On Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Hardball,” host Chris Matthews stated President Trump always looks for a “partisan divide,” and, when it’s possible, an “ethnic divide.” Matthews cited the debate over Confederate statues, where the president is “trying to reignite” the Civil War as an example.

Matthews said, “[T]his impulse to go after immigration law, you know, right after Las Vegas and that horrible shooting out there last month, early last month, the conservatives said, ‘We shouldn’t be talking politics and gun control after such a horrible tragedy. Let’s give it some time.’ … We’re talking about immigration politics before we even know what happened or even the motive necessarily of this guy.”

He added, “The politics, the mannerisms of this president are, always look for the partisan divide, and if you can, if you’re really lucky, look for an ethnic divide. If you can break it along racial, ethnic, background lines, it’s a winner for Donald Trump.”

Matthews further stated, “[I]t just seems like he always looks for the — the statues issue, he’s back in there again with his chief of staff. Looking for north/south, blue/gray fighting again, trying to reignite — re-enact — I don’t mind re-enactors, but he’s trying to reignite the Civil War.”

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