not republicans, what must they do . And also how do republicans handle this Going Forward now . Trump and trumpism . Thats a great question. This is a great moment for democrats in a sense that they are feeling pumped, theyre feeling victorious, they havent had a lot of good news in the last year electorally to point to, but it doesnt change the fundamental flaws in their party right now. Theyve got a big schism, a big schism ideology and leadership wise. Whos going to take this and define it partywise were not trump. It goes in certain ways in a low turnout election. But weve seen in the past by itself it wasnt enough to get Hillary Clinton elected and it may not be enough to get either the house of representatives back in 2018. If so, whos going to lead this party . Whos going to be the person who defines what it stands for . We still see that divide. Ralph northam was not a Bernie Sanders candidate. He beat a Bernie Sanders candidate does the that mean that wing the party is on the descendents or will the more liberal side reassert itself as we head into these midterms . We dont know the answer to that yet. I have to interrupt a little bit with Foreign Affairs because on the other side of your screen this is the president and first lady, theyre preparing to depart from Osan Air Base in south korea. Next stop is china on this 12day asian trip. Phil, i couldnt help but notice after the white house made it known that this president wasnt going to try to go to the dmz, they called such visits cliches. Weve seen the Vice President there, we saw the previous president there and many other president s since the war was at least halted, interrupted, they did try to go. They had the white top black hawk helicopters, if those marine corps couldnt making it no one could. They decided the fog was too thick today so they had to scrub the trip because had he to give the speech and then make this flight to china. Thats right. But do you really believe that this president didnt want to have that photo op . Its the greatest photo op. And it comes with a jacket and you know he loves those military jackets. Exactly. He wanted to be right there and look across into north korea, and he was going to be going with moon as well, which Sarah Sanders told the reporters would make it a historic visit with the two of them together at the dmz. But Mother Nature intervened and the helicopters couldnt make the trip. Back to current events, especially politics. Kim there are tweeting tonight from our friend out in wisconsin. From the gop the really sad and alarming part of tonight is that the trumpist campaign gillespie ran say mirror of the way so many other republicans have been transforming themselves. This borrows from pieces of our conversation so far tonight, but what is it going to be like on the hill tomorrow . People forget the entire house is up every two years. The entire house is up and they also have policies that theyre trying to pass, theyre still trying to pass some sort of tax cut plan and still talking about healthcare. Maybe, you know, trying to throw in a repeal of the individual mandate of the Affordable Care act. This is going to have to give lawmakers pause because clearly these are not things that voters in a big state like virginia want to hear. And we look, we have talked a lot about the democrats having trouble with their message and not having a leader. But the republicans have been sort of twisting themselves into knots in the last year since President Trump has been elected. And i think ed gillespie is a really good example of that. And it doesnt always pay off in the end. So i think youre going to see republicans doing a lot of soul searching as to how they talked to their constituents and how they address policies here in washington moving forward. As youve been talking, a lot of blue coming up with that yellow checkmark on these election returns from virginia and elsewhere tonight. Our leadoff Panel Members have agreed to stay with us tonight. We will interweave them into the conversation. We have so much to talk about domestically and Foreign Affairs. Well take a break. And coming up the critical meck of the trump inner circle who was interviewed today about what he knows as part of this russia investigation. Its a fascinating story. Well have it when the 11th hour comes right back. One of the president s closest confidants is the latest to face questions about possible Campaign Contact with russia. Keith schiller was grilled by the House Intelligence Committee for about four hours today behind closed doors. The role Keith Schiller has played in Donald Trumps life can best be described by borrowing the Farmers Insurance tag line. He knows a thing or two because hes seen a thing or two. Schiller was trumps bodyguard and body man, a fixture by his side for years. Hes a large human. He remained with him all during the campaign and then trump made him head of Oval Office Operations in the west wing. Schiller is a former new York City Police officer, hes also a navy veteran. As politico reports it today, he was the first person to see trump in the morning and the last to communicate with him at night. Schiller managed to avoid reporters as he exited the capital today, and Committee Members arent elaborating on what was asked or what was answered. But one can assume they are interested to learn what schiller observed and perhaps overheard as part of the inner circle. Were also learning today that President Trump sent the head of the cia to meet with a conspiracy theorist who doesnt believe russians hacked the dncs emails. Bill beeny confirmed with nbc news he met with mike pompeo who was on a fact finding mission. The intercept website which first reported the meeting spoke with a former cia official who categorized the significance of this event this way. Quote, this is crazy. Youve got all these intelligence agencies saying the russians did the hack. To deny that is like coming out with the theory that the japanese didnt bomb pearl hash bore said this former cia officer. With us tonight Matthew Miller former spokesman at doj now an nbc news justice and security analyst. We have the White House Reporter from politico, that article we referenced just a moment ago, the author. And jonathan swan, political reporter is back with us. Welcome to you all. Jonathan, first things first. Lets go back to the top and talk about mr. Schiller. There were all kind of contemporaneous reports back when the president first became president that he was banging around the residence with no one around to play with except schiller. These two guys who spoke new york in this strange town and a big empty house. They have spent concentrated days and hours together. Add to the narrative what you can about the closeness and this relationship. Its hard to overstate how close they are. They were and they are, i thought annie did an excellent job in her story. But he was, hes a peer of trump, a generational peer. If you look at trumps inner circle at the moment in the white house, obviously youve got jared and ivanka and their family, hope hicks is almost like another daughter. But keith was something else. He was a generational peer who trump would confide in for everything. It wasnt just that they would talk about sports and women and all the other things that trump likes to talk about. But he would actually ask him policy advice and as annie correctly reported, he was the first person to see him in the morning, last person to see him at night, he would walk in between the oval office and the residence. In those early wild west days of the administration when the oval office was kind of like Grand Central station, people would just wander in and out, keith was the guy often just on pure gut instinct who would decide whether the president was in the right mood to see this person. He knows the president so well that he didnt even need to talk to the trump often, he would divine by his own understanding of trump whether this person who was in the outer oval, whether it was the right time to bring them in. So, as i said, you just cant overstate how close these two are and, as you said in your intro, he was seen a lot of things. Lets quote annies work. Back to annie, shall we . Heres another quote. Many Trump Officials and friends said their main concern is that the sight of trumps longest serving and closest aide, the man widely credited with knowing his diet, the mood, what triggers him and what soothes him. Being hauled in front of a committee could aggravate trump hes enters a series of high stakes meetings with the chinese on his 12day trip through asia. Annie, at minimum its got a be a preoccupation. Definitely. I want to add to jonathans recap of what he means. A lot of people in the white house have told me of all the highlevel departures weve seen, the one with long lasting effects is the departure of Keith Schiller. This really has taken a toll and made the president feel more isolated. This wasnt going in to talk to mueller, so democrats had low expectation of any bombshell, intel committee. They saw this more as potentially him going in there to discredit the famous dossier and kind of the white house giving their blessing to him going in and doing this. Nonetheless that footage that was all over the news today of Keith Schiller walking in, someone told me you bet trumps dvring this and watching it. Its a sign that these investigations coming now for the people closest to him. Hope hicks is scheduled to talk to mueller when she gets back from asia. This is now the inner inner circle, and i was told that the idea that Keith Schiller is being grilled for four hours, this is this is the trump whispers. This is the people that really know him. And even if schiller went in there just to discredit the trump dossier and say none of it is true, its getting closer and closer to home. Annie, theres another aspect, and thats what put them together originally. Its muscle and brawn. Theres a greatest hits video reel of Keith Schiller getting the better of a whole lot of protesters at a hole lot of events and in some cases when he didnt think anyone hes being gentle here with jorge, but when he didnt think anyone was watching. And trump has really thats a little less gentle there. Trump has really appreciated that role and it was a fraught relationship when the secret service had to learn to live with keith, subsume him into their ranks. He would often be seen especially up on the hill walking in the falanks with the president often where the lead agent would be seen. The whole setup was one of the Stranger Things from the beginning when trump came into office. It was one of the ways he was testing what is just norms and what is law. You can bring in a private security person to work hand in hand with the secret service . Its never been done before. Another where hes shattering norms, but he did it, he brought in keith. This, yeah, i mean, he was a loyal guy, he didnt john kelly, the new chief of staff has tried to create a culture where people in the white house understand theyre serving their country and the constitution and then the president. Keith schiller was there to serve donald j. Trump. So mr. Miller whereby he was the Clark Clifford of body men if were allowed to say that. He was present at the creation of this presidency. Go through the list of things he might know about and be able to speak to in gran laulary detail. I think the most important things all have to do with what jonathan called those wild west days of the early administration. From the time he was sworn in until comey was fired in early may, that 3. 5 month period that involved the formed the heart of bob muellers obstruction of justice investigation. His request for a loyalty pledge, his request that he back off the flynn investigation, and then his apparent anger when comey didnt do that that led to him asking the director of National Intelligence to intervene with the fbi, asking the head of the cia to intervene, asking the head of the nsa to intervene and ultimately firing comey. For bob mueller to prove thats obstruction of justice, he has to show motive. He has to show that the president had a corrupt motive in mind when he did that. The way you show that is what the president said at the time. If he ever said in a room either to Keith Schiller or to other aides but you know Keith Schiller would be one of the ones because he was there in the most unguarded moments. If the president if jim comey doesnt back off this russia investigation, im going to get rid of him, thats the motive that bob mueller needs to show to prove obstruction of justice and thats why schiller is such an important witness to hips team. Jonathan, whats going on with the director of the cia . We hasten to add hes a man of consequence. He was number one in his class at west point, went to harvard law school. Mike pompeo never one to suffer fools gladly, confident in his intellect and ability, whats he going meeting with this guy . Its not a great sign. You guys do understand that really well from your part of the world. Well, i mean, if you believe the account and the intercept and it be hasnt been contradicted by the cia, this is donald trump saying, you know, this is the way it was quoted, that if you really want to know the facts, go and talk to this guy. And i mean, at the very least its troubling because this persons theory runs entirely contrary to the entire Intelligence Community over which pompeo reigns. It would pea one thing to send, you know, one of your deputies, subordinates, a few levels down to, you know, humor the president and listen to things. But for the head of the cia to go and take this meeting and very recently its hard to interpret as anything else apart from just indulging some of your boss perhaps less savory instincts. Good choice of words there. So annie, if pompeo has ambitions beyond langley and, look, rumors are all over the place. I dont think theres anyone in washington who expects the secretary of state to remain in office past christmas. We just dont know from the secretary of state, but pompeo certainly has been mentioned as being a possible move to foggy bottom. This could leave a mark on his permanent record. This that was the first thing i thought when i read the story today. Hes the front runner as far as i can tell from talking to a lot of people to replace rex tillerson. People think its not if, its when. Pompeo is by far trump favorite these days. He gives him his daily security briefing in person at the white house. And now this reveals kind of why he has risen and why hes a trump favorite. He appears to be willing to do what the president asks him do. And this situation is created if hes going for secretary of state, any confirmation hearing will start with the question of why did you meet this person, is your loyalty to the president or to the oath you took to do the job . Meeting with someone whos denying claims that have been substantiated by all of our Law Enforcement agencies, it certainly will create a wrinkle in any future confirmation hearings, and it sheds light on why he has risen to be one of trumps favorites as well. Its never boring here. Matt miller, annie carney, jonathan swan, thank you so much as we thank you always for coming on. Terrific conversation. Coming up, did he really just promote his new jersey golf course in what had to be a first tonight before the Korean Assembly chamber . Thats when the 11th hour continues. 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. Today i hope i speak not only for our countries, but for all civilized nations when i say to the north, do not underestimate us. And do not try us. At the Korean National Assembly Speech tonight, President Trump, as you heard there, took a strong calculated stance against north korea staying on teleprompter to do it, speaking just miles from the dmz separating the north from the south, he had a warning for the leader of the north. Anyone who doubts the strength or determination of the United States should look to our past and you will doubt it no longer. We will not permit america or our allies to be blackmailed or attacked. We will not allow American Cities to be threatened with destruction. We will not be intimidated, and we will not let the worst atrocities in history be repeated here on this ground we fought and died so hard to secure. So that was the meat of the speech, calculated, written out, disciplined, and tough talk, make no mistake. Elsewhere in the speech, though, perhaps a surprise to many in the audience in south korea, a mention of his golf facility in north jersey. The womens u. S. Open was held this year at Trump National golf club in bedminster, new jersey, and it just happened to be won by a great korean golfer. All righty then, lets bring back in our panelists, Philip Rucker, kimberley atkins, and peter baker back with us. Peter, i dont have a question except what did you make of what we witnessed tonight . Anywhere he gets a chance to talk about the golf clubs hes going to do that. Hes shown that in the most unlikely of settings. What was interesting about the speech, it was meant to be tough, it was meant to send a signal, but it was not full of the fire and brimstone weve heard from the president in past weeks on this. He did not use the phrase fire and fury he used in august. He did not call kim jong un little rocket man has did he in september, he didnt threaten to wipe the nation off the face of the earth. In fact earlier in the day he said, you know, come to the table and make a deal just a few weeks after he told his own secretary of state publicly that negotiating was a waste of time. So were seeing something of a mixed message to say the least. Is he, in fact, puffing his chest in order to foreshadow a potential military confrontation or is he opening the door to a genuine negotiating solution . We cant really tell, and i think thats what sort of leaves the situation so uncertain and unsettled for many allies in the region. Phil, who do you reckon has their hands and whats the traveling Foreign Policy shop . Is it kind of a committee as it has been in so many other administrations . We are seeing differences in these remarks from day to day. Thats right. But the speech that he delivered, the formal speech that he delivered a couple hours ago is very much in keeping with what the Top National Security advisers had previewed back in washington before they departed on the trip. And trumps top aides are with him on this trip, including general kelly, the chief of staff, and general mcmaster the National Security adviser. But the other thing that stuck out to me in this speech was he painted a picture of what life in north korea is like under this regime. He described it as hell. He talked about a murderous regime. And very dark terms. And then he painted a picture of south korea, talking about south koreas economy thats been booming for decades, about the political independence there. He even praised scientists and authors and writers and talked about the olympics and really tried to draw a comparison out as he really tries to build support around the world to join this coalition against north korea. Yeah, phil, to one of your points, i was struck by how clinical and graphic this speech got at one point. Very much so. Very dark, wondering where how that was injected into this speech. Its not the kind of thing you wanted children in the room to hear. Its not, but weve seen this before in some of President Trumps speeches, including his inaugural address when he talked about american carnage. He likes this sort of graphic imagery. He spoke this way on the campaign trail a lot. He describes terrorists as animals. I mean, he likes to come up with really sort of visceral terminology when hes making his points. Kimberly, you have to admit yesterdays theme from him was kind of lets make a deal. Even in japan he was saying we can work something out. It was a little bit of outreach. Today tonight we are back to something closer to fire and fury. I think thats right. Weve heard the president say many times that he doesnt want his enemies to know what hes thinking and he likes the element of surprise and unpredictability. So were certainly seeing that play out in these very different these very different words, very different approaches that weve seen in a matter of 24 hours. I mean, while hes still has not gone all the way to calling, you know, calling kim jongun pejorative names, it was a lot stronger, a lot more resolute that you put these you stop this Nuclear Program or its going to end very badly for you. And being really strong and resolute. So i think its a way to keep the enemy guessing. Peter, i got something to show you. Its tomorrow in south korea so for the president , tomorrow its already the anniversary of his great election victory. And no matter where he is in the world, hes always capable of retelling and relitigating his great election victory. Here is a collection of what he had to say about that today on the other side of the world. Almost 2 million jobs have been added since a very, very special day, its called election day, november 8th. 2 million jobs. Numbers are phenomenal over the last since november 8th election day. I appreciate very much your acknowledging and stating the fact that the United States economy has done so well since our election on november 8th. So its november and he said to me, congratulations on your victory, it was a great victory. It is interesting that it is one year as of tomorrow that we had our election victory and it was a great victory and a victory that made a lot of people very happy. And trade is something that we always talk. Its one of my favorite subjects, i guess its one of the reasons that i had that great successful victory last year at this time. And since my election, exactly one year ago today, i celebrate with you. So that was a compendium since hes been on the asian trip of his mentions, i dont know if you heard, the great election victory, this is the guy that said to the boy scouts they told me there was no path to victory. This is just going to be his thing i guess more and more so because of the threat to his election victory that goes on every day in washington, d. C. Yeah, thats exactly right. Brian, do you remember by the way that todays the anniversary of the election . Dont forget. I was going to remind. You this is the one thing he holds on to as sort of a moment of great triumph, right he overcame the odds. Nobody expected him to win, including donald trump, so he holds on to that because every day since then has been full of turmoil and trouble. Its true the economys doing well, its on the same path it was on when he inherit today with the exception of the stock market which has gone up more substantially since he was elected. Unemployment, job growth, these are more or less on the same track that he had inherited when he came in. So the truth is that he is still struggling to find things to hold on to that can count as victories. He didnt get one tonight in virginia in the offyear governors election. He hasnt got a big one on capitol hill. We dont know that hell get one on taxes. So the one thing he hangs on to, the one thing he can point to again and again is the election. As you point out because this investigation into russian meddling, even that election is called into question. So he brings it back up again in order to dispute the idea that there was anything unvarnished about it because he thinks thats trying to delegitimize his presidency. Our panelists will stand by with us. Well keep the conversation going. Another break for us. When we come back, what just happened in the commonwealth of virginia tonight. Voters have spoken there and in some other big races. Our own Steve Kornacki speaks voter. He will join us at the big board for more of that when we come right back. We are back as advertised. Steve kornacki is back at the board after a big night for the democrats. The questions is if youre looking over the map as the head of the party, where do they go from here . That is the question, can you roll this into something bigger. Obviously democrats needed a moral victory, they needed to get something on the board. What about 2018 . What about trying to get back control of the house of representatives . And thats where i think some of the results we saw tonight might be significant. Densely populated suburbs. These are places that did not go for donald trump at all last year. You saw extremely high motivation, very high turn out here. Even worse margins against the republicans. Basically voters here who didnt already like trump, they decided to attach trump to every republican. And that meant ed gillaspie. And that met him losing the Election Year in these counties. Coming into tonight, the marjen in the house of delegates, the state legislator, it was 66 for the republicans. It was 34 for the democrats. But because of this wave especially up here, so many of these districts are up here in these suburbs because of this wave, the size of this democratic wave. Right now as of this moment democrats have won at least 13 of those republican held seats. They lead in two others. They are in striking distance in excuse me, three others. They are in striking distance of three others, and they could get in control of the house of delegates because of this wave and the implications of 2018. Look, if you get the same dynamic of the house of delegates there, if you get the same dynamic, think ability nationally, thats what democrats want to do in the suburban wave next year. Wow, when you put if that way, people were saying they were going to use it as a bit of a house preview for 2018. Steve kornacki, thank you for chronicling all of at the big board. Our longsuffering Panel Members remain with us. Peter, you could form a theory that dona brazil is the luckiest woman in the United States tonight. Her new book of what just happens, speaking of relitigating the election, which has made so many people so angry with her will probably get overshadowed by this victory. And those are in the dnc can talk about good things Going Forward . Youre right about that. The democrats are looking for a unifying event to hold onto, the dona brazil thing just threw them from a loop. They were angry, upset, relitigating a year ago rather than looking forward. This gives them a chance to put that behind them and look at whats going on for 2018. I lived in richmond, virginia for a few years, and thats a really republican area. Northam beat gillaspie in one of the most republican counties in the country. Clearly switching pretty solidly to blue not just in this election but the last few. So were seeing two things here. One is the change of virginia from a competitive purple state increasingly to the blue common of the regular thing. And secondly, this backlash towards President Trump or at least trumpism as gillaspie sought to project it. Whether this means anything Going Forward again, very open question. Phil rucker, in 30 seconds or less, do expect more republicans in the house decide this will be a great time to spend more time with their families . Potentially i think what a lot of republicans in the house are going to have to decide to continue to support donald trump in every way or find a way to break with him and show some independence. Well have to see how much the republicans in the house can twurk themselves over the next year before these midterms. Kimberley, same to you. Legislative outcome between now and the end of the year. Whats the chance, an actual chance a bill will arrive on the president s desk, saying anything he will sign . I think it gets tougher tonight because of the cor tgzs republicans will start twisting themselves into and the fear of what comes in the midterms if they pass something the voters will ultimately reject. I think tonight it became a little harder for President Trumps agenda to move forward. You guys have been great. Thank you so much for staying around with us on this election night, 2017. Another break. Were back with some good news out of todays news right after this. Why did you take Credit Card Debt on . Second kid. Private school. Medical bills. Moving costs. Solid ground. A personal loan from sofi is a smart way to consolidate Credit Card Debt. Certain borrowers cut their credit card Interest Rates 42 and increased Credit Scores 17 points on average. Borrow up to 100,000 with low rates and no hidden fees. Find your rate in just two minutes, and take on your debt at sofi. Com. Last thing before we go here tonight. Weve been looking for the good news to pass along. And there it was as if on cue. The headline, humans will one day live forever and only die in accidents, claim scientists who believes blood transfusions can keep people perpetually youthful. So weve got that going for us. And it sounds like weve just got to take it real easy and live carefully and then were home free. Ever lasting life promised by so many of the worlds ridges and yet so far mathematically imp possible among us mortals here on earth. Its the holy grail as you might imagine to so many scientists. And biomedical gerontologist, the aging expert quoted in the article seems to indicate blad plasma may play a big role. And when disease and age can be stopped in their tracks and then frsed to march backwards, we just have to really drive carefully. By then of course amazon and google will be driving while we sit inert in the back seat while apple music plays something it sure thought we liked. And while a near zero death rate raises issues like housing and natural resources, were confident Silicon Valley to come up with a work around match by this weekend. For all of us that must achieve death and commute home in new york city, that is our broadcast. Good night from new york. Trump thumped. Lets play hardball. Im chris matthews. Its midnight in washington on a huge night for the resistance. Democrats in virginia and new jersey won massive victories and sent a clear and unmistakable message nationally. A message nationally. Rejection of donald trump. Ralph northam bounded ahead to defeat ed gillespie, run a trumpian campaign, focused on crime, illegal immigration and confederate monuments. Democrats won all statewide offices. Trump banked gillespie but tonight sent a dear john letter, all the way from seoul. Not own that distance was enough for him. Ed gillespie worked hard but did not embrace me or what i stand or. Tonight the democrats got the morale boost and trump and his party have plenty to worry about