WATCH: Chris Matthews Has Al Sharpton-Like Teleprompter Flub

July 16th, 2014 9:00 PM

During a segment attacking conservative Republicans who have been critical of the Obama administration's handling of the border crisis, MSNBC's Chris Matthews had an amusing Al Sharpton-like teleprompter moment, repeatedly trying, and failing, to pronounce "dengue fever." It's curious that Matthews, who once served in the Peace Corps in Swaziland, seems unfamiliar with the term, given how prevalent the disease is in many sub-Saharan African countries -- although not Swaziland itself.

The flub occurred as Matthews read for his guests -- California Democratic Reps. Loretta Sanchez and Juan Vargas -- a portion of a letter that Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) sent to the Atlanta-based federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about his "concerns that the diseases carried by these children may begin to spread too rapidly to control." Watch the clip below the page break.