Hardball With Chris Matthews - General Discussion

[annzeepark914]

8 minutes ago, Pearson80 said:

I would hope so since he had a meltdown over what a Sanders win would mean to him. He was close to tears and said that he was afraid of being beheaded, it was a sight to behold.  The bemused expressions on everybody's face after he made his bizarre rant was priceless.. I actually like Chris even though he can be cringeworthy at times..

Yikes...glad I missed that. Did he really mean it re: fearing he'll be beheaded? He's become a real drama queen over the past few years. 

[Charone]

Yikes...glad I missed that. Did he really mean it re: fearing he'll be beheaded? He's become a real drama queen over the past few years. 

 

Oh yeah, it was almost comical if it wasn't so sad.  I like Chris too but his B Sanders hate is a bit much.  

[Pearson80]

6 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Yikes...glad I missed that. Did he really mean it re: fearing he'll be beheaded? He's become a real drama queen over the past few years. 

Yes, he did, it was during the New Hampshire primary.  The panel tried to save him from himself to no avail. I think everything that is going has taken a toll on him..

Edited February 18, 2020 by Pearson80

[annzeepark914]

18 minutes ago, Pearson80 said:

Yes, he did, it was during the New Hampshire primary.  The panel tried to save him from himself to no avail. I think everything that is going has taken a toll on him..

In a way, I can understand that as I'm mentally worn out from the whirlwind. I  now only watch Deadline WH and then local news. Re: Chris--he also may be affected by those treatments. Rough times for a lot of folks these days.

[Charone]

Poor choice of words Chris, in the after debate to Klobuchar  "Buttigieg kept pounding you and pounding you." No Chris don't say that lol.

[annzeepark914]

59 minutes ago, Charone said:

Poor choice of words Chris, in the after debate to Klobuchar  "Buttigieg kept pounding you and pounding you." No Chris don't say that lol.

He is just incredibly self absorbed, running his mouth ad nauseum. So of course he never thought how bad that sounded. 

[Kemper]

Last night Chris issued an apology for his meltdown over Sanders this past weekend.  I understand we are in emotional times but Chris takes it too far; he needs to be professional and get a grip!  He apologized; his guests were answering questions.  Trouble is, he kept interrupting (worse than ever) and it was just a cluster of awful. 

So.  Anyone want to bet on how long his "professionalism" lasts?  Before he steps in it again.  If I were the network, I would let him finish out his contract (anyone know how long) and then offer him an "Elder Statesman" role - meaning occasional appearances on different shows.  But find someone else for the 7:00 hour.  I hate to put this forward as I used to really like him, warts and all.  But he is not good or entertaining anymore.  It could be his cancer diagnosis. But probably not - he has been off-the-rails for awhile now.

[annzeepark914]

I thought I read several years ago that he'd been told by TPTB at the network not to do all that interrupting.  I haven't watched in maybe 2 years (I stopped when he no longer did the "tell me something I don't know" segment). And don't replace him with that other drama queen, Brian Williams.  I do believe several of us need to make a road trip to MSNBC headquarters asap to help them revamp some of these shows!

[Pearson80]

Chris needs to retire already and I like him and it pains me to say this but he is just too much with his rhetoric, spreading fear and propaganda during these trying time.

[geej]

he looks sadder and now tired. His passion is still there. My mind melted all while and after my  months of chemo. I wish he knew when to leave. I hate to see him pushed out cuz he doesn't get the idea now. Give him a giant party in his honor, on air and  wish him the best.

[annzeepark914]

"Why haven't I fallen in love with you yet?" Chris Matthews asked guest Laura Bassett as they sat side by side in make-up before going on air. He said something else equally inappropriate & stupid. This was in Variety.  When will he be replaced?

[possibilities]

They did pull him off election coverage in SC this weekend, so maybe soon?

[geej]

THEY pulled him off? missed that. how did that go?

 

[possibilities]

I didn't watch it, I just saw the reporting that he had been pulled, due to multiple sexual harassment scandals in combination with his comparison of Sanders to a Nazi, which, whatever you think of Sanders, love him or hate him, he is not a Nazi.

[Nidratime]

I missed that he announced his "retirement" on air tonight. Damn!

[annzeepark914]

When I tuned in, Steve K was sounding serious, saying something like we just have to go on. Could it be true? Wow!

[Medicine Crow]

Just google his name ...

[gatopretoNYC]

https://www.thedailybeast.com/chris-matthews-resigns-from-msnbc-after-accusations-of-sexism-and-harassment

[ButterQueen]

I’m going to miss Chris.  The news exhausts me and I almost always agreed with Chris.  We always looked forward to his show.  

36 minutes ago, gatopretoNYC said:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/chris-matthews-resigns-from-msnbc-after-accusations-of-sexism-and-harassment

This happened in 2016.  Why wait 4 years to bring it up.

[tessaray]

 

I'm sorry to see Chris go out like this but honestly, it was probably time. 

[annzeepark914]

It was way past time. I was reading the comments under an article in the Washington Post. People who watched Hardball all the time said he didn't look well. I watched occasionally the past few years & was always dumbfounded by his forgetting names (even of the people he was interviewing). 

[possibilities]

Commenting that he needed his Bill Cosby drink before interviewing Hillary Clinton is not exactly "comments about a woman's appearance."

Why now? Why not?

I don't deny he did some good work, but lots of people have, and others will. I'm really curious who will replace him.

[kirinan]

9 hours ago, possibilities said:

I don't deny he did some good work, but lots of people have, and others will. I'm really curious who will replace him.

I know a lot of people don't like Steve Kornacki, but I do, so I wish it would be him. My husband and I generally watch the show while we have dinner, and I spent a lot of time yelling, "Oh, shut UP, Chris, and let him/her talk!" at the TV. The nights when Steve hosted were like a vacation for me.

Edited March 3, 2020 by kirinan

[Ladyrain]

2 hours ago, kirinan said:

I spent a lot of time yelling, "Oh, shut UP, Chris, and let him/her talk!" at the TV

Are you me?    Am I you?    Same scene; different house. 
He made some women uncomfortable in the workplace --- that's not good.  At all.   Then throw in his increasing forgetfulness.   Spittle spewing.   Audible burps.   Cutting off guests mid-sentence.   General humorlessness.   

I don't know if it was his age, his health, his angst about the present political climate, but he was becoming increasingly unwatchable day by day, week by week, etc.   For his sake and ours, it was time for him to "retire". 

[scrb]

Wonder if he will still take part in the coverage of the election.

For instance will he take part in the Suoer Tuesday coverage this evening?

[annzeepark914]

24 minutes ago, scrb said:

Wonder if he will still take part in the coverage of the election.

For instance will he take part in the Suoer Tuesday coverage this evening?

Good God, I hope not. I don't think he's very popular at MSNBC these days.

[buttersister]

I don't expect to see Chris on MSNBC for a very long time, if ever again. He's been hard to watch (so I mostly haven't) for a long time now, what with the interrupting, "little lady" attitude, general wackiness, yelling-as-a-way-of-life, etc. But he knew how that town worked, thanks to his Tip schooling. And on any given day, with all of his faults, he was better than anyone on Faux News.

I felt bad for Steve Kornacki, albeit no worse than he felt for himself. Not ready for the anchor chair, by any means. **Looks around** can whoever pushed Chris out do Chuck Todd next?

[Ladyrain]

@buttersister, I ❤️ your entire post.   So well said!    Especially the "little lady" attitude description and of course, shoving Chuckie out the door next.   Or at the very least, removing him from Meet The Press.  He's such a dishonor to Tim Russert's memory.

[atlantaloves]

It was time, my God, he was losing it. But, so shocking the way he went out. Horrible. Loved ya for a long time Chris, but honey, you were getting too long in the tooth. As we say down south, he was just a tad dithery. 

[Ashforth]

On 3/2/2020 at 7:12 PM, ButterQueen said:

This happened in 2016.  Why wait 4 years to bring it up.

I think that she brought it up years ago without identifying Chris Matthews. People are afraid of retaliation and sure enough:  https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/laura-bassett-chris-matthews-harassment-online-msnbc-hardball-resign-a9372781.html

It was way past time for Chris to resign. I listen to NPR or MSNBC on the radio during my drive home after work, and recently I have changed channels when Hardball came on because of all of the things mentioned here: his inability to remember names, the constant interruptions, I could "see" the spittle flying in my mind, and so much more. I know people who have undergone cancer treatment and am aware of "chemo brain" which could be a partial explanation of some of those things, but his overt sexism in the recent interview with Elizabeth Warren regarding allegations against Bloomberg was, in my opinion, unacceptable under any circumstances.

[ChicksDigScars]

No Matthews in last night's Super Tuesday coverage, but Joy Reid was there. I'm wondering if she goes from weekends to the nightly show?

[Kemper]

Probably not a popular opinion, but I can only take Joy Reid in small doses.  But she does deserve to be on the short list for Hardball host.  

[grommit2]

I offer this:
BOTH sides of the cable shout shows use the same techniques:  take a one-sided view of an issue and beat it to death.  Lecture, lecture, lecture.  No real conversation.

Of course, the right-leaning shows state their position clearly and consistently, While, for the most part, the left-leaning shows tend to prattle on and on before finally stating their position.  Sorry, but that is what I often observed with Mr. Matthews. Smart, experienced, but he had to inject his opinion into every news bite.

BOTH sides do us a dis-service:  we really want facts...clearly explained, honestly stated. And we want it without the snark, vitriol, yelling, and sycophantic drooling.

As an example, I offer the "Medicare for All" discussion.  It is difficult, if not impossible, to get the real facts.  Rather, we get:
"The American system is the best in the world" (is it, really?  Based on what?)
You do not need insurance...you can go to the emergency room. 
If you implement Medicare for all, one million insurance company employees will lose their jobs.  Really? 
Medicare for all will cost trillions.  Really?  What does our current health insurance industry cost us now? 
Canadians have to wait months to get an appointment with their doctor.  Really?
And my favorite:  Government is not the solution, government is the problem.  Agh!

Pardon my frustration.  It just refuses to stay hidden.  <<SIGH>>

Edited March 4, 2020 by grommit2

[annzeepark914]

3 hours ago, Kemper said:

Probably not a popular opinion, but I can only take Joy Reid in small doses.  But she does deserve to be on the short list for Hardball host.  

I just can't see her in the 7:00 PM time slot. Nor can I see Steve Kornacki hosting Hardball. He's a nice guy but when he has filled in for Chris, he seems way too intense.  The only one I can think of right now is John Heilman but there's got to be more at NBC/MSNBC who could take over and be the right kind of interviewer.

[CynicalGirl]

I think Heilmann's got his hands full with The Circus, his new website (the Recount), and his guesting on all the other MSNBC shows. I've enjoyed him when he guest hosted Nicolle's show but I don't know when the guy sleeps.

How about Steve Schmidt? I know he was persona non grata for awhile but now that he's done with his consulting for the Starbucks guy who never ran, he has been popping up more. 

[Ashforth]

Joshua Johnson? I know that MSNBC recruited him from NPR recently. Maybe it was part of a plan...https://current.org/2019/11/joshua-johnson-to-leave-1a-for-msnbc/

[annzeepark914]

2 hours ago, CynicalGirl said:

I think Heilmann's got his hands full with The Circus, his new website (the Recount), and his guesting on all the other MSNBC shows. I've enjoyed him when he guest hosted Nicolle's show but I don't know when the guy sleeps.

How about Steve Schmidt? I know he was persona non grata for awhile but now that he's done with his consulting for the Starbucks guy who never ran, he has been popping up more. 

I was looking at Schmidt yesterday while he was talking with Nicolle, thinking he'd be good on one of these shows.  But I believe he'd need a co-host to lighten things up a little as he's quite serious.

[possibilities]

I adore Joy Reid. I would love it if she took over the show.

[tres bien]

9 hours ago, Ashforth said:

Joshua Johnson? I know that MSNBC recruited him from NPR recently. Maybe it was part of a plan...https://current.org/2019/11/joshua-johnson-to-leave-1a-for-msnbc/

He's a breath of fresh air for this network. 

I get so tired of seeing this same show hosts doing double and triple duty.

I still don't understand why Ali Velshi is on seven days a week. 

Edited March 5, 2020 by tres bien

[Ashforth]

22 minutes ago, tres bien said:

I believe Joshua Johnson was recently banned from MSNBC for comments he made on another show.☹

I don't  know if/when he'll be back.

I couldn't find anything online confirming that he's been sidelined, but I did find this clip (not posted for the political content) that seems to show the established MSNBC on-air people seeming extremely pissy about his POV. Almost like "who is this outsider who dares to have an opinion different than mine?"

 

[tres bien]

5 minutes ago, Ashforth said:

I couldn't find anything online confirming that he's been sidelined, but I did find this clip (not posted for the political content) that seems to show the established MSNBC on-air people seeming extremely pissy about his POV. Almost like "who is this outsider who dares to have an opinion different than mine?"

 

I thought I had deleted my post. I confused Jason Johnson with Joshua Johnson.  Sorry!

[Ashforth]

1 minute ago, tres bien said:

I thought I had deleted my post. I confused Jason Johnson with Joshua Johnson.  Sorry!

No worries! It took me a while to look online and write my post, so I was referring to your post before you edited.

It still was eye-opening to me to see the interaction between Joshua Johnson and the other MSNBC on-air "talent" - I felt like the tension was palpable.

I used to like watching MSNBC but the past couple of years... not so much. They could benefit from the 1A approach but I think they are invested in trying to be the Dem Party Fox News. Yikes, I can't say more without getting too political.

[Pearson80]

On 3/5/2020 at 6:56 AM, Ashforth said:

No worries! It took me a while to look online and write my post, so I was referring to your post before you edited.

It still was eye-opening to me to see the interaction between Joshua Johnson and the other MSNBC on-air "talent" - I felt like the tension was palpable.

I used to like watching MSNBC but the past couple of years... not so much. They could benefit from the 1A approach but I think they are invested in trying to be the Dem Party Fox News. Yikes, I can't say more without getting too political.

I like what Joshua brings to the network and it is good to see a Black man in his position and he is very handsome.

I disagree with MSBNC trying to be like Fox for the left. I could say more but it would be off-topic.

I did not like what Jason Johnson said on that other show and he did not deserve to be suspended from MSNBC. 

Edited March 7, 2020 by Pearson80

[annzeepark914]

On 3/5/2020 at 6:40 AM, Ashforth said:

I couldn't find anything online confirming that he's been sidelined, but I did find this clip (not posted for the political content) that seems to show the established MSNBC on-air people seeming extremely pissy about his POV. Almost like "who is this outsider who dares to have an opinion different than mine?"

 

I just watched this video and didn't pick up any "pissy" vibes from the others. I enjoyed listening to him. He could fit in at the 7:00 slot (but I have no idea why he was suspended or what he said that bothered TPTB).  MSNBC needs to get someone really good to create his/her own show to replace Hardball in the very near future. With all that's going on right now, this is Go Time!

[possibilities]

My listings have removed Hardball from this week's schedule completely, and have replaced it with a show billed as being about the election. I think this means they do realize they need to develop a new show instead of just slotting in a new host under the same title, and I guess they haven't gotten that all together.

SNL had Darrell Hammond doing a Chris Matthews impersonation this week. I have to say, I enjoyed it.

[Morrigan2575]

 

I was hoping they'd give them spot to Joy or Nicole Wallace. 👍🏻