Thought, the famous verizon ad. Can you hear me now . Good. Can you hear me now . Thats where we land. Cell Service Needs to fall back. If people are using that trick to get off the phone with the president , that is amazing. Works. Liz, thanks for being on the show. This other guy, thank you for being on the show. Thats our show sp. Have a great thanksgiving friday. At 6 00 p. M. , we have our speci special, russia on trial, check that out. And hardball starts now. Trump stands alone. Lets play hardball. Good evening, im Chris Matthews up in boston. For weeks, republicans is have distanced themselves from roy moore. Theyve pulled endorsements and urged him to drop out. And many have said they believe his accusers. Lets watch. Do you believe these allegations to be true . Youre talking about he said 40 years ago, this did not happen. So, you know. And i do have to say, 40 years is a long time. Hes run eight races and this has never come up. So 40 years is a long time. Well, both new york tabloids ran with the same headline today in response to that performance. And politico reports the president has vents about moores accusers for days, expressing skepticism about their account. Quote, during animated conversations with Senior Republicans and white house aides, the president said he doubted the stories presented by moores accusers and questioned why they were emerging now, just weeks before the election. According to two white house advisers and two other people familiar with the talks. The white house advisers said the president Drew Parallels between moores predicament and the one he faced just over a year ago. Nine women have made accusations against moore, most of whom were in their teens when the incidents occurred, though they vary by age and by circumstances. Some say moore just pursued them
for dates. Others say he assaulted them. Moore has denied them all. Here are a few of those women in their own words. My mother went first, and then when i got up and went out, he grabbed my behind. Just, hard. He grabbed it so hard that it was almost like fondling. Like, it was such a hard like a i could even feel the dents of his fingers. Mr. Moore reached open and began groping me, him putting his hands on my breasts. I tried fighting him off while yelling at him to stop. But instead of stepping, he began grabbing my neck, attempting to force my head on to his crotch. He removed my clothing, he left the room and came back in wearing his white underwear. And he touched me over my clothing, what was left of it. And he, um, tried to get me to
touch him as well. But i was a 14yearold child trying to play in an adults world and he was 32 years old. For more, im joined by National Post reporter, robert costa, Yamiche Alcindor and peter baker, all msnbc contributors. Lets go in that order. Robert, i always count on you to give me a sense of trump, the man. Why is trump the man defending roy moore, the man . This person . Its pure politics, chris. When you listen to insiders in the wlohite house, they say the have to get this tax bill through. And the president is haunted by these accusations he faced los angeles yelast year. So he doesnt want to wade into this National Debate about Sexual Harassment, even though he knows that these women are making pretty credible accusations. So the white house feels politically boxed in and the president has chosen to make a political decision that puts him
at odds with his own party and the congressional leadership. Well, do you figure out based on the timing of this, if roy moore can win this fight, this special election, when would he take office . He would take office very soon after december 12th. So he might be a voter on the tax bill . He would. And thats the explanation coming from some white house officials. But there is a real divide in the course of my reporting, when i talk to Senate Republican sources and House Republican sources. They say they dont want judge moore on capitol hill, because even if he would be a vote for taxes next year, they say longterm, hes a burden for the party in the 2018 midterms. Let me go to yamiche on this. Ive been thinking about this for the last couple of seconds, which is the poll numbers on the u. S. Congress dreadful. Because when they have an image of it, they have the leadership in mind. Thats bad enough. If they have roy moore in mind, it will sink them even further. I think it will sink them even further, but this political calculation that President Trump is making is one that is in some
ways questionable, because when you have someone like Mitch Mcconnell saying, not only, i think, saying, yes, i believe the women, and i dont want roy moore here, even before all of these allegations, Mitch Mcconnell was going to have a really, really hard time Convincingry Moore to vote for any bill for the good of the party. Now, whether or not he would vote for tax reform is one thing, but longterm, when republicans have to put together other things Like Health Care or infrastructure bills, roy moore is not going to be somebodys vote youll be able to whip by telling him you have to do whats best for the republican party. So i think theres something going on there. But i as agree with robert that President Trump is haunted by the own allegations he has made in recent days. There have been stories asking, what about the women who said President Trump was sexually inappropriate to them . Will they have a second voice . So within the media and within the party and democrats, when youre interviewing them about roy moore, the question always goes back to President Trump and why he was able to send political success while still having all these other women
saying these things. Peter baker, let me broaden this for a moment before we go further on the details. It seems to me by defending roy moore, President Trump yields up, basically, forfeits any notion of being a moral arbitrator on any of these cases, including his predecessor, two or three before him, to bill clinton. That question came up thanks to kirsten gillibrand, the senator from new york. If he says roys okay, does he have any say in any other case . It seems to me he doesnt. Well, its been very striking, of course, his own daughter, ivanka trump, said theres a special place in hell for people who molest children. And she obviously was talking about roy moore at that time. Is he in fact being used by the Democrat Doug Jones in his campaign ads against roy moore. Her father taking a different position, basically saying, well, all you have is a he said she said and its 40 years ago and you have to listen to him as well as to the women. And youre right, its a selective case. He tweeted out against al franken, the senator from
minnesota. There was photographic evidence in that case. And what the white house would say is, look, al franken admitted what he did and therefore it was fair game for the president to talk about. But it does raise questions about when hes going to be a moral arbitrator, a leader of the country beyond a party figure. President trump called roy moores opponent, doug jones, soft on crime. Lets watch. I can tell you one thing for sure. We dont need a liberal person in there, a democrat, jones. Ive looked at his record. Its terrible on crime. Its terrible on the border, its terrible on the military. Ill tell you that we do not need somebody whos going to be bad on crime, bad on military, bad for the second amendment. Bad on crime . For the record, jones is a former federal prosecutor who won convictions against two ku klux klan members for the 1963 bombing of the Birmingham Church that killed four young black girls. Meanwhile, jones is making a
provocative argument against moore in a new web video his campaign released just today. Its pretty powerful. Lets watch. Leigh corfman, Beverly Young nelson, Debbie Wesson gibson, Gloria Thacker deeson, gena richardson, wendy miller, Kelly Harrison thorpe, and the list is growing. They were girls when roy moore immorally pursued them. Now they are women, witnesses to us all of his disturbing conduct. Will we make their abuser a u. S. Senator . Let me go back to robert costa. If again, the man for understanding the president personally. Do you think the president s squirming about this personally . And i know hes out there saying this is false testimony, its political, heldtimed for that. And you know hes argued that the timing is disturbing, but the charges in themselves seem very credible and they make this guy look like some character out of some horror movie. Do you think trump is bothered to be on his side . Those images, the statements of these women, its troubling, its emotional to see. Sexual harassment is a tragedy for women. At the same time, we heard from President Trump echoes the remarks of governor kay ivy of alabama, that theyre trying to celebrate the growing Referendum Idea in alabama, that doug jones and other democrats are pushing and trying to separate that idea of making this a referendum on roy moore and make it about republican policies and republican politics. And thats the test case here in alabama. Can the democrats score a win in the south by making this about politics and about the politics of peoples personal choices, not just how they vote when theyre on capitol hill. Yamiche, it seems like theyre trying to turn it into a british election, where you basically vote party no matter who the person is . Ill say that to someone who went to swing states in north
carolina, to ohio, right after the access Hollywood Tape came out, i talked to so Many Republican women who said, yes, i dont like the fact that the President Trump said this. I dont like the fact that then candidate trump was accused of being sexually inappropriate with women. But at the end of the day, i need republicans policies, im prolife, i believe in the tax reform that theyre going to have. I believe in the way they look at the world. And as a result, im going to go with the party. Because i know if i put Hillary Clinton in there, shes going to do democratic things that i dont agree with. So there are women who made that political calculation, and thats why President Trump won overwhelmingly white women, because they looked at the women that were accusing President Trump of Acting Inprotoly and said, you know, i feel bad for you, but im going to go with my party. So President Trump isnt doing anything thats atypical of republicans. Its how he got into office. Well, allies for roy moore have offered some truly bizarre defenses. Catch this. Weve saved this. On monday, pastor phillip bennam
offered perhaps the most ridiculous one yet. He said that moore dated younger girls for their purity. He also said that moore returned home in his 30s after serving in the military and going to law school and women his own age, moores own age, were already married, so therefore, lets watch. Many of the ladies that he possibly could have married were not available then. They were there are married. Maybe somewhere. So he looked in a different direction. And always with the parents of young ladies. By the way, the lady that hes married to now, miss kayla, is a younger woman. He did that because, you know, theres something about the purity of a young woman. And theres something about, something thats good, thats true, thats straight. Is it all right for a man whos 30 years old to date and court a young lady who is 14 years old
with their parents consent . Is it or is it not . No. Not at my house. No, its not. Not in the 80s. Well, peter, im going to give you that one. I dont know what to say. I mean, that pablam hes giving people is so i dont know what what is it . What is the word . Its a terrible idea, that somehow that this guy can go for sex, basically, with 14yearolds because the 25yearolds are all taken and then he said he did it with their parents consent. Why doesnt he come up with this list of young women who were in their early teens at that time that did get his parents consent. Hes nooacknowledging all the charges can but saying its okay because the guy was desperate. Hes not disputing the facts, unlike roy moore who said its not true. His defenders are saying, well, yeah, it could be true, and if its true, its okay, because its not predatory, even if
people today might look at it that way. Its an extraordinary rationalization. And the real question is whether that ise s res s res r s res res in alabama. I think Party Preferences tend to win out a lot of cases like this. Its not a choice between two republicans, its a choice between a republican and a democrat. And sometimes people will hold their nose and vote for someone they see as flawed because of the policies they care about. Im going to make a prediction right now. I predict that roy moore loses this race. I dont think alabama is going to put up with this stuff. Thank you, robert costa, Yamiche Alcindor, and peter baker. Coming up, the Russian Investigation and new information about an associate of Michael Flynn, general flynn now a subject of special Council Robert muellers investigation. More coming, getting deeper, in russia. This as mueller may be zeroing in on trumps soninlaw, Jared Kushner. He looks like the next one to fall. Thats ahead. Plus, how did trump spend
the day before thanksgiving . Well, youll see, tweeting of course, with another attack. This case again on the father of the Ucla Basketball Player and a vulgar retreat about Hillary Clinton, of course. And obama envy. President trump is taking every opportunity now to remind his base how much he wants to race a the accomplishments of his predecessor, even with regard to pardoning turkeys. And no opportunity is too small. Finally, let me finish tonight with a day no one will ever forget. This is hardball where the action is. In every town, across america. Small businesses show their love to you. With some friendly advice, a genuine smile and a warm welcome they make your town. Well, your town. Thats why American Express is proud to be the Founding Partner of Small Business saturday. A day where you get to return that love, because shopping small makes a big difference. So, this saturday get up, get out, and shop small. Fight Security Threats 60 times faster with ai that sees threats coming. The ibm cloud. The cloud for business. Yours. Well, in an interview earlier today with conservative radio host, hugh hewitt, Hillary Clinton spoke about how hard it was to have her message break through during the 2016 president ial election. Clinton blamed that difficulty in part on running against donald trump, who she called the first reality tv candidate. She also said that picking another running mate, Someone Other than tim kaine, would not have made a difference. Do you think you would have won with a different vice
president ial candidate . Oh, i dont think so. Im not sure that thats how it works anymore. But, you know, i think i bear the responsibility of for not succeeding. Well be right back. 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. Ancestrydna can pinpoint where your ancestors are from. And the paths they took to a new home. Could their journey inspire yours . Order your kit at ancestrydna. Com
suspected email also showed kian was with flynn at a meeting in september of 2016, with prorussian congressman, Dana Rohrabach rohrabacher, as msnbc previously reported. That meeting is under scrutiny by muellers team. Im joined now by the author of that report, Julia Ainsley of nbc muse and Jessica Woodruff is is reporter with the daily beast. So is this a gambinostyle ro rollup where theyll start with the most tesirnlgier figures. We saw with this rick gates and paul manafort. Rick gates was the Business Manager of paul manafort, his deputy, and bijan kian played a very spectacular role with Michael Flynn at the flynn intel group. He was arranging a lot of these meetings, the person out front
shaking hands and arranging for him to meet people like Dana Rohrabacher. So now this is a point where mueller has not only questioned kian for information about flynn, but hes focusing specifically on him aon bringin witnesses before the grand jury in coming weeks. It tells us that mueller is following this strategy where he sort of circles e