CSI: American Carnage (Friday, December 20, 2019)
WASHINGTON – Surprise!, let’s play Hardball. I’m Chris Matthews in Washington, where in a historic vote Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has led her caucus of battle-scarred vets, greenhorn freshmen, women, men, blacks, whites, a rainbow of colors, into a titanic battle, a battle unlike any seen in this country in modern history, a fight that will determine the future of her party of weary Democrats, her country, the United States of America, and the planet, Earth. Peter, you’re a smart guy, great reporter, the best, what’s with this guy? Has he got a screw loose? Several screws? Is he a broken jalopy banging down the road, swerving onto the sidewalks? Crashing through store windows? What is the purpose, I mean, here he is, he’s being impeached, the first president in this century to be impeached, and he’s going after a widow, putting her down, stomping on her, laughing, and these crazies! They’re laughing too. Here we go. Let’s watch. Footage of Trump’s rally in Battle Creek unfolds. Donald says, in a sing-song voice, Debbie Dingell, that’s a real beauty. So, she calls me up like eight months ago. Her husband was there a long time, but I didn’t give him the B treatment. I didn’t give him the C or the D. I could have. Nobody would ask, you know, I gave the A-plus treatment. Take down the flags. Why are you taking them down for ex-Congressman Dingell? Oh, OK. Do this, do that, do that rotunda, everything. I gave them everything. That’s OK. I don’t want anything for it. I don’t need anything for anything. She calls me up. It’s the nicest thing that’s ever happened. Thank you so much. John would be so thrilled. He’s looking down, he’d be so — thank you so much, sir. I said that’s OK. Don’t worry about it. Maybe, he’s looking up. I don’t know. Maybe, maybe. Chris says, Why does he say these things? Peter, Does he just want to crush a widow? Does he want to push her nose into personal grief? Is he just trying to be disgusting? Throw some dog food to his base? Peter says, That’s exactly what….Chris says, My dearest friend, a great American, a tragic American, a man of sorrow who was acquainted with grief, Bobby Kennedy, Bobby went down to the Delta, he went to the cross roads, he fell down on his knees. This guy, Is he nuts? Peter Baker, your thoughts. Peter says, Chris, there is a certain rhetorical malice that…. Chris says, And Nancy Pelosi, What a rock! What strength! She took Debbie Dingell in hand and walked her down the corridor of the Capitol, she just exudes strength, like Tip, Tip was strong. He told Johnson to get the hell out of Vietnam, never gonna win, killing and all the rest, he told Nixon to get the hell out. Whose gonna tell this guy? Nancy Pelosi has told him, and now she’s impeached him, along with the rest of the party. And he’s going crazy, and now she’s letting him twist in the wind, making him and McConnell wait for the impeachment articles. Trump’s going bananas. Now he’s saying, I want to go to trial immediately! Yeah, right. Hold that thought, we’ll be back in a minute. You’re watching Hard Ball. – Friday, December 20, 2019