MSNBC host Chris Matthews on Monday ripped into Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, charging that the president's decision violated his campaign promise not to get the U.S. into "stupid wars."
Trump repeatedly claimed on the campaign trail that he always staunchly opposed the Iraq War and was against foreign interventions, comments that had won Matthews' praise.
On Monday, however, Matthews blasted Trump for promising "some groups" he would recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv.
"The president would have us believe there is honor in his declaration of Jerusalem as capital of Israel," Matthews said on his show "Hardball." "He promised some groups that he would do it; therefore he finds honor in delivering on that promise. Oh, yeah? I can distinctly remember a far larger promise Trump made in the campaign, far more important and far more wide-ranging in its consequences. He promised again and again and again that he would not enter this country into what he called stupid wars, wars that do nothing to advance our country's security."
In recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, Matthews said, Trump had "stirred up all kinds of trouble throughout the Islamic world" in places like the West Bank, Lebanon, and elsewhere.
"People are getting killed because this president wanted to pander to those who backed him last November," Matthews said. "Meanwhile, he has dishonored one of the few heroic commitments he took in the campaign, to oppose American entry into stupid wars, wars that fail to deliver security for the American people."
Matthews charged Trump with "humiliating" Arab states like Jordan and Saudi Arabia, both U.S. allies in the Middle East, and giving Iran "the greatest break in the world."
"Trump's greatest betrayal is to those who believed his promise to end stupid wars," Matthews said. "In declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel, by precluding East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state, Mr. Trump has forfeited America's indispensable role as peace broker. Instead, as he has done at home, he has taken division, which was bad, and managed to make it worse."
Matthews repeatedly and incorrectly referred to Trump's statement as a "declaration" of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Rather, Trump "recognized" the fact that Israel has always considered the city as its capital and has the right to do so as a sovereign nation. Jerusalem's status as Israel's capital is disputed internationally, however.
Matthews also incorrectly stated that Trump's decision "precludes" East Jerusalem from being the capital of a Palestinian state. Trump said during his announcement last week that the U.S. is "not taking a position of any final status issues, including the specific boundaries of the Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem, or the resolution of contested borders. Those questions are up to the parties involved."
Matthews has in the past ripped the "piggish money people" running an international network of "right-wing front groups," and he is a strong and frequent critic of pro-Israel "hawks" and "neocons." He also once referred to a gathering of a pro-Israel group backed by billionaire Sheldon Adelson as Adelson's "whore bar."