Former Trump supporter Piers Morgan said the president has a 'complete inability to show empathy,' and he wishes Angela Merkel was leading the US' coronavirus response instead

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Former Trump supporter Piers Morgan said the president has a 'complete inability to show empathy,' and he wishes Angela Merkel was leading the US' coronavirus response instead
Donald Trump and Piers Morgan have been friends since 2007.Mathew Imaging / WireImage
  • Former Donald Trump ally Piers Morgan said the president has demonstrated a "complete inability to show empathy" during the coronavirus crisis.
  • Morgan told The Sunday Times that no world leader has responded to the pandemic worse than Trump, and he wished that German Chancellor Angela Merkel was leading the US.
  • Morgan's latest comments come weeks after he lambasted the president in his Daily Mail column, which he opened with: "SHUT THE F--- UP, PRESIDENT TRUMP."
  • Morgan became acquainted with Trump in 2007 after winning the businessman's "The Celebrity Apprentice."
  • He has since defended the president amid backlash for controversial policies, and hosted him for a pair of TV interviews that were criticized for being too easygoing.
  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
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British broadcaster Piers Morgan has changed his tune on Donald Trump over the US president's handling of the coronavirus crisis.

Morgan had previously been an outspoken champion of Trump's, however, he told The Sunday Times' chief interviewer Decca Aitkenhead that he was surprised by the president's lack of statesman-like behaviour during the pandemic.

"Trump's biggest Achilles heel has always been his complete inability to show empathy," Morgan said.

When asked if Trump merely didn't feel any empathy, Morgan added: "Quite possibly, yeah."

The former "America's Got Talent" judge went even further to add that Trump was the worst-performing world leader in terms of his coronavirus response, and that he wished German Chancellor Angela Merkel (leading a country where testing has been high and deaths have been comparatively low) was US president instead.

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Former Trump supporter Piers Morgan said the president has a 'complete inability to show empathy,' and he wishes Angela Merkel was leading the US' coronavirus response instead
Morgan said he wished German Chancellor Angela Merkel was leading the US' COVID-19 response.REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

On the day of his interview with Aitkenhead, Morgan also published an explosive attack on the president in his Daily Mail column, entitled: "President Trump's bats--- crazy coronavirus 'cure' theories are not just shockingly senseless and stupid — they're going to kill people."

In it, he lambasted the president's infamous suggestion of injecting disinfectant as a coronavirus cure, and signed off by writing: "the President needs to SHUT THE F--- UP."

Trump subsequently unfollowed Morgan on Twitter, which, of course, Morgan also wrote about.

The presumed break in friendship between Morgan and Trump is not insubstantial, as the pair have been on good terms for around 13 years and Morgan has defended the president amidst controversial policies in the past, such as his immigrant ban in 2017.

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Morgan appeared in abd wib season seven of "The Celebrity Apprentice" in 2007, where 14 celebrities vied for Trump's "Best Business Brain" title.

Since then, Morgan has interviewed Trump twice in appearances that were condemned for their lack of criticism and easygoing nature from the usually pugnacious TV host.

It seems, though, that the coronavirus, which Morgan called "a recalibration for everybody," has finally broken their long-running relationship.

Asked by Aitkenhead if Trump deserved re-election in November, Morgan said: "You don't deserve it if you make things deliberately worse."

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