MSNBC's Chris Matthews hounds Warren on why she thinks Bloomberg is lying about telling a staffer to 'kill' her pregnancy

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) during Tuesday's Democratic debate confronted former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg with a comment he's alleged to have made, but MSNBC's Chris Matthews seems skeptical.

Matthews grilled Warren in an interview Tuesday night after she called out Bloomberg during the South Carolina debate by saying, "At least I didn't have a boss who said to me, 'Kill it,' the way that Mayor Bloomberg is alleged to have said to one of his pregnant employees." She was referring to the fact that Bloomberg was sued by a former saleswoman who alleged he made this comment to her, and a former Bloomberg employee also told The Washington Post he witnessed the conversation. Bloomberg strongly denied the accusation during the debate, saying he never made such a comment.

"You believe that the former mayor of New York said that to a pregnant employee," Matthews asked Warren in a post-debate interview, to which Warren responded, "Why shouldn't I believe her?"

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From there, Matthews continued to question Warren's assertion, asking, "You believe he's that kind of person who did that?" Later, Matthews asked, "You believe he's lying? ... You believe he's lying? And why would he lie? Just to protect himself?" Finally, he asked one more time, "You're confident of your accusation?"

Warren didn't back off during this tense exchange, saying "I believe the woman" and shooting back to Matthews, "Why would she lie? That's the question, Chris."

The New York Times' Maggie Haberman noted after this Warren-Matthews exchange, "Whether people believe the allegation or not, it isn't something Warren came up with. It's something Bloomberg has been asked questions about for nearly 20 years." Brendan Morrow