Suddenly, Chris Matthews has the best interests of Republicans at heart. The MSNBC host, who has previously trashed Ted Cruz as Lucifer, on Wednesday appeared shocked at the Republican’s convention speech. A horrified Matthews chided, “What was really out of line tonight, I think politically and historically, was for Ted Cruz to basically snub the candidate for president.”
Regarding Cruz’s refusal to endorse Trump, the journalist muttered, “Extraordinary snubbing... You saw, if not sabotage tonight, certainly mutiny on the part of Cruz, hoping to bring down this nomination.”
Matthews continued, “When you leave a ship, you want it to sink, and that's what Cruz has done tonight, left a ship he hopes will sink.”
Later in the night, Matthews personally attacked Cruz, sneering, “And I will say something personal right now. And I don't even do it about politics, but I did learn why Ted Cruz's roommate from college doesn't like him.”
In April of 2016, the Hardball host compared Cruz to Satan. In February of 2016, he blasted the Republican as “operating below the level of human life.” Throughout 2015 and 2016, Matthews excoriated Cruz as “Joe McCarthy at his worst.”
So, perhaps, Matthews’s attacks on Wednesday night are more about his hatred for Cruz and less about righteous indignation in how the Republican treated Donald Trump.
Transcripts below:
MSNBC
7/20/16
11:22CHRIS MATTHEWS: Well, you know, the real drama tonight preceded Mike Pence's speech. Mike Pence supported the nominee for president. After all, he's the nominee for vice president. That's expected. What was really out of line tonight, I think politically and historically, was for Ted Cruz to basically snub the candidate for president on the night the Vice President was giving his acceptance speech, the night before Donald Trump will accept the nomination himself, an extraordinary snub. To go out there and basically not endorse, when many people thought he would. He was given, apparently, ten minutes to speak. He went over by 13 minutes. He abused that time limit. But then he went on and never endorsed the candidate for president, in fact, releasing the delegates to vote their conscience, which in parliamentary terminology is you don't have to vote with the party.
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Extraordinary snubbing. And all I can say is that Bernie Sanders next week will not do that, and that will be the big difference in this general election. Bernie Sanders, from all signs we have right now, will endorse heartily Hillary Clinton and bring in the Bernie people, all of them as he can bring, as many as he can bring in. That is very different than what we saw tonight. You saw, if not sabotage tonight, certainly mutiny on the part of Cruz, hoping to bring down this nomination. Cruz does not want Trump to win. He made that clear tonight. When you leave a ship, you want it to sink, and that's what Cruz has done tonight, left a ship he hopes will sink. And that was a major decision on his part, the opposite, of course, of what Mike Pence decided. I think this party's got a problem with Ted Cruz, and he is going to be a real problem for the party going through November, unlike Bernie Sanders, again, who clearly is going to play team ball with the Democratic Party. And I think we saw tonight the big difference in the way things are headed in terms of partisan alliances. Back to you guys.
12:40
MATTHEWS: And I will say something personal right now. And I don't even do it about politics, but I did learn why Ted Cruz's roommate from college doesn't like him.
