In his Hardball open Wednesday, Chris Matthews went after President Donald Trump with full force for propping up Russian president Vladimir Putin with his comments to NATO allies.

“President Trump handed Vladimir Putin a big gift,” Matthews began. “He antagonized America’s allies at the NATO summit in Brussels, undermining the alliance that has helped to avert a third world war for 70 years.”

“Most incredibly, given Trump’s affinity for Vladimir Putin, he attacked Germany for having an energy deal with Moscow, ironically calling them a captive of Russia,” he added.

After showing a clip of the photo-op breakfast with NATO allies in which Trump made his incendiary comments, Matthews quipped: “It’s like watching John McEnroe argue with a ref.”

“The only beneficiary of Trump’s havoc is Vladimir Putin, who has been rooting for the collapse of NATO since the days of the Cold War,” Matthews explained, adding that Putin said as much himself in his interview last year with Megyn Kelly.

“There’s a little smile on the guy,” Matthews said after showing a clip of Putin hedging in that interview, saying that NATO falling apart would “maybe” be of benefit to Russia.

Watch above, via MSNBC.

[image via screengrab]

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