Chris Matthews Abruptly Resigns From MSNBC On Air

At the top of Monday night's episode of "Hardball," MSNBC's Chris Matthews unexpectedly announced that he would be retiring from the show, effective immediately:

How immediately? Immediately immediately. Matthews departed the show and MSNBC's Steve Kornacki was forced to take up the reins for the rest of the hour:

Matthews had faced scrutiny over the last few days, after a tense exchange with Senator Elizabeth Warren over Michael Bloomberg's workplace history and journalist Laura Bassett's account of her uncomfortable experiences with the MSNBC host, which appeared in GQ on Friday:

In fact, Matthews's whole modus operandi seems to be inviting smart women onto his show, flirting with them or otherwise making them uncomfortable before or while the camera rolls, asking them a question on air and then immediately interrupting them to tell them why they're wrong.

[GQ]