. @HardballChris discusses Iowa's first-in-the-nation status, saying that the state doesn't reflect the diversity of the Democratic Party: "We got to get Tom Perez in here and beat him up a little bit and make him tell us, 'why do you still start in Iowa?'" #IowaCaucuses pic.twitter.com/w9SgJXqirv

During MSNBC’s 2020 Iowa caucus coverage on Monday, host Chris Matthews stated that the network needs to bring on DNC Chair Tom Perez “and beat him up a little bit and make him tell us, why do you still start in Iowa? Because it’s a strange decision.” Matthews also criticized the order in which states vote in the primaries as both lacking in productivity and “voter suppression” that is saying, “black people vote last.”

Matthews said, “We don’t get really anything accomplished until we get to South Carolina. 25% of the Democratic voters are African-American, and they’re not really in the game. I mean, that’s really awful. You talk about voter suppression, this is it, Jason’s right. It’s voter suppression. You’re saying, black people vote last. I mean, it’s wrong, and we do it every year. And everybody says, well, they like it in Iowa. Of course they like it in Iowa. It’s here. Of course they like it.”

He added, “We’ve got to get Tom Perez in here and beat him up a little bit and make him tell us, why do you still start in Iowa? Because it’s a strange decision. It just is.”

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