has still to respond to that petition. that does it for me. you can catch me every morning on morning joe first look at 5:00 a.m. eastern. "hardball" with chris matthews is next. trump the card toon. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm chris matthews up in new york. president trump's latest turn on the world stage showed some unusually erratic behavior by the already unpredictable president. starting off seven days of weirdness that began with trump floating the idea of buying greenland, and was capped off with his free willy news conference from france on monday that included a full-throated pitch for his miami golf resort. well, "the washington post" reports that for 68 minutes in a seaside auditorium, trump offered a lens into his

unorthodox mind. that's nicely put. a range of false or dubious statements and the myriad ways he has changed the presidency in just 31 months. trump bounced from one odd ball claim to another on iran to north korea and his trade war with china. >> china has taken a very hard hit over the last number of months. i think they very much want to make a deal, and the longer they wait, the harder it is to put it back. if the circumstances were correct or right, i would certainly agree to that. maybe it works. maybe it doesn't. i say it all the time about everything. maybe it works and made it doesn't. the first lady has gotten to know kim jong-un, and i think she would agree with me. he is a man with a country that has tremendous potential. i think iran wants to get this situation straightened out. now is that based on fact or based on gut? that's based on gut. we've had many calls. these are high level calls, but

they want to make a deal. >> so the chinese are saying there weren't any -- >> the chinese are not saying that. >> well, despite the president's claim, the chinese government insists it's unaware of the calls the president mentioned, while iran's president rouhani said no talks would take place unless u.s. sanctions are lifted. and the white house had to take back the president's claim that the first lady has gotten to know kim jong-un. and that she had agreed, quote, he is a man with a country that has tremendous potential. never happened apparently. white house press secretary stephanie grissam said while the first lady has never met him, she set the first lady feels like she has gotten know him too. day by day, even hour by hour, his approach to the trade war with china, the most consequential economic issue on the planet veered back and forth, leaving much of the world with geopolitical whiplash. but as trump waved off concerns he was causing global economic instability yesterday, he

suggested uncertainty is just the cost of doing business for him. >> one of the things that it comes from is the back and forth and the changing statements from yourself. >> sorry. it's the way i negotiate. >> so my question is that a strategy? it's a strategy to call president xi an enemy one day and arelations are very good the next day. >> it's the way i negotiate. it's done very well for me over the years and it's doing evan better for the country. >> i am what i am. i'm joined with christine todd whitt ham, barbara boxer from california and michael steele, former rnc chair. i got to go to my friend barbara. he says i am what i am. like a scene from la cage a folies. that's the only defense, get used to me. >> i think what we're seeing here, and it gives me to

pleasure to say this is narcissism run wild unchecked. if your viewers will look at the mayo clinic site, they will see these behaviors. and one of the strongest behaviors is you think you're the smartest person. and if anyone stands up to you and even suggests whether you're a member of the press or his own staff, he will go after you. you see him going after so many people, include powell, his own appointee to the fed. but what this means is he doesn't have anyone around him anymore to say no, mr. president, rethink it. he's only got yes men. and i say men. there are a couple of women in there, not too many, and that is dangerous. dangerous for our country. >> you know, it all started, governor, this -- sometimes i think trump is about 8 years old. i mean, he's had uneven development to say lightly. and part of his development is at a fantastic point, i'm going to buy greenland.

some people say that's because he understands the earth is getting hotter and maybe in 20 years up there in green land is going to be happy hunting ground. but it seems wild of all the things going wrong in the world with the middle east still crazy, with afghanistan crazy, with north korea crazy, with russia being russia, he's talking about buying new land like he's thomas jefferson or somebody. >> i think that's what he would like to be remembered as, having the biggest land purchase since the louisiana purchase. he's basically unstable, i think. and this last week has been an incredible sort of example of that because it's veered back and forth and back and forth. while it may have been great for a reality tv show to be sort of hide what your intentions are and say one thing one minute and something else the next, that's not how you conduct yourself as president of the united states of america. our allies don't know that they can trust us. they don't trust us anymore. >> what do you think now of him

relying on his wife. i think she is great. but he said melania likes kim jong-un. she lakes him. >> so what, with all due respect. >> why is he relying on her? >> anything to throw people off. anything to change the subject. he wants to focus on him and his family, but he doesn't want to get into detail, because he can't get into detail. >> the president said the summit was one of tremendous unity, even amid reports of behind-the-scenes admissions over efforts to readmit russia to the group of 7. the first meeting went off the rails when trump blasted leaders for not bringing russia. in trump's message, it doesn't really make sense to have that discussion without having a putin at the table. today trump blasted the media again. the g7 was a great success. in all, lame stream media made no relation to what actually covered in france.

fake news. i don't know what to make of the guy. he's like some -- i don't know what. it's an old time pinball machine with the lights going off, bells going off. he goes to doral; you got to get there to i want to buy greenland. i want you to go to mike dorel country club and spend a lot of money down there. the whole harold's got to come. china, we're getting along great. they're about to great. and my wife is friends with the head of north korea, and none of it is true. >> i think that reality has sunk in with our allies, particularly members of the g7 who has pretty much adopted the heisman position when it comes to donald trump. they may sup and dine with him. >> what's the heisman position? help me out. >> it's taking the heisman trophy. >> oh, the stiff arm.

>> they're taking the heisman position with them. >> you're such a jockophile. go ahead. >> they're proceeding on a separate track than the president. when they're all having a nice quiet dinner together, so when trump brings up his best pal, putin, they look at him really, you're going to go there? the whole thing devolves because he is pushing that particular narrative. we have to stop and ask why. there are two reasons why. his son gives us one reason and he gives us the other. the first is as his son noticed, all of our financing comes through russia. and at the end of the day, greater than anything he probably accomplishes as a president, it is landing trump tower moscow. that is still part of his business strategy and plan. and the narrative keeps resurfacing, no matter how you cut the cloth here. and the members of the g7 know this. they know when they arrive next

summer, putin will be in washington. why? because donald trump already told us he will be here. he didn't like the way the iranian foreign minister surprised him. he'll have a few surprises of his own next year in keeping with that kind of behavior. >> senator, a friend of mine was another liberal democratic senator and a congressman told me when you go into a markup session, you look around the room when you're figuring out the bill and you can sometimes catch someone who has taingd. they're in the tank. the industry has gotten ahold of them. he or she is not going to be reliable as a public servant. that's the way trump behaves when it comes to russia. >> yes. >> he acts like he is tanked, like he is in the tank with russia. it's embarrassing. >> well, he acts like he is in the tank with russia because he is in the tank with russia. and the fact of the matter is i agree with michael's point. he's got russia on his mind. and for the wrong reasons. he should have russia on his mind because russia wants to

hack into our election system and destroy our democracy. and i hope that's not an overstatement. that's what they want to do. and they want to put fears in people's minds that our system of governance is unstable and that's what they want to do. so trump as president could care less about that. and frankly, you know, as they look at this impeachment over in the house, i hate to bring up that word because it's a mess, as they look at one of the high crimes and misdemeanors, i would have to say it's doing nothing really about russia interference. this whole thing is crazy. but i would say if you're in the g7 and you know trump is coming, it's kind of like the thanksgiving dinner where you had last year a crazy aunt or uncle or grandma and grandpa who came in and made everyone feel uncomfortable. so you just kind of ignore them and you're sweet and smile. i think that's what they did. they were smart.

>> they treat him like the crazy uncle. one of president trump's misleading statements this time around is net worth as he talked about hosting next year's g7 at his trump doral national golf course near miami. he quickly turned that into a full-blown infomercial for his resort. >> what reassurances if any can you give the american people that you are not locking to profit off the presidency? >> well, i'll tell you what, iowa spent, and i think i will in a combination of loss and opportunity, probably limit cost me from $3 billion to $5 billion to be president. doral happens to be within miami. it's a city. it's a wonderful place. it's very important i will only five minutes from the airport. the airport is right next door. with doral, we have a series of magnificent buildings. we call them bungalows. the ballrooms are among the biggest in florida and the best. >> well, today the president

defended his resort at doral, again as he called a false rumor about it. he wrote on twitter no bedbugs at doral. this is the president of the united states reminding you. no bedbugs at doral. the radical left democrats upon hearing it was under consideration for the next g7 spread that false and nasty rumor. not nice. that's trump talk. it's not clear which democrats the president was talk about, spreading the bedbug story. but the "miami herald" reported two years ago that doral settled an insurance lawsuit with an attorney who woke up with dozens of bites. and late today "the washington post" reports that attorney general william barr on the same front has booked, that's a great line, president trump's washington, d.c. hotel for barr's personal party this december to the tune of $30,000. isn't that nice?

>> i don't know how you spend that. the emoluments clause sought the window. >> there is money in the bank if you're president. >> no, it's amazing. >> by the way, what do you think of his claim i lost $3 billion? >> i think it's ridiculous. he probably did over time. he's had five bankruptcies. but not because of his public persona. he is making money. the family is making money. >> i think the romanovs -- i'm sorry, did you have another thought there? >> you mean you want to hear another thought? >> let me ask you about michael, what is this thing the romanovs have done pretty well with the public treasury. they've been flying around the world. jared goes wherever he wants at the public dime. they have all that money and they're claiming this has been a sacrifice. don't you feel sorry for them? >> well, the problem is that i think in the other era or typical relationship between the congressional legislative branch and the executive branch with

this kind of behavior and spending under scrutiny, that the congress would make it very clear that it would have no tolerance for it. and take the constitution personally down to the white house and have read to the president what the emoluments clause really means. but that's not what the reality is here. so unless there are consequences for these decisions, again, supported by the attorney general who is hosting his $30,000 christmas party or holiday party at trump hotel, they will continue to behave this way. they will continue to pursue their financial pursuits irrespective about what we say about the emoluments clause or whatever the constitution may or may not mean because who's going to challenge that? who has standing to bring that kind of claim before a court? and that's been their -- our problem as a country watching

this unfold. >> well, for shamelessness, there is nothing like it. if there is an emoluments clause which is in the constitution which there is which says you can't accept gifts, how about this? trump says you will give me gifts. you will spend the money and spend it on my golf resort if you're one of the g7. it's not only accepting gifts, it's demanding them. i'd say, senator, that is an escalation in violation of the constitution. demanding gifts from foreign leaders, all g7. maybe he is asking for some money from putin, but he wouldn't do that. >> he'll take money from anybody, but here's the deal. he is taking it from taxpayers every day in his trump hotel and the rest. and the reason there has been no court case on the emoluments clause so far is no president, republican or democrat has ever done these kinds of things. but i will say about the doral, if the best you can say there are no bedbugs, i think they have to go somewhere else. but i want to bring you back. when you work for tip o'neill,

he was a powerful man. he was the speaker of the house. he was really something. and i had the joy of working with him. if he stood up and said my wife owns a hotel and i want every agency to go to that hotel, he would be kicked out of the u.s. house of representatives. this is bottom line ethics 101. and yet this guy stands up there like a snake oil salesman. and it's embarrassing and humiliating. and he doesn't get it because i agree with christie todd whitman says, governor. he is unstable. he doesn't get what he is doing. i don't think he does. >> senator, it's great to have you on. >> thanks. >> you have not changed in all these years in any way. you are fantastic. really. i don't know if you're in the jungle. i guess you're in palm springs. >> the jungle? palm springs, anything goes. >> it looks great. you're going to stick around a little bit more. thank you. everybody is sticking around. coming up, trump's obsession

with barack obama. watch a bit of it. >> he was outsmarted by putin. president putin outsmarted president obama. >> we'll be right back. no president in memory by the way has ever spent so much time and energy trashing his predecessor. why is president trump instantly looking through his rear view mirror and carrying such big grudges? plus that shocking poll showing joe biden's lead disappearing. looks to be an outlier. a new poll out today shows biden holding on to his commanding lead over the rest of the democratic field and it's a much better poll and that yesterday's. stick with us. chair is just a chair. that a handle is just a handle. or... that you can't be both inside and outside. most people haven't driven a lincoln.

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the best tv experience is the best tv value. xfinity x1. simple. easy. awesome. xfinity. the future of awesome. and i say how does that work. >> misleading statement that russia outsmarted president obama. >> well, he did. >> while other countries have said that the reason russia was

kicked out was very clearly because they annexed crimea. why keep repeating what some people see as a clear lie. >> i know you like president obama, but it was annexed during president obama's term. president obama was pure and simply outsmarted. they took crimea during his term. that was not a good thing. >> welcome back to "hardball" that was president trump yesterday in his closing g7 news conference, placing the blame for russia's 2014 annexation of crimea, blaming obama and absolving his friend vladimir putin. that makes no sense. that is the latest example of trump's obsession with former president obama. this president is always looking into the rear view mirror. take a look at this. >> you look at what we've done and you look at what we've straightened out, i call it the obama/biden mess. so president obama had separation. i'm the one that brought them together. i'm not looking at a tax cut now. we don't need it. we have a strong economy.

certainly a payroll tax cut. president obama did that in order to artificially jack up the economy. >> we want to find out what happened with the last democrat president. let's look into obama. >> previous presidents haven't always liked each other. of course there were tensions between president hoover and there he is and fdr as well as harry truman and dwight eisenhower. never have we seen a president so willing to publicly disparage his predecessor like trump does. back with christine todd whitman, barbara boxer and michael steele. you're not supposed to like each other politically. they didn't talk together on those famous inaugural car trips. but this obsession is like cain and abel. it's like cain is complaining because god loved the offering of abel so much. people like the legacy of obama and that really bothers him. >> i think you're right. he is so afraid that obama is going to look better in history books than he will.

which i think is going to happen without a doubt that everything that they have done in this administration has been if obama was near, it was gone. you look at what the previous administration did. if you think it can fit in with what you want to accomplish, you massage it a little bit, change it a little bit and clairemont as your own. you don't just do away with things without looking at them first, were they good for the country or not? not with this administration. if obama did it, gone. >> michael, first of all that, comment. that weird thing about yamiche alcindor. i know he is a friend of yours, an african american reporter who is one of the top reporters around. i know he is a friend of yours or you like him. what a little cheap shot that was. >> but it's typical trump. again, when he has been challenged, he makes it personal. when you challenge him on the facts and try to elicit a legitimate answer that he doesn't want to answer, it

becomes a personal response or retort by him. so, yeah, she said well, here are the facts. and his response was i know you like obama. so that somehow delegitimizes the question. it makes it less serious and makes it more political. that's the space he operates in. i think to governor christie todd whitman's point, that's the number of this. the relationship between him and obama goes back to the white house correspondent dinner. >> here it comes. you're queuing it up. i'm giving you the sugar plum, senator. here it is. president trump's obsession with obama does go back to before he was president. donald trump was one of the leading promoters of the birther conspiracy which led to this moment at the 2011 white house correspondents association dinner. >> no one is happier, no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than the donald. and that's because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter.

like did we fake the moon lan g landing, what really happened in roswell? and where are biggao and tupac? say what you will about mr. trump, he certainly would bring some change to the white house. let's see what we got up there. >> senator, that opened the sore, the wound for this guy. i don't think he's over gotten that moment of ignominy. >> well, too bad nor him. have you ever gotten roasted, chris? i've gotten roasted more times at more political dinner, and i've gotten -- you know, people still tweet the worst things about me. you know what? suck it up. that's life. he cannot take anybody

criticizing him. and he does have an obsession with president obama. let me tell you why. because he is envious of president obama. and president obama kind of leaves him alone. but president obama is very, very admired, not only in this country, but around the world. so he goes after. and what's really -- him. but what's really sad about it, he goes after him on important things like obamacare, like this deal with iran that made us safer, the climate change deal barack obama did, and it goes on and on. so it's not just it's a personal affront and a personal obsession, but he is going to try and destroy anything obama tried to do. that was good. and that's sad again for the country. >> is there anything rational here besides the ego? i wonder if he is worried this may be too much of a reach. is he worried that when the election comes next november, people think do we like this or what we had before? i think most people would say now we like what we had before. not that there was anything perfect about obama, but it was

at least normal. >> it was normal and sane. but i think if he looks at the polls, yes, he is very concerned about what is going to happen in this election. you have to remember, he has been governing just for his base. he hasn't been president of all of the united states. he's been the president of the minority that put him in office. and that's all he cares about, and they hated obama. they believe the birther stuff. he is playing to them. that's where his strength is, because they will turn out and vote. so it's going to be very interesting to see. this is a seminole election, and it's going to be very interesting to see whether the rest of the country recognizes that and says it's our obligation. >> well said. i never understood the obama hatred. i didn't get it. maybe it's racial. thank you, governor christie todd whitman of new jersey, the garden state. senator barbara boxer, as always, you look the same and are the same and you're great. thank you. i don't mind paying tribute to my heroes. thank you. michael steele, you're a gentlemen. and the president is not.

up next, are we seeing a shake-up at the top of the democratic primary or a recent poll showing a virtual three-way race, actually an outlier. i say outlier. wait until you see the real numbers for the bigger poll just out. you're watching "hardball." g "h. balanced nutrition for strength and energy! whoo-hoo! great-tasting ensure. with nine grams of protein and twenty-six vitamins and minerals. ensure, for strength and energy. and twenty-six vitamins and minerals. whyou should be mad that airports are complicated... he's my emotional support snake. ...but you're not, because you have e*trade, whose tech isn't complicated. it helps you understand the risk and reward potential on an options trade. don't get mad. get e*trade.

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welcome back to "hardball." former vice president joe biden's front-runner status was questioned yesterday after a monmouth poll showed him one

point behind bernie sanders and elizabeth warren. see those numbers? a little scary for biden. but that poll, which only surveyed less than 300 registered voters, less than 300 people were asked appears clearly to be an outlier. and a new morning consult poll out today would serve over 17,000 registered voters. people say nobody polls me. a lot of people were polled there. biden hold a commanding lead. 13 points ahead of bernie sanders. 18 ahead of elizabeth warren. that's where he has been all this time. morning consult poll has been steady. warren staying about the same. that seems to be the steady as it goes poll. in contrast, yesterday's monmouth poll showed a dramatic shift from a previous poll. real clear politics which gives an average shows biden at 28, which includes the outlier poll, and sanders about 18, warren about 16. interesting numbers. i'm joined by katie glick, political reporter for "the new york times." katie, thank you. you're on with a big role tonight. teach me.

let's start with the polling. they've been pretty consistent. biden ahead. why? what's his strength? >> so part of it of course is driven by name id. this is the former vice president of the united states. he has been on the international stage, on the national stage a long time. certainly he is bolstered by that. then a lot of other voters with whom i have spoken point to this idea of electability. they're thinking ahead to the general election. >> and they hate trump? >> their number one priority is to defeat donald trump. it's very interesting. you hear voters in pundit mode themselves gaming out who would be best to win a general election you. do hear from some of the voters talking about why biden would be real positioned. and there are other voters they have respected and admired for quite some time. >> do you think the fact that a lot of polls show that any democrat almost a top three or four could beat trump hurts biden? that you could go hard left and still win. you could still win with

sanders. >> well, certainly it's important to note that. a lot of political strategists say at this point in the campaign, it is far too early to actually tell who could beat donald trump in a hypothetical general election matchup in a general election of 2020. however, the biden campaign has really been seizing on a number of the polls that suggest that he is better positioned that was actually featured in his first campaign out of the cycle released last week in iowa. so they're really leaning hard on this electability argument. and so far a number of polls have spoken to that. but the problem is if he does start to slip in the polls, especially in some of the hypothetical matchups, then that argument faces a bigger challenge. >> "the new york times" jonathan martin reports elizabeth warren has been reassuring party insiders while her liberal agenda may be further left than some in the general establishment would prefer, she is a team player who is seeking to lead the party, not stage a hostile takeover of it. at the same time she is working diligently to protect her left

flank. claiming at least 15,000 people were out there for her in seattle over the weekend. that's trump style, trump size. late today trump tweeted they do stories so big on elizabeth "pocahant "pocahantas" warren's crowd size add manage more people than are actually there yet my crowds which are far bigger get no coverage at all. he is envious. >> he is somebody who has paid quite a bit of attention to elizabeth warren for months and months and perhaps years. >> does he recognize her political strengths? >> well, certainly he has been tweeting about her. and, you know, i think no doubt that she is someone who is drawing really big crowds right now. certainly that is something that breaks through to donald trump. what has been interesting is to see how she has made some of these overtures to more centrist democrats, who have some questions about whether she is best positioned to take okay. >> i do think it's going to be amazing. she beats bernie on the hard left, very liberal, very left. and she is also trying to appeal

to the establishment. i'll share my data with the dnc. i'll build up the dnc. all this sort of smart transactional stuff. former vice president biden today put out a very personal campaign ad. let's watch a bit. >> my son bo was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given only months to live. i can't fathom what would have happened if the insurance company had said for the last six months of his life you're on your own. the fact of the matter is health care is personal to me. obamacare is personal to me. when i see the president try to tear it down and others propose to replace it and start over, that's personal to me too. >> people tell me in my experience back it up, biden's not that great on a stage. he is not -- for whatever reason, not good in these debates, but off the stage, this i do know, he is a great schmoozer. have you been able to report that or see that? >> well, no doubt on the stage,

on camera, in front of big groups, this is someone who will be the fist to tell you that he has a history of big gaffe prone. we saw him stumble significantly in that first presidential debate earlier this summer. but at the same time, one-on-one, the voters who would wait in line to take a moment to shake hands with him and hug him, take pictures with him, often they do come away saying that they felt they had a real personal connection with him. and that's especially true for voters who can relate to his stories of personal tragedy and family grief and loss. >> i've been at the funeral for his mom and the funeral for his son. you should see the crowds, and you should see the amount of time at a human level he spends with each person, each person in these long lines. it's all real. so in terms of authenticity, he might pull this things out. katie glueck. a landmark ruling holds johnson & johnson accountable for pushing doctors to prescribe opioids while downplaying the risks that those pills will

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welcome back to "hardball." the opioid epidemic has plunged the country into a public health crisis with devastating consequences. we all know this. according to the cdc, more than 130 people die every day in the u.s. after overdosing on opioids. this crisis has been 30 years in the making, and since the 1990s, back then pharmaceutical companies have engaged in aggressive marketing campaigns, peddling their opioid pain relievers to health care providers, and misrepresenting the actual risks of addiction. those companies were abetted by distributors who flooded

american cities and towns with those pills. now a court has ruled pharmaceutical giant johnson & johnson, you can't be any bigger than them, help oklahoma, ordering the company to pay more than $570 million. the judge accused the company of running a false and dangerous sales campaign, acting in a way they used branded and unbranded marketing to disseminate the messages that pain was undertreated, and there was a low risk of abuse and a low danger of prescribing those opiates. here is the oklahoma attorney general after that ruling. >> today judge bachmann has affirmed h affirmed our position that johnson & johnson, motived by greed and avarice is responsible for the opioid epidemic in our state. johnson & johnson will finally be held accountable for thousands of deaths and addiction caused by their activities. >> well, johnson & johnson says

it's going to appeal the case. its first time a trial court has held a drugmaker accountable for the opioid crisis. presidential candidate tim ryan from ohio, a state with the second highest rate of drug overdose deaths joins me next. you're watching "hardball." g "'n your car's soft surfaces get released, and are then circulated by your ac system. to stop the cycle of odors try febreze car vent clips. febreze stops the circulation of musty air by trapping and eliminating lingering odor molecules for up to 30 days of fresh, clean air. plus, they come in a range of scents including extra light. stop the cycle of odors in your car with febreze car vent clips. brand power. helping you buy better.

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well, the landmark johnson & johnson trial sets a precedent for plaintiffs in roughly 1500 other opiate related lawsuits which have been consolidated now and will be one federal judge in cleveland, ohio. the cases argue a variety of companies from manufacturers to distributors are liable for the epidemic in the country. they t white house domestic advisers pegged the cost at over $500 billion. for more i'm joined by tim ryan, democratic congressman from ohio running for president. and thank you so much. and congratulations being on top of this story. what was it that won the case? what was the guilty behavior by johnson & johnson, the huge drug producer/manufacturer that was wrong under the law what? what did they do wrong? >> the whole theory around this is they created what is a public nuisance. essentially, they had helped market these drugs, push them out there, had downplayed their

risk, and basically, helped create the opiate epidemic in oklahoma, which as we all know at this point also led them to a wave of heroin addiction, a wave of synthetic opiate addiction. it says you don't have to be directly reliable for your pill created this person or created an addiction. basically you helped create a big, wide fuzzy problem. >> you're dr. smith, dr. mcgee, and you prescribe some pill. did that doctor, was he ms. led by johnson & johnson as to what that -- the effect of the pill and what it would do? >> that's the argument that the judge seems to have accepted, essentially that they went around downplaying the risk of addiction here and they marketed these things much less dangerous and you had all of these folks who were on these drugs, and they didn't look out for things like pill mills. >> what's a pill mill? >> that's when you basically have a doctor's office. they take cash pay. their only job is to see you for 90 seconds, two your $200, write

your prescription for as many opiates you can get away with. you have people lined out the doors. >> who are these guys? are they doctors? >> you have to have a millennium license to prescribe this stuff. you still have these things out there. >> the political impact of this and working families, what is the power? what is it doing to families? >> well, the statistics are i think $45 billion in costs to businesses across the united states. when you see in ohio, we lose about 5,000 people a year here in ohio. what does that do to the businesses? what does that do to productivity? what does that do with increased health care costs? it's absolutely devastating. it ripples through the community. i was at school in an elementary school they literally lost six or seven parents in like a six-month span at that school. and that's the level of devastation that's happening on the ground. and i think a lot of it is tied

to the economy too. of course, it's chronic pain, but it's also in these areas that are domestically depressed too, which is why all of these are really interconnected. all of these reasons are interconnected. >> are they taking these drugs to soften the pain of bad lives generally? >> you know what? i think if you're making 40 or 50 bucks an hour and you have a boat and a little cottage and your life is going good and you've got grandkids, and you throw your back out you get yourself together as quickly as you can to get back to work. but if you're making 12 bucks an hour and you were making 40 bucks an hour, now you're making 12 and you throw your back out, and all of the sudden you're taking some pills that make you feel a lot better, i think it does open the door. and i think you can see that statistically as to what regions in the country are really being hit hard. a lot of them are really linked to the economic crisis that is happening in the country as we. >> you're great. i think that's america talking right now. drew, last question to you.

the finding that johnson & johnson that we all grew up with is guilty in this case by the judge's judgment. could this vu been in every -- do they do anything different in oklahoma than they do everywhere else? >> the cases are all very, very similar. they're going to look at the same sets of evidence. the reason we have 2,000 cases have been consolidated up in ohio is everyone said hey, we're all dealing with the same set of facts here. well want to make this more efficient. there are a couple of playses that decided not to join like oklahoma. >> what about cvs? >> they've been leading some of the complaints. everybody who had a hand on these pills at some point, either from their manufacturer down to their distribution, a lot of those folks are part. >> you buy cigarettes which cost a lot of money, over 10 bucks with all the tax. doesn't it warn you? do people get warnings on these opiates? >> they do. we warn doctors about this stuff. but you have pharmaceutical companies that downplayed all these risks. they pushed them for things like hey you need this stuff for less and less severe pain. a lot of this came around by

them pushing for things -- it wasn't like you just came out of surgery and you were in unbearable pain after being cut open. we're talking minor stuff they pushed this for today. >> nbc news report the maker of oxycontin, purdue family and the sackler slam have offered to pay $10 billion to $12 billion to settle their role. in a statement they said they were prepared to vigorously defend against the litigation, but added the people and communities affected by the opiate crisis believe they need help now. they believe it's the best path forward and they're working to achieve this outcome. where do we go from here? you've been out there and you're great. you're a statesman hit hard. you have been speaking for it. are we going get any power from the government to get the people to pay for the costs that they have caused and to stop doing what they're doing? >> yeah, i hope so. and i hope it ends up like the tobacco lawsuits where our

states get billions of dollars, and we can reinvest that back into the communities for prevention. law enforcement has taken it on the chin. they're saving somebody once or twice a night, the same person who overdoses again. so law enforcement is taking a hit on this. our schools are taking a hit on this. our economy is taking a hit on this. and so we need treatment. we got to extend treatment for this. in many states you only get 30 days' treatment. that's not nearly enough. so law enforcement says we know you're going see the same person back in 30 days. so we need to extend treatment to 60, 90, 120 days so we're really getting people healthy. we can use that money to start healing this crisis in the united states. and it's going to be essential. and hopefully, punish these companies enough where this doesn't happen anymore. because this is ridiculous that this has happened in the united states, and these companies get away with murder, literally for how long now? decades. and we're left holding the bag.

and the families are devastated and crushed because it's made its way into every community in the united states, whether you're wealthy or poor or middle class, everyone has been touched by this. >> i'm glad you're in this race for president. congressman ryan, thank you for speaking out. >> thank you. >> drew, great reporting. great work by that judge. up next, brazil's president shows the ugly side as the amazon rain forest burns. who does he remind you of? you're watching "hardball." they customized my car insurance, so i only pay for what i need. then i won the lottery, got hair plugs, and started working out. and so can you! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ walkabout wednesdays are back! get a sirloin or chicken on the barbie,

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ever wonder what donald trump looks like from the viewpoint of other countries? all you have to do for that is look at the mini trump down there in brazil. yesterday france's president emmanuel macron said that the g7 would give brazil $20 million to fight the amazon rain forest fire. brazil's president took that as an insult. he took the whole g7 discussion of the amazon as an insult. he initially responded in a tweet he wouldn't accept the moment saying the group of seven leaders were treating brazil as if it was a colony. but then reports said he would accept the aid on one condition, if macron apologized his handing of the fire. the brazilian government welcomes all aid as long as it

could decide how to use the assistance. well, the feud between the two leaders began last week. it only got worse over the weekend. macron threatened last week to block a free trade agreement saying bolsonaro had lied to him about his commitment to the environment. and over the weekend mocked the appearance of macron's wife. what's clear from all of this is that bolsonaro thinks what happens to the rain forest is up to him. he can burn it if he wants to. back in the '60s we in the united states had a name for such leaders as bolsonaro. unfortunately for them, it was the name of an animal. you recognize them from the sound they make. oink, oink. from the climate change to the personal piggishness towards another leader's wife sounds grossly familiar, it is because it is grossly familiar. remember back in 2016 when donald trump retweeted an image of ted cruz's wife heidi cruise and melania trump? think about your reaction to

brazil's bolsonaro. and imagine the leader of the world's greatest country behaving just this week. and that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "all in with chris hayes" starts right now. tonight on "all in" -- >> having been inside the room is having them outside the room. >> stunning new reporting about the president's open feuding with world leaders to allow russia back in the g7. >> my inclination is to say yes that. >> should be in. >> and as the trade war grinds on -- >> the trade war hurts them. it doesn't hurt us. >> new reporting on the growing frustrations of trump voting farmers. plus -- >> today is a di of power. >> what we learned from the jeffrey epstein accusers who spoke out in court today. my interview with the attorney general who just won the landmark opiate decision against big pharma. >> the defendants caused and opiate crisis.