‘They’re like seals’: MSNBC’s Chris Matthews mocks Trump and his fans for clapping for themselves

MSNBC's Chris Matthews ripped President Donald Trump for holding a campaign rally Wednesday night as Hurricane Michael lashed Florida and Georgia.

Matthews appeared on "Morning Joe," where he told host Joe Scarborough that leadership requires an active response to crisis.

"We grew up in big cities with the mayor and police chief, our commissioner, standing on the curb across from the fire when there's a five-alarm fire," Matthews said. "They're standing there doing their job, that's what we want to see -- showing up. Trump doesn't show up."

Matthews hammered the president for celebrating himself and attacking his enemies while American homes and businesses were washed away along the Gulf of Mexico -- and he said Trump's fans should be ashamed of themselves, as well.

"He goes out there and starts his own fire, he knows what he's doing," Matthews said. "He's clapping to himself, clapping for himself -- they're like seals."

He said the president doesn't care about winning over new supporters, and that he'll continue using his divisive tactics to win re-election.

"You know what will happen," Matthews said. "He'll stay in the low 40s, hang in there between 40 (percent) and 45 (percent) and then knock the block off whoever runs against him, turn him into a hard-left crazy mob leading socialist and whether it's Corey (Booker), Kamala (Harris), Elizabeth (Warren) -- whoever, he'll do that. That's the plan. We can all watch it play out in the next two years, we know what's coming."