In a wild Hardball on Wednesday, MSNBC pundit Chris Matthews spent the latter portion of the program defending the Green New Deal, expressing dismay at Republicans for “mak[ing] fun of” the proposal seeking to address the dangers “we're facing as a species” because of climate change, and defending murderous Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro because National Security Adviser John Bolton isn’t a fan.

“Up next, the race is on to define the Green New Deal. We're going to talk about the Green New Deal. Will Republicans succeed in painting it as a boondoggle? And will Democrats find a way to translate its idealistic framework into actual policy,” Matthews stated in one of two teases for a softball interview with Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III (D-MA).

In that second tease, Matthews spun the Green New Deal as something no one could possibly object to, ignoring things such as every building in the U.S. needed to be modified or replaced if it’s not up to snuff, while cars and meat would be banned:

The resolution sets the goal of achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions, creating jobs for all, securing clean air and water, upgrading infrastructure, providing high quality health care for all. The proposal pushed by the progressives in the Democratic Party is the opening salvo, of course, in what is expected to be a deeper, longer debate on climate change.

Matthews led into the Kennedy interview with clips of Republican Senator John Barrasso (WY), White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley, and President Trump blasting the Green New Deal on the heels of news that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will put it to a vote.

The MSNBC pundit and Kennedy family biographer started with this softball, allowing Kennedy to ramble (click “expand”):

MATTHEWS: Well, I’m joined right now by U.S. Congressman Joe Kennedy of Massachuetts. Thank you. What do you make of Trump — well, in this case, Mitch McConnell’s game he's playing? KENNEDY: Look, I — I hope he does put it on the floor. I hope they do have a chance to vote on it. Look, what the Green New Deal says and I'm not sure that many of those folks have read it. It's not that long. I’d urge them to take a look it. What it says is that we’ve two major challenges in the country. One is climate change on this planet and two is an economy that is not working for everybody and so let's take the reforms necessary that we need to make in our economy and let’s make that actually address climate change and it sets out these aspiration that, on the baseline, Chris, say a very simple thing. We've got these major structural challenges. Government has to be at the table and a force to actually address them and so let's aim high to try to address those goals to make sure that American families not only do we have a better environment but have — we could take down the level of economic anxiety that families are feeling across this country and if Republicans are going to be against that, then that’s on them. I — this is a chance for them to get on the record and say do they feel the economic insecurity? Do they acknowledge that science exists? And are they willing to use the power of our economy to address these structural inequities? That’s on them if they don’t.

But the highest dosage of stupidity came in the next exchange when Matthews went ballistic over the fact that the Green New Deal has been mocked by all corners of the right (along with independent Howard Schultz and possible Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg).

Our friends at places like The Federalist and Investor’s Business Daily took note of why, but none of that seemed to cross Matthews’s mind (click “expand”):

MATTHEWS: Let’s break this into two questions. Why do you think Republicans — they're pro-business of course, but most people are pro-business in some way. Why are make fun — in those clips we just showed, they're making fun of the climate change we're facing as a species — KENNEDY: Yeah. MATTHEWS: — people who live on Earth. Why do they make fun of it? KENNEDY: Look, better question for Republicans. I have met with plenty of businesses and some of the biggest business in the world where they indicate that climate change is the biggest challenges that they face. You talk to most businessmen around the country — business leaders — men or women — and they will acknowledge that — MATTHEWS: We're looking at it. The arctic is coming apart. It's all, you know, iceberg after iceberg. You’ve got Florida — Miami is about four, five feet above sea level now.

Going to the next segment, Matthews went on a bender about his rabid dislike of Bolton, dubbing him “a Trojan horse...inside the Trump White House” who’s “got his eyes on a pair of invasion targets, tweeting his calls for regime change, the neocon countdown to invasion in Venezuela and Iran.”

Matthews continued by — get this — defending the murderous Venezuelan dictator even though he’s no longer recognized as president by at least 50 countries (as they instead have sided with Juan Guaidó) because — well — Orange Man bad (click “expand”):

“It's time for Maduro,” Bolton tweets, “to get out of the way.” That's the elected Venezuelan president the United States National Security Adviser is warning to “get out of the way.” Bolton said a similar threat to the leader of Iran, warning not to celebrate any more anniversaries. How did a war-hawk like Bolton squeeze his way into this position of power from where he can issue threats to countries that we, the United States, are coming to invade them. As bad as Donald Trump can be, what is he doing getting his direction on matters of war and peace from someone so demonstrously dangerous as John Bolton.

To see the relevant transcript from MSNBC’s Hardball on February 13, click “expand.”