The Strange Departure of Chris Matthews

[AGBF]

Last night I turned on the television to MSNBC a little bit after a show would have started, and couldn't figure out what was going on. The person hosting it (Steve Kornacki) does not have a show of his own but often fills in for other people who have shows and also appears on the station to present data on the demographics of elections. Last night he looked shell shocked and referred to finding it hard to go on with the show after something that had just happened. (What?) In addition I was confused by the references to Chris Matthews. (I realized I must have turned on the television during Matthews' show, "Hardball".) Matthews was being referred to both in the past tense as if he were dead and in the present tense as if he were alive.He and his family were wished well. Then he was eulogized and spoken of in the past tense. I was imagining some catastrophic on air medical event.

It was not until the next show (host Chris Hayes) came on that I heard that Chris Matthews had retired, And the story behind it all was in today's "The New York Times". Apparently Chris Matthews took MSNBC by surprise by suddenly resigning on air with his family present. Only his own crew had been warned and others went scrambling to carry on the show.

The full story and all the reasons for the resignation are in the story in the Times.

Chris Matthews Out at MSNBC (Published 2020)

Mr. Matthews’s show, “Hardball,” has been on the air since 1997.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Demon]

Matthews came out and immediately announced that it was his last show and that he was retiring. I got the impression he was yanked off the air right after that. He seemed to be saying he was doing the show, and that he was retiring after. Kornacki was really shook, and at the end of the show looked like he was about to cry. Hayes was shocked. I was waiting for Rachel to say something, but Biden was taking up all her air time. She doesn't have a poker face though, and when she signed off on her show she looked pretty unhappy.

 

[AGBF]

Matthews came out and immediately announced that it was his last show and that he was retiring. I got the impression he was yanked off the air right after that. He seemed to be saying he was doing the show, and that he was retiring after. Kornacki was really shook, and at the end of the show looked like he was about to cry. Hayes was shocked. I was waiting for Rachel to say something, but Biden was taking up all her air time. She doesn't have a poker face though, and when she signed off on her show she looked pretty unhappy.

Thank you for filling me in, Demon.

 

[redwood66]

Well that's pretty strange. Best of luck to him. That's a long time on the air but I didn't watch him much.

 

[bludiva]

he was mentioned in a book i read recently in some way that made me think he likely has skeletons in his cliset. the fallout from the harvey weinstein / matt lauer / other sh*tty men in the media being called out for their past behavior isn't over. wonder if his interview re bloomberg triggered someone to speak up.

 

[Demon]

he was mentioned in a book i read recently in some way that made me think he likely has skeletons in his cliset. the fallout from the harvey weinstein / matt lauer / other sh*tty men in the media being called out for their past behavior isn't over. wonder if his interview re bloomberg triggered someone to speak up.

Possilbe. He apologized for some comments he had made but wasn't specific. At least not that I caught.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Sounded like to me he was told to retire. I think there were people who didn't like his recent statements about Bernie.

Chris Matthews retires from MSNBC after string of recent controversies

Chris Matthews, one of America's best-known political talk show hosts, is retiring from MSNBC, effective immediately, after a string of recent controversies on and off the air.

www.cnn.com

 

[AGBF]

he was mentioned in a book i read recently in some way that made me think he likely has skeletons in his cliset. the fallout from the harvey weinstein / matt lauer / other sh*tty men in the media being called out for their past behavior isn't over. wonder if his interview re bloomberg triggered someone to speak up.

I will never vouch for a man I do not know personally, and probably for very few I know personally unless I know them very well indeed, if all I hear is general rumors, not a woman's specific accusation.

That said, my impression of Chris Matthews (from the point of view of an obsever who does not know him personally) is that he was not someone who laid hands on women. I got the impression that he couldn't control his mouth but that the things he said were not "sleazy" (grabbing them by their p*ssies) so much as old-style male chauvinistic. He felt it was his right to compliment women publicly on how lovely they looked. (I did not hear that he disparaged women whom he found unattractive.)

I had very mixed feelings about him. He interrupted everyone he was supposed to be interviewing, which was rude aand jarring. Yet he seemed very honest. He had been a Capitol Hill policeman before he worker for Speaker Tip O'Neill. He was outspoken (to put it mildly). He love the Kennedys. He was a Boston Catholic and had, in my opinion, good intentions towards everyone but stumbled around.

I didn't always want to watch him. He annoyed me. But I felt he had a truly good heart. On the other hand, I had no idea Matt Lauer wasn't a nice guy!

Just my two cents.

 

[SandyinAnaheim]

He has a new podcast that just came out recently...maybe he thinks that's an easier way to make money? The stories above seem a bit melodramatic what with the family being present. Nevertheless, he's little more than just another talking head and won't be missed by me.