Chris Matthews apologizes for Nazi analogy to Sanders victory
NEW YORK — MSNBC’s Chris Matthews apologized Monday to Bernie Sanders for comparing the Democratic senator’s win in the Nevada caucus to the Nazi takeover of France.
Matthews’ self-described “bad” analogy deepened the discontent that the presidential candidate and his supporters have been feeling lately toward the cable network, one that is usually friendly territory for liberals.
“Sen. Sanders, I’m sorry for comparing anything from that tragic era in which so many suffered, especially the Jewish people, to an electoral result in which you were the well-deserved winner,” Matthews said at the opening of his show, “Hardball,” on Monday evening.
He said he’d try to do a better job elevating the debate. He made the Nazi remark during his network’s coverage of Nevada results on Saturday.
Matthews had said Saturday that he was reminded of a French general reporting to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill that France had fallen to Germany in the summer of 1940.
“Churchill says, ‘how can it be over? You’ve got the greatest army in Europe. How can it be over,’” Matthews said. “He said, ‘it’s over.’”
Democratic rivals attack Sanders
Worried Democrats on Monday intensified their assault against Sanders as he marched toward South Carolina’s weekend primary eyeing a knockout blow.
At least three leading candidates, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and Mike Bloomberg, reinforced their anti-Sanders rhetoric with paid attack ads for the first time. Biden still predicted he would win “by plenty” in Saturday’s contest, the first with a sizable black population to weigh in.
Meanwhile, Republicans working to win back the House majority jumped on comments Sanders made in a CBS News “60 Minutes” segment aired Sunday in which he praised the late Cuban ruler Fidel Castro for establishing what Sanders called a “massive literacy program” when he took power.
Sanders was also in a dispute with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a group that advocates for strong U.S.-Israel relations. Sanders said he would skip the group’s conference because he was concerned about giving airtime to “leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights.”
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, called that characterization “offensive” and “irresponsible.”
In India, President Donald Trump predicted a messy primary season for Democrats.
“It could go to the convention, it really could,” Trump said. “They are going to take it away from Crazy Bernie, they are not going to let him win.”
He added, “I actually think he would be tougher than most of the other candidates because he is like me, but I have a much bigger base.”