Chris Matthews Bizarrely Mocks Rush Limbaugh as a 'Walrus Underwater' for bin Laden Response

Scott Whitlock

May 5, 2011 - 12:55pm

Chris Matthews on Wednesday mocked Rush Limbaugh's response to the killing of Osama bin Laden, deriding the conservative as a "walrus underwater." Matthews also made an odd grunting noise to back up this description.

After playing a clip of Limbaugh asserting that the media have played up Barack Obama's role in the action, the Hardball anchor berated, "You know, I don't even know what that is except just bitterness. I mean- [makes noise] Walrus underwater talking and what is he actually saying?"

Matthews introduced the segment by hitting Limbaugh as a "caricature" and a "cartoon." [MP3 audio here [1].]

Former Newsweek editor Jonathan Alter also joined in, scolding, "The guy has no class or graciousness, not a shred of it. Not that that is a big surprise, but this is just more proof of that."

Matthews has quite an obsession with Limbaugh and a tendency to make extreme comments about the radio star. On October 13, 2009 [2], he asserted that "at some point somebody's going to jam a CO2 pellet into his head and he's going to explode like a giant blimp."

A transcript of the May 4 segment, which aired at 5:34pm EDT, follows:

CHRIS MATTHEWS: Gentlemen, just to show the caricature, let me show the caricature, the cartoon version. Here is Rush Limbaugh today. Let's listen to Rushbo.
RUSH LIMBAUGH: I mean, it was gutsy on Sunday, but on Monday, it was really gutsy and yesterday it was profoundly gutsy. And today, it was unbelievably, incomprehensibly gutsy. But isn't that a bit of a stretch, especially in view of the fact- look at it this way, if it ever got out that Obama had passed on the chance at capturing or killing bin Laden, Obama's political career is over.

MATTHEWS: You know, I don't even know what that is except just bitterness. I mean- [makes noise] Walrus underwater talking and what is he actually saying? "I'm ticked off this guy did something great." That's really what Rush is saying, isn't it, John?
JONATHAN ALTER: Yeah, look- He- Even on the first day, he wouldn't give Obama any credit and delivered this satirical rant against him. The guy has no class or graciousness, not a shred of it. Not that that is a big surprise, but this is just more proof of that.

- Scott Whitlock is the senior news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here [3] to follow him on Twitter.