MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts ended up under friendly fire on Tuesday when his colleague Chris Matthews launched into a tirade against his own network for airing “goddamn” ads by rightwing groups.
Matthews appeared irritable from the beginning of the segment on Roberts’ afternoon show and brushed off small talk with his fellow host.
Moments earlier, Roberts had played an ad by by the Foundation for a Secure and Prosperous America, which attacked GOP presidential hopeful Sen. Rand Paul’s foreign policy as insufficiently hawkish.
Matthews said that unlike the “piggish” elites of the Republican Party, average voters who send their children to war would not be interested in more hawkish foreign policy.
“Those people are not impressed by these goddamned ads,” Matthews said, scowling.
“I certainly wouldn’t put them on free, Tom. That’s what we should stop doing,” Matthews added in an apparent reference to the clip that had been played. “Stop running rightwing ads for free on our network.”
Roberts tried to get a word in, naming the group behind the ad.
“What the hell is that?” Matthews interrupted. “Come on.”
Roberts laughed nervously.
“They’re all front groups. They’re hawkish, rightwing front groups,” Matthews said. “Let’s not pretend like some nice people got together and thought we oughta go to war, and nation-build, and knock off another government.”
Watch the clip:
