Media

Chris Matthews Notably Absent From MSNBC South Carolina Primary Coverage

Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate In Las Vegas Ahead Of Nevada Caucuses
Scott Morefield Reporter
Font Size:

MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews was notably absent from the network’s Saturday evening coverage of the Democratic presidential primary in South Carolina.

“A day after he was accused of sexual harassment by a journalist, MSNBC decided to keep host Chris Matthews off its airwaves during coverage of the South Carolina primary results,” The Daily Beast reported.

In a GQ column published Friday, columnist Laura Bassett accused the embattled MSNBC anchor of sexually harassing her in 2016.

“In 2016, right before I had to go on his show and talk about sexual-assault allegations against Donald Trump, Matthews looked over at me in the makeup chair next to him and said, ‘Why haven’t I fallen in love with you yet?'” Bassett wrote. “When I laughed nervously and said nothing, he followed up to the makeup artist. ‘Keep putting makeup on her, I’ll fall in love with her.'”

Bassett was among those on Twitter who noted Matthews’ absence:

The day before South Carolina’s Democratic primary, Matthews mistook Republican South Carolina Senator Tim Scott for Jaime Harrison, a Democrat running against Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham. (RELATED: ‘You’re Very Rude, Sir!’ — Martha MacCallum Fires Back At Filibustering Dem Congressman During Heated Exchange)

Last week, the MSNBC host issued an on-air apology after comparing Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’ electoral success to France’s defeat to Nazi Germany in World War II.

Matthews didn’t seem to get a lot, if any, support from Twitter users Saturday night: