Occasionally, MSNBC’s Hardball host Chris Matthews flashes a pillar of his Catholic upbringing and Monday night was one such instance as he pressed New York Times reporter Yamiche Alcindor on whether or not she has any pro-life co-workers at the liberal paper after she laughed at the idea of liberal media bias.
Alcindor pathetically ducked the question by insisting that it’s “not a question I’m going to answer” but she nonetheless has “no idea” if she has any fellow journalists at the bastion of the left are anything other than pro-abortion.
The discussion that prompted Alcindor’s laughter started when Matthews wondered to conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt what he made of the argument that Donald Trump “represents the regular folks out there and the media represents the elite” even though Trump himself is an Ivy Leaguer and many journalists are as well.
Hewitt then masterfully explained that “[n]inety-percent plus of Manhattan-Beltway media elites will vote for Hillary Clinton and will applaud her election” and “seeps into their coverage” before quoting Dan Rather about news being “where you look”:
It’s what Dan Rather said. News is where you look. Those elites look for news in places other than, for example, the ObamaCare premium hikes or the problems at the FBI. These are stories where if Donald Trump were making a comprehensive case — it goes back to Nixon and Agnew...It’s a true saw in the Republican cannon that you don`t get a fair shake, but you`ve got to deal with it by focusing on issues, not on the problem of bias.
Alcindor could be heard laughing near the end of Hewitt’s comments and asked to respond but Matthews included this modifier for her to answer first:
Yamiche, do you think that`s true? Do you think that’s true? I mean, I look at Joe Biden. He`s not elite. I look at Bobby Casey of Pennsylvania. I don`t think he’s elite. I look at Toomey, who’s not elite. Who are these — name me the elite in the media. Give me the names.
She answered that both Trump and Bernie Sanders reporters often did and continue to attack the media but while she suggested it could be seen as “kind of an effective argument” based on where some individuals go for their news “but there are people making value judgments” (which I gather she would encourage for us all to trust).
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It was here that Matthews stumped her with this shocker out of the blue: “Do you know anybody, Yamiche, at The New York Times who`s pro-life?”
“That`s not a question I’m going to answer. I have no idea,” Alcindor responded.
Matthews tried again and told Alcindor that she didn’t “have to name names,” but Alcindor still deflected and proved to Matthews (as well as the rest of us watching) her point about how pro-abortion and out of touch such elite journalists are:
ALCINDOR: I have not asked my co-workers that question, I should say.
MATTHEWS: Well, that`s cute.
ALCINDOR: Wait, but I want to answer —
MATTHEWS: You’re making your point. That`s the way you make your point.
The relevant portions of the transcript from MSNBC’s Hardball on October 24 can be found below.
MSNBC’s Hardball
October 24, 2016
7:08 p.m. EasternCHRIS MATTHEWS: What do you make of that argument — that he represents the regular folks out there and the media represents the elite? And why would the media, except a lot of us are — a lot of media people are Ivy Leaguers and they are, you might say, the intellectual elite, although I don`t think that’s what I brag about, but they are, some of them — why is the media pro-elite, according to him? Give me the motivation because you’re on that side of thinking and I want to hear the smart way of saying it.
HUGH HEWITT: To quo — thank you. To quote Kissinger, it has the additional benefit of being true. Ninety-percent plus of Manhattan-Beltway media elites will vote for Hillary Clinton and will applaud her election. That seeps into coverage. It’s what Dan Rather said. News is where you look. Those elites look for news in places other than, for example, the ObamaCare premium hikes or the problems at the FBI. These are stories where if Donald Trump were making a comprehensive case — it goes back to Nixon and Agnew. You know this, Chris. This is an old saw —
MATTHEWS: Yes.
HEWITT: — and it`s a true saw in the Republican cannon that you don`t get a fair shake, but you`ve got to deal with it by focusing on issues, not on the problem of bias.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR [LAUGHING]: Can I jump in here really quickly?
MATTHEWS: Yamiche, do you think that`s true? Do you think that’s true? I mean, I look at Joe Biden. He`s not elite. I look at Bobby Casey of Pennsylvania. I don`t think he’s elite. I look at Toomey, who’s not elite. Who are these — name me the elite in the media. Give me the names.
ALCINDOR: Well, this is the thing. If we ask people like Donald Trump, or if you ask people like Bernie Sanders, they were both going after some of the same people. They were talking about The New York Times. They were talking about The Washington Post and really, this is something I think that is kind of an effective argument because people really do feel like when they go and get the news that they’re really getting it from these people who have some sort of plan to rig this election or rig the economy or don’t want to cover the real issues, when, you know, obviously, the media is in some ways covering the news of the day and covering things that we think are important, but there are people making value judgments, but I should add that I talked to a Trump supp —
MATTHEWS: Do you know anybody, Yamiche, at The New York Times who`s pro-life?
ALCINDOR [LAUGHING]: — that`s not a question I’m going to answer. I have no idea.
MATTHEWS: Do you know anybody? Just — you don`t have to name names. Do you know anybody at The Times who’s pro-life?
ALCINDOR: I have not asked my co-workers that question, I should say.
MATTHEWS: Well, that`s cute.
ALCINDOR: Wait, but I want to answer —
MATTHEWS: You’re making your point. That`s the way you make your point.
