Chris Matthews Admits: Press Is 'Pro-Obama'; If President Disagrees, He's 'Crazy'
Even Chris Matthews admits it. Talking to the liberal Alex Wagner on Wednesday's Hardball about the IRS scandal, the cable host came clean on the press and their love for Barack Obama. After Wagner insisted that the President was tired of an "unfair media," Matthews scoffed, "Let me tell you something. The press has generally been pro-Obama. That's a fact." If the President disagrees, "he's crazy." [MP3 audio here.]
The MSNBC anchor summed up the state of journalism: "I look at the major newspapers. I look at the major networks, broadcast nets. I look at us...CNN. Where's all this antipathy towards Obama?" According to Matthews, if the staff of the White House are unhappy with how they've been covered, they "are very uninformed about the history of presidencies."
Wagner set Matthews's truthful rant up by suggesting that the media makes Obama "want to flip the off switch sometimes and sort of just turn the lights out for the room and say, 'You know what? I've done so much for this country. Why do I need to get involved in the mud pit?'"
A partial transcript of the May 15 segment is below:
5:10 ET
ALEX WAGNER: I think his own personal distaste for Washington and his sense that the media, the right, the, sort of, chattering class has been unfair about his legislative record and his accomplishments sort of makes him want to flip the off switch sometimes and sort of just turn the lights out for the room and say, "You know what? I've done so much for this country. Why do I need to get involved in the mud pit?"
CHRIS MATTHEWS [With a bit of contempt in his tone]: Let me tell you something. the press has generally been pro-Obama. That's a fact. If he doesn't think he has gotten – If he hasn't gotten good press, he is crazy.
WAGNER: I'm analyzing what I think may be happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
MATTHEWS: He has gotten – Yes – Alex, they, over there, are very uninformed about the history of presidencies. This guy has probably gotten the best press since Reagan. Dana, don't you think? You don't have to watch Fox if you don't want to. It's there. But, if you don't watch Fox, you don't watch Limbaugh, there's a lot of other opinion out there. I look at the major newspapers. I look at the major networks, broadcast nets. I look at us. I don't see a lot of – CNN. Where's all this antipathy towards Obama?
-- Scott Whitlock is the senior news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
