Following Meet the Press host David Gregory’s softball interview with former Ambassador Susan Rice, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews rushed to defend Ms. Rice from criticism surrounding the terrorist attack in Benghazi.
Appearing as a panelist on the Sunday show, Matthews eagerly asked Gregory if he could defend Ambassador Rice before pushing the White House talking point that “it was a copycat situation Benghazi, came out of what happened in Cairo – which itself probably came out of that crazy movie out of Los Angeles.” [See video below.]
As Matthews doubled down on his over-the-top defense of Ms. Rice, the MSNBC host insisted that the “crazy movie out of Las Angeles… did track and the language used by her that day which is extremism rather than terrorism had come from the intelligence community.”
Matthews continued by laughably defending Ms. Rice’s “performance” during her 2012 interview with Gregory and the “Hardball” host even argued that “The refusal to mention Al Qaeda in that context was directly a decision by Petraeus as DCI I. and so it wasn't that bad a performance. And for them to make a big deal about this thing, as their main campaign against Hillary Clinton I think is not going to get very far.”
Rather than push back against Matthews’ enthusiastic defense of Ms. Rice, PBS News Hour host Judy Woodruff eagerly accepted the premise of Matthews’ assertions:
I think the Republicans have beaten that drum. They'll continue to beat that drum. But I don't see it playing a central role in the election. I mean we all know, we've said this 1,000 times, politics of six months from now much less two, three years from now might as well as be 100 years away. We don’t know what's going to happen.
How convenient for two liberal hosts to declare that not only was Benghazi brought about by a video but that the attack wont hurt Hillary Clinton’s presidential ambitions one bit. NBC News has already begun providing cover for Ms. Clinton regarding her husband’s shortcomings as president, so it was only a matter of time before members of the liberal media did their best to excuse yet another disturbing part of Secretary Clinton’s legacy.
See relevant transcript below.
NBC
Meet the Press
February 23, 2014
11:05 a.m. Eastern
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Can I defend, well, former Ambassador Rice, now NSC Director. You know, when she was on the program with you, if you go back and look at the bipartisan report of the Senate Intelligence Committee basically on the main points that it was a copycat situation Benghazi, came out of what happened in Cairo – which itself probably came out of that crazy movie out of Los Angeles but it did track and the language used by her that day which is extremism rather than terrorism had come from the intelligence community. The refusal to mention al-Qaeda in that context was directly a decision by Petraeus as DCI and so it wasn't that bad a performance. And for them to make a big deal about this thing, as their main campaign against Hillary Clinton I think is not going to get very far.
DAVID GREGORY: The intrigue though about that appearance on this program and others by Susan Rice that Hillary Clinton didn't make it and ultimately whether it cost her job as Secretary of State, she didn't really engage on that as I didn't necessarily expect her to today.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, that's right. I think the Republicans have beaten that drum. They'll continue to beat that drum. But I don't see it playing a central role in the election. I mean we all know, we've said this 1,000 times, politics of six months from now much less two, three years from now might as well as be 100 years away. We don’t know what's going to happen.
DAVID BROOKS: Ted Nugent will stay something stupid.
