As Politico reported earlier today, Secretary of State John Kerry seemed to see a "rationale" in the deadly terrorist attacks on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper office back in January, as opposed to the coordinated but seemingly random terror strikes in Paris Friday night.
Reporter Eliza Collins posted her story at 4:14 p.m. Eastern, about 3 hours prior to MSNBC's Hardball went live on the air. That's plenty of time to work the stunning gaffe into the broadcast.
[Related post: "Networks Ignore John Kerry’s Suggestion of a ‘Rationale’ for Charlie Hebdo Terror Attacks"]
But, alas, host Chris Matthews failed to do so, even as he gave air time to a sound bite of Kerry rebuking "half-cocked" politicians who had been critical of the administration's policy towards admitting Syrian refugees (see video and transcript below):
MSNBC
Hardball
Nov. 17, 2015; 7:18 p.m. EasternSecretary of State JOHN KERRY: You know, I think we've got to not run off, you know, half-cocked here in an early stage. I think it's appropriate for a governor to stand up and say, "I want to make certain, I want to protect my people." But we shouldn't automatically say, under no circumstances, never are we going to keep faith with America's values as a country that sets an example, as a melting pot and as a place –
Matthews then segued from that to introducing and interviewing his next guest, Delaware Gov. Jack Markell (D), who has said he welcomes refugees that the Obama administration would send his way.
