Piers Morgan released clips that showed Trump storming out of their interview.- Morgan said Trump was already angry before the interview because he was shown criticism the TV host made of him.
Piers Morgan said
The British TV host was describing a moment in the run-up to Trump's interview with "Piers Morgan Uncensored," which is expected to be aired on April 25.
In a promotional video, Morgan is seen challenging Trump on his bogus election-fraud claims and the former president, growing agitated, appears to storm out of the interview.
In a Wednesday article in the New York Post, Morgan said he was preparing for his interview with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida when the former president summoned him to his office.
Trump, Morgan said, had been shown a dossier of quotes in which Morgan sharply criticized his refusal to accept his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.
"Normally, he'd greet me with a cheery smile and the words, 'How's my champ?,' because I was his first 'Celebrity Apprentice' on the series that made him a TV superstar," writes Morgan.
"But this time, there were no such welcoming niceties.
"He was staring at me across his desk with undisguised fury, clutching the document titled 'Piers Morgan Comments About President Trump.'
"What the f--k IS this?" he snarled," wrote Morgan.
He went on to say that Trump began listing a series of quotes in which Morgan had criticized Trump's election-fraud claims, and accused him of fomenting the Capitol riot.
"I'd never seen him so livid or felt so uncomfortable in his presence as I did right now in his office."
Morgan said he was concerned Trump would cancel the interview, but after praising Trump's recent golf hole in one, the former president he decided to go ahead with it.
After the promotional video aired, Trump released audio apparently showing the clips had been deceptively edited to show him storming out of the interview, saying he in fact stayed even when the interview overran.
Trump and Morgan previously enjoyed a warm relationship, with Morgan having been contestant on Trump's reality show "Celebrity Apprentice." The presenter was criticized for conducting softball interviews and giving sycophantic comments about Trump during his presidency.