On MSNBC Tuesday night, "Hardball" host Chris Matthews said Donald Trump is proving himself to be more of a "leader" than President Obama did when he first ran.

Matthews began the discussion by saying Trump is being "smart" by adding people like Sarah Palin to his "cotillion" to effectively build a "Team Trump, a Trump Party."

After one of the panelists agreed, arguing that Trump had to build a conservative coalition because of his un-conservative record, Matthews cut in to praise Trump more strongly.

Trump, said Matthews, is demonstrating that he's a true leader by getting people to follow him, something the host pointed out Obama failed to do early on:

MATTHEWS: I think it shows him a leader. You can always tell if someone's a leader, now, you look behind him. Anybody following? That was the problem with Obama for a long time. There was nobody back there, just him. This guy looks like he's building a force in the party.

Matthews then took a jab at Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (TX), saying, "Even Ted Cruz seems to be hobbling along behind him."

H/t Mediaite.