Collateral damage report: Chris Matthews just announced that he and his show Hardball are ending their run on MSNBC. This, after the controversy surrounding his remarks following the New Hampshire primary (or was it the last debate? I’m a bit fuzzy on that) to the effect that Bernie Sanders’ eclipse of Joe Biden was like the Germans sweeping into France. No, he didn’t say Bernie was like the Nazis. But it left a lingering bad taste the in air, and although he didn’t give a reason why he was calling it quits today, it would seem the pressure was on him to move out. So it goes.
Who will replace him? After Matthews’ appearance onscreen, making his parting statement, the rest of the show is being hosted by Steve Kornacki, a.k.a the Map Guy. Will Steve take the slot permanently? Perhaps, but I’d rather see it go to Joy Reid, who is so damn good, sharp, and entertaining on her Sat.- Sun. morning AM Joy. Her time has come, if not now then soon, very soon.
…it wasn’t because of that. It was because of his sexist misogynistic attitude in his interview with Warren which lead to Laura Bassett writing this article about her encounters with Matthews. Not collateral damage. A sexist misogynist got called out on his sexist misogynistic behaviour and he threw a fit and walked off the job. No great big mystery here, and no great big deal. Good riddance and about time.
Joy did some time in the barrel for 10-year-old old blog posts that included some mildly gay-mocking language that you wouldn’t get away with today. She has taken ownership and apologized. MSNBC certainly still supports her.
As for hating Pete, well I don’t know if that’s true, but Pete was not exactly a progressive’s dream date.
They might talk to Shepherd Smith although it might be a tough sell since viewers know he was on Fox. And he was a news guy not an opinion guy like Hannity, etc.
I liked Hardball, but honestly Matthews was not the sharpest knife in the MSNBC drawer. I wouldn’t mind seeing Donny Deutsch getting another shot, his Saturday Night Politics had the misfortune of airing on Saturday night. Another one I’d like is Katy Tur, she’s bright and asks relevant questions. Maybe Nicole Wallace deserves a better time slot as well. Good chance to shuffle the lineup, listening to Matthews constantly interrupting his guests was grating.
Yeah, I’ve liked Matthews but lately he’s been pretty tone deaf. I know he’s a political junkie but he’s 74, married and has plenty of money. Retiring isn’t a bad idea. Time to chill and enjoy life. Travel. Write more books. And I will be a bit surprised if he doesn’t show up as a “special correspondent” during the conventions and election.
Joy Reid has been named as permanent host of the 7PM slot, beginning July 20.
About time, say I. She is by far the most interesting member of the MSNBC farm team.
As for Reid: no doubt she’s earned the M-F exposure. She is smart, though also, from my point of view, overly prone to giving airtime to religious figures (nearly always Protestant pastors, I believe). But she’ll probably do well in the slot.
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ETA: yeesh, those photos really do take over the page!
ETA more: That’s weird: as soon as I posted that comment, the photo went to stamp-size!
Joy Reid sucks but was inevitable. It’s an election year so they need Kornacki to spaz out on the Big Board. He also would have sucked holding down a desk.
I wish somebody would give airtime to Soledad O’Brien. Nobody is better at turning an interview into a cross-examination. Nobody. I have never understood how or why she seemingly got banished to the wilderness after CNN.
Does not. Anyway, I’d like to hear who you’d prefer. Or maybe you just hate the MSNBC mold to begin with, which admittedly is pretty shabby if you care at all about the Whole Rest of the World.