President-elect Donald Trump was four days out from taking the oath of office and liberals were already scheming for his impeachment on MSNBC. During Monday’s Hardball, host Chris Matthews peddled in conspiracy theories of Russian “collusion” with the Trump campaign while teeing up Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters to attack the president-elect. “Does that make Trump subject to impeachment? What do you mean by not legitimate,” Matthews demanded to know.
Waters seemed to be off the rails as she declared that if Russia “were the ones who came up with ‘Crooked Hillary,’” then “I think that is something that would put the question squarely on the table whether or not he should be impeached.” At one point, she even suggested that Russia could have been behind the nicknames Trump used against his Republican opponents during the primary.
The MSNBC host was in agreement with Waters and tried to find any way he could to tie Trump to the Kremlin. “Russian television was running a lot of propaganda that Hillary was mentally and physically impaired. That was their—That was the propaganda message,” he exclaimed to Republican strategist John Brabender. Matthews’ guest mocked him, stating, “Yeah because so many Americans are watching Russian television.”
“Do you believe that Trump is somehow being held hostage by Vladimir Putin because of information on his behavior,” Matthews continued, alluding to BuzzFeed’s salacious fake news.
“You know, what we have heard, not in the classified briefing, but in this information about the dossier that has been collected by the man in London on him,” Waters replied, “It talks about some things that appears to ring true based on what we have learned about Trump.”
It’s disappointing that Matthews would allow Waters to exploit BuzzFeed’s fake news when just last week he admitted the dossier was “misinformation” released for the amusement of Trump’s enemies. But he let her use it anyway, even begging her to dive deeper. Waters obliged:
Ok, what I have learn or heard about the dossier, it's about his involvement with women. It's probably prostitutes that are involved and those kinds of things. And he has sounded that way. He has acted that way, and it gives you reason to think maybe something is to this and we need to find out more.
Matthews invited such outlandishness from the very first question: “Is Trump going to be a legitimate president United States, actually president of the United States, or not?” As Brabender quipped at the end of the segment, it’s all “sour grapes.” Waters even argued that since Trump joked about not accepting the election results so could Democrats, but for real.
Transcript below:
<<< Please support MRC's NewsBusters team with a tax-deductible contribution today. >>>
MSNBC
Hardball
January 16, 2017
7:02:46 PM EasternCHRIS MATTHEWS: Congresswoman, let me ask you. I guess there's two issues here. Is Trump going to be a legitimate president United States, actually president of the United States, or not? And are there questions about what roll Russian played in this election? I personally think they’re separate questions, but do you?
MAXINE WATERS: No, absolutely not. And I think when John talked about him being illegitimate, he really was talk about the fact that the questions are still out there about whether or not the Russian did play a role in determining what happened in our elections. And also, I think John was talking about-- there are going to be more investigations to determine whether or not Trump or his advocates people associated with him on his staff in the campaign; whether or not there was some collusion; whether or not there were exchanges of information; whether or not they were strategizing together.
And I think that's what he was trying to describe. Other people are trying to talk about this, you know, democracy and whether or not once you question whether someone a legitimate that you are questioning whether or not the democracy works.
…
MATTHEWS: Well, let's talk about where that leads to Congresswoman. You raised a good point here. I guess for you it’s important. If we find out that somebody on behalf of Donald Trump was on the phone or in e-mail relations with somebody in Russia or ambassador to America from Russia and there was some sort of, as you call it, collusion, then what? Does that make Trump subject to impeachment? What do you mean by not legitimate? Just generally, what do you mean by the term? If you find out there was a connection, there was collusion? Your term.
WATERS: Well, here’s what I’m trying to get to. If we discover that Donald Trump or his advocates played a role in helping to devise strategy, if they were the ones who came up with “Crooked Hillary,” If they were the ones who came up with “She’s ill, something’s wrong with her energy,” and the way he basically, you know, described her in the campaign. I think that is something that would put the question squarely on the table whether or not he should be impeached.
…
MATTHEWS: Russian television was running a lot of propaganda that Hillary was mentally and physically impaired. That was their—That was the propaganda message.
JOHN BRABENDER: Yeah, because so many Americans are watching Russian television.
…
MATTHEWS: Do you believe that Trump is somehow being held hostage by Vladimir Putin because of information on his behavior? Is there anywhere in that world that you want to know more about?
WATERS: I absolutely do want to know more about it. And let me tell you why I want to know more about it. You know, what we have heard, not in the classified briefing, but in this information about the dossier that has been collected by the man in London on him. It talks about some things that appears to ringing true based on what we have learned about Trump.
Remember, when he talked about how to get away with grabbing a woman in her private parties, et cetera, et cetera. He defined himself. We did not define him. And I thin we need to know more, we got to dig deeper, we’ve got to investigate. And yes, I think there maybe something that Putin is holding over his head.
MATTHEWS: Just to make the point clear. What in that dossier do you think resonates with what we heard Trump say in that bus one day with Billy Bush? What resonates?
WATERS: Ok, what I have learn or heard about the dossier, it's about his involvement with woman. It's probably prostitutes that are involved, and those kinds of things. And he has sounded that way. He has acted that way, and it gives you reason to think maybe something is to this and we need to find out more.
…
