A new week means a new feud for America’s most pugnacious pundit Bill O'Reilly. In the opposite corner this week is MSNBC's anchor Chris Matthews, for remarking that Senator Ted Cruz has what he called the 'black Irish look.'

According to the Huffington Post, Matthews used the term, one commonly heard in Ireland that most often refers to Irish people with dark features believed be descended from survivors of the Spanish Armada, while railing against Cruz on Wednesday.

He compared Cruz to Pat Buchanan, Joseph McCarthy and O'Reilly, saying that they look alike.

O'Reilly sounded flummoxed: 'In addition to being misguided politically, Mr. Matthews also apparently needs glasses — badly,' O'Reilly said in response. He chalked the comment up to a 'desperate attempt by Matthews to get attention.'

Well, mission accomplished Chris Matthews. You now have O'Reilly's full attention.

O'Reilly, stung to find himself placed among such far right company, claimed that Matthew's barb was motivated by MSNBC's recent ratings. 'In the last six months, it’s all fallen apart for MSNBC,' he alleged. 'They’re in a desperate situation right now.'

MSNBC ratings for May were less than stellar. The network placed fourth behind Fox News, CNN and HLN, which saw a spike from the Jodi Arias trial. The network saw its lowest primetime numbers since 2009.