Cable news personalities had a lot to say about Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (D-VT) early lead in the Nevada caucuses Saturday, with MSNBC's Chris Matthews likening it to the shock of France falling to Germany during WWII.
“It looks like Bernie Sanders is hard to beat... I think it's a little late to stop him, and that's the problem,” Matthews said during a panel segment. “It's pretty much over unless that changes.”
He then dropped the eyebrow-raising WWII reference, seemingly as a way to describe how Sanders has—in his view—clinched the Democratic nomination.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I'm reading last night about the fall of France in the summer of 1940. And the general calls up Churchill and says, ‘It’s over,’” Matthews said. “And Churchill says, ‘How can it be? You got the greatest army in Europe. How can it be over?’ He said, ‘It's over.’”
Other pundits also marveled at Sanders’ lead, with CNN’s Van Jones claiming the jaws of the Democratic “establishment” were “hanging off their faces.”
“Nobody thought six months ago thought we would be sitting here with Bernie Sanders on his way to the nomination. He's on his way to the nomination,” he said. “Something could happen to stop him. Somebody may have some marbles to throw at the stairs or banana peel, they better find it. Because this guy is off and running.”
Jones commented on the impressive Latino turnout for the Vermont senator, claiming that he was “running as if he's a Latino candidate now.”
He also pointed to younger voters who caucused for Sanders, claiming their support has been a “youthquake.”
“You got a new generation stepping up. They're not scared of any of these ideas and they're tired of hearing Republicans calling everything we say socialist. They ruined the word socialist,” he said.
Another MSNBC personality, Joy Reid, attributed Sanders’ lead to the “sheer unadulterated rage”of young voters who she said were motivated to “throw the tables over” to vote for Sanders.
“They're turning the tables over and they don't care what the potential result is. They're the hungriest,” she said. “No one is as hungry, angry, enraged and determined as Sanders voters. Democrats need to sober up and figure out what the hell they are going to do about that.”
