Christopher John Matthews (born December 17, 1945) is an American political commentator, retiredtalk show host, and author. Matthews hosted his weeknight hour-long talk show,Hardball with Chris Matthews, onAmerica's Talking and later onMSNBC, from 1997 until 2020. He announced on his final episode that he was retiring, following an accusation that he had made inappropriate comments to aHardball guest four years earlier.[1][2][3][4][5]
Matthews was born inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Mary Teresa (née Shields) and Herb Matthews, a court reporter.[6][7] Matthews's father was, he has written, "raisedEpiscopalian—Church of England," of English andScots-Irish ancestry, and his mother was from anIrish Catholic family;[8] Matthews and his siblings were raised in theCatholic faith.[9]
Matthews worked in print media for 15 years, spending 13 years as Washington, D.C., bureau chief for theSan Francisco Examiner (1987–2000) and two years as a nationally syndicated columnist for theSan Francisco Chronicle. Matthews covered thefall of the Berlin Wall, the first all-races election in South Africa, and theGood Friday Peace Talks inNorthern Ireland. In 1997 and 1998, his research in theNational Archives produced a series of exclusives on the Nixon presidential tapes. Matthews covered American presidential election campaigns from 1988 until his retirement in 2020.
Hardball: How Politics is Played, Told by One Who Knows the Game (1988)
Kennedy & Nixon: The Rivalry that Shaped Postwar America (1996)
Now, Let Me Tell You What I Really Think (2001)
American: Beyond our Grandest Notions (2002)
Life's a Campaign: What Politics Has Taught Me About Friendship, Rivalry, Reputation, and Success (2007)
Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero (2011)
Tip and the Gipper: When Politics Worked (2013)
Bobby Kennedy: A Raging Spirit (2017)
Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero spent 12 weeks onThe New York Times bestseller list.[25] The book was lauded by critics. "Matthews excels in capturing the tribalism of the Irish Catholic culture and experience Kennedy both absorbed and overcame as he made his way ... [and] is at his best in describing political dynamics,"The Washington Post said.[26] "Matthews proves a compelling storyteller," saidThe Boston Globe.[27] "Matthews has produced a valuable addition to the literature about the life and career of our 35th president," saidThe Christian Science Monitor.[28] "Matthews's stirring biography reveals Kennedy as a 'fighting prince never free from pain, never far from trouble, and never accepting the world he found,'" saidPublishers Weekly.[29]
The Chris Matthews Show aired in syndication on weekends from 2002 until 2013. The show was formatted as a political roundtable consisting of four journalists and Matthews, who served as the moderator.
In 2004, at the Democratic National Convention, Matthews predicted that he had "just seen the first Black president." TheHuffington Post reported on Matthews's emotional expressions of support for Barack Obama during the 2008 Presidential election, quoting him as saying: "I have to tell you, you know, it's part of reporting this case, this election, the feeling most people get when they hear Barack Obama's speech. My, I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don't have that too often."[30]
While discussing proposedhealthcare reform on the December 17, 2009, edition ofHardball, Matthews stated, "The Republicans will know they have lost ... Let them keep score and it's easy. It's complicated when liberals get to keep score. We're always arguing. Well, I'm a liberal, too."[31][32]
In March 2012, Matthews described himself as acentrist during an episode of his MSNBC talk showHardball. That statement was questioned byMediaite's Josh Feldman directly afterward, based on Matthews's frequent condemnation of right-wing political figures and his emotional expression of support forBarack Obama's presidential campaign. Feldman observed that Matthews has criticized liberals such as Hillary Clinton and occasionally even Barack Obama, and that this could explain Matthews's description of himself as a "centrist".[33]
In 2013, Matthews announced that he had signed a long-term contract extension with MSNBC but that he would no longer hostThe Chris Matthews Show in order to focus his efforts onHardball, writing books, and producing documentaries. The final episode ofThe Chris Matthews Show aired on July 21.[34]
On February 7, 2020, during a panel discussion following a Democratic Party presidential candidate debate in New Hampshire, Matthews referenced Bernie Sanders's praise for aspects ofFidel Castro's Cuba, saying "if Castro and the Reds had won theCold War, there would [have been] executions in Central Park and I might have been one of the ones getting executed and certain other people would be there cheering, OK? So I have a problem with people who took the other side."[39] His remarks were mocked by left-wing commentators.[40]
During the opening monologue of his Monday, March 2, 2020, show, Matthews announced his immediately effective retirement fromHardball. Matthews alluded to claims of inappropriate comments that trailed him for years, resurfacing when freelance journalist Laura Bassett accused Matthews of making sexist remarks when she was a guest on “Hardball” in 2016.[41] MSNBC had executed a long-term contract with Matthews, in 2013, to retain him with the network at least through the 2016 election,[42] and he was expected to retire after the 2020 election cycle,[43] with an exit after Election Day in November 2020 likely.[44] Following his resignation, Matthews garnered well-wishes from professional colleagues in the news media and others, including from Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who noted Matthews's willingness to "criticize theneocon pro-war agenda."[45]
In September 2022, Matthews returned to MSNBC as a political analyst making appearances on the network's "Morning Joe" program.[citation needed]
In October 2016, Laura Bassett appeared on Matthews's program to comment on sexual assault allegations against then candidateDonald Trump. In February 2020, Bassett alleged that prior to that program, Matthews made inappropriate remarks about her makeup, clothing, and dating life. As she was having her television studio makeup applied, Matthews purportedly asked her: "Why haven't I fallen in love with you yet?" Bassett claims that when she laughed nervously and said nothing, Matthews followed up to the makeup artist with: "Keep putting makeup on her, I'll fall in love with her."[48][2] In 2017, Bassett had previously published a text about the incident, which did not identify Matthews by name.[49]
In December 2017, details surfaced of a 1999 settlement Matthews's employer,MSNBC, reached with a female producer of Matthews's program who alleged Matthews made inappropriate comments about her in front of colleagues in the workplace. MSNBC denied making a settlement, but acknowledged Matthews had been reprimanded for the comments.[50][51][52][53][54]
In 2018 during a setup for a television interview with Hillary Clinton, Matthews stated out loud "where was the Cosby pill" that he brought with him.[55]
On February 22, 2020, commenting on the2020 Nevada Democratic caucuses, Matthews invokedWinston Churchill's feeling of disbelief following thefall of France to the Nazis in 1940 as a metaphor for the feeling of disbelief experienced by establishment figures in theDemocratic Party to Bernie Sanders's victory in the state.[56] As members of Sanders's family were killed by the Nazis during theHolocaust, his comparison was viewed as insensitive and prompted widespread negative reactions onTwitter calling for him to be removed from MSNBC.[57] Amid mounting criticism, Matthews issued an on-air apology to Sanders and his supporters on February 24. Sanders did not directly respond to the remarks.[58]
Matthews is the recipient of several awards, including The Pennsylvania Society's Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement in 2005,[63] the Abraham Lincoln Award from the Union League of Philadelphia,[64] theDavid Brinkley Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism, the John F. Kennedy Memorial Award,[65] and the 2016 Tip O'Neill Irish Diaspora Award.[66]
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