The exit of pundit Chris Matthews from MSNBC, on March 2, was one of the zillion discordant notes drowned out in the deafening cacophony this past spring. But it’s worth another look.
Matthews’ abrupt over-and-out could be a model for how men might quit the he-man wolfpack that defines Trump times.
A few days before he resigned, “The Daily Show” produced a montage of Matthews’ grody history of leering at female journalists. He once joked, with pre-interview cameras rolling, about giving Hillary Clinton a “Bill Cosby pill” – a knockout drug that makes rape easier. And during the primaries, he was shocked that Elizabeth Warren believed a woman’s sexual harassment claims; candidate Michael Bloomberg had, after all, denied them.
All in all, many expected a defensive, crocodile-tears apology from Matthews. But that’s not what happened. He said he was sorry but then came his last words: “The younger generations out there are ready to take the reins.”
With that, he was gone.