By Ronny Reyes. Media: Nypost
Ex-MSNBC host Chris Matthews contends President Trump is winning over a majority of Americans despite nationwide polls showing his cratering approval ratings.
The liberal former “Hardball” host refuted recent polls from Gallup and CNN that put Trump’s approval rating at 37% and 41%, respectively, just above his all-time low after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Charlie Rose/Youtube

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“To be honest with you, the country is moving towards Trump,” Matthews told journalist Charlie Rose on Saturday. “These polls, they come out and show him not doing well — I don’t buy that.
“His strength is still greater than the Democratic strength. He is a stronger public figure than the Democratic people,” Matthews said.
“[Former President Barack] Obama still has tremendous charisma — but Trump has strength. And I think that’s what all voters look for,” he said. “They want a president who is a strong figure. And he’s got it. It’s just there. And half the country buys it.”
While Matthews vouched for Trump’s popularity, polls show that overall support for the president is waning after six months into his second term.

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Charlie Rose/Youtube

AP
Along with Gallup and CNN, the most recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in July put Trump’s approval ratings at just 40%, lower than those of recent presidents during the start of their second terms.
But Trump has maintained popular support among his Republican base, with a CNN poll finding that 88% of GOPers still back the president, with Quinnipiac putting that figure as high as 90%, a small uptick from prior surveys.
Trump recently bragged about the numbers as a way to show that he remains unfazed by growing scrutiny over his administration’s handling of the case involving late sex predator Jeffery Epstein.
“My Poll Numbers within the Republican Party, and MAGA, have gone up, significantly, since the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax was exposed by the Radical Left Democrats and, just plain ‘troublemakers,’” Trump boasted on Truth Social.

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Matthews’ Saturday’s remarks were not the first time the left-leaning politico has backed Trump since leaving MSNBC in 2020.
In April, the former host touted the president over his handling of Harvard University after allegations that the Ivy League school allowed antisemitism to run rampant on its campus.
Matthews said Trump and his administration were “smart” to go after the college’s grant money, saying it sent the right message to the country amid record-high levels of antisemitism.
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