Former MSNBC “Hardball” host Chris Matthews has spoken out publicly for the first time since retiring amid sexual-harassment allegations nearly two months ago — and admits he was “inappropriate” and even found his accuser’s story “very credible.”

“I didn’t argue about it, I didn’t deny it,” Matthews told Vanity Fair magazine of journalist Laura Bassett’s claim that she was harassed by the cable TV star.

Bassett wrote in a column for GQ magazine in late February that during one uncomfortable encounter with the married Matthews in 2016, as she was getting ready for an appearance on his show, he “looked over at me in the makeup chair next to him and said, ‘Why haven’t I fallen in love with you yet?’ ”

Matthews abruptly resigned from “Hardball” — after a 20-year run that had recently included other controversial comments — three days later.

At the time, Matthews said of the #MeToo movement, “A lot of it has to do with how we talk to each other, compliments on a woman’s appearance, that some men, including me, might have once incorrectly thought were OK, we’re never OK. … I’m sorry.”

The former TV host told Vanity Fair, “I accepted the credibility of the complaint in [Bassett’s] article.

“I didn’t want to challenge the person that made the complaint and wrote the article. I thought it was very credible and certainly within the person’s rights to write that article, of course. That was highly justified.

“Basically, as I said, to repeat myself, it’s inappropriate in the workplace to compliment somebody on their appearance, this is in the makeup chair, and I did it.”

As for politics, his speciality as a commentator and show host, Matthews couldn’t resist talking about President Trump’s chances against his Democratic foe, Joe Biden.

“I’d be more surprised [with] a Trump victory than a Biden victory,” Matthews said.

Still, Biden must “prove himself,” the former host said.

“For a while in the primary, I thought all the people wanted was a designated driver, somebody to get us home safely,” he said.

“Now, I think people want a little better than the designated driver. They want to have someone who can command the helm and make the big decisions in the interest of the country.

“It’s going to take a leader. We got to see if Biden’s up to it.”