| Hardball with Chris Matthews | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Ray Herbert |
| Presented by | Chris Matthews |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Production | |
| Production location | Washington, D.C. |
| Running time | 60 minutes (with commercials) |
| Original release | |
| Network | America's Talking |
| Release | July 5, 1994 (1994-07-05) – July 15, 1996 (1996-07-15) |
| Network | CNBC |
| Release | November 1, 1997 (1997-11-01) – November 5, 1999 (1999-11-05) |
| Network | MSNBC |
| Release | November 8, 1999 (1999-11-08) – March 2, 2020 (2020-03-02) |
| Network | Substack |
| Release | April 17, 2025 (2025-04-17) – present |
Hardball with Chris Matthews is an American televisiontalk show hosted byChris Matthews. The program premiered on the now-defunctAmerica's Talking network in 1994 (asPolitics with Chris Matthews) before moving toCNBC, and then toMSNBC, where it continued to air until its end in 2020. The show took its name from Matthews's 1988 book:Hardball: How Politics Is Played Told by One Who Knows the Game.[citation needed] The program primarily featured coverage of political issues and headlines, along with discussion from a panel of analysts and political figures.
Hardball was broadcast onCNBC from 1997 until 1999, after which the program was moved toMSNBC.[1]
On March 2, 2020, Matthews announced that he had left the program, effective immediately, stating that the "younger generation" was "ready to take the reins", but that he would still "continue to write and talk about politics and cheer on my producers and crew here in Washington in New York and my MSNBC colleagues." His sign-off also included an apology alluding tosexual harassment allegations he had recently faced from a female journalist,[2] remarking that "compliments on a women's appearance that some men, including me, might have once incorrectly thought were OK, were never OK. Not then and certainly not today". The announcement aired in place of the program (which, thus, aired its final full episode the preceding Friday);Steve Kornacki hosted the rest of the hour. The time slot was filled by rotating hosts (under theMSNBC Live banner); on July 9, 2020, it was announced thatJoy Reid would hostThe ReidOut in the time slot, which lasted from July 20, 2020, until February 24, 2025, following Reid's exit.[2][3]
The Wall Street Journal reported that Matthews had already been considering retirement from the show, possibly after the2020 presidential election, but that the allegations, as well other controversial remarks he had recently made on-air (such as during an interview ofElizabeth Warren, and comments made comparingBernie Sanders' Nevada caucus victory to thefall of France to the Nazis), had expedited his departure.[4]
On April 17, 2025, it was announced thatHardball would be revived and would premiere on social media platformSubstack in the near future. In a statement on the site, Matthews said "for twenty-some years, I asked tough questions and got a good number of surprising answers, now, I’m about to do it again on Substack, an independent way to ask questions and give you the answers.”[5]
Matthews caused controversy with remarks made off the air at a celebration ofHardball's 10-year anniversary in October 2007. He claimed that the Bush administration—specifically Vice PresidentCheney's office—had tried to "silence" him by pressuring MSNBC executives to put a stop to Matthews' criticism of theIraq War.[6] TheWhite House declined to comment.
On October 17, 2008,Minnesota representativeMichele Bachmann gave an interview onHardball in support of the presidential campaign of SenatorJohn McCain. In speaking of SenatorBarack Obama, Bachmann said: "we know that he is the most liberal senator in the United States Senate and that's just after one year of being there ... [withNancy Pelosi andHarry Reid] you have aTroika of the most leftist administration in the history of our country."[7] In reference to Republican vice-presidential candidateSarah Palin's comment about "pro-America areas of this great nation", Bachmann was asked which areas are anti-American and responded, "I don't think it's geography. I think it is people who don't like America, who detest America ... you’ll find them in all walks of life all throughout America."[7] When asked by Matthews about DemocraticSpeaker of the House Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid, Bachmann said, "I am not going to say if they are anti-American or pro-American."[7] When asked, "How many people in the Congress of the United States do you suspect as being anti-American?", she replied, "What I would say is that the news media should do a penetrating exposé and take a look. I wish they would. I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out, are they pro-America or anti-America? I think people would love to see an exposé like that."[7]
Bachmann's comments had an immediate impact on her re-election campaign. A campaign urging Congress to officially censure Bachmann was launched with over 35,000 signatures in the first 24 hours after herHardball appearance.[8] In less than 72 hours, her congressional election opponentElwyn Tinklenberg received $740,000 in donations.[9] Tinklenberg said that he heard "in that kind of a call echoes of theHouse Un-American Activities Committee."[10] However, Bachmann defeated Tinklenberg 46.4% to 43.4% in the November 4, 2008 election.
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On August 19, 2004, conservative commentatorMichelle Malkin appeared on the show and raised the question of whether Democratic candidateJohn Kerry'sVietnam War wounds could have been "self-inflicted", saying that such questions were "legitimate". Matthews repeatedly asked Malkin if she thought that Kerry "shot himself on purpose" in order to avoid combat or to gain accolades, noting that such an act would constitute a criminal offense. Matthews challenged Malkin to "say to me right now that you believe he shot himself to get credit for aPurple Heart—on purpose." Malkin refused to answer, instead referring to allegations made by some of Kerry's former fellow soldiers. Matthews told Malkin thatHardball "is not a show for this kind of talk." Malkin asked if Matthews didn't wonder whether Kerry's wounds may have been self-inflicted, to which the host responded, "No! I don't, it's never occurred to me."[11]
Days later, then-U.S. SenatorZell Miller, (D–Georgia), a Democrat who supported then-Republican PresidentGeorge W. Bush, appeared onHardball. Miller had just given the keynote address at the Republicanconvention. Matthews took Miller to task for his statement that soldiers, not reporters, are responsible for freedom of the press, accusing the senator of making the comment only "to get an applause line against the media at a conservative convention." Miller had also criticized Kerry's record on national defense issues during his speech, prompting Matthews to ask if the senator believed that Kerry did not want to "defend the country." During a heated exchange in which each man interrupted the other several times, Miller shouted at Matthews to "get out of my face" and angrily stated that he wished "we lived in the day where you could challenge a person to a duel." He also made reference to the Malkin interview, telling Matthews not to "pull that stuff on me like you did that young lady, when you had her there browbeating her to death. I'm not her."[12]
On June 26, 2007, conservative commentatorAnn Coulter was the guest whenElizabeth Edwards, wife of then-Democratic presidential candidateJohn Edwards, made a surprise (per Coulter, afterwards) call to the program. Coulter had made a speech days earlier in which she said, "I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot'."[13] Elizabeth Edwards confronted Coulter about the comment, as well as other comments Coulter had made accusing John Edwards of exploiting his son's death for political gain. Edwards asked Coulter to "stop the personal attacks" and accused her of "lowering the political dialogue" in America. Coulter responded that Edwards' complaints were an attempt to raise money for the presidential campaign, and questioned why the candidate himself was not making the call.[14]
On May 15, 2008, Matthews had a confrontation with radio broadcasterKevin James when he appeared on the show. At issue was a controversial speech made by PresidentGeorge W. Bush in Israel, where he appeared to claim that statements made by United States presidential candidate Barack Obama were tantamount toNeville Chamberlain's actions of "Naziappeasement" in 1938. James agreed with the notion that Obama's positions were like Chamberlain's policy of appeasement but was unable to elaborate on what exactly Chamberlain did.[15]
The show has been spoofed bySaturday Night Live, withDarrell Hammond portraying Chris Matthews. One of the first instances was during theFlorida election recount, following the unclear results of the2000 United States presidential election.[citation needed]
Hardball appeared on the October 9, 2005 episode ofThe West Wing, "Message of the Week" (which was written by frequentHardball guestLawrence O'Donnell), with Chris Matthews playing himself. He interviews fictional Republican presidential candidateArnold Vinick (played byAlan Alda) and pressures him about his views on immigration. The tough nature of Matthews' questions prompts the character ofJosh Lyman, a strategist for Vinick's opponent, to shout: "Yeah! Welcome toHardball, Arnie!"[citation needed]
The show was featured in the February 22, 200730 Rock episode "Hard Ball", in which series characterJenna Maroney came on the show to explain about how she was misquoted inMaxim magazine about US military troops. She humiliated herself even further when she confused Barack Obama withOsama bin Laden, after she mentioned whom she would support for U.S. president in 2008.[citation needed]
The 2008 filmSwing Vote contains several segments of Chris Matthews delivering commentary onHardball that relates to the film's plot line. Matthews received a credited cameo for recording the segments.[16]
TheHardball Award is an award created in 2009 that recognizes an individual "who displays a combination of guts and political moxie to win not just the day but our fondest admiration."[17] The award is not given on a regular basis; instead, it is given when someone displays character consistent with the award.
Recipients:
I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, but it turns out that you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot,' so I'm - so, kind of at an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards