MSNBC pundit Chris Matthews made clear on Wednesday’s Hardball that, despite Beto O’Rourke’s November 2018 electoral loss in Texas, he’s still enamored with former El Paso-area Congressman and excited about his presidential campaign.
At one point in the show, Matthews cheered the gooey, gushy Vanity Fair profile of O’Rourke as “the best kiss I’ve seen for a candidate in a long time” and a candidate looking so “optimistic” and “sunny.”
It should be noted that this was the same lefty host who hosted a pep rally disguised as a town hall for O’Rourke on October 30, 2018, and was nearly unanimous in terms of softballs compared to actual questions.
Back in 2019, Matthews’s Beto praise was short-lived halfway through the show as it became more of a broader 2020 discussion with former Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO), but he still dished out some love for him.
“Plus, Beto O’Rourke makes his move tomorrow. It looks like it’s going to happen. The former congressman appears to be jumping into the presidential race. Can he turn his Texas Betomania into a national movement? Wait until you see the cover of Vanity Fair coming up. What a kiss,” Matthews hyped in the first of two teases.
After the second tease and the bottom of the hour, Matthews gushed:
All signs are now pointing towards former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke to enter the 22 — 2020 presidential race tomorrow. That’s Thursday this week. Tomorrow. A reporter for the Texas Tribune tweeted: “[Beto’s] is emailing volunteers from [his] Senate campaign. ‘We need help sending some text messages tomorrow morning.’” O’Rourke is headed, to Iowa tomorrow for multi-day trip in the first caucus state[.]
He then shifted gears to the 8,600-plus-word profile of O’Rourke and he immediately lauded the cover as “the best kiss I've seen for a candidate in a long time.”
“I always say the candidate wins who’s got the sun in his face, who likes like sunny, optimistic, not the indoor bureaucrat sitting at some desk somewhere. That's the image you want,” Matthews concluded before bringing on McCaskill.
To see the relevant transcript from MSNBC’s Hardball on March 13, click “expand.”
MSNBC’s Hardball
March 13, 2019
7:15 p.m. Eastern [TEASE]CHRIS MATTHEWS: Plus, Beto O’Rourke makes his move tomorrow. It looks like it’s going to happen. The former congressman appears to be jumping into the presidential race. Can he turn his Texas Betomania into a national movement? Wait until you see the cover of Vanity Fair coming up. What a kiss.
(....)
7:27 p.m. Eastern [TEASE]
MATTHEWS: Is Beto O’Rourke finally making his move tomorrow? Is he diving into the already crowded field of presidential contenders? I bet he moves tomorrow. It's going to be clear as a whistle tomorrow night this guy is in. All signs point to yes.
(....)
7:31 p.m. Eastern
MATTHEWS: All signs are now pointing towards former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke to enter the 22 — 2020 presidential race tomorrow. That’s Thursday this week. Tomorrow. A reporter for the Texas Tribune tweeted: “[Beto’s] is emailing volunteers from [his] Senate campaign. ‘We need help sending some text messages tomorrow morning.’” O’Rourke is headed, to Iowa tomorrow for multi-day trip in the first caucus state and tonight, Vanity Fair posted a new profile of O’Rourke. He told the magazine: “You can probably tell that I want to run...Do I think [sic] — I think I’d be good at it.” By the way, bring back that cover a bit. That — that cover is the best kiss I've seen for a candidate in a long time. I always say the candidate wins who’s got the sun in his face, who likes like sunny, optimistic, not the indoor bureaucrat sitting at some desk somewhere. That's image you want.
