Q&A: Chris Matthews on the Election
By • November 4, 2024 0 74
The dining room at the GeorgeTown Club was packed on Oct. 29 as Georgetowners of all ages eagerly settled down to lunch and a Q&A Cafe by CBS News producer Carol Joynt with political commentator and author Chris Matthews. Matthews also served as an aide to former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill (D-Mass.)
For some 30 years, Matthews hosted his talk show “Hardball with Chris Matthews” on MSNBC and on weekends, the syndicated ABC News program, “The Chris Matthews Show.” Now 78, Matthews, a moderate Democrat, was greeted with delight as he jumped right into his commentary about politics and the election today.
“Politics at its purest is about winning and losing,” he said. “Anyone can win; anyone can lose no matter who you are.”
Donald Trump’s refusal to accept his loss in 2020 went against that one honesty of politics, Matthews added.
The Q&A audience was interested in Matthews’s straight-forward comments and stayed on to talk at their tables afterward, with Matthews seemingly to have motivated post-talk discussion.
“Now the center left is mainly considered (to be conservative) right,” Matthews said. “The past years have seen the end of the Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders coalition and neocons have became the good guys.”
Matthews went on to say that Trump is what he is and MAGA will stay on after his time in office via his sons and supporters.
“What about the press?” Joynt asked. It was the week that the controversy over newspaper editorial presidential endorsements happened. Matthews responded, “Don’t listen to them and don’t trust the polls.”
What about Biden’s stepping down? Joynt queried. “They KNEW!” Matthews repeated several times. “Everyone around him knew [that he was weakening physically and mentally], yet they all said they didn’t know.”
Matthews further commented that those working with Biden could see it — his weakening in the way he walked and talked.
Matthews believes it will eventually be said that former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi will be the one who got Biden to step down.
“She has such finesse,” Matthews said. “Just the way she handled the Progressives in 2020.”
Matthews was born and raised in Pennsylvania and was almost jumping out of his chair as he spoke about the close race in the state. He described Pennsylvania as diverse and full of cohesive neighborhoods and sections that are rivals with each other. He implied that to win in such a tight presidential race involves almost block-by-block competitions. It’s almost impossible to predict, he said, and the rhetoric “won’t affect a single vote.”
Everyone walked out with different views and knowledge. Many were surprised to learn that Matthews had served in the Peace Corps and that his first job in Congress was as a U.S. Capitol Police officer.
