'Um, that was a lot to take in': 'Hardball' co-host Steve Kornacki was completely stunned when Chris Matthews announced his retirement without warning

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• MSNBC host Chris Matthews, who anchored the primetime show "Hardball," abruptly announced his retirement at the top of Monday night's program.
• It appears that no one on the show, including Steve Kornacki, who often co-hosts the program from its New York headquarters, knew Matthews was about to announce his retirement.
• "Um, that was a lot to take in," Kornacki said. "And I'm sure you're still absorbing that. And I am, too."
• Several of the guests who appeared on a segment right after also expressed shock and paid tribute to Matthews.
• His retirement comes after a string of public controversies centered around his behavior toward women and comments he's made about Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the 2020 Democratic frontrunner.
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Chris Matthews, a longtime MSNBC anchor and the host of "Hardball," abruptly announced his retirement from the network Monday night following a string of public controversies.

His announcement came after the political columnist Laura Bassett publicly accused Matthews of making inappropriate comments toward her at least twice in 2016 before she appeared as a guest on his show. On the show Matthews apologized.

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See Also:

• MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews announces he's retiring days after a female journalist accused him of making inappropriate remarks
• Political columnist accuses MSNBC host Chris Matthews of making suggestive comments to her before she went on his show
• MSNBC's Chris Matthews formally apologizes to Bernie Sanders for comparing his Nevada win to the Nazis taking over France

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