On his Monday “Hardball” broadcast, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews attacked Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) for referring to ISIS as “animals.”

“Republicans now say it’s OK to hate Muslims,” Matthews said. “I mean, when you hear ‘carpet bombing,’ there’s no way to hear that from Cruz without knowing a lot of regular people that just happen to live in those geographical areas will die because you’re carpet bombing.”

“And also, ‘animals’? I mean, call them what they are, bad people. But what’s this ‘animal’ thing that Christie’s throwing around?” Matthews added.

Follow Michelle Fields on Twitter @MichelleFields