MSNBC windbag Chris Matthews said the unthinkable on election night — he’s happy Hurricane Sandy happened.
“I’m so glad we had that storm last week because I think the storm was one of those things,” the prattling pundit said on air Tuesday while trying to tie President Obama’s re-election to his handling of the hurricane.
Matthews’ galling gaffe visibly shocked co-anchor Rachel Maddow, prompting him to try to reel it back, to no avail.
“No, politically, I should say — not in terms of hurting people,” Matthews, 66, blubbered. “The storm brought in possibilities for good politics.”
Wait — did he just say “good politics”?
The “Hardball” host, who pulls in around $5 million a year and lives in the tony DC suburb of Chevy Chase, Md., didn’t experience the unforgiving wrath of Sandy, which carved a huge swath of devastation through the tri-state area and was responsible for more than 110 deaths — at least 41 in New York City.
Damages from the storm are expected to be in the billions of dollars.
Matthews’ comments immediately triggered a barrage of angry tweets.
“Did you say you are happy about sandy hitting?” tweeted @gfdimos. “I already think you are a doorknob. this would confirm that u r a dipsh–t.”
@SteveCox cited Hurricane Sandy’s death toll in slamming Matthews. “Chris Matthews should be fired . . . Over 100 died in the US/millions hurting.”
“Chris Matthews is thrilled about Hurricane Sandy, if it helped Obama get elected,” tweeted @cassyfiano. “Sick, sick, sick, sick.”
On “Hardball” last night, Matthews blamed his comment on an election night that apparently kept him up past his bedtime.
“I was on for 10 hours straight . . . until 3 in the morning and I said something terrible,” he told viewers. “I could say it was because I was tired, but I wasn’t thinking of the horrible mess the storm has made.
“I was too focused on who would win and who would lose, and I left out the number one job of a broadcaster — to think of the real lives of people, whose dreams have been hurt and, in some cases, destroyed.”
It wasn’t the first time this campaign season that Matthews, a staunch Obama supporter, has shocked viewers.
Matthews appeared to have a meltdown following the first debate between the president and Mitt Romney — when a lifeless Obama was trounced by his feisty challenger.
“I don’t know what [Obama] was doing out there. He had his head down,” said a distraught Matthews, nearly in tears. “He was enduring the debate rather than fighting it. Romney came out with a campaign.”