A majority of voters want a check on the president United States. 51 of voters say the next congress should be a check on trump. 42 say the next congress should do more to help trump. Democrats need 23 seats. There are 25 House Republicans in districts that donald trump lost in 2016. And eight of those 25 republicans have already given up and are not running for reelection. If democrats win control of the house, adam schiff would become chair of the house intelligence committee. Elijah cummings over the house. And the new york congressman jerry nadler would be the chair of the House Judiciary Committee where impeachment proceedings originate. How likely do you think it is that Robert Mueller will find donald trump committed crimes or impeachable offenses . 59 say it is likely Robert Mueller will find donald trump committed crimes or impeachable offenses. 34 say not at all. But impeachment is not the number one issue on voters minds. Voters named health care as their top issue in the midterm election. 51 of voters have a favorable view of obamacare, and the fox news poll asked voters about the United States moving to the most socialistic option for health care financing, medicare for all. And the poll found that more people favor medicare for all than oppose it. 46 favor medicare for all. 31 oppose it. 23 are undecided. Almost a third of republicans actually support medicare for all. But not a single republican member of Congress Supports it. Only one republican has flirted with medicare for all. Everybodys got to be covered. Universal health care. I am going to take care of everybody. I dont care if it costs me votes or not. The uninsured person. Right. Is going to be taken care of. How . I would make a deal with existing hospitals to take care of people. And you know what . This is probably who pays for it . The government is going to pay for it. Joining us now, president of the center for american progress. Professor jason johnson, msnbc contributor and david jolly, former Republican Congressman from florida. And when you look at these issues that are important to voters to discover, the Sleeping Giant in there is health care. Is something that its easy to be surprised by given that thats not where our News Coverage is every night. No. But obviously over the last couple of years and particularly over the last year and a half, voters have seen a rise in premiums. They, you know, even though it doesnt dominate the news every day, donald trump has tried and worked very hard to sabotage the Affordable Care act. Republicans voted to undo the individual mandate, which has actually increased the premiums. Most importantly in the races that are up in these congressional races, these republicans almost to a tee voted to gut the Affordable Care act, to deprive, you know, 20, 21, 23 million americans of health care. And those votes are going to haunt republicans this fall. And jason johnson, one of the Big Questions for democrats has been in the campaigns for congress, how much do they emphasize or how much do they avoid the subject of impeachment . Thats in a country where a huge majority believes that Robert Mueller will find that donald trump committed crimes or impeachable offenses. It is interesting lawrence, that the republican image of the democrat running this fall is saying were going to impeach donald trump and grind washington to a fault, force your kids into gay marriage. Thats the democrat theyre running against. Thats not how democrats are running. Theyre running on health care, checks and balances on the government, cleaning up corruption. Impeachment, thats a longterm goal. Thats after you have already made the playoffs. Thats after democrats retake the house by maybe 30 or 40 seats and then possible retake the senate. I think impeachment is way, way down the road. Democrats are very smart to not be running on impeachment unless it works in your particular district. Democrats are keeping these locally based campaigns on the issues that really matter to people. David jolly, another part of this poll indicating it is all about trump. Quinnipiac poll question, is it important that a house candidate shares your view of trump . 58 yes. 39 no. And its 66 of republicans say yes. 63 of democrats say yes. Thats basically same within the margin of error. So that certainly tells you that donald trump is an issue. Donald trump is the number one issue. And as much as we like to have debates over policy issues and we should, if you look at just the republican primaries and special elections, we know among republican voters, the singular issue is the cult of personality that is donald trump. For democrats there is a lot of currency in suggesting that we oppose donald trump, his leadership and what he stands for. I want to go to jasons comment a little bit. I think its been smart to talk about corruption and releasing a list of items they would investigate. But i think democrats have to be careful not to be too cute by half here. We do have a president who confessed to participating in an action that a federal judge entered into a judgment as a crime in the Michael Cohen case. And it is important that democrats at least recognize that and be willing to talk about how they might approach impeachment in january should they take control. Will democrats focus on corruption or open an investigation into whether this rises to the level of impeachment. We cant ignore the impeachment conversation altogether. To davids point, the impeachment question changed in federal court when Michael Cohen not only pleaded guilty, but he described his conduct in that courtroom, as did the prosecutor, and they included, they both included donald trump as a coconspireing criminal in that very same action that Michael Cohen was describing, about paying off these women during the campaign to affect the result of the election. It seems very difficult to try to steer away from what do we do about the president of the United States being accused of a crime when youre running for president after that happened. Yeah. No. I think david is 100 right. Look, we do have situation where the president of the United States is essentially an unindicted coconspirator as determined by a judge. That is very serious. I think the Mueller Investigation is very serious. Look, i think candidates should be really honest about this. But the point is, impeachment is at the end of the process of investigation. Robert mueller has not issued his report. I think people should say, i think candidates should be honest and frank and say we have to go where the law and facts are. The fact of the matter, though, is that we have evidence already in front of our eyes of corruption not only by the Trump Administration but by several members of congress, several republican members of congress and there is no investigation of that. There is no investigation. The Republican Congress is not lifting a finger to hold anyone in their party accountable. And that is number one the number one thing that has to change. So obviously democrats should hold the president accountable. They should members of congress accountable. And if Robert Mueller reports indictable offenses, they should definitely take up those proceedings. Jason, a couple of months ago it was clear that the republicans believed that if they accused the democrats of wants impeachment, thats good for the republicans in the midterms. It is no longer clear to me that that is good and for the republicans in the midterms, if it ever was, but theyre not doing it. Theyre not really out there actively accusing the democrats constantly of being for impeachment. Theyre not sending activists into Democrats Campaign events and saying, you know, raising the issue of impeachment as an embarrassing thing for the democrat. I dont see republicans any longer running with confidence that impeachment works for them and not for the democrats. Yeah. Its hard to say im running in favor of a corrupt president that pays off prostitutes and insults women. It doesnt work for the republicans, just like their tax plan didnt work out the way they thought it was going to work out. This is sort of also the larger issue here. Every Single Campaign is a slick, dynamic experience, right . The candidate has to be able to pat their head and rub their tummy. I think the smart thing that i have seen the democrats do is keep their races local and understand what matters to those particular voters to get them to the polls in that district, regardless of what anybody else does nationally. What worked in august might not work in september, october. We will find out in october. Were going to leave it there. Thank you all for joining us. Coming up, the day donald trump stood beside Vladimir Putin and said he trusted Vladimir Putin more than his own cia director and the american Intelligence Community. And the most surprising moment yet in the White House PressBriefing Room. And later, some highlights of my favorite moment of my workday, which of course is when i get to chat with my dear friend Rachel Maddow. burke thats what we call a huge drag. Seriously, thats what we call it. Officially. And we covered it. Talk to farmers. We know a thing or two because weve seen a thing or two. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum at booking. Com, we cant guarantee youll good at that water jet thingy. But we can guarantee the best price on this hotel. Or any accommodation, from homes to yurts. Booking. Com booking. Yeah this is not a screensaver. Game. This is the destruction of a cancer cell by the bodys own immune system, thanks to medicine that didnt exist until now. And today can save your life. Did you want President Trump to win the election, and did you direct any of your officials to do that . Yes, i did. Because he talked about bringing the u. S. Russia relationship back to normal. In a summer of stunning headlines, that statement from Vladimir Putin was the most important. Yes, i did. Yes, i did. That was Vladimir Putin admitting he wanted donald trump to beat Hillary Clinton in the election and that he directed russian officials to help donald trump do that. And then as if reading a script handed to him by putin, donald trump said this about russias attack on our democracy. My people came to me, dan coats, came to me and some others. They said they think its russia. I have president putin. He just said its not russia. I will say this. I dont see any reason why it would be. I have great confidence in my intelligence people. But i will tell you that president putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today. That provoked former cia director john brennan to say Donald Trumps press conference in helsinki rises and exceeds high crimes. He is wholly in the pocket of putin. Republican patriots, where are you . Here is more of our coverage of that extraordinary day on the world stage and how members of the Republican Party reacted, including the late senator john mccain. History was made today, and many observers tried to place this moment in history, including republicans. Newt gingrich said today that donald trump made, quote, the most serious mistake of his presidency. Republican senator ben sass said this. Lets not mince words. Today was a terrible day for the american brand, for the American People and for all of our allies. We did not negotiate from a position of strength. We acted from a position of weakness. As a result, one of the worlds worst despits walked away today with a win. Jeff flake said this. I thought it was shameful and i never thought id see an american president throw the Intelligence Community under the bus like that and agree with a dictator authoritarian like he did, so it is not a good day for the country. No republican was more forceful than senator john mccain, who issued a written statement saying, todays press conference in helsinki was one of the most disgraceful performances by an american president in memory. The damage inflicted by President Trumps naivete is difficult to calculate, but it is clear the summit was a tragic mistake. No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant. Joining us now president ial historian and author of the bestselling book the soul of america, the battle for our better angels. And Richard Stengle is with us. He once had the opportunity to interview Vladimir Putin. He is now an msnbc political analyst. And john, place this day in history for us. John mccain has issued language about it that is as forceful as what any as any condemning language that weve heard all day from anyone. The only thing i would i have said to senator mccains statement is i dont think its in memory. I think it might be in history. I think it goes far beyond the living memory of the country. Just two points, one looking back, one looking forward. This is what Many Americans feared in the 1790s. One of the great divisions when we set out on the National Experiment and in the constitution was that the federalists would be captives of britain and the democratic republicans might be captives of france. There was a fevered that shaped the first decade of our political history. Whats different now is that it may not be a Conspiracy Theory at this point. Its becoming ever more evident that if the president is not an asset of a foreign power, then he really is the onus is now on him to explain why he continues to act this way. And so sometimes when a duck quakes like a duck, its a duck. The other point in looking forward is it seems to me that the unfolding narrative here is one in which this day will be an incredibly important moment on a time line. And that to me thats what scariest. What is it that putin really wants from this relationship . I dont think weve seen him cash the check that he clearly has in his pocket. And, rick, john mccain went on to say, coming close on the heels of President Trumps conduct towards our closest friends and allies in brussels and britain, todays press conference marks a recent low in the history of the american presidency. I think we have a National Security crisis going on as some people have said. You have an american president that must take care that the laws are faithfully executed. He stood next to a foreign dictator and sided with the dictator over our own intelligence and Law Enforcement and Justice Department. Why is that . It is very strange. What happens now to all those people . You are talking about dan coats, tens of thousands of men and women serving in these agencies in washington. He betrayed all of your interests for reasons nobody knows. What is it like to be sitting in the room with Vladimir Putin . I think we have a photograph of you doing it. What is it that donald trump is falling for . I dont know that hes falling for anything. He does seem to admire autocrats. If you were Vladimir Putin, there would be a chill, cold air hitting me right now. Henry kissinger said to me beforehand you will be surprised how little he tries to charm you. There is no affect that he has at all. I want to give you a line from john mccain because i think john mccain was trying to place this in our history. He said not only did President Trump fail to speak the truth about an adversary, but speaking for america to the world, our president failed to defend all that makes us who we are, a republic of free people dedicated to the cause of liberty at home and abroad. Well, thats the Great American insofar as we are an exceptional country, that is where our exceptionalism has been. General powell once said we have gone abroad. We have projected force and all we have ever asked for is the ground on which to bury our dead. And there is a lot to that. Im not saying were a blameless country. Far from it. But we have, in fact, defined ourselves as what lincolns called us the last best hope and president reagan, who, lord, god knows what hes thinking at this point and saying the last best hope of man on earth. And i think that we have reached a point where there is a significant its not irreparable, but it is a hugely significant breach in our ongoing faith with the global community. What worries me most is the known unknown as donald rums felt might put it. Look at this whole week, five, six days in total. What happens if putin launches military action against, say, the baltics . What is it that President Trump what about his comments at nato suggest that he would follow an invocation of article five and actually project American Force in defense of the values that not only do we have intellectual and moral ascent to, but a contractual one, a treaty one. I think thats the great question going forward. We really appreciate your invaluable perspectives on this tonight. Thank you very much for joi