MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews said on Wednesday that Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement from the Supreme Court is a “time for vengeance” for Democrats.

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Kennedy, who served as the court’s swing vote for decades, announced on Wednesday that he is going to retire from the Supreme Court in July. (RELATED: Kennedy Calls It Quits: Longtime Swing Justice Hands Trump The Biggest Gift Of His Presidency)

Matthews seemed to suggest that Democrats should block the appointment of a conservative judge until after the midterms, citing Republicans blocking Merrick Garland when Obama was president.

“The base will attack the leadership for this, if they allow it to happen, and they should,” Matthews said of Democrats. “This is a time for vengeance for what happened two years ago, and if they don’t reap the vengeance now with four and a half months to go before the election, they will not look very strong to their base, and I think they’ll be under attack.”

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