British political commentator Piers Morgan lamented having written that Trump is a “changed man” after seeing him wage war in Iran.
During an episode of The Bulwark Podcast, Morgan spoke about the New York Post column he wrote after Trump was re-elected. In the column, Morgan said that Trump is a “changed man” and could become “one of America’s great presidents.”
Host Tim Miller, a former GOP operative, asked Morgan how those words are looking now that Trump is more than a year into his second administration.
“Not great,” Morgan admitted. “He, unfortunately, has reverted to type.”
Morgan said, “More worryingly, I think, for his legacy,” Trump has “begun to do things which he specifically campaigned on the opposite.”
The main broken campaign promise identified by Morgan was “not going into war in the Middle East.” Trump also campaigned on “focusing on America first and getting inflation down,” Morgan pointed out.
“Why would you launch a global trade war, and why would you go to war with Iran if actually those campaign aims were your priority?” Morgan wondered. “It’s the opposite. It’s going to have the opposite effect as we’ve seen.”
Morgan was hoping to see “Trump Mark 2, particularly after he survived several assassination attempts,” and added, “It’s unfortunate” that’s not what he’s seeing.
“I felt, talking to him, he was a bit of a changed character, but you know, there’s also the reality check,” Morgan said. “He’s just turned 80. There aren’t many people who turn 80 who suddenly become different people.”
Morgan added that if he were advising Trump, he’d say, “It’s looking more likely than not he might lose control of the House and the Senate in the midterms,” which are only a few months away. “He’ll become a lame duck, which will be for him about as bad as life gets.”