Lacking some self-awareness, MSNBC host Chris Matthews opened Tuesday’s Hardball by comparing President Donald Trump to a “large” jungle animal causing “danger in the morning” when he “come[s] out to feed” (in the form of tweeting) to the point that Matthews is struggling to see Trump as the President of United States.
Matthews also played the comparison game later on when he stated that White House press secretary Sean Spicer “sounds like a public defender with an obviously guilty defendant and he's going to say the guy’s innocent or the women’s innocent” and only do so because he’s “been assigned by the state to defend this character.”
Going back to the beginning of the show, Matthews complained that “[t]his isn’t like covering politics anymore” but instead “more like doing guard duty in a jungle”:
There are strange noises in the night these days, but dawn brings really danger in the morning when the large animals come out to feed. Donald Trump likes to get up early and roar. Since getting up Saturday morning, he’s roared about President Obama wiretapping him during the campaign, though no one around him from his press secretary to the Republican head of the House Intelligence Committee will confirm it ever happened.
“He, Trump tweeted — now this is the President of the United States — some vindictive crap about Arnold Schwarzenegger losing his job in The Apprentice and then, today, still at dawn patrol, Trump roared about President Obama releasing 122 terrorists from Guantanamo Bay who then went out and rejoined the cause,” Matthews added.
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A few minutes later, Matthews welcomed on liberal Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell (Calif.) to wallow in the fact that Trump’s technically President of the United States.
The MSNBC host whined that he’s “hav[ing] a hard time actually calling him President Trump right now because when he gets up at dawn and starts tweeting, that doesn’t seem like an official statement from the President.”
“He’s that armchair uncle after Thanksgiving dinner who’s just letting his unfounded opinions fly and we need a President who’s focused now,” Swalwell responded.
For his closing “Trump Watch” commentary, Matthews expanded upon how, even in March, he’s experiencing this somewhat comical discomfort.
“How should someone like me refer to the man who gets up at dawn and tweets untrue claims about our most recent President? Do I call him the President of the United States even though he doesn't seem to be speaking as the President of the United States? Doesn't seem to be speaking as a public official as all,” Matthews fretted.
Matthews concluded that he doesn’t “hear Hail to the Chief when I hear about this banter at dawn” but rather an oivernight “right-wing radio” caller:
Look, I know he's President but this strike you, this kind of conduct, with the office of the presidency? Does it? Well, sorry, I don't hear Hail to the Chief when I hear about this banter at dawn. I don't hear a President going about his sworn duties. I hear is a guy trying to get attention like that guy back who said Barack Obama was an illegal immigrant, that guy who said Ted Cruz's father killed President Kennedy. I hear a guy who calls into right wing radio with some crazy hate-filled conspiracy theory, something that should be forgotten by dawn, not woken up by it.
Here’s the relevant portions of the transcript from MSNBC’s Hardball on March 7:
MSNBC’s Hardball
March 7, 2017
7:00 p.m. Eastern
CHRIS MATTHEWS: This isn’t like covering politics anymore. It’s more like doing guard duty in a jungle. There are strange noises in the night these days, but dawn brings really danger in the morning when the large animals come out to feed. Donald Trump likes to get up early and roar. Since getting up Saturday morning, he’s roared about President Obama wiretapping him during the campaign, though no one around him from his press secretary to the Republican head of the House Intelligence Committee will confirm it ever happened. He, Trump tweeted — now this is the President of the United States — some vindictive crap about Arnold Schwarzenegger losing his job in The Apprentice and then, today, still at dawn patrol, Trump roared about President Obama releasing 122 terrorists from Guantanamo Bay who then went out and rejoined the cause. Well, it turns out more than nine out of ten of those once and future terrorists were released before Obama ever came to the White House. Fact. What’s happening is this thing has gotten so haywire that his people — his very spokesman in the White House, and his Republicans in the Congress, will no longer play ditto heads. They don't believe the guy. Sean Spicer refuses now to lip sync what Trump said about wiretapping. Now, he edits the President as if his boss were speaking English as a Second Language, fixing his math, trying to fix what Trump has just said.
(....)
7:05 p.m. Eastern
MATTHEWS: Well, Trump is President of the United States. I have a hard time actually calling him President Trump right now because when he gets up at dawn and starts tweeting, that doesn’t seem like an official statement from the President. It strikes me as a guy who used to say Obama was an illegal immigrant or that Ted Cruz’s father killed Kennedy. I mean, it seems like that guy — like he’s some blogger. He’s not the President. What do you think —
DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN ERIC SWALWELL (Calif.): He’s like that uncle —
MATTHEWS: — when he makes these claims? What do you make of them? Who is he? Is he President when he’s doing this or is this some weird extra curriculum at dawn that he practices?
SWALWELL: He’s that armchair uncle after Thanksgiving dinner who’s just letting his unfounded opinions fly and we need a President who’s focused now.
(....)
7:08 p.m. Eastern
MATTHEWS: He sounds— Sean Spicer sounds like a public defender with an obviously guilty defendant and he's going to say the guy’s innocent or the women’s innocent. He’s just going to say, look, I’ve have been assigned by the state to defend this character. I’ll do my best.
(....)
7:58 p.m. Eastern
MATTHEWS: Trump Watch, Tuesday March 17, 2017. Look, I'm big on titles. If you haven’t noticed, I don't call members of Congress or senators or governors by their first name. I believe someone elected by the people in our society deserves the honor of their office and just as important, the honor of having sought the popular mandate that gives them the moral and public authority that comes with being chosen by the people. In short, when someone has a title, an elective, it's my view they deserve to be honored with it. They earned it. Now to Donald Trump. How should someone like me refer to the man who gets up at dawn and tweets untrue claims about our most recent President? Do I call him the President of the United States even though he doesn't seem to be speaking as the President of the United States? Doesn't seem to be speaking as a public official as all? Should I say as if anchoring a morning straight news report, President Trump tweeted this morning that President Obama committed a felony during his administration by secretly bugging him. Does that sound right to you? That kind of report? Does it? President Trump tweeted this morning that Barack Obama is a felon. Look, I know he's President but this strike you, this kind of conduct, with the office of the presidency? Does it? Well, sorry, I don't hear Hail to the Chief when I hear about this banter at dawn. I don't hear a President going about his sworn duties. I hear is a guy trying to get attention like that guy back who said Barack Obama was an illegal immigrant, that guy who said Ted Cruz's father killed President Kennedy. I hear a guy who calls into right wing radio with some crazy hate-filled conspiracy theory, something that should be forgotten by dawn, not woken up by it.
