Chris Matthews debates hot political issues with politicians, newsmakers and Washington leaders. >> the fact that trump has prior knowledge of the meeting aligns other. at the same time his son was scheduling that meeting, just two days before the meeting itself, trump promised in his speech that he would soon reveal something big about hillary clinton. here he goes. >> i am going to give a major speech on probably monday of next week and we're going to be discussing all of the things that are taking place with the clintons. you are going to find it very informative and very interesting. >> there was a big tease. additionally as donald trump jr. was planning the meeting, he had two phone conversations with somebody with a blocked number. we know from other witness testimony that trump senior has blocked phone lines in his primary residence. trump thought he was getting juicy dirt on hillary clinton and the fact that he may have been working with his son. >> a lot of people are saying, we need corroboration from michael cohen. i think he has corroborated what we already know. i look at this evidence as a career federal prosecutor. and the first thing i thought of when i saw the e-mail string, when you have don jr. receiving e-mail information that says russia wants your father elected. the russian government is in your father's corner and they are ready to provide you with dirt. human nature would tell us that he would have run to his father's office. pop, pop, russia wants you to win. human nature tells us he had to do that if he didn't know that russia was already in pop's corner. if he doesn't do that, what can we infer from that that he already knew that russia was in pop's corner. and this is just another day at camp collusion. either way you cut it, it is bad for don junior and for the president. >> rudy giuliani was saying this about michael cohen. >> he doesn't have any incriminating evidence about the president or himself. >> that was wrong and that was in may. but now that cohen is willing to say that the president knew about the meeting, giuliani's tune has changed. >> he has been lying all week. he has been lying for years. nobody that i know that knows him that hasn't warned me that if his back is against the wall, he will lie like crazy. former agent in the room. this thing is barely below he is -- espionage. he may have the date that trump told him of what was going on and maybe even knows. who knows at this point. but all we know is this. trump had to have known. there is no way. you know, his son is not like general dreedle's son in catch 22. pop, i don't know what is going on. >> michael cohen is drawing a straight line between the president and potential collusion with russia. new report is connecting more closely to the kremlin. informant to the top official. tied to the agency of the russian state quote scores of e-mails and transcripts and legal documents paint a portrait of natalia as a well connected attorney who served as a ghost writer. >> i want to go back to eugene. the people around president trump who support him politically, will support a shooting on fifth avenue at this point. what more evidence are you going to get. they are going to say russia is more our friend than the deep state. >> there was collusion in plain sight that we have been talking about. don't forget the cover up, the obstruction of justice. trump drafting the false statement about that meeting on the plane. >> which he said he didn't. >> which he said he didn't but of course he did. and he had been, i believe they have been laying the groundwork for, no, collusion, no problem. it was fine. it was worth it because we kept hillary clinton from becoming president. however, there is that conspiracy against the united states thing. >> i think they knew they did something wrong and because they acted like, maybe they read something called the logan act or something. not supposed to be negotiating foreign policy. >> sent sean spicer and other officials saying he didn't talk about sanctions and then it turns out that they did talk about sanctions. the same thing about the statement, then the story changes. looking at the defense, obviously discrediting the witness. protect trump. he didn't know about it. i didn't know about it. maybe something going on down here, but i didn't know it. >> he can't throw his son under the bus though, and son-in-law. manafort is already is under the bus. >> vanity fair reports that -- as an attack on him. if anything he appears embolden by the escalating confrontation to trump. spoken about a treasure trove. this is something, a treasure trove of information that he says he could unleash against the president. there is a lot more to come. there are three more cases. we are hearing all of this stuff. there is always more here. >> i think this is going to be something of an indictment palooza when it is all said and done. the open questions that remain, are, what form does bob mueller's action take moving forward. is it going to be a report to congress, a series of indictment, and if it is, does it name the president as an indicted co-conspirator, an unindicted co-conspirator, that makes -- >> can he indict family members, top aides to the point that everybody in the public realizes this isn't bridge freelancing. to the point where the president, he is just burned up by it. >> bob mueller can and will indict everybody that the evidence supports indicting. he is driven by one thing, a rule of law. i learned how to be a federal prosecutor by him. he is governed by the rule of law and the rule of law alone. he sees this evidence of criminality and he is going to do the right thing. >> the titanic has hit the iceberg. more time for you next time nance. the summit is off, it is on. and i don't get. this is he completely in charge of the president? if you are wondering who is in charge of us from protecting from meddling. keep wondering. latest report. looks like the dems are going to get the house. and the "hardball" roundtable how michael cohen went from fixer to state witness. and how the boss is reacting behind the scenes. let me finish with trump with a much and this is "hardball" where the action is. 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start with putin. why do he want to be in the embrace or company of our president? >> clear that when he sits down with the president, he gives him his talking points. when they stand together otherwise, it is trump saying the russian talking points. scripting trump on montenegro. on the u.s. exercises with nato. and it is disturbing when the president stands next to putin, he doesn't seem to remember what the american national security priorities are. >> that is a good point, why would they take this side of the argument, well suppose little montenegro which is nowhere near the russian border, couldn't exercise or respond to article five which we go to the rescue of any member of nato. why would he take a wacko argument. why would he do this? it is a rhetorical question. he seems to be working for the russians. your thoughts. >> we don't have proof of that. but i know of no rational explanation. trump is a guy who is willing to get into fights with canada. he wants to be tough with other countries. tough on trade. a lot of supporters are glad about that. but why wouldn't he be tough with russia. unless you take into the candidate that he is in theory, with vladimir putin. >> well, russia is not a great power. i know they are meeting in johannesburg with other meeting powers. and why do we treat them as equal. not as equal. trump treats them as the other great super power. that is out of date. >> after reagan, and after the fall of the cold war, russia deteriorated with power. they wouldn't qualify being in the g8. >> 19 months into his presidency, no coherent trump administration strategy to combat foreign election interference. today president trump. late tate the white house released a statement. he was tolerating. he won't admit it happened. >> i have talked to a lot of current foreign officials. i can't find anybody who has seen this strategy. and they are pretty sure it doesn't exist. even own cabinet officials are saying, look, they are trying to do things that they can do. to combat foreign election period. but they need a whole of government strategy, presidential leadership that would unite. some of these problems are really hard. russian interference on twitter and facebook, first amendment issue there. the only prayer we have solving it is through presidential leadership and we are not seeing any of that from donald trump right now. >> comes just days after he tweeted he was quote very concerned that russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the up coming election. based on the fact that no president has been tougher than me. according to forensic analysis, russia hackers have targeted senator claire mccaskill. hackers went after her last august. let's listen. >> we must lower our taxes. and your senator, claire mccaskill. she must do it for you. and if she doesn't do it for you, you have to vote her out of office. >> confirmed the daily beast reported while this attack was not successful, it is outrageous that they will get away with this. putin is a thug and a bully. putin and trump are double teaming claire mccaskill. it looks like that. >> whether or not the president is aware what the russians are doing, it is coincidental. that at the exact same time then the russians start attacking. >> who is the monkey and the string and who is the guy with the organ grinder. >> thank you. up next, 100 days out from the midterms now. the tea leaves are looking good for the democrats. are those predictions overestimating the public's concern with russia. this is "hardball." the democrats are taking the house. and going to pick up at least 30 seats. i have said it before. -we're in a small room. what?! -welcome. -[ gasps ] a bigger room?! -how many of you use car insurance? -oh. -well, what if i showed you this? -[ laughing ] ho-ho-ho! -wow. -it's a computer. -we compare rates to help you get the price and coverage that's right for you. -that's amazing! the only thing that would make this better is if my mom were here. what?! an unexpected ending! the kayak explore tool shows you the places you can fly on your budget. so you can be confident you're getting the most bang for your buck. alo-ha. kayak. search one and done. i've been making blades here at gillette for 20 years. i bet i'm the first blade maker you've ever met. there's a lot of innovation that goes into making our thinnest longest lasting blades on the market. precision machinery and high-quality materials from around the world. nobody else even comes close. it's about delivering a more comfortable shave every time. invented in boston, made and sold around the world. order now at gilletteondemand.com. gillette. the best a man can get. republicans are in store for something like a shellacking. what tells you of all of the leading indicators, that it looks like the dems will grab the house. >> two ways of looking at it. the macro and the micro. and the macro is looking at ballot test. and the other is the micro approach. and right now, democrats need a 23 net seats to gain a majority. there are 34 republican seats that are toss up or worse. this is, i mean, republican majority has been in danger for well over a year. and it's pretty serious. i have been saying maybe a 65% chance maybe of democrats getting the majority. now, it is closer to 70%. democrats look in line to pick up between 20 and 35 seats. the odds of hitting 23 are high. >> how many people in the democrat versus republican side are anxious to get into that voting booth? >> that is one of the findings in the "wall street journal" poll, something like 63% of democrats on a scale of one to ten rated themselves as tens of interest. and 48% of republicans. fox news asked are you less than enthusiastic or less than normal and they showed a democratic interest. it is flashing, remember lost in space, danger will robinson. it is flashing danger for republicans. >> didn't want to face it, just get out of the business. >> a lot of times if you have a choice, do i want to have to raise, and beg a lot of money and go through an ugly campaign and maybe i win, maybe i lose. or, hey, i could just bail out now. a lot of people choose the exits. and a lot of them are due for it anyway. but, you know, a disproportionate number of retirements is a leading indicator of a party having a bad year. >> i get a sense this is going to be a blue wave and also red wave in the conservative states. and tester, and certainly donnelly in indiana. and mccaskill in missouri. where in the eastern suburbs a blue wave in philadelphia for example. >> it is as though the house and the senate are being fought in different countries. the house and competitive races are in the suburbs and start in new jersey and eastern pennsylvania and go out to california. the senate, it is small time rural america. we could see three quarters of a billion dollars spent on the u.s. senate. meanwhile republicans could be losing their majority in the house. >> during his interview with sean hannity, president trump previewed his plans for the midterm election. let's listen. >> the economy is the strongest ever. and i am going to work very hard, i will go six or seven-days a week when we are 60 days out. and i will be campaigning for all of these great people that do have a difficult race. and we think we are going to bring them over the line. so i believe that because we are doing so well as a country and so well with the economy, i think we are going to be surprising a lot of people. >> do you think the president expresses knowledge there, i know, as you just said, he can help in places like montana, indiana, he could help in the red states. but any help in the pennsylvania suburbs? i wonder if he should stay the heck out of there. >> if i were him, i would keep the president out of competitive suburban districts. he could do republicans good in deeply red states. states that trump carried by 19 points there. he could do a lot of good there. and he could do a lot of harm in in some of these suburban districts where his numbers are awful. if i could just caution, the republican problems in the house preceded the russian investigation. this is not being driven by russia. and there is a danger of people hyperventilating. i think the russian investigation, the mueller investigation is serious stuff and should be pursued. but the recent msnbc "wall street journal" poll, 46% think the investigation should be continues and 38% think it should be ended. and 16% have no opinion. the democratic base, and people who watch a lot of cable are exercised about this. i have been in 18 states so far this year. you get outside of the beltway and outside of the democratic base, and people who watch a lot of cable, they are not talking about russia. >> i have been through watergate and you have too. i think the investigative reporters, the good reporters of the major newspapers and the serious political figures and most importantly investigators decide what history is going to be made. thank you. i agree with you about the politics. up next, breaking up is hard to do. especially when you are talking about a business mogul and his fixer. on the outs right now and that is putting trump in an uncomfortable position. watching "hardball." and told... 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(harmonica interrupts) everytime. geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. alright guys let's go! let's do this directions to the greek theater (beep) ♪can i get a connection? ♪can i get can i get a connection?♪ ♪can i get a connection? and between, president has been very clear on that. >> welcome back to "hardball." that was jay sekulow a year ago discussing when the president learned about the infamous 2016 trump tower meeting with the russians. michael cohen has indicated that donald trump did tell his father about the meeting at the time. contradicting what the team has been telling the american public. let's bring in. no collusion, no collusion, but yes, collusion. >> well, when you look at this, and you see this kind of falling out with michael cohen between president trump and this is the damage that could happen with president trump. right now, you are talking about michael cohen saying he heard this. or that he has knowledge of this and that other people do. and that is going to raise more questions and even if there could be legal implications obviously, but even beyond that, this idea that did the president tell these bold lies that he didn't know about this and then come out with evidence that he did know. i think that would be a big deal even for this president. >> i got some good stuff on hillary coming up. and all of these phone calls back and forth on these unidentified phone calls with his son and the common sense tells you all three people in the trump lead, the chairman of the party, chairman of the campaign and his son and son-in-law. all came in as if the president didn't have anything to do with it. >> it is inconceivable that donald trump jr. didn't take the russians up to see his father or even tell him about the meeting. and the media has caught the president and his staff in a series of lies as you point out, whether the president was aware of the meeting or whether he had any roll in crafting the public statement and he says he didn't and then he does. this is a president where fact checkers have been cataloging his lies for the duration of his term and they are in the thousands. i don't think they are going to take what he has to say, and they are going to look at the evidence. we are trying to figure out who is the bigger liar, michael cohen or president trump. and that is a tough game to play. for years, cohen lied at trump's behest. and we see the president make false statements ever single day. it is tricky for prosecutors. >> or it turns out that john dean in water gate everything that he says in his memory shows up on the tape. all of these women he got rid of, he knows everything about trump. trump must be dying with this person out there. >> i would go with trump as being the better liar, the more consistent liar, if he breathes, he lies. and mueller is not going to just have to rely on michael cohen. michael cohen could be just a corroborating in this meeting. junior is not calling meetings without telling pop. >> no way that michael cohen can lie because he is a state witness. if he gets caught lying, he is finished. he goes to jail for 20 years. not long ago that president trump only had positive things to say about michael cohen. >> i have also liked michael. >> he is a talented lawyer. >> i mean, they got him on one of the other. how do they do this? >> they can't go with that one. >> the president probably doesn't feel the same way today. look at the president's tweets. at one point, at no point by the way does he directly reference michael cohen by name. according to the daily beast, trump will often stop using people's names if he is convinced they are turn coats or if he suddenly finds them -- they're dead to each other. this is god father. >> there is a thin line between love and hate and it seems like they have crossed over. but president trump is known for falling out with people. but in this case, there could be repercussions. and what does michael cohen know. and even if he feels like i don't want to say his name. he doesn't have to say his name. >> in that first video, to me, it is a divorce reference where we are breaking up, but we have the greatest respect for each other and give us our privacy and later, it is through rudy giuliani one of the biggest liars in the world. but michael cohen -- >> first of all, they are going to divide the books. >> michael cohen is in that no-man's land no. where he lost donald trump. he is never getting a pardon. and he has not yet gotten mueller. >> you never know who you are going to run into waiting for a plane at the airport. take a look at this photo showing special counsel mueller. what do you make of that? this is d.c. >> this is still a small town. everybody knows the pain of 35 x at reagan. and you saw that picture. and you wanted to know. it doesn't seem like either was aware. >> spotlighted it here. there is donald trump with the baseball cap and there is robert mueller. >> in the tip o'neill days, it was a small town where people treated each other with more civility because they might run into each other at dinner or at the airport. >> maybe not prosecutors and defendants. what about him? let's do it. ♪ come on. this summer, add a new member to the family. at the mercedes-benz summer event. lease the glc300 for $429 a month at your local mercedes-benz dealer. mercedes-benz. the best or nothing. who would have guessed? an energy company helping cars emit less. making cars lighter, it's a good place to start, advanced oils for those hard-working parts. fuels that go further so drivers pump less. improving efficiency is what we do best. energy lives here. one day after the court ordered deadline, the court said all eligible migrant children in i.c.e. custody have now been reunited with their parents. that's more than 1800 children back with their parents tonight after being separated under trump's zero tolerance policy. about a thousand of those families now face immediate deportation. the judge praised the government for getting these families back together. he urges the agency to make sure this never happens again. that is his phrase. we'll be right back. what if our car... could stop itself? in iihs front-end crash prevention testing, nobody beats the subaru impreza. not toyota. not honda. not ford. the subaru impreza. more than a car, it's a subaru. and help you feel more strength & energy in just 2 weeks. i'll take that. ensure high protein, with 16 grams of protein and 4 grams of sugar. ensure® we are back with the "hardball" round table. tell me something i don't know. you have time. >> you mentioned the npr poll that came out. digging down into that. everybody is looking for supporter opposition to roe v. wade because of the supreme court fight. what we found in the poll is the group most supportive of overturning roe v. wade is actually republican women more so than republican men. 43% of republican women want roe versus wade overturned. that's more than any other group. and only about 30% of republican men actually want it overturned. >> wow. mart? >> so chris, being a summer intern sometimes sets you on your career path in government. but if you look around, most of the interns particularly on capitol hill are from white and wealthy families. because they don't get paid. republicans pay a little bit more than democrats >> we pay our interns here. >> good for you. >> that's the deal here. >> most people in psychic income. you are going to make a world a better place. >> resume material. >> yes. lining your resume. but this week, the democratic congressional campaign committee decided to pay a stipend to interns. which means that now they can have interns that look more like america. a few more working class kids getting a leg up on a career of government. >> that is only a few. >> or politics. >> that's only a few. but -- >> i used to be working there. eli? >> this week with michael cohen in the news. i spend a lot of time talking to people in new york. trump or organization, people in the trump campaign. and i was reminded by one of them of why it is that michael cohen did not wind up going to washington with president trump and joining the administration. the person who was the most opposed to it and in the president elect ear at the time saying you can't give him a job was jared kushner the son-in-law. and people who want to talk about his political instincts, but now, given the estrangement, given the legal consequences and the fact that this is the same guy who greased the skids for trump to get rid of comey when they wered a bez minister the week before that was announced, a lot of people saying this is jared kushner and few strikes in terms. >> you made the wrong enemy. when we return, let me finish tonight with trump watch. you are watching "hardball." alright guys let's go! let's do this directions to the greek theater (beep) ♪can i get a connection? ♪can i get can i get a connection?♪ ♪can i get a connection? -we're in a small room. what?! -welcome. -[ gasps ] a bigger room?! -how many of you use car insurance? -oh. -well, what if i showed you this? -[ laughing ] ho-ho-ho! -wow. -it's a computer. -we compare rates to help you get the price and coverage that's right for you. -that's amazing! the only thing that would make this better is if my mom were here. what?! an unexpected ending! is if my mom were here. that's confident. but it's not kayak confident. kayak searches hundreds of travel and airline sites to find the best flight for me. so i'm more than confident. how's your family? kayak. search one and done. alright guys let's go! let's do this directions to the greek theater (beep) ♪can i get a connection? ♪can i get can i get a connection?♪ ♪can i get a connection? trump watch friday july 27, 2018. what trump calls a witch hunt has now caught a witch. list lawyer's account that a candidate for president knew that his son was about to seek dirt on his rivals in russia is now killer evidence against the man who now sits in office. consider the corruption this uncovers. shows donald trump more than willing to collude with a person offering herself as a kremlin at to provide negative information on hillary clinton. it shows trump doing what he has denied relentlessly. showing covering up this grey matter for months. it surrounds a larger question, why have the trumps been so ready to meet with russians upon request.