MSNBC Host Chris Matthews Is Retiring, Leaving 'Hardball' Immediately

Chris Matthews, the longtime host of the MSNBC series Hardball, has announced that he is retiring from the show, effective immediately.

“I’m retiring,” he said on the air on Monday night (March 2). “This is the last Hardball on MSNBC, and obviously this isn’t for lack of interest in politics”

Matthews, 74, has been the host of the series since 1999 and he recently has been the subject of criticism because of comments that he has made about Bernie Sanders, female journalists, and African-American lawmakers.

He said during his farewell that “compliments on a woman’s appearance that some men, including me, might have incorrectly thought were OK were never OK. Not then, and certainly not today, and for making such comments in the past, I’m sorry.”

After Matthews made the announcement at the top of the show, a commercial break aired and he did not return after that. Political reporter Steve Kornacki took over for the rest of the hour and Matthews said “a younger generation is ready to take the reins.”