Calls For Chris Matthews Firing After Comparing Sanders' Win To Nazis

Long-time MSNBC host Chris Matthews has found himself in hot water after comparing Sen. Bernie Sanders’, I-Vt., victory in Nevada to the Nazi invasion and occupation of France in 1940, leading to calls for him to be fired.

While providing live coverage of the Democratic caucuses in Nevada this weekend, the Hardball host appeared to make a connection between German forces’ swift, unstoppable victory over France during World War Two and the increasing momentum of Sanders’ campaign.

“I was reading last night about the fall of France in the summer of 1940. And the [French] general, Reynaud, calls up Churchill and says, ‘It's over.’ And Churchill says, ‘How can that be? You've got the greatest army in Europe. How can it be over?’ He said, ‘It's over,’” Matthews said.

In 1940, the German military swiftly overcame France’s defensive borders, known as the Maginot Line, and were able to occupy Paris before any meaningful military resistance could be organized.

The remarks drew criticism almost immediately. Critics pointed out that not only is Sanders Jewish, but that he also lost a number of family members during the Holocaust. Some have also begun calling for Matthews to resign or be dismissed from MSNBC, including Mike Casca, the Sanders campaign communications director.

Casca tweeted that he “never thought part of my job would be pleading with a national news network” to stop comparing a Jewish man to Nazi invaders.

Reporter Alex Kotch tweeted that he was “really, really insulted” over the comparison, calling Matthews a “lunatic.”

This isn’t the first time a host on MSNBC has compared the Sanders campaign to Nazis. Earlier this month, Meet the Press host Chuck Todd quoted an article from conservative outlet The Bulwark which compared Sanders supporters to Nazi supporters.

“[The article’s author, Jonathan Last,] says, ‘no other candidate has anything like this digital brownshirt brigade.’ I mean, except for Donald Trump. The question no one is asking is this, what if you can’t win the presidency without an online mob?” said Todd.

The brownshirts were infamously the nickname given to violent Nazi supporters in Germany during the 1930s.

Sanders’ speechwriter and senior adviser David Sirota responded on Twitter, accusing MSNBC of being “very frightened that ordinary voters … may actually get to participate in deciding who wins the presidency.”