Chris Matthews Criticized for Contentious Interview with Elizabeth Warren Over Bloomberg: ‘Comically Sexist and Tone Deaf’
MSNBC host Chris Matthews sparked criticism on Tuesday night for interrogating Elizabeth Warren in an interview following the Democratic debate, during which he pressed her to explain why one should believe Mike Bloomberg’s accusers over the former Mayor himself.
During the South Carolina debate, Warren grilled the former Mayor on a lawsuit in which a female employee claimed he told her to “kill it” when he discovered she was pregnant. Bloomberg repeatedly stated he never said that, but Warren made it clear she believed his accuser.
Matthews questioned Warren on the confrontation, stating, “Do you believe that the former Mayor of New York said that to a pregnant employee?” Later asking, “And why would he lie, just to protect himself?”
Matthews is now facing criticism for his refusal to accept that a man would lie about harassment and for his inability to understand why Bloomberg would deny the accusation.
Shaunna Thomas, co-founder of the women’s advocacy group UltraViolet has even requested that MSNBC fire their host, stating, “MSNBC needs to fire Chris Matthews. Today.”
Similarly, social media activism organization Sleeping Giants took to Twitter to question why Matthews is still on the air.
This is disgusting.
How does @MSNBC keep Chris Matthews on the air? pic.twitter.com/6gjpKI2aXE
— Sleeping Giants (@slpng_giants) February 26, 2020
HuffPost senior reporter, Emily Peck, additionally showed disapproval in a tweet that called Matthews’s remarks “comically sexist and tone deaf.”
Chris Matthews questions for Elizabeth Warren were almost comically sexist and tone deaf. Matthews apparently has a hard time understanding why Warren might believe a woman. Even this week, after all that’s gone down. Here’s my take: https://t.co/KyA8GDikvW
— Emily Peck (@EmilyRPeck) February 26, 2020
HuffPost reporter Sara Boboltz poked fun at Matthews, claiming he “doesn’t seem to know what’s going on” while screenwriter Josh Olson joked that Matthews was on his way to switching to Fox News.
Warren is reframing his whole question and Chris Matthews doesn’t seem to understand what’s going on https://t.co/N4wDZfldfY
— Sara B. (@sara_bee) February 26, 2020
Chris Matthews is six months away from having his own show on Fox. They can call it The No Spin Zone. I believe that name is available…https://t.co/K2Uyh33VNP
— Josh Olson (@joshuarolson) February 26, 2020
Several other activists and public figures took to Twitter to express their disapproval:
Chris Matthews asks Elizabeth Warren why she believes a female employee who sued Mike Bloomberg for telling her “kill it” when she was pregnant over Bloomberg.
“You believe he’s lying? …Why would he lie? Just to protect himself? …You’re confident of your accusation?” pic.twitter.com/hVkkQhhXtz
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) February 26, 2020
Can I replace @HardballChris @MSNBC? Someone has to… https://t.co/h6pfIsqtcN
— Jena Friedman (@JenaFriedman) February 26, 2020
Jeez Louise what did he do now OH MY GOD. https://t.co/sB44Hlg2iP
— jess mcintosh (@jess_mc) February 26, 2020
Last night, @HardballChris GRILLED Elizabeth Warren for bringing up Bloomberg’s “Kill it” comment to a pregnant employee. She was under fire, not Bloomberg.
Matthews settled a similar lawsuit in 2017. Lack of women in media leadership REALLY MATTERS. https://t.co/oVm0oBja14
— Brianna Wu (@BriannaWu) February 26, 2020
That moment of stunned silence on Matthews when Warren says “why would SHE lie?”
Tells you everything you need to know. https://t.co/vStUp6QqzP— Jessica Ellis (@baddestmamajama) February 26, 2020
Warren is great here. & Matthews is particularly ridiculous bc he’s clearly not even familiar with the story — the WaPo just printed a piece quoting a named, on-the-record bystander, a man who heard Bloomberg make the comment. https://t.co/ZcwHNcl2k0
— Emily Nussbaum (@emilynussbaum) February 26, 2020
It’s been fascinating to watch Chris Matthews implode his career every week this month.
You gotta hope this is the second strike at the very least. https://t.co/M7VzjfVLEc
— Noah “The Droid Is Ready” Nelson (@noahjnelson) February 26, 2020
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