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Fighting back against rural Americans angry with the liberal elite is akin to “fighting terrorism,” according to former MSNBC host Chris Matthews.
In November, the annual Reagan National Defense Survey found that 70% of Americans believe the country is heading in the wrong direction. Despite the overwhelming majority, Matthews suggested on “Morning Joe” Wednesday that the backlash is primarily “rural anger.”
“But I'll tell you, it's very hard because people who didn't go to college have a pretty big anger. That's what you really want in an election, is anger. It can be black rage or white rage.” “or rural rage. In this case it is rural rage. They’re so angry at the liberal establishment, the coastal elite,” Matthews said.
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The Reagan National Defense Survey found that 70% of Americans thought the country was on the wrong path, with only 25% disagreeing. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
“But in some ways it is like the fight against terrorism,” he added. “I mean, you know, we think we'll just use the army, or Israel will just use the IDF and they'll solve the problem. It never solves the problem. Because you make people angry. And we did it with Afghanistan, And we did it with Iraq. We anger the enemy so much that he becomes angrier than ever and hates us more than ever. Armies don't make peace. And we believe they do.”
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Matthews also claimed it's “weird” how normal people feel anger toward things like “Saturday Night Live” and accuse the show of mocking them.
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“You look at the people on TV and say, 'Oh, those people on Saturday Night Live, those snarling rich kids, I know who they are. They are all trustees. You don't have to worry about us.' And the normal guy in the country says, “Here they go again, growling and making fun of us.” And every time we make fun of Trump, we make fun of them. This is a strange thing,” he said.
Former MSNBC host Chris Matthews spoke about “rural anger” among voters. (MSNBC screenshot)
Columnist Joe Concha criticized Matthews when he appeared on Fox News' “Outnumbered” later in the day.
“You know, common sense is like deodorant. The people who need it most never use it. And Chris Matthews is Exhibit A here. Because in 2016, the turning point in that election was when Hillary Clinton called Trump supporters a basket case.” “Deplorable. And they missed the whole Midwest in Ohio and in Michigan and Wisconsin, that blue wall, they didn't understand the feeling because they live in these elite bubbles in New York and Washington,” Concha said.
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Matthews thought it was “a strange thing” that rural Americans were upset about “Saturday Night Live.” (Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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He added: “Here’s the bottom line: He says rural voters are angry. No, everyone is angry – 78% of voters believe the country is going in the wrong direction. This is an AP poll, a majority thinks, an overwhelming majority thinks. “The economy will get worse. We talked about crime. We talked about the open border. We've talked about how educational outcomes are at their lowest level in 30 years. And the world seems to be on fire. Yes, people are angry right now. And it's not just those who live in West Virginia or Wyoming.
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