MSNBC "Hardball with Chris Matthews" - Transcript: Trump: "Epstein pleads not guilty."

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VELSHI: Welcome back to HARDBALL. This weekend, "The New York Times" came out with another startling report about the conditions that children face at a migrant detention center in Clint, Texas. According to "The Times": "The agency`s leadership knew for months that some children had no beds to sleep on, no way to clean themselves and sometimes went hungry. Its own agents had raised the alarm and found themselves having to accommodate even more new arrivals." In a tweet yesterday, Trump called the reporting phony and exaggerated. He told reporters last week that the detention facilities were -- quote -- "beautifully run," then tweeted that: "If illegal immigrants are unhappy with the conditions in the quickly built or refitted detention centers, just tell them not to come. All problems solved." I`m joined now by Democratic Senator Chris coons of Delaware. Senator, good to see you. Thank you for being with us.

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): Good to be with you, Ali.

VELSHI: Your response to the president calling these detention centers beautifully run?

COONS: Well, Ali, this is another example of a tragic misstatement by a president who has demonstrated a willingness to use cruelty to children as a tool of immigration policy. I will remind you, a year ago, his intentional decision was to follow a zero tolerance policy that led to children being separated from their parents after crossing our border. This latest episode, where an internal investigation by the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security`s own I.G. concluded that there were dangerously overcrowded and inhumane conditions at these detention facilities, a significant number of children, Ali, are being held in unlicensed and for-profit detention centers. And I think all of us in Congress should be doing more to make sure there`s both effective oversight and that these conditions are improved significantly promptly.

VELSHI: And in some of those for-profit detention centers, the price per child per night that taxpayers are paying are more money than any American would ever pay for a hotel room. However, in an opinion piece in "The Washington Post," former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson argued the Democrats need to be careful, Senator, with their rhetoric on migrants, writing that -- quote -- "While Americans should be outraged about the treatment of migrants, they shouldn`t espouse extreme policy proposals that are unworkable, like decriminalizing unauthorized entry into this country." I think he was making a reference to things that came up during the Democratic debates. But there have been suggestions by some Democrats that it should not be a criminal matter if you enter the country illegally in an unauthorized manner. Your take on that?

COONS: Well, Ali, it`s important that we continue to emphasize that Democrats have voted for, have supported increased investments in border security, and we don`t support open borders. That will be one of the main lines of attack on us from President Trump in the presidential campaign and for those of us who are facing reelection in the Senate and the House. I have co-sponsored bills, I have voted for bills that would invest tens of billions of dollars in improving border security. And there are folks who have been mischaracterized as supporting the abolition of law enforcement and Border Patrol. So I would agree with former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson that it`s important for us to continue to fight for border security and for humane immigration policies. The two can be achieved in our country. In fact, we should accept nothing less.

VELSHI: Senator, we have so much news to get to. I`m going to move on to another story. After leaked memos revealed that the United Kingdom`s ambassador to the United States called Donald Trump inept, insecure and incompetent, the president is now firing back. He tweeted today: "I do not know the ambassador, but he is not liked or well thought of within the U.S. We will no longer deal with him." Late today, we learned the ambassador was disinvited from tonight`s dinner with the emir of Qatar. And, tonight, the president -- or, today, the president took the opportunity to go after Prime Minister Theresa May for how she handled Brexit, writing: "I have been very critical about the way the U.K. and Prime Minister Theresa May handled Brexit. The good news for the wonderful United Kingdom is that they will soon have a new prime minister." And, finally, Senator, late today, the U.K. government released a statement calling the leak unfortunate, but says it continues to support the ambassador. What`s your take on this?

COONS: I know Ambassador Darroch. I have worked closely with him. And, frankly, the long and close and important relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom shouldn`t be disrupted by this dustup. The reason countries have ambassadors overseas is to offer their frank assessment on what`s going on in foreign capitals. And this unfortunate leak by a newspaper in the United Kingdom of what was supposed to be a confidential cable, I don`t think should be allowed to be a significant impediment to what is a really important relationship. We share values, we share history, we share priorities with the United Kingdom. And the ways in which President Trump has unsettled or destabilized our relationship with the United Kingdom concern me greatly. I think this flap over this one cable by Ambassador Darroch will soon blow over.

VELSHI: Senator, you wrote a piece in "The Atlantic" titled "Democrats Need to Talk About Their Faith," in which you pointed out: "The Democrats can fight for our progressive values while also identifying with the religious backgrounds that are so important to tens of millions of Americans." It`s a -- it`s a great piece. And I think everybody who can should read it.

COONS: Thank you, Ali.

VELSHI: What`s your -- what`s -- like, why did you write this? What was the point you`re trying to -- what prompted you to want to talk about faith and Democrats?

COONS: Well, Ali, first, it`s important to say that, in a country with a separation of church and state, all of us who are elected at whatever level have to act and speak in a way that makes it clear that we value and we represent people of all faiths backgrounds and those who have no faith background. We represent all of our constituents, and we need to do so in an inclusive and tolerant way. But I`m someone who, like many of my colleagues in the Democratic Caucus in the Senate, was first called to public service through the values that I learned in my home, through my family, and through my church as a child. And those are very progressive values. A lot of the values of the Gospel or of the Torah are values that talk about welcoming the stranger and foreigner, caring about those who are our neighbors, defining as neighbor a broader circle of people in our community and our world. A lot of what animated the U.S. civil rights movement was faith-based concern for the treatment of others in our country. And I think it`s important, if we want the average American to understand the heart of those who seek to represent us as our next president, that our candidates who are running for office, like Joe Biden, like Cory Booker, like Elizabeth Warren, like Pete Buttigieg, to continue speaking about how faith moves them. I know Joe Biden well. I know his character and I know his heart. And I know that his faith has gotten him through some incredibly hard times in his life. And I think it, frankly, is a good thing when people understand that that`s how he`s been able to get back up after life has knocked him down.

VELSHI: Senator, it`s a thoughtful piece. Thank you for writing it. And thank you for joining me tonight.

COONS: Thank you.

VELSHI: Senator Chris Coons of Delaware.

COONS: Thank you, Ali.

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