Reacting to Donald Trump’s extensive Thursday afternoon press conference in North Dakota, MSNBC’s Hardball host Chris Matthews let slip that Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren enjoy friendly coverage from their buddies in the liberal media and especially if they debate Trump for charity.
Matthews was speaking to breaking news anchor Brian Williams when he complimented Trump for how the press conference transpired and for emphasizing that he’d raise money for “women’s health issues” if he were to debate Sanders.
“On the women front, it's very important that he wins back the winnable women, the women who are moderate Republicans and I think he's doing something there. I think it's working. He can't be seen as misogynist,” Matthews observed.
Concerning Sanders, Matthews predicted that it won’t happen in the end because, “you don't debate down” since “everybody knows that, Nixon taught us that.”
Matthews looked ahead to if the pair actually make it happen and surmised that Sanders (and Warren) would walk away the winners in the eyes of the media:
I mean, it's a great opportunity for Bernie Sanders. I can predict right now the media will say Bernie beat him in the debate. You can absolutely write that down. That will be the result and with Elizabeth Warren, she will have her fans in the press too. I just think it's not smart to actually do it, but it’s smart to play Don King on this thing. Keep it hyped.
It should be noted that this omission comes six days after Matthews told Williams that the media are “not representative of the country” in relation to the country’s status as a “uniquely pro-gun as a country.”
The relevant portion of the transcript from the 2:00 p.m. Eastern hour of MSNBC Live can be found below.
MSNBC Live
May 26, 2016
2:53 p.m. Eastern
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Well, look what he was doing. It was a lot of things he was doing there. It's not erratic or chaotic in the mind of Donald Trump what he's been doing in this press conference today. He got the questions he wanted and what he wants to do right now is consolidate the Republican Party. So what he did he do to consolidate the Republican Party? Bo after its enemies. Go after Elizabeth Warren, go after The New York Times and all that was about building the infrastructure of fundraising he has to do which is all the mining and you'll notice he talked about Keystone, he talked about fracking. He’s on the side of the deregulators, against the regulators, against the liberals, against the reformers, whatever. It was ll about building his strength within the Republican Party this May so that he can go into July with a lot of money people behind him, the industry people behind him, the business party, which is the Republican Party behind him. It was so frontal, it was us against them and of course they're enemies and that would be the person who wants to regulate them, Elizabeth Warren. The old Pocahontas shot there he does, which I think is wearing out. The only mistake I thought he made in North Dakota where they are getting great luck in terms of oil reserves, it is a big wind state. For whatever geographic reason, North Dakota makes a lot of money off wind. I don't know why he took a shot at the eagles and all that stuff. I think that it was a very smart thing, but on the women front, it's very important that he wins back the winnable women, the women who are moderate Republicans and I think he's doing something there. I think it's working. He can't be seen as misogynist, obviously and that The New York Times article did hurt him. He’s been able to fight his way back because the piece really wasn't vetted that well, it turns out, so I think you're right. It was a smart press conference, in the fact that he talked about women's health being the beneficiary of a series of debates with people on the left. You’re right. To put it all together, it was a bankshot.
BRIAN WILLIAMS: So that works?
MATTHEWS: Well, we'll see. I don't think he's going to debate Bernie Sanders. I don’t think it’s going to happen. I don’t think he’s going to — well, you don't debate down. I mean, everybody knows that. Nixon taught us that. Don't go down. I mean, it's a great opportunity for Bernie Sanders. I can predict right now the media will say Bernie beat him in the debate. You can absolutely write that down. That will be the result and with Elizabeth Warren, she will have her fans in the press too. I just think it's not smart to actually do it, but it’s smart to play Don King on this thing. Keep it hyped.
