Piers Morgan has claimed Donald Trump was “almost foaming at the mouth” ahead of the interview that will launch his new global show next week.
The 57-year-old TV presenter described the minutes leading up to his conversation with the former US president, which will air with the launch of his show, Piers Morgan Uncensored, in a column in The Sun.
Morgan said that, shortly before the interview, Mr Trump had been handed a three-page document detailing critical comments the journalist had made about him on topics including his “woeful handling” of the coronavirus pandemic and his response to defeat in the 2020 presidential election.
****BREAKING NEWS****
👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/WdJnPJyMwG— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) April 20, 2022
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Morgan’s 75-minute interview, which took place at Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, will be screened on TalkTV on Monday at 8pm.
Writing about a crisis meeting that took place ahead of the interview, he said: “I’d never seen him so livid or felt so uncomfortable in his presence as I did right now. He was almost foaming at the mouth and kept shaking his head slowly and menacingly at me, like Don Corleone when he felt he was disrespected.
“There was no point in trying to deny the quotes. I’d said them, and I’d meant them.
“‘I’ve always been critical of you when I’ve felt you deserved it,’ I eventually said. ‘But as you know, I’ve also written and said many supportive things about you too. This is a one-sided hatchet job designed to stop you doing our interview.’
“‘It’s definitely a hatchet job,’ he retorted, ‘On me!’”
BREAKING: I’ll be returning to ITV tomorrow for first time since the Markle Debacle… live & definitely uncensored on @lorraine with the fabulous @reallorraine - should be fun… (may even storm back onto @GMB while I wait, & get those ratings back up.) pic.twitter.com/BH82Ch2Bgo
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) April 20, 2022
Morgan suggested he had been able to calm Mr Trump down by complimenting his golfing record.
He said the interview covered topics including “Ukraine, (Vladimir) Putin, Kim Jong-un and nuclear weapons, to the royals, transgender athletes, Twitter and Joe Biden”.
Mr Trump is later said to have called Morgan “a fool” and stormed out after being challenged on his claim that the 2020 election was “rigged, stolen”.
The former US president subsequently released a statement saying Morgan had “attempted to unlawfully and deceptively edit his long and tedious interview with me” in order to make it look like he had walked out.
He added: “The good news is that the interview was taped by us as a means of keeping him honest.”
“This is a pathetic attempt to use President Trump as a way to revive the career of a failed television host," @TayFromCA …couldn’t agree more. @piersmorgan I have just had my management cancel my appearance with you for this Wednesday because of your repulsive misconduct today
— Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) April 21, 2022
Following the announcement of the interview, Caitlyn Jenner said she was cancelling an interview with Morgan planned for next Wednesday.
Quoting a tweet from Taylor Budowich, director of communications for Mr Trump, that described the interview as “a pathetic attempt to use President Trump as a way to revive the career of a failed television host”, Jenner added: “Couldn’t agree more. @piersmorgan I have just had my management cancel my appearance with you for this Wednesday because of your repulsive misconduct today.”
Morgan replied: “Hi Caitlyn, I thought you hated cancel culture? I did a 75-minute interview with President Trump, why don’t you actually watch it before deciding how I behaved?”
It comes after Morgan also announced that he will be returning to ITV for the first time in more than a year, as a guest on the Lorraine show.
Last year he made headlines after leaving ITV breakfast show Good Morning Britain (GMB) following an on-air clash with weather presenter Alex Beresford over the Prince Harry and Meghan's interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The former tabloid editor said he did not believe Meghan’s claims in the headline-making interview, with his comments sparking more than 50,000 complaints, the most in Ofcom’s history.
The watchdog later ruled that GMB was not in breach of the broadcasting code over Morgan’s controversial comments.
Since his departure from the show no permanent replacement has been announced, with Richard Madeley and others appearing in a rotating cast of guest presenters.
