Piers Morgan battles Nigel Farage for first UK Donald Trump interview

Their last encounter ended with Donald Trump storming off the set.

But Piers Morgan is hoping to land the first UK interview with the US president-elect after mending fences with his unpredictable “frenemy”.

A battle is brewing between British media outlets to secure the first one-to-one, post-election TV interview with a triumphant Trump.

Bosses at GB News hope that Nigel Farage, a longtime Trump ally and a regular visitor to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, could convert that friendship into an exclusive sit-down for his show.

But Morgan is working on a bid to renew his on-screen relationship with Trump, which has previously involved four combative encounters for ITV and Rupert Murdoch’s Talk channel.

Asked if he has persuaded Trump to appear on his Piers Morgan Uncensored show, the presenter told The i Newspaper: “Watch this space.”

Morgan has restored his friendship with Trump after a bruising interview to launch the ill-fated Talk TV in 2022.

An angry Trump stormed off set mumbling that Morgan had been “dishonest” over questions which challenged his claims that the 2020 US election vote had been rigged.

Morgan had said the 6 January Capitol riot disqualified Trump from ever holding office again.

But as a Trump return to the White House became more likely, Morgan appeared keen to repair the rift.

The presenter spoke to Trump four times during the 2024 campaign, including taking a call from the Republican candidate a week after Trump survived an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. The call came after Trump – a ferocious follower of cable news – saw Morgan praising his “courage under fire” on Fox.

The day after Trump’s election victory, Morgan called the president-elect to congratulate him, telling him he was now the “Tiger Woods of Presidents”.

And this week, Morgan reported another chummy conversation. “President Trump just called for a chat,” he wrote on X.

“I’ve never heard him sound so happy [and] relaxed, or more determined to be a historically great president. I think surviving an assassination attempt [and] winning such a huge victory – [especially] the popular vote – has had a profound effect on him.”

Although his Piers Morgan Uncensored show is now a YouTube-only production, the presenter hopes its 3.5 million subscribers would offer a significant platform to tempt Trump.

The show remains a 50/50 production between Morgan and Murdoch’s News UK. And it is possible that the media mogul, who helped broker an exclusive Trump interview with The Times in 2017 by Michael Gove, could once again employ his persuasive skills.

Like Morgan, Rupert Murdoch has scrambled to get back in favour with the president. The relationship broke down following the 6 January Capitol riots, when Murdoch urged his executives to make Trump a “non-person”.

But relations thawed during this year’s campaign, with Murdoch attending the Republican National Convention in July to see Trump crowned the party’s nominee.

Trump also appeared regularly on Fox News during the campaign: he told viewers that he was meeting Murdoch after one interview to ask him to stop the channel running negative adverts about him.

If Morgan is confident about bagging Trump’s first UK sit-down since his election victory, insiders at GB News are more coy about the channel’s chances.

Farage interviewed Trump for GB News in March this year, and regularly refers to his friendship with the president-elect.

But asked whether he had secured an exclusive sit-down this time around, the MP and presenter said he had “not even thought about it”.

A spokesperson for GB News declined to comment. Dan Wootton, the former GB News presenter who has connections in the president-elect’s inner circle, said he believes Morgan is currently in pole position to get the interview.

However, last week, Trump’s son Eric sat down with GB News – a possible indication of the incoming president’s preferred UK broadcaster.

A GB News insider said: “Our viewers celebrated Trump’s victory, we are the natural channel for him to speak to British viewers. Unlike Piers, our presenters never wavered. Nigel will really be earning his money if he can use his alliance with Trump to get an interview.”

The Reform UK leader has registered £142,000 in payments from GB News since the July general election.

Other broadcasters, including Sky News, ITV and Channel 4 are considered outsiders in the race to bag a sit-down with the president-elect.

And despite its international reach, the BBC does not believe it has a realistic shot at persuading Trump to grant an interview.

Trump appears to have little time for the corporation. During a 2017 press conference, he responded to a question from then North America editor Jon Sopel with the dismissive comment: “Here’s another beauty”.

“Too many bridges have been burnt,” said one BBC news figure involved in its Washington coverage, although they suggested that members of Trump’s top team, such as Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio, could be persuaded to appear.

Wherever it airs, the first UK interview with the president-elect will be must-see viewing.