Piers Morgan: Trump and Media Should 'Take a Chill Pill'
*By Conor White*
Piers Morgan may count Donald Trump among his friends, but that doesn't mean he believes everything the president tells him.
After the journalist sat down with President Trump aboard Air Force One for the commander-in-chief's only UK interview, Morgan admitted to Cheddar on Monday he took many of Trump's comments with a grain of skepticism.
"He's very self-aggrandizing, he wants everyone to feel he's doing a great job," Morgan explained. "Now that he's president, he's making America great again, everything is brilliant. You have to cut through the hyperbole and try to get to reality, and reality is often not as great as President Trump would have us believe."
During his interview, Morgan aired some of his grievances against the president, including Trump's repeated claims that the mediaーand CNN, in particularーare plotting against him.
"I worked at CNN for four years, they're not a fake news network. I think they make mistakes like other media organizations, and when they do he's perfectly entitled to call them out for itーbut you can't call whole networks 'fake news,' and I wish he wouldn't do that. I don't think it's right and I think it's dangerous to call any sanctions of the press 'enemies of the people'."
But Morgan also admitted there's plenty of blame to go around.
"There's a very toxic atmosphere and relationship between Donald Trump and the American mainstream media in particular, which no other president has been subjected to. And no other president has taunted the media in this way either. So, it seems like a bit of a mutually abusive relationship."
Policy disagreements aside, Morgan noted he's interviewed Trump more than 35 timesーand he sees no reason to stop now.
"I've known him a long time, I like him personally; I don't really agree with much of his politics, but he's a great, interesting guy to interview. He's the most powerful man on earth, and right now he's doing some very, very interesting stuff."
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/piers-morgan-discusses-relationship-with-potus)
The Biden administration is launching a new task force to promote the use of 'cleaner' construction materials with lower life cycle emissions. This comes as the White House works to speed up government purchases of greener products. Sweta Chakraborty, climate change expert and U.S. president of "We Don't Have Time," joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Due to the staffing shortages of teachers in New Mexico, the state has been encouraging its National Guard members to fill in as licensed substitutes to keep schools open. Kurt Steinhaus, New Mexico secretary of education, joined Cheddar News to explain the state's stopgap measure amid its lack of teaching professionals. "The first thing they have to go through a fingerprint background check, just like any other substitute new Mexico. The second thing they have to do is go through some online training, and then we provided some in-person professional development about classroom management," Steinhaus explained about the qualifications process.
With contradictory reports about Russian troops pulling back or being added to the border with Ukraine and the expulsion of a U.S. diplomat from Russia, tensions in the region appear to be escalating. Jack Detsch, a Pentagon and national security reporter for Foreign Policy, joined Cheddar News to break down the situation. "Certainly a different tone out of Moscow today and a different tone out of the West. Even as the Kremlin has made the case that troops are moving back, the U.S. is saying that is certainly not the case with the satellite imagery that we have pouring in," he said.
New York City's famous subway system is currently facing scrutiny after several recent attacks on platforms. Now, local leaders in the Big Apple are calling on the MTA. To step in and take action.
Tensions in Ukraine continue to rise. According to NATO and U.S. officials, Russian troops are still being built up despite Moscow's claims of de-escalation. However, Ukraine does not believe the troops are enough to mount an invasion. The government in Kyiv has also reported several cyber attacks against its defense agencies and banks which is the largest attack in the country's history. Foreign Affairs Reporter based in Ukrain, Terrell Starr, joined Cheddar to discuss more
A Senate bill unveiled on Wednesday looks to tackleonline safety for children by regulating Big Tech and social media platforms to deter users from content that can harm their mental health. Irene Ly, a policy counsel for the age-based ratings and review organization Common Sense Media, joined Cheddar News to break down the potential of the Kids Online Safety Act. "We can't be imposing such a big burden on parents to be doing it all on theirselves," Ly said. "I think you also have to keep in mind that parents often didn't grow up with social media, so they don't understand what it's like to be addicted to social media or really understand how they work."
The Federal Reserve minutes from its January meeting are indicating it's sticking to an interest rate hike in March, but what does the report coupled with ongoing inflation mean for investors going forward? Scott Brown, a market strategist at LPL Financial, joined Cheddar News to break down the minutes and talk about how investors might navigate the rest of the year. "it seems like the market is kind of inclined to trade off these headlines, really, through the first half of the year," he said. "And then, oh, don't forget, we've got midterm elections, which always tend to add a little bit of volatility in the second half of the year." Brown noted that the path forward for stock investors in 2022 would be "rockier" than last year.
Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) have introduced a new bill to afford greater protection to minors on social media. The genesis of the Kids Online Safety Act came from a Facebook whistleblower case exposing the harm apps can have on the mental health of young girls.
