Chris Matthews: I See Obama ‘Pop Up’ on Letterman, Leno and Think, ‘Why Can’t We Get Him?’

President Barack Obama will sit for an interview with Hardball host Chris Matthews Thursday evening, the first time the MSNBC host has spoken one-on-one to the president since April 2008. On Morning Joe Thursday morning, Matthews wondered if Obama’s recent actions, perhaps including his arrival on Hardball, was due to a need to shore up his base after a disastrous rollout of his signature legislation.

“I don’t usually need them,” Matthews said of high-profile guests. “I enjoy just duking it out with politicians at a distance. I don’t need to beg them to come on my show. But I always thought: I see the president pop up on different kinds of shows, entertainment shows like Letterman and Leno, and I go, ‘Why can’t we get him?'”

RELATED: Matthews Insists The Fact That Obama Steers Clear Of MSNBC Proves Network Not Biased

“But they made some decisions in the White House and they may have to do with these numbers you guys are talking about,” Matthews said, referring to Obama’s woeful poll numbers, especially among young voters. “The president may be going his base, he may going to look for the more progressive voters and hold that 40%. When you start to dip below 40%, you got to fight, you got to go on offense in this country. That may explain why he gave that populist speech. When you’re in trouble in efficiency and competence you shift the topic to ideology. You change the subject.”

(Fox & Friends’ Elisabeth Hasselbeck made almost the identical point, at roughly the same moment, on her own morning show.)

“When Reagan was about to lose that second debate back in ’84 and they were worried about it, they said let’s create a different situation afterwards,” Matthews continued. “The question is who isn’t the smartest, but what side are you on, do you want to go back to McGovernism? They are trying to change the lens now. Because they can’t make competence over health care the next six months. The news will not be wonderful, blue skies. So do you want to grind it out over the next six months of daily reports on health care, or do you want change the subject to what kind of a country do you want to live in, and hopefully hold your rear guard, hold your 40%?”

Watch the full clip below, via MSNBC:

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[Image via screengrab]

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