MSNBC host Chris Matthews compared the late Iranian General Qasem Soleimani to western cultural icons Princess Diana and Elvis Presley.
During a segment of “Hardball,” Matthews noted the “emotional outpouring” of the Iranians in the wake of the targeted strike, authorized by President Donald Trump, that killed Soleimani last week.
WATCH:
“When some people die, we, you know, you don’t know what the impact is going to be,” Matthews began. “When Princess Diana died there was a huge emotional outpouring. These kinds — Elvis Presley in our culture, it turns out that this general he killed was a beloved hero of the Iranian people to the point — look at the people. These enormous crowds coming out. There is no American emotion but there is a hell of a lot of emotion on the other side.”
Matthews then turned to his guest, Democratic Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro, asking, “Should our leaders know what they’re doing before they kill somebody, congressman?” (RELATED: MSNBC Blames Fart On Hardball Mug. Then Tries To Sell Mug)
Castro responded by claiming that the president’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran was a failure, saying, “Yeah, they very much could have anticipated that Iranians would react in this way, both the Iranian public but also that the government would strike back and this speaks to a much larger issue, Chris, which is the president has had a very chaotic and erratic foreign policy and especially with respect to Iran.”
Matthews concluded the segment by offering congratulations to Castro’s twin brother Julian, calling his recently-ended run for president “heroic.”