MSNBC's "Hardball" host Chris Matthews on Tuesday showed interest in whether President Donald Trump would mention the Russia investigation during his State of the Union address.
"The president will be gloating about the economy and of course he can give his supporters another episode of the Trump show, but will Trump even mention the elephant in the room? Will he even mention that word 'Russia?' Is he more likely to say the word 'elephant' than 'Russia?'" Matthews said before going to commercial.
Matthews often talks about special counsel Robert Mueller and the investigation into whether Trump's presidential campaign colluded with the Russian government during the 2016 presidential campaign.
"It looks to me like a purge," Matthews said to Rep. Joaquin Castro (D., Texas) on Monday. "Today McCabe gets pushed out as deputy of the FBI and now the president’s on the warpath after—thanks to Chairman Nunes of your committee to dig up evidence enough to support getting rid of Rod Rosenstein, the deputy head of the Justice Department. Why is he purging everybody that’s involved with investigating him and the Russian probe?"
PBS White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor reported Tuesday evening that Trump was not expected to discuss the Russia investigation during his State of the Union address.
During his #SOTU address, President Trump is not expected to talk about the #MeToo movement, the Russia investigation and the spike in hate crimes across the country, @Yamiche tells @JudyWoodruff. pic.twitter.com/DrVlVakXTb
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) January 30, 2018