'Bernie Sanders is not going to be president' — MSNBC host Chris Matthews worries that none of the Democrats can beat Trump
MSNBC host Chris Matthews stunned his fellow liberal guests by saying that not only would Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) not win the presidency, but that none of the Democrats appeared to be in a position to beat President Donald Trump.
Matthews made the comments on Monday just ahead of the Iowa caucus.
"What are my thoughts? I'm not happy. I'm not happy with this field. I think they have to find a candidate for president that can beat Trump," Matthews said.
"You don't think anybody in this field..." Joe Scarborough asked.
"I'm looking, I'm still looking," Matthews interrupted.
"Obvious problems, they're all problems," Matthews said about the Democratic candidates. "Bernie Sanders is not going to be president of the United States, okay? I look back at the '72 race, I was a young volunteer for the DNC... I've got to tell you, it feels a lot like it. A lot of giddiness, a lot of excitement, thrill about this guy."
He went on to compare Sanders to socialists he had seen who latched on to a liberal anti-war cause in order to advocate for socialism.
"People have got to figure out who the guy is. I think I know," Matthews said. 'They're usually the guys at the card table at an antiwar rally. There'd be some old guy with some old literature from his socialist party or that, trying to sell it, trying to latch on the antiwar movement. There's always guys like that."
The RealClearPolitics average of polls has Sanders topping the field in Iowa with 23 percent of the vote and Joe Biden coming in second with 19 percent of support.
