Steve Schmidt: Trump Has ‘Blood on His Hands’ for Jerusalem Embassy, Trying to Stave Off Midterm Loss

Steve Schmidt: Trump Has "Blood On His Hands" For Jerusalem Embassy, Trying To Stave Off Midterm Loss (RealClearPolitics)

Republican strategist and campaign veteran Steve Schmidt, who two days before the 2016 U.S. presidential election told then-candidate Donald Trump to prepare a concession speech, said Monday night that the move of the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem is an attempt to "stave off a disastrous midterm election" through incitement of his base.

Schmidt called Trump ignorant and said, "there will be blood on his hands" for destabilizing the Middle East.

From MSNBC's All In with host Chris Hayes:

STEVE SCHMIDT: Everything we will do from now until the midterms to stave off a disastrous midterm election defeat is try to intensify support in his base through policies of incitement.

This is not about making the Middle East more secure. It's not about making the United States more secure. It's not about making sure that we don't have yet another generation of American kids in Middle Eastern wars. It's all about Donald Trump being able to score a point, ephemeral as it may be in the news cycle and to position himself for the midterm elections.