- The Washington Times - Tuesday, August 20, 2019

British journalist Piers Morgan returned to the U.S. with a new claim for conservative pundit Ben Shapiro: “Populism is rising because liberals have become unbearable.”

Mr. Morgan, who once sparred with Mr. Shapiro on gun control issues while working for CNN, sat down Sunday for a wide-ranging interview for “The Ben Shapiro Show.”

A portion of their hourlong discussion focused on the rise of populism around the globe and changes to liberalism over the years.

“Populism is rising because liberals have been unbearable, and I speak as a liberal, OK?” the “Good Morning Britain” host said. “I’m probably more liberal than not, although fundamentally I see myself as a journalist and I’d like to see both sides of all these things — and I can argue both. But liberals have become utterly, pathetically illiberal and its a massive problem. What’s the point in calling yourself a liberal if you don’t allow anyone else to have a different view?”

Mr. Morgan then lamented that a new culture has been created where anyone who doesn’t “think a certain way, behave a certain way” is targeted for professional destruction.

“I just think it’s all completely skewed to an environment where everyone’s offended by everything and no one’s allowed to tell a joke,” he said. “If you said a joke 10 years ago that offended somebody you can never host the Oscars, so now there’s no host for anything. The Emmys now just said that they’re not gonna host, either. So the hosts have gone, and soon every award winner will go because everyone’s a human and they’re all flawed. … The liberals get what they want, which is a humorless void where nothing happens, where no one dared to do anything or laugh about anything or behave in any way that doesn’t suit their rigid way of leading a life. No thanks. … Populism is rising because people are fed up with the PC culture.”

The British host, who also writes a column for the U.K. Daily Mail, then said his liberal allies are getting things “horribly wrong” on a cultural level.

“’If you don’t lead the life the way I’m telling you, then I’m gonna ruin your life,’” he said of their overriding message. “’I’m gonna scream abuse at you, I’m gonna get you fired from your job. I’m gonna get you hounded by your family and friends. I’m gonna make you the most disgusting human being in the world.’”

Mr. Morgan has regularly chided his colleagues since the election of Donald Trump and said the Republican’s 2016 presidential win left liberals “physically shuddering” over the new political reality.

“On social media, every minute of every day, I see hysterical liberals screaming themselves digitally hoarse with rage at his very existence,” Mr. Morgan wrote in December 2017. “I have friends, and indeed family members, who can’t utter his name without physically shuddering. To them, Trump epitomizes the very worst kind of leader and the very worst kind of American.

“Yet, there’s one thing even his most vociferous enemies — and that is a historically high volume of human beings — cannot continue to deny,” he continued. “Donald Trump delivers on his promises.”

• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.

Copyright © 2024 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

Please read our comment policy before commenting.

Click to Read More and View Comments

Click to Hide