Watch The Awkward Moment After MSNBC Host Suggests John Bolton Is Sexist

MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell on Wednesday suggested John Bolton is sexist after he criticized 2024 Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley.

Haley announced her official candidacy for the 2024 presidential nominee Wednesday after teasing the announcement for months.

During Wednesday’s appearance, Mitchell brought up Haley’s run and noted Bolton’s recent comments in which he called Haley “light as a feather.”

“Would you be saying that about a man?” Mitchell asked.

“Let’s compare her with another woman,” Bolton said before comparing Haley to former United Nations Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, who was featured in Haley’s campaign video.

Bolton said Kirkpatrick is like “America’s Margaret Thatcher.” (RELATED: Alyssa Farah Griffin Defends Nikki Haley Against Her Fellow Co-Hosts On ‘The View’)

“The idea that Nikki is trying to associate herself with Jeane Kirkpatrick, I think is a little presumptuous … I knew Jeane Kirkpatrick and Nikki Haley is no Jeane Kirkpatrick.”

“Well, I knew Jeane Kirkpatrick also, but Nikki Haley is running as a former governor, as someone who has been elected, who has … faced some tough issues in South Carolina, as well as being [a] UN ambassador,” Mitchell pushed back. “I’m just wondering if you’re judging her in a different way based on gender.”

“Of course not,” Bolton said. “Comparing Kirkpatrick to Haley is like comparing a destroyer to a surf board; I mean, they both go upon the water, but that’s about it.”

The pair then had a tense moment of silence before Mitchell moved on to other questions.

In her campaign video, Haley highlighted her economic record as governor and spoke out against increased government regulation and involvement in the economy.