The success of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders — who was the first-ever candidate to win the popular vote in the first three early-voting states — has been a tough pill to swallow for some. Notably, veteran MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews compared a possible Sanders victory in 2020 to Nazi Germany’s invasion of France in World War II.
In response to Matthews’ controversial comment, Newsweek reports that IfNotNow, an American Jewish progressive activist group, is asking for an apology.
“The second time in as many weeks that an MSNBC commentator has used Nazi comparisons when talking about @BernieSanders, a Jewish candidate with family that was murdered in the Holocaust,” the group tweeted on Saturday after Matthews’ controversial remarks. “We demand an apology from @HardballChris—and we’re still waiting for @chucktodd’s apology.”
In response to Matthews’ Nazi Germany comparison, Parker Molloy, the editor-at-large of watchdog group Media Matters for America, called on Matthews to resign or retire. In addition, Mike Casca, the communications director for Sanders’ presidential campaign, noted that Sanders’ family was killed in the Holocaust.
Matthews’ comment came as the results of the Nevada caucuses were released on Saturday night, showing Sanders’ in a significant early lead.
“I was reading last night about the fall of France in the summer of 1940 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.’”
Matthews then voiced support for Democratic strategist James Carville, who just minutes earlier criticized Sanders and warned of the dangers of a Sanders’ win in November.
MSNBC has a long history of displeasure with Sanders. Network anchor Chuck Todd recently quoted an op-ed from the conservative outlet, The Bulwark, that compared Sanders’ supporters to brown shirts, who made up the Nazi Party’s first assault division. The move sparked #FireChuckTodd on Twitter, with many Sanders supporters lambasting Todd’s curious comparison.
As The Inquisitr previously reported, MSNBC host Joy Reid brought on an alleged body language expert, Janine Driver, to suggest that Sanders was lying during his public confrontation with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren following the seventh Democratic presidential debate.
The network’s coverage of their least favored candidates has come under fire from numerous progressive commentators. During a November episode of The Hill’s Rising , co-host Krystal Ball blasted the network for its “absolutely shameless” coverage of Sanders, as well as Andrew Yang and Tulsi Gabbard , all of whom she groups together as the anti-establishment candidates.
