2020 Democratic presidential candidate and impeachment fanatic Tom Steyer joined Tuesday’s edition of Hardball on MSNBC and, while he received plenty of praise from host Chris Matthews, he was strangely hailed by Matthews as a modern-day John Brown despite the abolitionist suffering death by hanging in 1859.
First, the not-so-weird praise. At the onset, Matthews gushed that Steyer “spotted the cancer” in this country that’s been “the Trump presidency” and spiraled into “this latest symptom of unconstitutional behavior.”
Steyer replied that he knew from day one and launched his impeachment campaign because “this President was putting his interests ahead of the interests of the American people and he was using the office for his own benefit and it's absolute corruption.”
The liberal billionaire next refused to defend those Americans he disagrees with when Matthews kvetched about “why did two out of five Americans in poll after poll put up with this indecency.” Steyer then ironically undermined his years-long impeachment boondoggle by claiming that “I don't think the evidence has been made clear” but will be with televised hearings.
After Matthews hailed that he will “go down in history as the one man who bankrolled” impeachment and Steyer noted that he’s spent over $47 million on his campaign, Matthews asked about the lengths he’d go to throw Trump out of office (click “expand”):
MATTHEWS: But roughly, I want to ask you a question without —
STEYER: Go ahead.
MATTHEWS: Would you spend your last dollar to get rid of this president?
STEYER: I would spend my last dollar to save the American democracy in a heartbeat and never regret it for a second.
MATTHEWS: Well, you know, you got something there. Cancer on the presidency. You saw the stream — the strain of evil there early on and it's now in full fruition.
STEYER: Can I say something about the —
MATTHEWS: Do you like the way Pelosi is handling this?
STEYER: Look, I've been pushing for what we're talking about now, televised hearings. Bring in the American people.
In bidding Steyer farewell, Matthews then tied him to the famous abolitionist who led the October 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry, West Virginia:
STEYER: Let the truth roll.
MATTHEWS: Thank you, Tom Steyer.
STEYER: Chris Matthews!
MATTHEWS: You're a — you’re a John Brown to this whole thing. You started this thing. Still ahead — remember him?
STEYER: Yeah, oh gosh! I hope I don’t end up hung by a tree!
MATTHEWS: In Harpers Ferry? Anyway, thank you.
#Awkward.
To see the relevant transcript from MSNBC’s Hardball on October 29, click “expand.”
MSNBC’s Hardball
October 29, 2019
7:36 p.m. EasternCHRIS MATTHEWS: Let's talk Turkey. You know, John Dean once said back in Watergate days, there was a cancer on the presidency. You spotted the cancer. What is it essentially in the Trump presidency what led to this today, this latest symptom of unconstitutional behavior? What did you spot early?
TOM STEYER: Chris, from his very first day in office, this President was putting his interests ahead of the interests of the American people and he was using the office —
MATTHEWS: That’s corruption.
STEYER: — for his own benefit and it's absolute corruption. And then as you pointed out in the previous segment he was covering it up intentional [sic]. We saw in the Mueller report that there were numerous examples of obstruction of justice. But he's someone who cannot understand his job is to put the American people first in every single instance and he is never to put himself ahead of them. That is what I spotted from day one, that he is a deeply corrupt man and it's absolutely critical for this country to draw that distinction and for the democracy itself and the American people to get a chance to draw right from wrong.
MATTHEWS: Why did two out of five Americans in poll after poll put up with this indecency?
STEYER: I don't think the evidence has been made clear, and there's a question now about having televised hearings.
MATTHEWS: You think televised hearings where you basically force-feed like a goose, you force-feed the information to people who don't want to receive it.
STEYER: Well, I think —
MATTHEWS: Do you think Trump people want to hear the truth?
STEYER: — I think that the American people are decent, and when the evidence gets in front of them the way the Kavanaugh hearings are, with no intermediation by anybody, it will come to the conclusion that there's deep corruption, that it's absolutely unacceptable and he has to go and that will put enormous pressure on every elected official. To me, the court that counts is the American people in the court of public opinion.
MATTHEWS: You, sir, are going to go down in history as the one man who bankrolled the effort to impeach a president. You personally did it. How much have you spent so far? No, come on. How much have you spent overall starting at the beginning of your campaign -- your ads are on TV all the time. I know what you’re spending. How much does that add up to so far?
STEYER: I literally don’t known Chris.
MATTHEWS: Give me a ballpark. Give me a ballpark
STEYER: I think someone in the campaign said there was $100 million for ads.
MATTHEWS: So far?
STEYER: Yeah.
MATTHEWS: You far will you go?
STEYER: Look, my point on all of this —
MATTHEWS: Because, at this rate, you're doing well. You’ve gotten into the next debate. You’re in it.
STEYER: Oh, you mean, just in terms of the campaign? Not to impeachment?
MATTHEWS: Everything.
STEYER: I think the campaign we’ve spent — I think the number was $47, $48 million.
MATTHEWS: So far.
STEYER: Look, I'm doing the exact same thing running for president that I was doing for impeachment. I'm doing the exact same thing running for president that I was doing taking on climate over a decade ago. I'm doing the exact same thing I'm doing running for president when I tried — when I’ve been organizing young people to vote. There's something wrong in the United States. No one wants to deal with it. Corporations own this government.
MATTHEWS: Well, that’s where I was at and you’re denying it. You're saying truth will win out?
STEYER: I'm saying someone has to — just like the impeachment, someone has to go tell the truth. Corporations own the government. They've bought the government. We're not getting the American people to be served and everybody in the country knows it, Chris. I was literally asking — talking to a 25-year-old at 11:00 p.m. three days ago in New Hampshire
MATTHEWS: I don't think — I don’t think corporations own AOC and some people like that. Who do they own? Who do they own?
STEYER: No, but they get the outcome. Look, if you take a look why do we have the drug prices we do?
MATTHEWS: Well, I accept that. That’s political power, sure.
STEYER: Why have we never dealt with climate? Why have we never —
MATTHEWS: Fossil fuels
STEYER: — yep. Why have we never dealt with our gun violence that has been going on for decades?
MATTHEWS: Okay, thank you.
STEYER: Americans —
MATTHEWS: But roughly, I want to ask you a question without —
STEYER: Go ahead.
MATTHEWS: Would you spend your last dollar to get rid of this president?
STEYER: I would spend my last dollar to save the American democracy in a heartbeat and never regret it for a second.
MATTHEWS: Well, you know, you got something there. Cancer on the presidency. You saw the stream — the strain of evil there early on and it's now in full fruition.
STEYER: Can I say something about the —
MATTHEWS: Do you like the way Pelosi is handling this?
STEYER: Look, I've been pushing for what we're talking about now, televised hearings. Bring in the American people
MATTHEWS: We’ll get to them. We’re going to get to them.
STEYER: I know, but that's what we need.
MATTHEWS: We’ll get to them.
STEYER: It’s the — it’s the — can democracy work?
MATTHEWS: Hey, I'm on prime time even though it's going to hurt us, I love prime time because people actually watch television at night.
STEYER: Let the truth roll.
MATTHEWS: Thank you, Tom Steyer.
STEYER: Chris Matthews!
MATTHEWS: You're a — you’re a John Brown to this whole thing. You started this thing. Still ahead — remember him?
STEYER: Yeah, oh gosh! I hope I don’t end up hung by a tree!
MATTHEWS: In Harpers Ferry? Anyway, thank you.
