- MSNBC host Chris Matthews formally apologized to Sen. Bernie Sanders for comparing the 2020 candidate's landslide win in the Nevada caucus to the Nazi takeover of France during World War II.
- "I'm sorry for comparing anything from that tragic era in which so many suffered, especially the Jewish people, to an electoral result in which you were the well-deserved winner," Matthews said on Monday.
- During his Saturday coverage of the caucus Matthews described the senator's expected win - and solid frontrunner status - as something of a catastrophe for the Democratic Party.
- Several other prominent MSNBC anchors and commentators lashed out at Sanders over the weekend, describing the veteran lawmaker as unvetted and unelectable.
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MSNBC host Chris Matthews issued an apology to Sen. Bernie Sanders and his supporters for comparing the 2020 candidate's landslide win in the Nevada caucus on Saturday to the Nazi takeover of France during World War II.
Matthews' comments sparked immediate outrage, the trending hashtag "#FireChrisMatthews," and backlash from Sanders' campaign, which has long accused the left-leaning network of bias against it.
"Sen. Sanders, I'm sorry for comparing anything from that tragic era in which so many suffered, especially the Jewish people, to an electoral result in which you were the well-deserved winner," Matthews said at the top of his prime time program on Monday night.
He went on, "Congratulations to you, Sen. Sanders, and to your supporters on a tremendous win down in Nevada."
The veteran cable host added that he would seek to "elevate" political discourse in the coming months and congratulated Sanders on his win.
During his Saturday coverage of the caucus Matthews described the senator's expected win - and solid frontrunner status - as something of a catastrophe for the Democratic Party.
"I was reading last night about the fall of France in the summer of 1940," he said. "And the general, Reynaud, calls up Churchill and says, 'It's over.' And Churchill says: 'How can that be? You've got the greatest army in Europe. How can it be over?' He said, 'It's over.' So I had that suppressed feeling."
Matthews further argued that moderate Democrats may rather see President Donald Trump win a second term than vote for Sanders.
"Do they want Bernie Sanders to take over the Democratic Party in perpetuity?" Matthews asked his panel in Las Vegas. "Maybe they'd rather wait four years and put in the Democrat that they like."
Sanders' communications director, Mike Casca, expressed disbelief at Matthews' on-air comments.
"Never thought part of my job would be pleading with a national news network to stop likening the campaign of a Jewish presidential candidate whose family was wiped out by the Nazis to the Third Reich," Casca tweeted. "But here we are."
Matthews' general criticism of Sanders was echoed by other prominent MSNBC anchors and commentators over the weekend.
The remarks from Matthews come only less than two weeks after the MSNBC host Chuck Todd cited a conservative column on air that likened Sanders' online supporters to "brown shirts." That also sparked calls for his resignation with the hashtag #FireChuckTodd.
Joseph Zeballos-Roig contributed to this report.
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