MSNBC’s Chris Matthews is walking back his remarks made about Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) after his Nazi analogy to the 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful’s win in the Nevada caucuses.
Matthews compared over the weekend on-air Sanders’ win to the fall of France in 1940:
“I was reading last night about the fall of France in the summer of 1940, and the general, Renault, calls up Churchill and says, ‘It’s over.’ And Churchill says, ‘How can it be? You’ve got the greatest army in Europe. How can it be over?’ He said, ‘It’s over.’ So I had that suppressed feeling, I can’t be as wild as [James] Carville, but he is damn smart, but I think he’s damn right on this one.”
Sanders’ campaign communication director responded to the remarks, tweeting, “Never thought part of my job would be pleading with a national news network to stop likening the campaign of a jewish presidential candidate whose family was wiped out by the nazis to the third reich. but here we are.”
In case you missed it:
Frightened Baby Chris Matthews equates a sanders victory to the fall of France to Nazi Germany. Absolutely Horrific pic.twitter.com/sLnATZpwo2
— Keith J Carberry (@KeithJCarberry) February 22, 2020
On Monday evening, Matthews offered an apology on his show for his recent comments.
“Before getting into tonight’s news, I want to say something quite important and personal,” Matthews said, adding, “As I watched the one-sided results of Saturday’s Democratic caucus in Nevada, I reached for a historical analogy — and used a bad one. I was wrong to refer to an event from the first days of World War II.”
Matthews continued to then offer the Vermont senator a personal apology:
“Senator Sanders, I’m sorry for comparing anything from that tragic era in which so many suffered, especially the Jewish people, to an electorate result in which you were the well-deserved winner. This is going to be a hard-fought, heated campaign of ideas.”
Watch the video below:
Chris Matthews apologizes to Bernie Sanders and his supporters for comparing Bernies NV win to Nazis taking France in WWII pic.twitter.com/gMq9mnq30i
— Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew_lawrence) February 25, 2020
“In the days and weeks and months ahead, I will strive to do a better job myself of elevating the political discussion,” he added. “Congratulations, by the way, to you Senator Sanders and to your supporters on a tremendous win down in Nevada.”
Sanders came out with the victory in the Nevada caucuses over the weekend, followed by former Vice President Joe Biden then former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg. As of polls dated through Feb. 22, Sanders is in the lead nationally among the Democratic contenders.
