Matthews: Obama ‘Off Base’ In Response to Brussels Attacks, You Don’t Want To Hear He Phoned It In

MSNBC’s “Hardball” host Chris Matthews stated that President Obama was “off base” in his response to the terrorist attacks in Brussels, Belgium on Tuesday.

Matthews said, [L]et’s talk about President Obama’s behavior today. I grew up in a big city, Philadelphia…when there a big fire, you want to see the mayor on the other curb, watching it. You want to see the police chief, standing there, the fire chief, you want to see them standing on the curb. You don’t want to want to hear they phoned it in. And the president was off base today. He wasn’t there. What could he have done better taking a minute away from a baseball game? He had to do something.”

Later, after MSNBC Contributor Jonathan Capehart stated, “Chris, here’s the thing. Every time something happens, not just in the United States, but around the world, common refrain is, the president needs to do more, the president wasn’t there.” Matthews cut in to say, “I don’t think that’s fair. This time, I don’t think it’s fair.” He continued that the Paris attacks “hit home” in the US, and that politics is “about appearing to be doing the right thing.”

Capehart added that Republicans “constantly kick the president for not doing something that they think he should do.” Matthews countered, “There might be another sin there too, to defend him on every front. Just a thought.”

(h/t GOP War Room)

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett