TRIGGERnometry - June 30, 2024


Piers Morgan: Israel⧸Palestine, Farage & Who Gets My Vote


Episode Stats

Length

56 minutes

Words per Minute

189.83582

Word Count

10,799

Sentence Count

281

Misogynist Sentences

22

Hate Speech Sentences

40


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

In this episode, Pippa Morgan and Alex Blumberg discuss the October 7th attack in Tel Aviv, and the impact it had on the world, and how it has changed the way we look at the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:00.880 You're a big fan of Nigel.
00:00:02.320 Yeah.
00:00:03.320 What's your beef with Faraj?
00:00:04.320 He's a treacherous little world.
00:00:05.320 I'll tell you my beef with him.
00:00:06.320 I had my own interview with Trump lined up.
00:00:07.920 Three days before, he'd been at Mar-a-Lago, where I was,
00:00:10.360 and he clearly went back to London and thought,
00:00:12.080 I'm going to sabotage him.
00:00:13.360 And he only is running this time because I called him out
00:00:15.360 on question time and told him he was bottling it.
00:00:18.360 And lo and behold, 48 hours later, he announces he's running.
00:00:21.840 I've become known as someone who asks everybody,
00:00:23.800 do you condemn Hamas?
00:00:25.280 Well, if you don't condemn what they did on October the 7th,
00:00:27.560 I don't really want to have any more time with you.
00:00:29.880 They haven't really got an end game.
00:00:31.680 But what happens after the war?
00:00:32.960 And I've been asking that question for months.
00:00:35.160 Well, what do you do when this is over?
00:00:37.120 And there's no answer.
00:00:38.480 I fear we're now into a phase of this conflict
00:00:41.840 that is going to take many, many years to try and sort it out.
00:00:45.800 Who are you voting for?
00:00:48.160 I don't know.
00:00:49.360 I honestly don't know.
00:00:52.400 Piers Morgan, fellow YouTuber.
00:00:54.120 First of all, I've just noticed you two have got makeup on,
00:00:56.520 and I haven't.
00:00:57.880 Well, we've got a professional outfit.
00:00:59.200 This is just a California tan.
00:01:00.920 No, buts, no, no.
00:01:01.760 This is where you two have gone.
00:01:03.280 The last time I saw you, there was no makeup.
00:01:06.080 You've been in America too long.
00:01:08.520 Anyway, my natural beauty will shine through.
00:01:10.760 Your natural gamony beauty is shining through brilliantly.
00:01:13.960 Welcome to the show.
00:01:15.480 Piers, you've done, I mean, you've been one of the people
00:01:18.320 who's covered the Israel-Palestine conversation the most thoroughly
00:01:22.760 from different sides.
00:01:24.060 You've taken a hell of a lot of stick and flak online for everybody.
00:01:28.140 From everyone, yeah.
00:01:28.700 From everyone.
00:01:29.900 Why have you focused on that issue as much as you have, first and foremost?
00:01:33.100 Well, when it happened, it was obviously a horrific incident,
00:01:36.780 this terror attack on October the 7th.
00:01:39.340 In all my days in journalism, straddling nearly four decades now,
00:01:43.460 it was right up there with some of the worst things we've ever seen.
00:01:47.060 So I realised the scale of what had happened was going to be enormous
00:01:51.920 in terms of repercussions, in terms of analysis,
00:01:55.520 in terms of what Israel would do by way of response.
00:01:58.320 It was very like 9-11.
00:01:59.580 What was going to happen after that?
00:02:01.080 And as we saw, the repercussions are now still ricocheting around the world.
00:02:04.600 So I felt like it was going to be an enormous story.
00:02:07.580 I also felt that it was incumbent on someone like me,
00:02:11.540 who tries to avoid boxing myself into partisan political camps.
00:02:17.100 You know, I don't associate with any party.
00:02:19.640 I don't really see myself tribal in that sense.
00:02:22.940 I prefer to come at it as a journalist, with an open mind,
00:02:27.500 but with an ability to go after both sides
00:02:29.800 if I feel like their argument is flawed.
00:02:32.400 Now, this is not an environment we live in these days,
00:02:35.120 as you guys will know from the kickback you get.
00:02:37.360 If you do that, you get attacked by everyone
00:02:39.780 because there are a lot of extremists on both sides of almost any debate.
00:02:44.100 Brexit, Trump, Israel, Hamas, whatever it is, Ukraine, Russia.
00:02:48.600 And they will suck the oxygen out there.
00:02:52.060 And then everyone on social media will pile in on behalf of their tribe.
00:02:56.580 So early on, I was aware that the numbers we were getting of people watching,
00:03:01.620 the things like Bassem Youssef, 23 million people watched that on our YouTube channel.
00:03:06.740 Absolutely enormous number.
00:03:08.240 I then went to America and did two more hours of him face-to-face.
00:03:11.380 12 million watched that.
00:03:12.620 So we were getting these gigantic audiences for this stuff.
00:03:16.440 And I realized that one of the reasons was people liked the fact I had everybody on.
00:03:20.400 They liked the fact that it didn't really matter to me who they were.
00:03:24.540 They had a big following and had influence.
00:03:27.120 I wanted them on the show, and I wanted to have a proper examination
00:03:31.340 of what they believed and what they stood for.
00:03:34.360 And I think it's been a really interesting exercise.
00:03:37.100 I mean, I think that we've positioned ourselves as a show
00:03:40.360 as somewhere that people may feel annoyed by,
00:03:44.100 if it doesn't suit their tribal concerns.
00:03:46.400 But there is an appreciation and a respect for the fact
00:03:51.120 that I'm at least platforming everybody,
00:03:53.460 because I think that's really important.
00:03:55.780 And this is going to sound like a strange question,
00:03:58.740 because it's something we take almost entirely for granted now.
00:04:01.600 But why do you think a conflict, which is quite far away from these shores,
00:04:06.160 from the shores of the United States,
00:04:08.940 is so central to the conversation we've been having for,
00:04:12.520 it will soon be a year?
00:04:13.640 Well, look, I think the root of all, and I go back to when I was on the Daily Mirror,
00:04:17.000 which I left 20 years ago, right?
00:04:19.160 And one of the last things I did was oppose the Iraq War.
00:04:23.640 I remember going back to my days on the Daily Mirror 20 years ago.
00:04:27.780 And my last big story really was the Iraq War and the consequences.
00:04:33.700 And if you look at the root cause of a lot of the problems in the Middle East,
00:04:37.960 it goes right back to 1948, right back to what happened then,
00:04:42.640 right back to this Israel-Palestine conflict, which has never been resolved.
00:04:47.960 And it's all blown up in spectacular fashion with the worst kind of acceleration
00:04:53.400 of this conflict into open war in the most catastrophic manner.
00:04:58.380 So it didn't surprise me that it became a huge global story,
00:05:02.000 because the repercussions go everywhere.
00:05:04.400 They go right through the Middle East.
00:05:05.920 They go, obviously, to America.
00:05:07.700 Fascinating to watch how America's responded to this,
00:05:11.080 how a Democrat president is getting a lot of flack
00:05:14.700 from the pro-Palestinian people in America.
00:05:17.940 You think he's not doing enough for them.
00:05:19.260 He's getting a lot of flack from pro-Israeli people saying,
00:05:21.720 why aren't you defending us more?
00:05:22.700 And I said at the start of this, and I still say it now,
00:05:25.920 this is one of the most complex moral stories I've ever had to cover.
00:05:31.780 I've used this word quandary a lot.
00:05:34.820 Anyone who makes just bold statements about this war since October the 7th,
00:05:40.080 I find slightly untrustworthy.
00:05:42.260 I don't think there is a simple answer.
00:05:44.440 I don't think there's a simple analysis.
00:05:46.340 I think it's incredibly complicated.
00:05:48.540 And frankly, I've become known as someone who asks everybody,
00:05:52.060 do you condemn Hamas?
00:05:53.720 Well, if you don't condemn what they did on October the 7th,
00:05:56.020 I don't really want to have any more time with you.
00:05:58.320 If you can't condemn the slaughter of 1,200 people
00:06:01.140 and 6,700 more wounded,
00:06:04.680 if you can't just condemn that act without any equivocation,
00:06:09.220 it's a kind of pointless conversation.
00:06:11.180 If you can, and a lot of my pro-Palestinian guests have done that,
00:06:15.520 then I can have a proper conversation with you.
00:06:17.520 Similarly, on the other side,
00:06:18.720 if your only view on the pro-Israeli side is
00:06:22.620 we've got to wipe them all out in Gaza,
00:06:25.180 I have no time for that either.
00:06:26.900 So it's not like, you know,
00:06:27.900 I will platform people right to the point I think they're complete nutcases.
00:06:31.320 And it's a complicated story.
00:06:33.720 You know, deeply difficult story.
00:06:36.240 And I fear we're now into a phase of this conflict
00:06:40.320 that is going to take many, many years to try and sort it out.
00:06:44.200 You know, it's a really profound point you're making there, Piers,
00:06:46.620 because when we interview people,
00:06:48.900 they're always either pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian.
00:06:52.340 And what happens when you have those conversations with those types of people,
00:06:55.980 no matter how well-intentioned they are,
00:06:57.660 is they're only presenting one side of the story.
00:07:00.000 So I guess my question to you is,
00:07:04.300 how do you see this conflict?
00:07:06.940 What is your analysis of it?
00:07:09.580 It's evolved.
00:07:10.940 There's no question.
00:07:11.980 Very early on,
00:07:13.000 I was adamant that Israel not only had a right to defend itself
00:07:16.720 after the scale of that attack,
00:07:18.740 but had a fundamental duty to its people to defend them
00:07:21.440 from any further attack,
00:07:22.860 particularly given that the Hamas official spokesman
00:07:25.880 was on camera saying,
00:07:27.820 we're going to keep trying to do this again and again and again.
00:07:30.320 No Israeli prime minister or government could do anything
00:07:33.660 but do what they could to defend their people.
00:07:37.080 And I think any country in the world, that would apply.
00:07:39.860 So I took that as my starting point.
00:07:42.240 They have a right and a duty to defend themselves.
00:07:44.760 But very quickly into it,
00:07:46.100 it was clear that the scale of the response from Israel
00:07:48.160 was going to be pretty much unprecedented.
00:07:50.740 And then the question becomes,
00:07:52.740 what is too much?
00:07:54.840 What is acceptable?
00:07:55.700 What strays into potential war crimes?
00:07:59.740 At what point does your right to defend itself
00:08:01.680 give you the right to obliterate large sections of Gaza
00:08:05.660 and tens of thousands of innocent people,
00:08:08.160 particularly given that half the population is under 18?
00:08:13.200 I mean, that's a staggering number of children.
00:08:16.780 And particularly given the complexity of the fact
00:08:19.360 that Hamas deliberately embed themselves
00:08:21.240 amongst the civilian population,
00:08:23.360 making it incredibly difficult
00:08:24.720 to target terrorists from civilians.
00:08:27.220 So that's what I mean about this being a very difficult story to cover
00:08:31.200 and a very difficult moral quandary for me.
00:08:33.320 I don't see it as a simple thing at all.
00:08:36.180 And as it's gone on,
00:08:37.940 what I felt is that,
00:08:40.220 and you're starting to see a splinter now
00:08:41.600 in leading members of the Israeli political sphere,
00:08:46.100 is that they haven't really got an end game
00:08:48.820 for what happens after the war.
00:08:50.520 And I've been asking that question for months.
00:08:52.680 Well, what do you do when this is over?
00:08:54.440 And there's no answer.
00:08:56.220 You know, a lot of Gaza has been completely destroyed.
00:08:59.260 People's homes are gone.
00:09:01.040 They're now attacking what they say are the last remnants of Hamas,
00:09:04.820 but I suspect there's a lot more Hamas left than we think.
00:09:07.540 They're now attacking them in a refugee camp
00:09:09.440 where they've sent over a million people, right?
00:09:12.500 None of that sits easily with me,
00:09:14.140 and I don't think with many people
00:09:15.320 who are not on the extremity of this debate.
00:09:17.800 So I don't know what the end game is here.
00:09:21.980 I'm, you know, you're seeing now Netanyahu
00:09:23.920 sort of suggesting we're nearing the end of the war.
00:09:27.740 Well, how?
00:09:28.780 You haven't got rid of Hamas.
00:09:30.200 That was your stated mission.
00:09:32.600 And it's an interesting thing with public opinion in Israel
00:09:34.740 because the polls suggest that they support
00:09:37.560 the elimination of Hamas, majority of people in Israel,
00:09:42.140 but they do not support Netanyahu personally.
00:09:45.280 And so the moment this war's over,
00:09:46.900 he's almost certainly going to be out of a job,
00:09:48.680 and then he goes in to face corruption charges in a trial.
00:09:52.520 Where's the incentive for Netanyahu to end this war?
00:09:55.660 You know, and he's being driven
00:09:56.860 by some very right-wing members of his cabinet,
00:10:01.240 you know, Smodrich and Ben-Gavir and others.
00:10:03.980 And their language, I have to say,
00:10:05.520 I don't think Israel is waging a genocide
00:10:07.720 because it has the tools to actually wage
00:10:10.140 a total genocide of Palestinian people in Gaza.
00:10:14.080 But I do think some of the language
00:10:15.680 some of those people have been using
00:10:17.360 has been genocidal.
00:10:19.300 And I can understand why people are very fearful
00:10:21.580 that that is what they really want to do,
00:10:23.520 drive Palestinians from Gaza irrevocably.
00:10:26.340 So, you know, what happens now?
00:10:30.360 How do we go back to any kind of normality?
00:10:33.020 What happens to the people who've been displaced,
00:10:35.280 who've lost their homes?
00:10:36.300 What happens to the ideology
00:10:37.880 which fueled all this to start with?
00:10:40.740 Has that been made worse
00:10:43.080 by the scale of Israel's response?
00:10:45.640 Or is it a bit like what happened with the Nazis
00:10:48.380 after World War II,
00:10:50.120 where there was such a ferocious attack
00:10:51.800 on all things Nazi,
00:10:54.000 that it kind of pretty much disappeared?
00:10:56.780 I think that's a very big question
00:10:58.560 as to whether the ideology behind a mass
00:11:02.520 has actually been fueled by what's happened.
00:11:05.420 If you've had a child who's been killed,
00:11:08.000 are you more or less likely to gravitate
00:11:10.340 to the people that you may perceive in your mind
00:11:16.020 have acted as some kind of resistance?
00:11:17.900 I don't know.
00:11:19.320 But it's going to be a huge question
00:11:21.720 for what happens, I think, after this is over.
00:11:24.960 And there's also the geopolitical element.
00:11:26.820 Like, you look at Iran,
00:11:27.880 who have been funding a lot of terrorism in that area.
00:11:31.180 They're not going to stop.
00:11:32.080 As long as the Isle Atollah is in power,
00:11:34.040 he's going to keep doing that.
00:11:35.340 No question.
00:11:35.920 And then you see Lebanon as well.
00:11:37.740 Very dangerous.
00:11:38.620 I mean, Hezbollah will be next.
00:11:40.920 You can almost take it to the bank.
00:11:43.340 And that will be on a whole different scale
00:11:44.820 than anything Hamas has done.
00:11:46.400 So this is a very perilous...
00:11:47.800 Can I ask why?
00:11:48.520 Because there'll be a lot of people
00:11:49.500 who have heard of Hezbollah or Hezbollah,
00:11:51.460 but they wouldn't know why that is.
00:11:53.340 Can you explain for the audience?
00:11:54.440 Well, they're just better armed.
00:11:55.280 There's more of them,
00:11:56.220 and they're better armed.
00:11:57.760 So, you know,
00:11:58.440 Hamas has always been a kind of splinter terror group
00:12:02.720 masquerading as government in Gaza,
00:12:06.120 taking billions of dollars,
00:12:08.240 a lot of it at the direct express wish of Netanyahu,
00:12:13.760 because he wanted to split the two Palestinian camps,
00:12:16.880 Palestinian Authority and Hamas.
00:12:18.720 It suited him that they're at each other's throats.
00:12:21.160 So there's been a lot of money channeled to Hamas,
00:12:24.800 and they've obviously used that to arm themselves,
00:12:27.720 probably with a lot of help from Iran,
00:12:29.660 and Hezbollah the same.
00:12:30.940 So I think there's no doubt that if you're Iran
00:12:35.240 and you're seeing the havoc that has been caused
00:12:38.560 by one event on October the 7th,
00:12:40.620 then you'd be very tempted to try and help
00:12:43.580 another organization not dissimilar to Hamas,
00:12:47.340 like Hezbollah,
00:12:47.980 to do something on an even bigger scale,
00:12:50.000 because they may feel this is their chance
00:12:52.380 to do what they've always wanted to do,
00:12:54.420 which is just obliterate Israel.
00:12:56.880 And that's, of course,
00:12:57.820 what's at the heart of Israel's fear about all this.
00:12:59.860 And a lot of the, you know,
00:13:01.360 I remember interviewing Netanyahu in Jerusalem
00:13:03.720 for CNN about 10, 11 years ago.
00:13:07.580 And the two things that he did,
00:13:09.900 which really interested me in terms of the psychology,
00:13:12.440 he took me to a picture of his brother,
00:13:14.760 who was a captain in the Israeli forces
00:13:17.080 who died in the raid in Antebi.
00:13:18.960 And he started crying as he showed me the picture.
00:13:21.600 So that just showed me that everyone involved in this,
00:13:24.620 a bit like with Northern Ireland,
00:13:25.760 it's so deep-rooted, it's so personal.
00:13:27.660 Everyone's got a personal story like this
00:13:30.600 at some stage of what's been going on
00:13:32.680 in the history of Israel and Palestine.
00:13:35.460 But secondly, he took me to a map behind his desk,
00:13:38.200 which is a really interesting visual, this.
00:13:40.280 And he went, watch this.
00:13:41.100 And he took his hand and he put it on Egypt,
00:13:45.560 Saudi Arabia, Jordan.
00:13:47.620 He went around all the big Arab countries
00:13:49.640 around Israel with his hand.
00:13:52.120 And then he took his thumb and he put it on Israel
00:13:55.880 to show the scale of how tiny Israel is
00:13:59.980 surrounded by these enormous Arab countries.
00:14:02.920 It was a powerful thing.
00:14:04.800 I remember joking to him, saying,
00:14:06.920 do you wish you'd been put somewhere else?
00:14:08.620 And he went, well, like where?
00:14:10.080 I went, I don't know, Belgium?
00:14:11.760 I mean, it was a very powerful visual.
00:14:14.400 Now, Israel is obviously incredibly well-armed.
00:14:17.100 It's obviously helped in that by the United States
00:14:20.720 who has an extremely powerful ally.
00:14:23.020 But this has, I think, made all Israelis,
00:14:25.800 and I think this is a really important point
00:14:27.560 to make as well about the general overview,
00:14:30.600 it's made them very fearful.
00:14:32.560 The scale of what went on,
00:14:35.280 as I can say, nearly 7,000 people were attacked.
00:14:40.000 1,200 were killed in the most barbaric, brutal manner.
00:14:43.140 And these were in peace-loving areas
00:14:46.340 where a lot of the people there
00:14:48.820 were trying to help Palestinians.
00:14:52.300 So if you look at it in the Israeli context
00:14:55.720 of what the people there feel,
00:14:57.160 they must feel very fearful,
00:14:59.180 just as a lot of people in Gaza feel very fearful.
00:15:02.280 All the people in Gaza probably feel very fearful.
00:15:05.600 So that's what I mean again about,
00:15:07.420 this is a very complex story.
00:15:09.320 And if you try and have a simple or simplistic view,
00:15:13.900 I think you are, well,
00:15:17.340 it must be comforting to you to do that.
00:15:19.280 But it's not the right way to approach the story.
00:15:22.460 It's too complicated.
00:15:23.860 And it's also what the United States does with it,
00:15:28.500 with this situation.
00:15:29.400 Because on the one hand,
00:15:30.740 you have Israel, long-time allies and partners.
00:15:33.960 On the other hand,
00:15:34.620 you've signed the Abraham Accords.
00:15:35.840 And also, you're relying on a lot of these Arab countries for oil.
00:15:40.060 So it's not as simple as like,
00:15:41.660 we're all in with the Israelis,
00:15:42.860 because you can't alienate them for business reasons,
00:15:45.880 and also because you need them.
00:15:47.860 I mean, the most significant thing to me
00:15:49.660 is how inactive and quiet Saudi Arabia has been.
00:15:53.740 And if you notice that, they've said very little.
00:15:56.440 Saudi Arabia wants normalization of relations with Israel.
00:16:00.660 They've seen the way it's gone
00:16:02.500 with some of the other countries in the region.
00:16:05.120 And Saudi Arabia knows the oil's running out,
00:16:08.340 and they're going to have to rely on tourism
00:16:10.300 and entertainment and sport and these other things.
00:16:13.000 And to do that, they're going to have to open up,
00:16:15.600 and they're going to have to have a better relationship
00:16:17.880 with countries like Israel.
00:16:19.540 They know that.
00:16:20.580 Israel knows that.
00:16:21.580 There's no will for that to be stopped.
00:16:24.840 But of course, what has been going on
00:16:26.620 makes it very difficult for Saudi leaders
00:16:28.540 with the Muslim population
00:16:31.160 to now say, right,
00:16:33.960 now we're going to get into business bed with Israel.
00:16:36.020 It's very difficult.
00:16:37.380 So again, come back to what I said.
00:16:39.760 These are morally complex issues,
00:16:42.020 and how these big superpowers now play this out
00:16:46.680 is going to be absolutely crucial
00:16:48.300 to the long-term future of the region.
00:16:50.280 One of the interesting things you raise there, Pierce,
00:16:52.560 is the Israeli position,
00:16:54.360 or maybe the Netanyahu position of,
00:16:56.160 you know, we're going to eliminate Hamas.
00:16:58.140 Do you think that that was ever possible?
00:17:00.440 No.
00:17:00.640 And do you think that it was certain?
00:17:01.840 I mean, maybe you could argue it was possible
00:17:04.120 if they nuked Gaza.
00:17:05.600 But apart from that,
00:17:06.800 how do you even fight a terrorist group?
00:17:09.340 Somebody made this very powerful point.
00:17:11.020 I don't even know,
00:17:11.700 may even have been on your show
00:17:13.040 about the fact that,
00:17:14.200 you know, I have family in Ukraine.
00:17:15.480 A lot of people, when there's bombing,
00:17:17.520 go and hide in tube tunnels
00:17:19.600 and all sorts of other tunnels,
00:17:21.420 underground bunkers, etc.
00:17:23.460 We know that that is not what's happening in Gaza.
00:17:25.740 The civilians don't have access
00:17:27.160 to the biggest network of tunnels ever.
00:17:29.940 So you've got a population
00:17:31.600 that is being used in this way,
00:17:33.520 essentially as a human shield.
00:17:35.260 Hamas have said...
00:17:36.240 And the leaders of Hamas,
00:17:38.160 the billionaires who run it,
00:17:39.840 are all living in Qatar.
00:17:41.420 In five-star hotels.
00:17:42.540 Right.
00:17:42.760 So they've done nothing for the people
00:17:45.280 of Gaza, let's be clear.
00:17:47.400 And they've run a pretty despotic regime
00:17:50.200 since they took power in 2005.
00:17:53.080 I don't think that there can be any future
00:17:55.660 for Gaza that involves Hamas
00:17:58.020 having any leadership at all
00:17:59.460 or be part of any government.
00:18:01.340 That's my own view.
00:18:02.620 I don't think there can be any future
00:18:04.080 for Netanyahu
00:18:05.860 or the more right-wing,
00:18:08.580 genocidal, talking members of his cabinet.
00:18:11.340 I think they've all got to go too.
00:18:12.440 It reminds me a bit of Northern Ireland.
00:18:13.860 You know, when ultimately,
00:18:16.720 you know, again,
00:18:17.260 you had terrorists living
00:18:18.200 in civilian population.
00:18:19.840 The British response to that
00:18:21.060 was not to go and unload
00:18:22.500 2,000-pound bombs on Belfast.
00:18:25.260 Right?
00:18:25.520 Because we recognize that we call it...
00:18:27.620 They're not exactly the same,
00:18:29.300 but the principle's interesting
00:18:31.020 to explore.
00:18:31.520 Just for context,
00:18:32.400 I think it would be relevant.
00:18:33.380 Your point about 7,000 people,
00:18:35.640 you know, 1,200 killed
00:18:36.940 and others wounded.
00:18:37.780 If you take that
00:18:38.460 in the British context,
00:18:39.360 that would be about 35,000.
00:18:41.000 Right, so imagine 35,000 people
00:18:42.740 being attacked in Britain
00:18:43.680 by people in Northern Ireland.
00:18:47.080 Say the IRA had done that.
00:18:48.200 They wouldn't have done,
00:18:48.880 but say they had, right?
00:18:49.820 What would have been the pressure
00:18:51.280 from the British people
00:18:52.700 to go and eradicate the IRA?
00:18:54.080 What would Thatcher have done,
00:18:55.000 let's say?
00:18:55.360 Right.
00:18:55.560 It would have been a very,
00:18:56.720 you know,
00:18:56.940 big test of any prime minister.
00:18:58.860 So I don't underestimate that at all.
00:19:01.360 And again,
00:19:02.780 there would be a fundamental duty
00:19:03.880 of a British government
00:19:04.720 to defend itself
00:19:05.680 and defend its people
00:19:07.060 from any further attacks
00:19:08.880 of that nature, of course.
00:19:10.700 And if the IRA were then,
00:19:12.480 you know,
00:19:12.660 to extrapolate the analogy,
00:19:14.320 if they were living
00:19:14.940 as they were amongst civilians,
00:19:16.740 what do you do?
00:19:17.860 How do you get rid of them?
00:19:19.500 Ultimately,
00:19:20.080 you couldn't get rid of them.
00:19:21.600 And ultimately,
00:19:22.440 it had to be a political settlement,
00:19:24.480 which it will have to be
00:19:25.560 with Palestine and Israel.
00:19:27.620 There will have to be
00:19:28.500 a political solution.
00:19:30.020 But if you ask most Israelis
00:19:31.740 right now,
00:19:33.060 how do you feel
00:19:33.700 about a two-state solution?
00:19:35.460 I would imagine
00:19:36.260 almost all of them
00:19:37.000 would say no thanks.
00:19:37.840 Because we can't live in terror.
00:19:41.460 You know,
00:19:41.660 but I would say back to them,
00:19:43.760 you're never going to get rid
00:19:44.840 of this problem
00:19:45.360 until every Palestinian
00:19:46.720 has the same human rights
00:19:48.780 that you do.
00:19:50.500 They have to have
00:19:51.660 the same rights as you.
00:19:52.840 And if they don't,
00:19:54.120 why shouldn't they?
00:19:55.360 Explain to me
00:19:56.020 why they don't have
00:19:56.540 the same rights.
00:19:57.640 Explain to me
00:19:57.940 when this all started
00:19:58.980 and Israel's first response
00:20:01.240 was to turn off the energy
00:20:02.360 and the water
00:20:02.920 and the food supplies
00:20:04.240 into Gaza.
00:20:06.400 Right there,
00:20:07.100 you had evidence
00:20:08.220 of the occupation,
00:20:10.880 as the critics of Israel
00:20:11.780 have called this
00:20:12.440 for many decades,
00:20:13.580 that when you have
00:20:14.440 a power like Israel
00:20:15.680 that has the ability
00:20:17.000 to turn off
00:20:17.940 large swathes of energy
00:20:19.940 and water
00:20:21.000 into another country,
00:20:24.640 right,
00:20:25.080 that is a form of occupation.
00:20:28.340 Whether they want to
00:20:29.400 call it that or not,
00:20:30.660 that cannot be sustainable
00:20:32.100 going forward.
00:20:33.560 You've got to offer people
00:20:34.660 in Palestine
00:20:35.360 equal rights.
00:20:37.480 You've got to give them
00:20:38.240 a chance to self-govern
00:20:39.420 properly,
00:20:40.380 not being run
00:20:41.220 by a terror group
00:20:42.040 but by people
00:20:42.840 who are more moderate
00:20:44.040 as we found
00:20:44.660 in Northern Ireland.
00:20:45.900 You've got to have
00:20:46.460 big leaders
00:20:47.140 who come forward
00:20:47.840 who genuinely want peace.
00:20:49.320 I don't think Hamas
00:20:50.060 want peace.
00:20:50.780 I don't think Netanyahu
00:20:51.560 wants peace.
00:20:52.620 He showed no sign
00:20:53.660 of wanting to actually
00:20:54.780 have a peace settlement
00:20:55.520 to this
00:20:55.940 in his entire tenure
00:20:57.160 as Prime Minister.
00:20:57.700 So I think you need
00:20:59.120 clear new leadership
00:21:01.140 to sort this out.
00:21:02.560 Do you think that
00:21:03.140 the Northern Ireland example
00:21:04.600 just maybe
00:21:05.860 this is a sad thing
00:21:06.920 to say out loud
00:21:07.760 but sometimes
00:21:09.420 in these terrible situations
00:21:11.180 people have to get tired
00:21:12.880 of killing each other
00:21:13.600 and they're just not?
00:21:14.840 Yeah, I mean that kind of
00:21:15.720 happened in Northern Ireland.
00:21:16.600 That's what I mean.
00:21:17.400 But it took...
00:21:18.100 And to be clear
00:21:18.780 there were very bad people
00:21:19.660 on both sides of Northern Ireland.
00:21:20.900 A lot of the loyalist terrorists
00:21:22.180 were just as despicable
00:21:23.540 as IRA terrorists.
00:21:24.880 Terrorism is terrorism.
00:21:26.200 Whoever's perpetrating it.
00:21:27.220 But in the end
00:21:28.160 it was Tony Blair
00:21:29.700 Bill Clinton
00:21:30.620 John Major
00:21:31.780 George Mitchell
00:21:32.700 all these big figures
00:21:34.420 managed to get through it
00:21:36.360 and got to peace
00:21:37.560 when a lot of people
00:21:38.860 thought it was impossible.
00:21:40.340 When the IRA
00:21:40.720 were blowing everybody up
00:21:41.800 all the time
00:21:42.240 people thought
00:21:42.660 you never do peace
00:21:43.460 with these people.
00:21:44.280 You end up with Sinn Féin
00:21:45.300 as a dominant party
00:21:46.100 in Northern Ireland.
00:21:46.880 Who would have thought that
00:21:47.660 30 years ago?
00:21:48.860 Would have been unthinkable.
00:21:50.240 You know the Queen
00:21:50.860 ended up having to shake hands
00:21:52.280 with Gerry Adams
00:21:53.340 and Martin McGuinness.
00:21:54.820 Right?
00:21:55.000 The people who had been
00:21:56.160 part of the
00:21:56.820 organisation
00:21:57.740 which had murdered
00:21:58.840 some of her own family.
00:22:01.100 Right?
00:22:01.300 But ultimately
00:22:02.020 she recognised
00:22:03.020 this was what she had to do.
00:22:05.400 That's statesmanship.
00:22:06.540 That's leadership.
00:22:07.720 Now what do you do here?
00:22:09.000 I think you've got to get
00:22:09.880 new leaders in.
00:22:11.320 I mean I really do.
00:22:12.360 On both sides.
00:22:13.300 And fast.
00:22:13.940 Broadway's smash hit
00:22:16.360 The Neil Diamond Musical
00:22:17.660 A Beautiful Noise
00:22:19.020 is coming to Toronto.
00:22:20.780 The true story
00:22:21.540 of a kid from Brooklyn
00:22:22.620 destined for something more
00:22:24.140 featuring all the songs
00:22:25.280 you love
00:22:25.920 including America,
00:22:27.360 Forever in Blue Jeans
00:22:28.360 and Sweet Caroline.
00:22:30.040 Like Jersey Boys
00:22:31.000 and Beautiful
00:22:31.620 the next musical
00:22:32.800 mega hit is here.
00:22:34.140 The Neil Diamond Musical
00:22:35.420 A Beautiful Noise
00:22:36.760 now through June 7th,
00:22:38.160 2026
00:22:38.900 at the Princess of Wales Theatre.
00:22:40.780 Get tickets at
00:22:41.740 Murbish.com
00:22:42.880 And bringing it
00:22:45.420 closer to home
00:22:46.140 one of the things
00:22:46.920 I think this conflict
00:22:47.780 has also revealed
00:22:48.780 is the splits
00:22:49.980 within our own societies
00:22:51.080 here in the UK
00:22:51.880 in the United States
00:22:53.400 all over the West
00:22:54.200 frankly.
00:22:55.140 What have you made
00:22:56.040 of what we've seen
00:22:57.700 on the streets
00:22:58.420 of this country
00:22:59.100 in the media
00:22:59.840 in the commentary
00:23:00.640 just how
00:23:01.900 our body politic
00:23:03.340 has reacted to this?
00:23:05.500 I think you're seeing
00:23:06.280 a lot of young people
00:23:08.020 in particular
00:23:08.640 falling for a lot
00:23:10.280 of disinformation
00:23:11.140 spewed by things
00:23:12.160 like TikTok.
00:23:13.420 TikTok is now
00:23:14.160 the number one news source
00:23:15.120 for people under 24
00:23:16.100 in the world.
00:23:17.880 I think a lot of the
00:23:18.840 when you see these interviews
00:23:20.020 with some of these young people
00:23:21.280 taking part in protest marches
00:23:23.200 at universities in America
00:23:24.420 or here
00:23:24.800 and you ask them
00:23:26.080 about the conflict
00:23:26.760 they don't seem to know
00:23:27.440 very much.
00:23:27.700 We did one on trigonometry.
00:23:29.780 It was fantastically
00:23:31.100 enlightening
00:23:32.020 because they didn't really
00:23:33.040 know what they were doing
00:23:33.800 or what the history was
00:23:35.360 or anything.
00:23:36.220 I read a very good piece
00:23:37.760 by Jonathan Friedland
00:23:38.620 of The Guardian.
00:23:39.420 He's a Jewish columnist
00:23:40.540 and he wrote
00:23:41.760 a very good piece
00:23:42.380 early on saying
00:23:42.980 I could construct
00:23:44.060 a very good argument
00:23:45.080 for both sides
00:23:46.440 to have a very good cause
00:23:47.940 to be the real victim here
00:23:49.640 in this whole conflict
00:23:50.940 going back to 1948.
00:23:52.920 It was a very interesting piece
00:23:54.200 where I thought
00:23:55.360 we need more of that
00:23:56.420 more of an acknowledgement
00:23:57.560 that actually
00:23:58.260 this is incredibly complicated
00:23:59.640 and you can construct
00:24:01.820 an argument
00:24:02.600 for Israel
00:24:03.460 and why they've
00:24:04.960 had to go through
00:24:06.020 75 years of hell
00:24:07.360 you can construct
00:24:08.340 exactly
00:24:08.920 as powerful
00:24:10.100 an argument
00:24:10.620 for the Palestinians
00:24:11.980 and why they have
00:24:13.300 and it's pretty similar
00:24:15.080 to what was going on
00:24:15.800 in Northern Ireland.
00:24:16.960 So ultimately
00:24:17.420 you've got to get people
00:24:18.400 that can barrel through that
00:24:20.140 and get to resolution.
00:24:21.960 It's incredibly difficult
00:24:22.880 and I don't really see
00:24:24.020 many leaders out there
00:24:25.840 that can do this.
00:24:26.480 Oddly
00:24:26.900 Trump might be one of them
00:24:28.980 in his normal
00:24:30.640 kind of brutal way
00:24:32.440 actually
00:24:33.420 he can be quite effective
00:24:35.580 in this kind of thing.
00:24:36.240 It would be very interesting
00:24:36.840 what he does
00:24:37.340 both with here
00:24:38.060 and with Ukraine.
00:24:39.640 It sounds like you're assuming
00:24:40.560 he's going to get elected.
00:24:42.100 I think he will.
00:24:43.600 I mean
00:24:43.780 I think the debate
00:24:45.420 will be very enlightening.
00:24:46.360 I don't know
00:24:46.500 when this is going out
00:24:47.280 but
00:24:47.560 the debate
00:24:49.240 in the 90 minutes
00:24:50.100 of Joe Biden
00:24:50.700 standing there
00:24:51.280 means one of two things.
00:24:52.820 Either he manages
00:24:53.820 to get through it
00:24:54.660 without falling over,
00:24:56.060 falling asleep
00:24:56.680 or saying something
00:24:57.620 unbelievably stupid
00:24:58.640 in which case
00:25:00.520 it's probably a win
00:25:01.380 or as I suspect
00:25:03.340 he'll get found out
00:25:04.940 as somebody
00:25:06.280 who's got
00:25:06.920 you know
00:25:07.660 the onset of dementia.
00:25:09.460 And I'm going to
00:25:10.340 continue to move
00:25:11.140 until we get
00:25:11.580 the total ban
00:25:12.400 on the
00:25:14.140 total initiative
00:25:15.720 relative to
00:25:16.740 what we're going to do
00:25:17.420 with more border patrol
00:25:18.760 and more
00:25:19.640 asylum officers.
00:25:21.500 President Trump?
00:25:22.400 I really don't know
00:25:23.280 what he said
00:25:23.740 at the end of that sentence.
00:25:25.020 I don't think he knows
00:25:25.780 what he said either.
00:25:26.660 Look.
00:25:27.200 Making sure
00:25:27.740 that we're able
00:25:28.200 to make every single
00:25:29.340 solitary person
00:25:30.800 eligible for
00:25:32.940 what I've been able
00:25:33.460 to do with
00:25:33.980 the COVID
00:25:36.220 excuse me
00:25:37.040 with dealing
00:25:38.760 with everything
00:25:39.820 we have to do
00:25:40.500 with
00:25:40.840 look
00:25:42.880 if
00:25:44.860 we finally
00:25:46.540 beat Medicare
00:25:47.600 then the American
00:25:49.620 people will all
00:25:50.300 be watching
00:25:50.800 and ultimately
00:25:52.480 the election
00:25:53.100 could be won
00:25:53.920 or lost
00:25:54.200 on that debate stage.
00:25:55.120 but I just
00:25:56.140 get a feeling
00:25:56.660 that Trump
00:25:57.200 I had it in 2016
00:25:58.620 the same feeling
00:25:59.420 that there was
00:25:59.900 just this train
00:26:00.920 steaming through
00:26:02.300 middle America
00:26:03.360 which the coasts
00:26:04.740 just weren't aware of
00:26:05.700 and we're going to
00:26:06.880 catch a terrible cold.
00:26:07.840 I wrote this
00:26:08.460 in a lot of columns
00:26:10.120 I wrote one
00:26:11.100 on the day
00:26:11.840 week of the election
00:26:13.300 saying he's going to win
00:26:14.460 I wrote on the day
00:26:16.220 he ran
00:26:16.660 a column saying
00:26:17.860 I think he may win this
00:26:19.100 everyone laughed at me
00:26:19.860 but I felt strongly
00:26:21.260 that he was going to win
00:26:21.780 2020 I didn't know
00:26:22.840 I was far less short
00:26:24.480 this time I'm getting
00:26:25.440 that feeling again
00:26:26.320 because I feel like
00:26:27.740 the deliberate weaponization
00:26:29.600 by the left in America
00:26:31.140 of the justice system
00:26:32.100 has backfired
00:26:32.820 horrendously on them
00:26:34.260 and either it's part
00:26:35.340 of a Machiavellian plot
00:26:36.760 where they've done
00:26:37.600 this deliberately
00:26:38.280 because they wanted
00:26:38.840 Trump as the nominee
00:26:40.300 or it's just a
00:26:42.080 catastrophically bad
00:26:43.460 political play
00:26:44.700 where all it's done
00:26:45.860 is make Trump
00:26:46.420 more and more popular
00:26:47.200 which is what's happened
00:26:48.360 and raise him
00:26:49.100 tens and hundreds
00:26:50.500 of millions more dollars
00:26:51.420 I mean he's the first guy
00:26:52.700 I can ever remember
00:26:53.160 he's been convicted
00:26:53.840 of a criminal offence
00:26:55.160 who ends up
00:26:56.160 with about 100 million
00:26:57.100 more dollars
00:26:58.060 within a week
00:26:58.680 than he did to start with
00:26:59.640 I mean it's unbelievable
00:27:00.820 but it's entirely
00:27:02.560 I think appropriate
00:27:05.120 given the overreach
00:27:06.720 of that case
00:27:07.440 to drag an American
00:27:08.580 president for the first
00:27:09.820 time ever
00:27:10.360 through a criminal
00:27:11.300 court process
00:27:12.300 over a one night stand
00:27:14.040 with a porn star
00:27:14.700 20 years ago
00:27:15.520 nobody cares
00:27:16.740 if it was one
00:27:17.820 of the other cases
00:27:18.360 fine but it wasn't
00:27:19.760 it was the porn star
00:27:20.880 it was Stormy
00:27:21.720 who changes the story
00:27:23.380 left right and centre
00:27:24.260 it was
00:27:24.840 all of it
00:27:25.840 was so kind of
00:27:26.740 low rent
00:27:27.400 cheap as chips
00:27:28.760 pointless
00:27:29.920 and then they convict him
00:27:31.740 and it's like
00:27:32.140 really
00:27:32.800 I don't think people
00:27:34.340 see Trump as a felon
00:27:35.520 unless you're a real
00:27:36.140 diehard Trump hater
00:27:37.440 most independents
00:27:39.680 moderates
00:27:40.280 people in the middle
00:27:41.380 which is a lot of people
00:27:42.460 probably like
00:27:43.280 why do we do that
00:27:44.520 to one of our presidents
00:27:45.320 but Piers
00:27:46.540 what do you think
00:27:47.520 that says
00:27:48.240 about the American
00:27:49.080 system in general
00:27:50.720 political system
00:27:51.600 it's going down
00:27:52.020 a very dangerous path
00:27:53.500 where once you start
00:27:54.680 weaponising
00:27:55.440 justice systems
00:27:56.820 you become a
00:27:57.540 banana republic
00:27:58.260 you don't think
00:27:59.460 the Republicans
00:27:59.960 will now do this
00:28:00.660 to Joe Biden
00:28:01.760 and his family
00:28:02.480 the moment they get
00:28:03.560 the chance
00:28:03.980 if they win
00:28:04.360 of course they will
00:28:04.980 and it's been
00:28:06.000 heading
00:28:06.540 hurtling
00:28:07.520 you know
00:28:08.320 I mean I remember
00:28:09.080 going to interview
00:28:10.300 John McCain
00:28:11.960 Joe Lieberman
00:28:13.320 and Lindsey Graham
00:28:14.100 in the Senate
00:28:15.440 when I was at CNN
00:28:16.340 and they were like
00:28:17.640 three mates
00:28:18.320 not all from
00:28:19.900 the same party
00:28:20.580 but they were able
00:28:21.540 to debate stuff
00:28:23.020 argue with each other
00:28:24.560 and then they all
00:28:24.960 went and had dinner
00:28:25.560 they were friends
00:28:26.340 I wonder how much
00:28:27.740 of that goes on
00:28:28.360 these days
00:28:28.820 I wonder how many
00:28:29.680 senators are actually
00:28:30.580 friends with people
00:28:31.320 across the aisle
00:28:32.280 probably very few
00:28:33.180 it's got so nasty
00:28:34.600 so toxic
00:28:35.320 fuelled by
00:28:36.440 tribalism on social media
00:28:38.320 which just plays
00:28:39.780 you know
00:28:40.020 only 20% of people
00:28:41.720 are on X
00:28:42.920 in America
00:28:44.320 and the UK
00:28:44.900 of those
00:28:46.520 10% make 80%
00:28:48.660 of the noise
00:28:49.300 and they tend to skew
00:28:50.520 to the extremities
00:28:51.360 once you know that
00:28:52.560 you realise that
00:28:53.700 X is not a representation
00:28:55.120 of what the majority
00:28:56.280 of people are thinking
00:28:57.160 but it sounds like
00:28:59.180 they are
00:28:59.660 it sounds like
00:29:01.160 these people
00:29:01.800 are speaking for everybody
00:29:03.100 and it's all
00:29:04.140 savage and toxic
00:29:05.320 and horrible
00:29:05.940 and abusive
00:29:06.500 and that is a big problem
00:29:08.200 I hope Elon Musk
00:29:09.000 can somehow sort it out
00:29:10.140 it's very hard
00:29:10.700 when you're Elon Musk
00:29:12.000 and you're trying
00:29:12.500 to promote free speech
00:29:13.740 which in his head
00:29:15.120 means you allow people
00:29:16.120 like Alex Jones
00:29:16.860 to be on the platform
00:29:17.700 which I think
00:29:18.320 is completely wrong
00:29:19.680 I've had this
00:29:20.140 conversation with him
00:29:21.080 I think that's the
00:29:23.300 that's the problem
00:29:24.320 isn't it
00:29:24.700 that's the dilemma
00:29:25.400 do you let everybody
00:29:26.840 have a voice
00:29:27.640 on a big platform
00:29:29.600 like X
00:29:30.160 even if they're getting
00:29:30.920 you know
00:29:31.720 tens of millions
00:29:32.560 of followers
00:29:33.120 and then deliberately
00:29:34.160 telling lies
00:29:35.280 about mass shooting
00:29:37.200 victim families
00:29:38.660 to make themselves rich
00:29:40.500 even if it means
00:29:41.860 those families
00:29:42.400 then get abused
00:29:43.360 and have horrific
00:29:44.480 things happen to them
00:29:45.440 should that person
00:29:46.640 be given that platform
00:29:48.020 to do this
00:29:48.980 I don't think so
00:29:50.000 so I think these are
00:29:51.840 again
00:29:52.320 it's complicated
00:29:53.460 free speech
00:29:54.780 I'm an absolute advocate
00:29:56.600 for free speech
00:29:57.480 but there are limits
00:29:59.060 in I mean look
00:29:59.880 the First Amendment
00:30:00.420 is one of the most
00:30:00.860 powerful defenders
00:30:02.200 of free speech
00:30:02.780 in the world
00:30:03.160 but there are
00:30:03.740 limitations in that
00:30:04.820 they list them
00:30:05.640 there are things
00:30:06.500 you cannot do
00:30:07.400 things you cannot say
00:30:09.200 in a proper
00:30:10.560 democratic society
00:30:11.680 and that's how
00:30:12.200 as it should be
00:30:13.140 because in many ways
00:30:14.840 what Musk did
00:30:15.940 when buying X
00:30:16.780 and I was actually
00:30:17.340 very happy he bought X
00:30:18.780 it was a reaction
00:30:20.600 to shadow banning
00:30:22.220 the suppression
00:30:22.800 that we saw
00:30:23.440 and he was right
00:30:24.020 about that
00:30:24.500 yes
00:30:24.840 I mean what happened
00:30:26.200 with say the New York
00:30:26.960 Post and the Hunter
00:30:27.940 Biden story
00:30:28.420 was a complete disgrace
00:30:29.640 and Elon Musk
00:30:30.780 I think was enraged
00:30:31.680 as we all were
00:30:32.520 about what happened there
00:30:33.880 they literally helped
00:30:34.980 Joe Biden win the election
00:30:36.180 by suppressing a story
00:30:38.020 that turned out
00:30:38.580 to be completely true
00:30:39.720 and that was an outrage
00:30:41.960 the New York Post
00:30:42.680 Twitter account
00:30:43.440 was locked out
00:30:44.260 for two weeks
00:30:45.000 because they wouldn't
00:30:46.660 delete it
00:30:47.280 and why should they
00:30:48.480 delete a true story
00:30:49.380 it was a proper scoop
00:30:50.200 and it could have had
00:30:51.560 according to all the polls
00:30:52.640 it could have had
00:30:53.340 a significant impact
00:30:54.680 on how people voted
00:30:56.180 so when I said
00:30:57.640 to Donald Trump
00:30:58.100 to his face
00:30:58.580 stop going on
00:30:59.580 about the stolen election
00:31:00.600 there's no evidence
00:31:01.340 you had that election
00:31:02.100 stolen in the way
00:31:03.380 you're trying to make out
00:31:04.260 you did
00:31:04.680 with dodgy ballots
00:31:06.180 and all the rest of it
00:31:06.980 actually the American system
00:31:08.840 is one of the best
00:31:09.640 and safest in the world
00:31:10.720 everybody can see that
00:31:13.080 I think he's not
00:31:14.280 in a partisan mindset
00:31:17.220 but if he said
00:31:19.540 that I had it robbed
00:31:20.660 from me
00:31:21.180 by suppression
00:31:21.940 of true stories
00:31:23.920 about my opponent
00:31:25.100 and his family
00:31:25.860 I'm with him
00:31:27.020 I'm with him
00:31:28.200 because he could have
00:31:28.940 swung the election
00:31:29.540 40 odd thousand votes
00:31:31.360 swung that election
00:31:32.640 imagine if the Biden
00:31:34.800 story had broken
00:31:35.620 and had been the only thing
00:31:36.540 people were talking about
00:31:37.500 for two weeks
00:31:38.300 was the contents
00:31:39.060 of that laptop
00:31:39.720 and how this guy
00:31:41.880 running for president
00:31:42.800 how his son
00:31:44.380 had ended up
00:31:46.000 on the board
00:31:46.560 of an energy company
00:31:47.880 in Ukraine
00:31:49.080 for which he had
00:31:49.920 zero qualifications
00:31:51.220 and was earning
00:31:52.140 a seven figure sum
00:31:53.140 and then there was
00:31:54.120 the big guy
00:31:55.080 who was taking a percentage
00:31:56.480 I'm not a conspiracy theorist
00:31:58.780 but you know
00:31:59.820 you added up
00:32:00.740 it's very murky
00:32:01.780 what Hunter Biden
00:32:02.620 was doing
00:32:03.100 and I would absolutely
00:32:04.400 like to have known more
00:32:05.520 before I cast a vote
00:32:07.140 if I was an American
00:32:07.780 in that election
00:32:08.520 about how far this went
00:32:10.360 and how murky
00:32:11.640 it really got
00:32:12.380 so I think
00:32:13.460 it's very important
00:32:14.740 so Elon Musk
00:32:15.340 is absolutely
00:32:16.040 bang on about that
00:32:17.220 but should people
00:32:18.380 like Alex Jones
00:32:19.480 get a platform
00:32:20.140 I don't think so
00:32:21.220 so you just had him
00:32:22.160 on your show
00:32:22.680 Elon I think
00:32:23.300 I've not interviewed him yet
00:32:24.540 I met him
00:32:25.480 you met him
00:32:26.140 did you debate this point
00:32:27.360 first time I met him
00:32:28.040 yeah actually we did
00:32:28.720 we had a drink
00:32:29.480 and we were talking about it
00:32:30.400 and he was
00:32:30.660 it was much more
00:32:31.420 probably like most people
00:32:32.540 on exit
00:32:33.460 can be quite a sad
00:32:34.460 one on one
00:32:35.780 I found him
00:32:36.560 extremely charming
00:32:38.380 highly intelligent
00:32:40.100 I mean he did a little
00:32:40.820 Q&A first
00:32:41.540 for a small group of us
00:32:42.520 and I was peppering
00:32:43.540 him with questions
00:32:44.080 I think he knew
00:32:44.620 I was lining up
00:32:46.320 the interview
00:32:46.780 but you know
00:32:47.880 I would love to interview him
00:32:48.700 and he's kind of agreed
00:32:49.740 but we'll see if he does it
00:32:50.660 he
00:32:51.860 I found him fascinating
00:32:53.540 I think he's one of the most
00:32:54.280 brilliant minds in the world
00:32:55.220 I mean no question
00:32:56.260 and I had that view
00:32:58.380 reinforced by what
00:32:59.540 he was like
00:33:00.040 actually to see an action
00:33:01.560 in the Q&A
00:33:02.140 I mean this guy
00:33:03.260 you know
00:33:04.160 he's thinking all the time
00:33:05.120 about colonising Mars
00:33:06.700 he's thinking about
00:33:08.180 humanoid robots
00:33:09.620 and how many billions
00:33:10.720 there are going to be
00:33:11.240 and what they're going to do
00:33:12.560 you know
00:33:13.480 he's thinking about
00:33:14.460 massive grand scale stuff
00:33:16.360 to save the planet
00:33:17.280 so I think in his heart
00:33:18.680 Elon's a really good guy
00:33:20.220 who has a really good outlook
00:33:22.580 for the world
00:33:23.220 he wants to save us
00:33:24.220 from ourselves
00:33:25.060 so I completely applaud him on that
00:33:27.160 I think on X
00:33:28.500 he's
00:33:29.660 he's driving this whole
00:33:31.740 free speech mission
00:33:32.600 and I salute him for it
00:33:33.940 and cheer him on
00:33:35.080 but free speech
00:33:36.740 should not come
00:33:37.800 with zero limitation
00:33:38.920 and it certainly
00:33:40.400 shouldn't come
00:33:40.980 with no consequence
00:33:41.920 which I think
00:33:42.620 on the second part
00:33:43.260 he totally agrees
00:33:43.960 I think he's genuinely got
00:33:45.520 a slight quandary
00:33:47.300 about who you let on
00:33:48.500 and who you don't
00:33:49.280 I mean at the moment
00:33:50.200 you know
00:33:51.020 it's like
00:33:51.460 should the Ayatollah of Iran
00:33:54.080 be allowed an account
00:33:55.960 on X
00:33:56.700 if he's promoting violence
00:33:57.600 he's very gender critical
00:33:58.720 so probably not
00:34:00.100 right
00:34:00.380 and if he's promoting violence
00:34:02.340 against Jewish people
00:34:04.340 and Israel
00:34:05.140 he can make a good argument
00:34:07.320 that he shouldn't be
00:34:08.440 but these are complex things
00:34:10.000 I don't pretend it's easy at all
00:34:11.320 it's a very tough job
00:34:12.320 he's got
00:34:12.800 very tough job
00:34:13.640 Piers
00:34:14.220 moving a little closer to home
00:34:15.720 we've obviously got
00:34:16.460 an election coming up
00:34:17.520 we know you're voting reform
00:34:18.720 you're a big fan of Nigel
00:34:21.420 what's your beef with Faraj
00:34:23.340 he's a treacherous little
00:34:24.200 I'll tell you my beef with him
00:34:25.420 and tell me how you would have responded
00:34:27.000 I take people as I find them
00:34:29.120 right
00:34:29.340 like I'd heard all this bad stuff
00:34:30.800 about you two
00:34:31.400 and I
00:34:31.680 actually when I met you
00:34:32.740 I thought you were good guys
00:34:33.680 we're sorry to disappoint you
00:34:37.080 you know
00:34:37.780 very disappointing
00:34:38.820 I used to get on fine with Faraj
00:34:41.200 didn't agree with him politically
00:34:42.140 about a lot of stuff
00:34:42.840 but I got on fine with him
00:34:43.680 we shared a love of cricket
00:34:44.640 and real ale
00:34:46.200 and we would bump into each other
00:34:47.520 and often do both at the same time
00:34:48.980 and that was fine
00:34:49.920 and then
00:34:50.260 an extraordinary thing happened
00:34:52.500 where
00:34:52.800 he was at GB News
00:34:54.760 I was
00:34:55.240 talk TV
00:34:56.100 we were sort of rivals
00:34:57.140 but not really
00:34:57.800 and he got an interview with Trump
00:34:59.720 and I sent him a text message
00:35:02.220 many congrats on a great scoop
00:35:04.200 he went
00:35:04.840 thank you
00:35:05.200 that's really good of you
00:35:05.860 I really appreciate that
00:35:06.760 right
00:35:06.960 three months later
00:35:07.960 I had my own interview with Trump
00:35:09.100 lined up for the first show
00:35:10.240 of my
00:35:10.600 of my Piers Morgan
00:35:11.800 I sent him
00:35:12.360 and just before it started
00:35:14.200 somebody came to me
00:35:15.820 with three sheets of paper
00:35:16.960 and we got a big problem
00:35:17.980 the boss wants to cancel the interview
00:35:19.820 I went
00:35:20.100 why
00:35:20.400 he said
00:35:20.800 well he's just been sent this
00:35:21.700 by somebody
00:35:22.280 I said
00:35:22.580 what is it
00:35:23.000 and it was three pages
00:35:24.460 of all the more critical things
00:35:25.780 I'd said and written about Trump
00:35:26.900 in the previous year
00:35:27.680 someone had gone to really
00:35:28.680 painstaking effort
00:35:30.140 to just go over everything
00:35:31.980 I'd ever written or said
00:35:33.000 and put them all in
00:35:34.040 and right in the middle of all this
00:35:35.340 were two complimentary quotes
00:35:37.420 about Trump
00:35:38.000 from Nigel Farage
00:35:39.300 so I was curious
00:35:40.420 I went on his Twitter account
00:35:41.640 sure enough
00:35:42.640 three days before
00:35:43.580 he'd been at Mar-a-Lago
00:35:44.560 where I was
00:35:45.220 having dinner with his mate
00:35:46.940 Donald Trump
00:35:47.640 and Trump had clearly mentioned to him
00:35:49.420 that I was coming to an interview
00:35:50.600 and he clearly went back to London
00:35:52.360 and thought I'm going to sabotage him
00:35:53.860 and I just put those two things together
00:35:56.040 me
00:35:56.500 gracious
00:35:57.420 dignified
00:35:58.160 congratulating him
00:35:59.160 on a good scoop
00:35:59.940 him
00:36:00.640 I'm
00:36:01.360 three months later
00:36:02.240 I'm going to ruin
00:36:03.380 his
00:36:04.340 chance
00:36:05.480 of a good scoop
00:36:06.360 why do you think he did that?
00:36:08.000 because I think he's a treacherous little worm
00:36:10.000 and you find out
00:36:11.140 you've made that point
00:36:12.000 you find out people's character
00:36:14.100 in moments like that
00:36:15.220 and no one can persuade me otherwise now
00:36:17.400 because I had first hand experience of it
00:36:19.320 luckily
00:36:20.060 I managed to salvage it
00:36:21.660 and talk it around
00:36:22.320 and got a great interview with Trump
00:36:23.460 but it could easily have all just been cancelled
00:36:26.060 and I would have been home
00:36:27.240 £100,000 out of pocket
00:36:29.580 or whatever it costed
00:36:30.420 we had eight people there
00:36:31.420 flown in from all around the world
00:36:32.580 and it was our launch show
00:36:35.000 it could have been
00:36:36.260 a really bad situation for us
00:36:38.380 so his mission failed
00:36:40.500 but the intent was clear
00:36:41.720 and I wouldn't trust him
00:36:43.160 as far as I could throw him
00:36:44.320 that's interesting
00:36:45.120 at the same time
00:36:46.720 as an objective journalist
00:36:48.100 you have to recognise
00:36:48.940 he's making a big impact
00:36:50.220 in the country at the moment
00:36:51.660 well he's making an impact
00:36:53.040 purely because the others aren't really
00:36:55.220 yeah
00:36:55.480 I mean it's a bizarre situation
00:36:56.760 where the Tories are in total meltdown
00:36:59.020 and I think they're going to get
00:37:00.180 a massive shellacking
00:37:01.600 just a question of how bad
00:37:04.260 and how many survive actually
00:37:06.020 it's a bit like the Titanic going down
00:37:07.620 it's like you just don't know
00:37:08.340 how many people will get in the lifeboat
00:37:09.620 well it's like 70 of them
00:37:11.020 have jumped themselves
00:37:11.960 right
00:37:12.360 and it could be
00:37:13.620 there's only 70 left
00:37:14.800 and it may be a lot of the cabinet
00:37:15.880 get wiped out
00:37:16.600 it's going to be a fascinating spectacle
00:37:20.420 seeing who ends up keeping their job
00:37:22.840 but I don't feel like this kind of
00:37:26.020 messianite zeal
00:37:27.560 of support for Keir Starmer
00:37:29.520 like there was for Blair back in 97
00:37:31.680 I remember that
00:37:32.500 I was on the steps of Downing Street
00:37:34.180 at 4 in the morning
00:37:34.980 people singing
00:37:36.260 things are going to get better
00:37:37.340 they meant it
00:37:38.280 they thought this guy
00:37:39.440 is going to fix things
00:37:40.120 now he inherited a healthy economy
00:37:41.960 and was able to hit the ground running
00:37:43.480 and actually did a very good job
00:37:44.920 for a lot of time
00:37:46.720 for a number of years
00:37:47.540 I thought Blair lost the plot
00:37:49.220 over Iraq
00:37:49.880 but prior to that
00:37:51.340 he did a lot of really
00:37:52.300 you know
00:37:52.920 impressive stuff
00:37:53.920 and made Labour electable
00:37:55.980 in a way that we hadn't seen
00:37:57.180 for a very long time
00:37:58.240 Keir Starmer
00:37:59.840 is a decent person
00:38:02.060 I've interviewed him
00:38:02.980 for my life story show
00:38:03.940 for three hours
00:38:05.380 people can't hide
00:38:06.920 when you have that long with them
00:38:08.100 about every aspect of her life
00:38:09.760 had a very tough upbringing
00:38:10.920 very conscientious
00:38:13.700 hard working
00:38:14.560 rose to the top
00:38:15.760 to be Director of Public Prosecutions
00:38:17.260 is now on the verge
00:38:18.560 of rising to the top of politics
00:38:19.640 you know
00:38:20.160 that's two different industries
00:38:22.400 where he's risen to the top
00:38:24.040 so definitely not to be underestimated
00:38:25.700 I think he's a serious minded guy
00:38:28.060 he's a bit boring
00:38:29.240 there's no doubt
00:38:30.640 he's not as charismatic
00:38:31.500 as other more charismatic
00:38:33.240 political figures
00:38:34.320 but I don't mind being bored for a bit
00:38:36.200 if he can actually get the job done
00:38:37.420 the question
00:38:37.900 the problem he's going to have
00:38:39.580 and the big question
00:38:40.680 is where's he going to find
00:38:42.040 the money to do anything
00:38:42.860 he's already ruled out
00:38:44.140 nearly three quarters
00:38:45.440 of all the revenue streams
00:38:46.540 from taxation
00:38:47.420 so he's only going to
00:38:48.720 better tax the rich
00:38:49.680 and there's only a certain amount
00:38:51.960 you can do with that
00:38:52.680 and as I've always
00:38:53.400 tried to explain
00:38:54.720 to my more socialist friends
00:38:56.080 just whacking the rich all the time
00:38:58.080 doesn't really work
00:38:59.040 the rich just get on planes
00:39:00.440 and go and live somewhere else
00:39:01.420 and that's what I fear may happen
00:39:02.700 it's already happening
00:39:03.440 it's already happening
00:39:04.340 and I think it's going to accelerate
00:39:05.320 so look
00:39:06.360 he needs a bit of luck
00:39:07.740 if the economy starts to bounce back
00:39:09.340 he may have a chance
00:39:10.500 to do some of the things
00:39:11.820 he wants to do
00:39:12.420 if the economy really does stagnate
00:39:14.340 for quite a while longer
00:39:15.340 I don't know what they're going to do
00:39:16.880 there's no money
00:39:18.060 Piers
00:39:18.880 and the problem is as well
00:39:19.960 and I look at
00:39:20.540 all the major political parties
00:39:22.360 is that they're completely
00:39:23.840 lacking a vision
00:39:24.880 Blair had a vision
00:39:26.060 Thatcher had a vision
00:39:27.040 all great leaders
00:39:28.160 have a vision
00:39:28.780 of the country
00:39:29.800 they want to create
00:39:30.600 and to be brutally honest
00:39:32.000 none of this lot do
00:39:33.040 No
00:39:33.360 and nor does Nigel Farage
00:39:34.480 I mean his vision
00:39:35.140 basically comes down to
00:39:36.520 stop the foreigners coming in
00:39:38.100 all of them
00:39:39.000 if he had his way
00:39:40.160 right
00:39:40.400 and it's a glib
00:39:41.660 way of summarising it
00:39:43.480 but pretty much
00:39:44.260 that's all he talks about
00:39:45.200 and if you actually look
00:39:46.200 at some of the policies
00:39:47.040 he's come up with recently
00:39:48.060 none of them are sustainable
00:39:49.280 he couldn't afford
00:39:50.220 to do any of these things
00:39:51.180 Farage is a flamethrower
00:39:52.880 who then runs away
00:39:54.020 from the scene
00:39:54.600 of the fire
00:39:55.520 he ignites
00:39:57.180 in my opinion
00:39:57.980 Do you not think
00:39:58.880 let me just challenge you briefly
00:39:59.960 do you not think
00:40:00.640 for example
00:40:01.160 I read the Reform Manifesto
00:40:02.520 I like you
00:40:03.260 I don't like the idea
00:40:04.220 of net zero immigration
00:40:05.120 I don't think that's workable
00:40:06.120 I do think they've gone
00:40:07.560 for a lot of things
00:40:08.500 that taken together
00:40:10.180 they probably can't afford
00:40:11.460 but do you not think
00:40:12.400 it's good that somebody
00:40:13.380 is talking about
00:40:14.060 we shouldn't have net zero
00:40:15.180 and spend 30 billion pounds
00:40:17.300 a year
00:40:17.620 It's fine to do these things
00:40:18.700 but it's a bit like
00:40:19.300 with Brexit
00:40:19.800 right
00:40:20.120 he was a mastermind
00:40:22.560 of Brexit
00:40:22.980 he was the guy
00:40:24.260 that drove Brexit
00:40:25.320 he was largely responsible
00:40:27.200 for Brexit happening
00:40:28.560 and then
00:40:29.640 he backs away
00:40:31.280 and for the next eight years
00:40:32.280 not me Gov
00:40:33.140 oh they're doing it wrong
00:40:34.320 if only I was doing it
00:40:36.040 okay well then
00:40:37.360 why weren't you running
00:40:38.440 right
00:40:39.380 the truth is
00:40:40.120 he's lost every time
00:40:40.940 he tried to run
00:40:41.640 and he only is running this time
00:40:43.380 because I called him out
00:40:44.200 on question time
00:40:44.960 and told him he was bottling it
00:40:46.920 and lo and behold
00:40:47.860 48 hours later
00:40:49.060 he announces he's running
00:40:49.980 because the audience
00:40:50.780 were all booing him
00:40:51.440 for bottling it
00:40:52.040 so I feel personally invested
00:40:53.900 in this campaign
00:40:55.320 I can tell
00:40:55.860 but I'm glad
00:40:58.760 if it's made him
00:40:59.340 more accountable
00:40:59.900 because I want Farage
00:41:01.580 to if he wants
00:41:02.160 to be serious
00:41:02.700 about these seismic things
00:41:04.320 he wants for the country
00:41:05.280 then put yourself
00:41:06.580 right in the coalface
00:41:07.940 don't just slide away
00:41:09.860 and earn all your money
00:41:11.700 doing TV
00:41:13.180 and saying from the sidelines
00:41:15.140 it's not working
00:41:15.860 because I'm not doing it
00:41:16.880 get in there
00:41:17.660 and make it work
00:41:18.520 you know
00:41:19.320 I said to him
00:41:19.860 can you think of one reason
00:41:20.800 why we shouldn't have
00:41:21.420 a second referendum
00:41:22.220 on Europe
00:41:23.460 given how badly
00:41:24.980 it's gone
00:41:25.580 and given that
00:41:26.580 most people now
00:41:27.400 in all the polls
00:41:27.980 suggest they would vote
00:41:28.980 to go back in
00:41:30.500 it's not likely to happen
00:41:32.120 but actually
00:41:33.240 if I was Keir Starmer
00:41:34.080 I would seriously consider it
00:41:35.340 you know
00:41:35.780 it's been a willful act
00:41:36.820 of self-harm
00:41:37.360 I voted Remain
00:41:38.180 but was happy
00:41:39.380 to see if Brexit would work
00:41:41.080 eight years later
00:41:42.000 does anyone genuinely
00:41:42.960 think he's working
00:41:43.720 I mean just on
00:41:45.120 controlling our borders
00:41:46.680 I mean it's a joke
00:41:47.980 so
00:41:49.120 I don't believe Farage
00:41:51.600 can fix these problems
00:41:52.980 but maybe he'll surprise me
00:41:55.040 and maybe we'll do
00:41:55.920 another interview
00:41:56.480 in two years
00:41:57.200 and he'll be the knight
00:41:58.540 the knight in shining armour
00:42:00.220 we were all waiting for
00:42:01.380 who could make Brexit work
00:42:03.140 who could sort immigration
00:42:04.740 who could sort net zero
00:42:06.600 who could do everything
00:42:07.600 the Americans
00:42:08.160 he's being sarcastic
00:42:09.340 yeah
00:42:09.720 actually I'm not
00:42:11.220 because maybe he can
00:42:13.640 I just don't think he will
00:42:15.300 but one thing
00:42:16.020 that can't be denied
00:42:16.920 Piers
00:42:17.280 is that he is going to have
00:42:18.580 a seismic impact
00:42:19.680 on this election
00:42:20.640 maybe not by winning seats
00:42:22.580 but by the effect
00:42:23.660 it's going to have
00:42:24.200 on the Conservative Party
00:42:24.660 I think he'll have
00:42:25.260 yes
00:42:25.800 on that he will
00:42:26.980 not on the election
00:42:27.880 so much as the Conservative Party
00:42:29.440 I think Labour
00:42:30.600 are going to win
00:42:31.120 by a historic margin
00:42:33.080 have a humongous majority
00:42:35.440 which they will
00:42:36.660 thoroughly have deserved
00:42:37.860 from the incompetence
00:42:38.880 of their opponents
00:42:39.540 because the way
00:42:40.700 that the Tories
00:42:41.360 have been in the last
00:42:42.080 three four years
00:42:42.740 has been catastrophically bad
00:42:44.440 to squander the majority
00:42:46.020 Boris Johnson
00:42:46.740 in 2019
00:42:47.480 to get to where
00:42:48.620 we are today
00:42:49.340 with people not even
00:42:50.420 wanting to admit in public
00:42:51.480 they're going to vote Conservative
00:42:52.500 because it's too embarrassing
00:42:53.920 it's like nothing
00:42:55.520 I've ever seen
00:42:56.180 and I blame Boris Johnson
00:42:57.720 and you can see
00:42:58.960 from the moment
00:42:59.460 Partygate blew up
00:43:00.720 the one rule for us
00:43:02.140 another rule for the rest of you
00:43:03.440 from that moment on
00:43:04.560 he was done
00:43:05.320 in public opinion
00:43:06.220 Liz Truss
00:43:07.200 and her anarchic
00:43:08.780 40 odd days
00:43:10.420 in so-called power
00:43:12.200 trying to tank
00:43:12.860 the entire economy
00:43:13.800 of the country
00:43:14.380 and Richie Sooner
00:43:15.640 picking up the pieces
00:43:16.500 when it was all too late
00:43:17.580 and making a series
00:43:18.680 of missteps
00:43:19.240 in his campaign
00:43:20.020 I just thought
00:43:21.200 the thing that summed it up
00:43:22.000 for me
00:43:22.220 and I like Richie personally
00:43:23.180 he's a good man
00:43:24.340 but to have your launch
00:43:26.320 and announcement
00:43:27.280 for the election
00:43:27.840 and you're getting drowned
00:43:29.200 like a rat
00:43:29.900 because no one's
00:43:30.460 giving you an umbrella
00:43:31.140 just basic
00:43:33.340 it's the basics of politics
00:43:34.820 to come back early
00:43:35.940 from the D-Day
00:43:36.660 the last great D-Day
00:43:38.720 commemorations
00:43:39.980 to come back early
00:43:40.940 and leave your opponent
00:43:41.840 to do pictures
00:43:43.620 with Zelensky
00:43:44.720 to leave David Cameron
00:43:46.540 one of your predecessors
00:43:48.100 in our foreign secretary
00:43:49.080 to be posing
00:43:50.300 with the President
00:43:50.740 of the United States
00:43:51.420 I mean it was madness
00:43:52.860 and I think partly
00:43:55.600 of course Richie
00:43:56.580 I'm sure
00:43:57.020 is kicking himself
00:43:58.260 but where are his advisors
00:43:59.920 who are these people
00:44:01.660 who didn't actually
00:44:03.260 physically drag him back
00:44:05.180 you know
00:44:06.120 and say
00:44:06.420 this is political suicide
00:44:08.260 to do this
00:44:08.780 and also
00:44:09.400 to not realise
00:44:11.160 that being there
00:44:12.240 being the British Prime Minister
00:44:13.400 on that momentous day
00:44:14.800 would be good for you
00:44:16.020 with the electorate
00:44:16.840 would win you votes
00:44:18.020 reminding people
00:44:19.400 you're the boss
00:44:20.180 so I think
00:44:21.120 that they've made
00:44:21.800 a lot of missteps
00:44:22.520 Labour have just been
00:44:23.640 trying not to scare
00:44:24.740 the horses
00:44:25.720 and the children
00:44:26.460 Lib Dems will do
00:44:28.000 surprisingly well
00:44:29.380 I could see them
00:44:30.480 getting 60 plus seats
00:44:31.920 Reform I think
00:44:32.980 they'll be lucky
00:44:33.400 to win more than
00:44:33.980 one or two
00:44:34.520 but what they will do
00:44:35.840 is make the Conservative Party
00:44:37.160 really examine itself
00:44:38.480 and the question is
00:44:39.280 do they veer right
00:44:40.680 to the way
00:44:41.800 pharaohs would like
00:44:42.560 to drag them
00:44:43.280 or is there somebody
00:44:44.820 dynamic
00:44:45.480 who can come
00:44:46.140 through the middle
00:44:46.720 who can actually
00:44:47.880 wrestle
00:44:48.980 the centre ground
00:44:50.520 again for the Conservative Party
00:44:51.900 and take them that way
00:44:53.420 I fear
00:44:54.260 you're going to see that
00:44:55.540 which is Farage
00:44:56.740 will drag the party
00:44:58.000 very right wing
00:44:59.580 it won't work
00:45:00.640 because no
00:45:01.620 really right wing
00:45:02.780 party has ever been
00:45:04.040 elected in this country
00:45:04.900 and I think
00:45:06.140 what will happen
00:45:06.800 is eventually
00:45:07.460 it'll come back
00:45:08.780 and somebody will come through
00:45:09.980 who has a more centrist
00:45:11.640 or moderate Conservative
00:45:13.120 view for the country
00:45:14.000 and then we'll see
00:45:15.660 whether Starmer
00:45:16.340 does one turn or two
00:45:17.620 do you not think
00:45:18.720 or more
00:45:19.300 do you not think
00:45:20.240 and I take your point
00:45:21.280 historically
00:45:21.840 we've never tended
00:45:22.800 to vote for parties
00:45:23.880 who are very right wing
00:45:24.780 but let's look
00:45:25.580 and I don't mean far right
00:45:26.320 I think people get
00:45:28.220 labelled far right
00:45:29.260 far too quickly
00:45:30.160 what I'm talking about
00:45:31.120 are just really
00:45:31.640 quite hard right policies
00:45:33.220 it tends not to be
00:45:34.640 a vote winner
00:45:35.260 for the majority
00:45:35.980 of the country
00:45:36.600 agreed
00:45:37.100 but now
00:45:37.700 look at what's happening
00:45:38.740 in Europe
00:45:39.280 where you have
00:45:40.160 some hard right
00:45:41.600 parties
00:45:42.740 doing incredibly well
00:45:44.120 if not winning elections
00:45:45.320 because
00:45:45.820 the parties in power
00:45:47.640 are ignoring
00:45:48.780 the concerns
00:45:49.460 of their people
00:45:50.140 but that's what's
00:45:50.960 happening here as well
00:45:51.880 it is
00:45:52.280 and so that's where
00:45:53.220 this battleground
00:45:53.900 is going to be
00:45:54.540 and it's only going to get worse
00:45:55.780 under Starmer
00:45:56.460 that's why I think
00:45:57.940 they will get dragged
00:45:58.800 to the right
00:45:59.280 because the people
00:46:00.220 are growing more populist
00:46:02.660 because as we've seen
00:46:03.720 it around Europe
00:46:04.540 you know
00:46:05.220 look at Italy
00:46:07.560 you look at what's
00:46:08.460 happening in France
00:46:09.220 you look at all these countries
00:46:10.380 Holland
00:46:10.980 yeah
00:46:11.720 Austria
00:46:12.320 all of them
00:46:13.140 all of them
00:46:13.520 and a lot of it
00:46:14.660 is fuelled by
00:46:15.400 a breakdown of control
00:46:17.100 of immigration
00:46:17.700 and broken promises
00:46:19.780 and so they've got
00:46:20.780 to sort that out
00:46:21.360 of course they have
00:46:21.900 but if you ask me
00:46:22.780 what are the biggest concerns
00:46:23.940 for people in this country
00:46:24.960 it's actually not immigration
00:46:26.620 they're concerned about it
00:46:28.660 they think it's wrong
00:46:29.700 that we've got
00:46:30.380 you know
00:46:30.820 rather than tens of thousands
00:46:32.120 of people coming in
00:46:32.960 we have 700,000
00:46:34.780 when our public service
00:46:36.100 is already creaking
00:46:36.800 at the seams
00:46:37.460 you're not a racist
00:46:38.620 if you think
00:46:39.140 this is unsustainable
00:46:40.140 you're just a common sense
00:46:41.640 person right
00:46:42.440 but I think that
00:46:44.160 the really big issues
00:46:45.280 are the economy
00:46:46.080 and the NHS
00:46:47.480 and crime
00:46:48.860 and all three of those
00:46:50.920 the Tories have failed
00:46:51.920 spectacularly
00:46:52.740 housing as well
00:46:53.460 and housing
00:46:54.500 and housing
00:46:55.600 so I think it's going to be
00:46:56.980 look
00:46:57.240 it's going to be
00:46:57.920 very interesting
00:46:58.420 what Labour do
00:46:59.080 do they have
00:46:59.980 a grand vision
00:47:00.720 of the kind
00:47:01.200 you were just talking about
00:47:02.280 I don't think
00:47:03.400 I don't sense it
00:47:04.420 maybe they're keeping
00:47:05.860 their powder dry
00:47:06.560 for when they win power
00:47:07.540 because they will have
00:47:09.420 such a big majority
00:47:10.280 they can really do stuff
00:47:11.540 we'll have to wait and see
00:47:12.860 who are you voting for
00:47:14.200 I don't know
00:47:17.660 I honestly don't know
00:47:20.480 I voted for both parties
00:47:22.500 in the past
00:47:23.100 when it was a choice
00:47:24.440 of Miliband or Cameron
00:47:25.780 I voted for the
00:47:26.340 Animal Welfare Party
00:47:27.480 which my grandmother
00:47:28.440 at the time
00:47:28.880 was extremely pleased about
00:47:30.620 I you know
00:47:33.880 I
00:47:34.260 this is fascinating
00:47:35.640 Piers
00:47:35.940 because you spend
00:47:36.840 your life thinking
00:47:37.740 about this stuff
00:47:38.520 and you don't know
00:47:39.720 well I'm not a partisan
00:47:40.620 political animal
00:47:41.240 I know
00:47:41.560 so I'm not a Tory
00:47:42.680 I'm not a
00:47:44.220 neither are we
00:47:44.940 so the honest answer
00:47:47.140 is I don't know
00:47:48.040 I do believe
00:47:48.800 you have to vote
00:47:49.560 I will vote
00:47:50.780 but you know
00:47:51.800 given the choice
00:47:52.540 of the three
00:47:53.180 it's a really difficult
00:47:54.860 decision
00:47:55.840 for someone like me
00:47:56.960 to look at it
00:47:58.020 and go
00:47:58.280 well okay
00:47:59.180 the choice is
00:48:00.380 a party that's disintegrated
00:48:01.840 and has had 14 years
00:48:03.000 and I think has done
00:48:03.640 a pretty shoddy job
00:48:05.160 I certainly won't be
00:48:06.840 voting reform
00:48:07.740 because I think
00:48:08.160 it's all smoke and mirrors
00:48:09.140 and a reactionary party
00:48:10.840 to what is happening
00:48:11.540 with the Tories
00:48:12.160 and Keir Starmer
00:48:14.020 I look at him
00:48:14.660 and I think
00:48:14.940 I like you personally
00:48:16.120 always got on well with you
00:48:17.380 he's an Arsenal fan
00:48:18.140 big tick in my box
00:48:19.220 I look at him
00:48:20.900 but I think
00:48:21.380 are you
00:48:22.460 are you going to be able
00:48:23.280 to do anything
00:48:23.860 to really change my life
00:48:25.300 or are you actually
00:48:26.520 just going to take
00:48:27.240 all my money
00:48:27.800 and then squander it
00:48:29.940 and really not
00:48:30.660 help the people
00:48:31.480 you say are going
00:48:32.020 to help with it
00:48:32.640 so I've got to
00:48:33.720 I've got to think
00:48:34.460 about that
00:48:34.980 I want to see a bit
00:48:35.940 more of their
00:48:36.580 more forensic examination
00:48:38.420 of their policies
00:48:39.160 I don't think
00:48:39.580 we're going to hear
00:48:39.980 very much
00:48:40.580 so you know
00:48:41.900 I maybe
00:48:43.060 you know
00:48:43.500 I don't know
00:48:44.120 you sound like
00:48:45.200 you're leaning
00:48:45.540 Labour to me
00:48:46.260 well maybe
00:48:46.800 the animal
00:48:47.140 well I voted
00:48:48.080 for Thatcher
00:48:49.060 first times I got
00:48:50.180 I voted for Major
00:48:52.340 first time around
00:48:53.220 I voted for Blair
00:48:54.880 twice
00:48:55.760 but not after
00:48:56.480 the Iraq war
00:48:57.180 I would have voted
00:48:59.940 for Gordon Brown
00:49:00.700 I did not vote
00:49:04.180 for Cameron
00:49:04.700 certainly wouldn't
00:49:06.380 have voted for
00:49:07.040 Ed Miliband
00:49:07.760 or Jeremy Corbyn
00:49:09.020 I voted for
00:49:10.020 Boris Johnson
00:49:10.580 in 2019
00:49:11.080 purely because
00:49:12.260 as a Remainer
00:49:13.740 I was incensed
00:49:15.300 that he was
00:49:15.800 the only person
00:49:16.940 prepared to honour
00:49:18.120 the result of the
00:49:18.920 referendum on Europe
00:49:19.860 even though
00:49:20.380 it was the other side
00:49:21.320 I just thought
00:49:22.180 democracy demands
00:49:23.480 you accept the result
00:49:24.480 of a democratic
00:49:25.880 I was the same
00:49:26.700 referendum
00:49:27.240 right
00:49:27.520 so it was almost
00:49:28.280 a protest vote
00:49:29.240 and I wasn't going to
00:49:30.100 vote for Corbyn
00:49:30.760 in a million years
00:49:31.460 he would have
00:49:31.900 destroyed this country
00:49:32.840 so each time
00:49:34.360 I make a kind of
00:49:35.040 calculation
00:49:35.600 and this time
00:49:36.880 it's a difficult
00:49:37.500 calculation
00:49:38.180 but you know
00:49:39.120 I certainly look
00:49:39.860 I wouldn't feel ashamed
00:49:40.860 of voting for
00:49:41.880 Starla
00:49:42.840 there is one reason
00:49:44.040 Francis
00:49:44.620 let me just
00:49:45.020 one quick thing
00:49:46.020 you've spent a lot
00:49:46.980 of time on your show
00:49:47.760 talking about
00:49:48.520 the ludicrous
00:49:49.620 conversation about
00:49:50.960 trans women
00:49:52.180 that's another thing
00:49:54.040 that would stop me
00:49:54.720 in my tracks
00:49:55.520 so with Starla
00:49:56.860 he literally pretended
00:49:57.980 he didn't know
00:49:58.440 what a woman is
00:49:58.820 well he's moving
00:49:59.400 ever nearer
00:50:00.680 I mean when you start
00:50:01.600 saying that
00:50:01.980 Tony Blair told me
00:50:02.940 about the biology
00:50:03.820 really
00:50:04.620 Tony Blair had to
00:50:06.040 tell you what a woman
00:50:06.720 is
00:50:07.040 really
00:50:08.060 and I think we're up
00:50:09.100 to 99.9% of women
00:50:10.900 don't have penises now
00:50:11.880 so he's getting there
00:50:12.680 he's getting there
00:50:13.260 look
00:50:13.440 I think he is
00:50:15.000 cognizant that there
00:50:15.940 is a large section
00:50:16.860 of his party
00:50:17.460 who do believe
00:50:18.760 this guff
00:50:19.420 who've been sucked
00:50:20.620 into the gender culture war
00:50:22.660 and it's a real war
00:50:24.300 that really
00:50:24.720 as J.K. Rowling
00:50:25.900 has made very clear
00:50:27.100 to people
00:50:27.460 directly impacts
00:50:28.800 on women's lives
00:50:29.780 it means little girls
00:50:31.160 who have a dream
00:50:32.100 of competing
00:50:32.660 for their country
00:50:33.340 in the Olympics
00:50:34.340 may have that dream
00:50:35.500 shattered
00:50:35.900 because a 6 foot
00:50:36.700 4 inch
00:50:37.180 biological male
00:50:38.060 decides they would
00:50:38.980 like to compete
00:50:39.640 in women's sport
00:50:40.480 be it swimming
00:50:41.580 or running
00:50:42.220 or whatever it may be
00:50:43.120 that's clearly insane
00:50:44.660 I interviewed Lisa Nandy
00:50:46.380 on Good Morning Britain
00:50:47.780 a few years ago
00:50:48.400 and said to her
00:50:49.000 you know
00:50:50.060 we'll just
00:50:50.820 extrapolate this
00:50:51.880 then
00:50:52.040 so
00:50:52.300 would you be alright
00:50:53.440 with Floyd Mayweather
00:50:54.280 and Usain Bolt
00:50:55.080 identifying as women
00:50:56.180 and competing in the Olympics
00:50:57.140 against women
00:50:57.520 yes
00:50:58.320 came the answer
00:50:59.620 what
00:51:01.120 how have we got
00:51:02.860 to this place
00:51:03.540 so
00:51:04.560 Starmer having been
00:51:06.040 mad about it
00:51:07.460 has now
00:51:08.420 as he has with
00:51:09.320 a lot of stuff
00:51:10.040 moved
00:51:10.940 I don't mind
00:51:11.640 politicians doing that
00:51:12.680 I don't think
00:51:13.340 we should use a stick
00:51:14.180 to beat politicians
00:51:15.120 when they get more normal
00:51:16.780 or reach a better place
00:51:18.640 we should encourage
00:51:19.740 evolution of views
00:51:20.800 I don't like people
00:51:21.860 who are just
00:51:22.300 intransigent
00:51:23.360 sat in their little
00:51:24.260 in their little
00:51:25.160 but I don't think
00:51:25.700 that's what happened
00:51:26.360 this is the issue
00:51:27.180 if he had genuinely
00:51:28.860 evolved his views
00:51:30.120 I would salute him
00:51:31.820 to the rafters
00:51:32.540 as you were saying
00:51:33.080 that's not what's
00:51:34.040 happened here
00:51:34.480 he obviously knew
00:51:35.740 what a woman was
00:51:36.500 all along
00:51:37.240 yeah
00:51:37.440 and then lied about it
00:51:38.720 I don't disagree
00:51:39.460 look he's avoided me
00:51:40.600 Marishi Sunak's done
00:51:41.440 two big interviews with me
00:51:42.520 since I launched
00:51:44.360 Uncensored
00:51:44.820 Keir Starmer
00:51:45.860 despite a lot of times
00:51:47.120 telling me he'll do it
00:51:47.960 has never done it
00:51:48.940 and there's a reason
00:51:50.200 and it's partly
00:51:50.940 to do with this
00:51:51.740 he knows
00:51:52.640 my first question
00:51:53.680 would be
00:51:53.900 what is a woman
00:51:54.720 and until I just
00:51:56.560 get the answer
00:51:57.100 it's an adult
00:51:57.980 biological female
00:51:59.100 which is what a woman is
00:52:01.180 with no equivocation
00:52:02.920 he's going to get
00:52:04.360 fallout from that
00:52:05.260 so yeah
00:52:05.800 that's another thing
00:52:06.440 to think about
00:52:07.100 I've got a young daughter
00:52:09.600 who likes her sport
00:52:11.860 I don't want her
00:52:13.700 to under a Labour government
00:52:15.920 have her rights
00:52:16.940 being infringed
00:52:17.860 so are they going
00:52:19.240 to be infringed
00:52:19.980 or not
00:52:20.520 are we going to see
00:52:21.480 what happened to
00:52:22.180 Nicola Sturgeon
00:52:23.680 in Scotland
00:52:24.320 where she puts a male rapist
00:52:26.100 into a female prison
00:52:27.180 simply because he went
00:52:28.580 I'm a woman
00:52:29.560 so he could get somewhere
00:52:30.680 where he could attack
00:52:31.440 other women
00:52:32.020 I mean completely insane
00:52:34.480 and it cost her her job
00:52:35.580 and I look at Keir Starmer
00:52:38.400 and I think
00:52:38.760 okay
00:52:39.140 let's see
00:52:40.620 but I can't
00:52:42.520 make a vote
00:52:43.240 predicated on what
00:52:44.320 may happen
00:52:44.880 I have to vote
00:52:46.000 on the day
00:52:47.140 as to whether
00:52:48.220 I genuinely believe
00:52:49.520 this person
00:52:50.080 is going to represent
00:52:50.900 the kinds of things
00:52:51.780 that are important to me
00:52:52.560 and the gender thing
00:52:53.600 is very important to me
00:52:54.740 I think the protection
00:52:56.140 of women's rights
00:52:56.840 is one of the big
00:52:57.620 big issues
00:52:58.220 of our time
00:52:59.660 and on that
00:53:00.820 Rishi Sunak's been
00:53:01.880 rock solid
00:53:02.920 so you know
00:53:04.460 when it comes to
00:53:05.100 who do I cast my vote for
00:53:06.460 things like that
00:53:07.260 are going to play a part
00:53:08.200 but Piers
00:53:09.420 if he can't stand up
00:53:11.340 to the wackos
00:53:12.220 in the Labour Party
00:53:13.060 what's he going to do
00:53:13.960 with Putin
00:53:14.440 good question
00:53:15.760 it's a very good question
00:53:17.880 I agree
00:53:19.300 that to me
00:53:20.080 sorry
00:53:20.520 that to me
00:53:21.260 is spineless
00:53:22.180 I agree
00:53:22.600 if you can't stand up
00:53:24.040 and say a basic
00:53:25.000 biological fact
00:53:25.840 that we all know
00:53:26.540 to be true
00:53:27.060 because some people
00:53:28.560 who've spent too long
00:53:29.700 you know
00:53:30.200 at university
00:53:31.220 in gender studies class
00:53:32.340 are going to start crying
00:53:33.260 they're not
00:53:33.860 you're not fit to be leader
00:53:35.140 that to me
00:53:35.780 is not a leader
00:53:36.480 well he has moved a lot
00:53:37.840 and I think he'll continue
00:53:39.600 to move
00:53:40.200 because let's be honest
00:53:41.720 the woke worm
00:53:42.740 has turned dramatically
00:53:43.680 I think
00:53:44.340 right
00:53:44.960 it is just
00:53:45.540 people are just
00:53:46.280 seeing through this bullshit
00:53:47.280 and they're beginning to think
00:53:48.840 they're beginning to see
00:53:49.540 the impact on their own lives
00:53:51.440 and their own family's lives
00:53:52.980 you know
00:53:53.780 more and more kids
00:53:54.720 are losing out
00:53:55.700 in women's sport
00:53:56.560 because of
00:53:57.420 the trans athletes
00:53:58.660 dominating
00:53:59.600 whatever it may be
00:54:00.400 that they're
00:54:00.920 that they're competing in
00:54:02.200 and that's
00:54:03.160 you know
00:54:03.440 I want trans people
00:54:04.420 to be
00:54:04.760 to have fairness
00:54:05.820 and equality
00:54:06.580 like everybody else
00:54:07.860 I want to have the same
00:54:08.960 human rights as me
00:54:09.960 and you
00:54:10.500 and you
00:54:11.020 I genuinely do
00:54:12.700 I want nothing but good
00:54:14.400 for trans people
00:54:15.240 but not at the point
00:54:16.620 it erodes women's rights
00:54:17.920 shouldn't be difficult this
00:54:19.200 they shouldn't be allowed
00:54:20.860 to erode women's rights
00:54:22.260 and there should be
00:54:23.740 a new category set up
00:54:25.020 for trans athletes
00:54:26.880 it doesn't work
00:54:28.220 the other way
00:54:28.820 you know
00:54:29.580 with the trans men
00:54:30.680 you never see them
00:54:31.660 dominating men's sport
00:54:33.240 because of course
00:54:34.100 it doesn't
00:54:34.580 because they're women
00:54:35.140 there's a reason
00:54:36.540 that we separate
00:54:37.220 the sexes and the Olympics
00:54:38.240 if we didn't
00:54:39.580 no women
00:54:40.120 would win a gold medal
00:54:41.000 apart from potentially
00:54:42.240 I think
00:54:42.680 equestrian
00:54:43.720 possibly
00:54:44.380 an archery
00:54:45.540 or something
00:54:45.900 I've read some
00:54:46.420 statistic about it
00:54:47.240 but you know
00:54:48.060 why would you want
00:54:48.700 to do that
00:54:49.100 to women's sport
00:54:49.820 why would you want
00:54:50.320 to stop women winning
00:54:51.160 equality
00:54:51.940 that's the irony
00:54:55.100 because the very last
00:54:57.300 thing it's about
00:54:57.740 is equality
00:54:58.260 yeah
00:54:58.660 well you know
00:54:59.520 Piers
00:55:00.320 it's always a dynamite
00:55:01.740 interview when you come on
00:55:02.600 we could have
00:55:02.980 spent another hour
00:55:04.420 out here
00:55:04.800 the final question
00:55:05.580 is always the same
00:55:06.420 what's the one thing
00:55:07.000 we're not talking about
00:55:07.840 that we really should be
00:55:08.980 who Arsenal are going to
00:55:10.460 sign as a striker
00:55:11.180 because if you ask me
00:55:13.000 what am I spending
00:55:13.980 most of my time
00:55:14.820 thinking about
00:55:15.440 after two consecutive
00:55:16.620 seasons
00:55:17.120 where Arsenal should have
00:55:18.120 won the Premier League
00:55:18.900 and choked the first one
00:55:20.740 and last season
00:55:22.260 pretty much
00:55:23.120 didn't choke
00:55:23.680 but we just
00:55:24.700 didn't have that guy
00:55:26.280 I want a lethal
00:55:27.420 25 a season
00:55:29.200 striker
00:55:30.260 and that is honestly
00:55:31.760 the thing that is
00:55:32.520 dominating my mind
00:55:33.400 and I'm hopeful
00:55:34.700 that if Keir Starmer
00:55:36.320 wins as an Arsenal
00:55:37.380 fanatic like me
00:55:38.520 that he will put
00:55:39.660 a lot of pressure
00:55:40.300 on Mikel Arteta
00:55:41.180 because a happy Arsenal
00:55:43.400 is a happy Prime Minister
00:55:45.060 right
00:55:45.860 good to know
00:55:46.380 you're focusing
00:55:48.220 on the biggest
00:55:48.840 things
00:55:49.160 thanks for coming
00:55:51.500 back on mate
00:55:51.960 it's a pleasure
00:55:52.580 actually on a serious
00:55:54.140 point
00:55:54.460 on that
00:55:55.960 I would like
00:55:58.080 people to examine
00:55:59.300 more
00:56:00.820 what Nigel Farage
00:56:02.860 has said about Putin
00:56:04.140 how much money
00:56:05.720 he's taken
00:56:06.280 from Russia today
00:56:07.360 and what he genuinely
00:56:09.960 believes about things
00:56:11.220 like the Ukraine war
00:56:12.220 and just ask yourself
00:56:13.500 one question
00:56:14.200 do I think
00:56:15.760 that guy's the right
00:56:16.560 guy to defend
00:56:17.200 this country
00:56:17.740 and if you do
00:56:20.780 have a lobotomy
00:56:22.100 cheers chaps
00:56:23.920 ha ha ha
00:56:26.040 ha
00:56:26.600 ha
00:56:27.560 ha
00:56:28.400 ha
00:56:28.680 ha
00:56:28.920 ha
00:56:29.520 ha
00:56:29.560 ha
00:56:30.220 ha
00:56:33.360 ha
00:56:35.860 ha
00:56:36.020 ha
00:56:36.360 ha
00:56:36.620 ha
00:56:36.840 ha
00:56:37.060 ha
00:56:37.600 ha
00:56:37.800 ha
00:56:38.120 ha
00:56:49.860 ha
00:56:50.140 ha
00:56:50.220 ha
00:56:50.900 ha
00:56:50.980 ha
00:56:51.020 ha
00:56:51.240 ha
00:56:51.320 ha
00:56:52.000 ha
00:56:52.480 ha
00:56:52.600 ha
00:56:53.140 ha