Watch a shellshocked Steve Kornacki take over Hardball after MSNBC's Chris Matthews retires on-air
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Longtime Hardball host Chris Matthews made his own news on Monday night's show, announcing his retirement, effective immediately. After a commercial break, MSNBC's Steve Kornacki came on, apparently as surprised as viewers that he was taking over the rest of the show.
As Kornacki addressed the camera in apparent shock, the female NBC News staffers on the other side of the glass wall behind laughed, ate, and smiled as they worked. "We're not going to have any bells or whistles here," Kornacki said after paying brief homage to Matthews. "We do have to fill the rest of this hour. We're going to take a quick break and come back with today's news."
You can watch Matthews' brief farewell below. Peter Weber
Article continues belowThe Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
