Geraldo Rivera surprised many on Monday by delivering glowing praise for President Donald Trump during a NewsNation appearance.
The longtime television personality, who has often criticized Trump in recent years, suddenly shifted his tone.
Rivera applauded Trump’s efforts to pressure Russia into peace talks to end its war with Ukraine.
“I, again, am so proud of President Trump for making this effort,” Rivera said.
“I really believe that he’s trying and that the world will see that Russia, in some ways, is a paper tiger,” he added.
Rivera noted the imbalance in population between Russia and the West.
“One hundred and thirty million Russians, 450 million Europeans, 330 million Americans, I think the math is on our side,” he said.
“Russia is not what Russia was when it was the Soviet Union, and we have to stop thinking of Putin as being this boogie man, larger than life, that can keep us up at night,” Rivera continued.
🚨NEW: Geraldo Rivera:
“I again am so proud of President Trump for making this effort. I really believe that he’s trying — and that the world will see that Russia, in some ways, is a paper tiger.”
“I hope that Trump just stands his ground — and with these leaders around him, I… pic.twitter.com/IJD2nk6358
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) August 18, 2025
Is Geraldo sincere when he says things like this or just desperate to stay relevant?
“I hope that Trump just stands his ground, and with these leaders around him, I think that ours is the winning hand.”
The sudden admiration should raise eyebrows.
Just hours before Rivera’s remarks, polling showed Trump’s meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska boosted his approval.
An InsiderAdvantage survey conducted after last week’s summit in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin found Trump’s approval at 54 percent.
Only 44 percent disapproved, with two percent undecided.
“Donald Trump now has an advantage among every age group other than the most senior of voters,” pollster Matt Towery said.
“He has improved his numbers among African-Americans and Hispanic-Latinos. White voters are at a near record 64 percent,” Towery added.
The pollster concluded Trump’s approval was “surging upwards post-summit.”
Did Rivera see those numbers and change course?
He once called Trump a “sore loser who cannot be trusted to honor the Constitution.”
Rivera said before the 2024 election, “… I am voting for Kamala Harris to be our 47th President.”
In September 2022, he blamed Trump for undermining trust in elections.
Now he praises Trump’s peace agenda.
Is Rivera angling to return to Trump’s orbit? Or is he chasing relevance after years of shifting positions?
Either way, Rivera’s gush of approval sounded less like authenticity and more like opportunism.
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