>> you will have to answer all my questions. >> what about condi rice and you offering to cook her gumbo? how much are you worth? if you could relive five minutes of your life, what would they be? >> i thought you might ask me that. my first year as piers morgan and one-on-one with my interviewer, chelsea sea handler. >> happy first anniversary, piers morgan. >> thank you. >> congratulations on a very commendable year so far. >> commendable. that was a very delicate choice of words. >> i'm a delicate lady, as you may know. we wanted to turn the tables on you because we wanted to go over and see what your thoughts are on some of your performances, some of your questions. let's start by letting everybody know how this show came to be. because initially, you weren't supposed to be a live breaking news show, correct? >> initially, i'd do a show back in the uk called "life stories" a more auto-biographical hour-long interview with one guest. that was kind of what we thought we would be doing mostly. >> more like barbara walters one hour special. >> and more like my predecessor, the great larry did these longer interviews, that kind of thing we had in mind of being the bedrock of the show. of course, everything change very very quickly. >> you basically came back from your taping an oprah interview and you came back from the oprah interview and were on a plane and found out you would have to do live breaking news on your show? >> i was in new york and oprah invited me to come on her show. >> are you sure you didn't invite yourself on her show? >> i was desperate and she listened to this desperate brit, come to chicago. i got on a plane at 6:00 a.m. she tapes in the morning in chicago. had a great time. said good-bye. got on a plane to l.a. we had no internet on the plane, my producer, jonathan and i, sitting reading celebrity magazines and thinking about this interview for cnn. and when we landed, all hell had broken loose in egypt. my blackberries were going crazy. i got the word from jonathan, we're going live in three hours. >> good evening, it's been a day of quite extraordinary turmoil and tension around the world. we're covering this across egypt, alexandra to cairo and washington and new york. i said, this is a good time to tell you, i've never actually anchored an hour of live breaking news and jonathan himself ep'd the "today" show and "nightly news" looking at me, is he joking? >> i'm live from a city that suffered numerous earthquakes but never any as big as the one that struck japan yesterday. >> president obama and the first lady are hosting a group of congressional leaders in the east room of the white house. a few moments ago, he had this to say about the successful mission -- >> for 42 years, gadhafi ruled through fear, torture and terror. tonight, not just libya, but the world is a safer place. >> i would have to say you sound like you know kind of what you're doing. >> anderson cooper in cairo tonight. what is the mood as we lead up to this march. >> you made -- it was a nice way to get into breaking news. how did you feel about it? >> i spent my life back in britain as a journalist involved with breaking news. it was no difficulty for me to report on this. the only thing i wasn't sure, could i actually anchor a cnn breaking news hour over these momentous times because it's really important to the brand of cnn i could do that job properly, as larry king had done for 25 years when he had to. i found it exhilarating, slightly terrifying. what you found and i found very quickly, you have this extraordinary team of people that work at cnn. they have the greatest number of bureaus overseas. they have the best anchors, best foreign correspondents and most incredible resources. suddenly, i was aware of the power of cnn around the world. there was no network like it when a big story breaks. we could go anywhere. in tahir square, in iraq, very few netted works others were. that kind of power was exhilarating to see, yes, we're number one at this. >> let's talk about some world leaders you sat down with over the past year because that's a mind blowing experience no matter what your background is even though you claim to be a serious journalist before you came to cnn. what about netanyahu. >> i got this call, do you want to go to israel and interview netanyahu who's been interviewed by the greatest in the world. it's great pressure, you only get an hour, going a long ways, cost a lot of money and a lot of people to watch this. it was the first one he did after the arab spring broke. i was nervous and excited and thought this could be a moment for me and the show establishing political credentials interviewing. for me, politics is a great phrase, politics is "showbiz" for ugly people. i thought, it's the same thing. show business, royalty, politics, news, in the end, we're dealing with human beings. they may be politicians, singers, artists, in the end, what i do, interview with people is get to the truth somehow, get to what they're really like, forever i'm doing you or evening man netanyahu. >> you will never be doing me. >> in your dreams. >> how do you think your interview went with netanyahu? did you watch your own interview? >> of course. >> what is your nightmare scenario? >> we don't want to see this starks midevilism that rolls us back a millennium, fosters violence and does everything we abhor that it would take over. i think these are the two polls. one is real democratic change, the other is a dissent to militant islamism that squashes all freedoms and threatens the peace of everyone. >> what did you think of your performance? >> i found him to be incredibly impressive. a guy polarizing in public opinion. like him or hate him. an incredibly difficult job to be prime minister when there's so much turmoil in the middle east and keep a lid on tensions around you. he did a very impressive thing for me, i thought, took me over to this map he has behind his desk and he showed me the scale of the countries in the middle east, saudi arabia, iraq, afghanistan, egypt and his hands were getting bigger and bigger as he went around this huge country. watch this, took his thumb and put a thumb print of israel right in the middle of all these huge countries. he said, that is my problem. there it was, this thumbprint, this tiny tiny expanse of land surrounded by -- as was at the time, a lot of warring factions all around them, endangering potentially the lives of his people. a tough job and a tough man. >> did you like him? >> i did like him. i thought he was an impressive character. i thought he had the hand of history on his shoulder and he felt it very keenly. he had been prime minister before, hadn't found peace with the palestinians and had a second chances now. there's a big pressure on him to do that deal now and he knows it. >> what about colin powell? >> colin powell is a remarkable man. my brother is a british army general and he was very excited about colin powell of all i have done. to soldiers, this guy was a hero. >> one of the things that troubles me the most, i've been in this town on and off the last 30 odd years. what troubles me the most, i've never seen such polarization in this political process. i have never seen a situation where you have people on the far left and far right who focus on their own extreme positions and hold these as theological positions that can't be moved away from and changed and everybody is measured against these extremes. >> a thoroughly decent man and soldier and someone who always put public service before himself, a pretty rare commodity. >> what about condi rice and you offering to cook her gumbo. >> i didn't know what gumbo was. >> do you want me to cook you gumbo? is this a weird chat-up line? i like condi rice. >> you like women because flirt with women. >> you flirt with men. >> that's my thing as an interviewer. >> why can't it be my thing, too. >> are you aware of it and self-recognition. you do use that as a tool to any woman that's on. i don't think you will be going on a date any time soon so flirting seems shallow. >> i thought she responded very well with flirting. she had not been interviewed before. people were terrified of her. i found her to be -- >> super horny. >> surprisingly attractive and surprisingly playful. >> a lot of people -- i won't mention any names because these are very very inside sources think you're getting off fairly easy because of it being an election year and of all the different characters that you get to assail or actually have on the show, and act like you're friends with them for an hour. so let's talk about some of your favorites. i know i have mine. i'm very curious to see what it's like to set across from newt gingrich to herman cain to rick santorum. let's discuss some of your favorites. where would you like to begin? >> some of them were impressive people i've met actually turned out not to run for president i thought was a shame. people like chris christie i spent the day with in new jersey. i found him incredibly impressive. part of what we didn't air, he and i shared a car journey for an hour and he told me about his time as a prosecutor. he never lost an x-rays, took on the mafia, -- never lost a case. took on the mafia, drug gangs, every nasty part of society you can imagine. he never lost a case. i thought, that is some record, some record. if he was a boxer, he would be the greatest boxer of all time. i think america needs people like him at a high level in public office. i was a bit disappointed when he decided not to run. i understood the reasons, thinks it's too young, young family. >> your party is crying out for a savior, somebody they think has youthful energy and dynamism to combat that strength in obama and a good track record. when i look at all the checklists there aren't many names on it right now that tick the right boxes for the republicans. you tick most of those boxes. >> you know what, those are all, i think, appropriate and maybe accurate tactical judgments. that's not the way i'm making this decision. i'm making this decision based on whether i believe in my heart i'm ready to be president of the united states and that i want to be president of the united states right now. >> i know that you bite your tongue a lot in politics when you're talking politics and you have to because you are thought of in quotes as a newsperson. but you like to ask everybody what they think of obama. i would love to know -- let's show a clip of you asking all the different celebrities you ask about obama and then i'll ask you about obama. >> okay. >> are you happy with the way obama has been running the country? are you a fan? >> no. >> no? >> no. >> certainly a majority, in my view, would love him, to stick a metaphorical bloody nose on his opponents. >> now, you do, now you see how hard he's trying and how hard they have fought against him, yes, that's what we all want to see and he's going to do it. >> has he disappointed, you obama? >> i'm disappointed that we haven't seen more bold decisions from him. >> how's he doing, the half white guy? >> i'm still rooting for the black president. i think he's doing a great job. >> how do you think he's doing? >> that is a tough question. >> thank you for asking heidi klum about obama since she's -- >> why shouldn't i ask heidi klum. >> since she's german and a supermodel. >> are you american yet? >> no. >> she's an american citizen, why shouldn't i ask her? >> you can ask her but an odd choice? >> i think it's really pompous when people say you can only ask politicians or serious people. >> you're exactly right, you can ask anybody. it does throw everybody off. i would like to ask you what your thoughts on obama are. >> like everybody else, i was enthralled when he came to office, he won the presidential race. i remember seeing him at the beverly wilshire hotel one knight about six weeks before he won the election. i had never seen him in the flesh. there was a fund-raiser for him and about 1,000 people waiting in the valet parking area to get a glimpse of this guy. all this hype and he got out of the car and looked like a political rock star and flashed the grin and they went crazy, i thought, this guy is the real deal, a kennedyesque politician, he knows how to milk a crowd and be charming and flash a smile. the big question when he got elected, would he actually be any good as president. i think if you're being fair and balanced and assess what he's done. he inherited one of the biggest hospital passes of any president in history and done an okay job and what he's done with the car industry to revive it. big tick in the box. what i would say, he's beginning to show more of the strength of character his supporters believe he had to start with perhaps he shied away from when he first got in office. he was a bit weak with republicans, a bit too keen to be mr. nice guy. i think he realizes that. a tougher obama. he's aged before us, his hair's gone grey and shows the pressure that goes with this office. it will be a fascinating race this year, whether it's mitt romney, whether it's newt gingrich, whether it's rick santorum, whenever takes him on, it will be a very tough battle. what you will see is obama, president obama rising up and becoming that guy that got himself elected again, a different guy than we see in the white house. >> at that point, i hope he comes on and does your show. we will take a break and i will ask you a question and not let you answer it. here's the question. when you were covering the royal wedding, how painful was it to sit next to anderson cooper for that many hours. >> it was a joy for anderson. >> while you're thinking about that, here's a look at you tebowing. >> this. am i now doing the tebow? 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[ male announcer ] we are insurance. ♪ we are farmers ♪ bum, ba-da-bum, bum, bum, bum ♪ to sum up the whole day, the monarchy is back. the british monarchy, that's bean on the ropes the last 10, 15 years, we're seeing with this occasion, widespread jubilation, not just here, but seeing scenes all over the world, people watching this, 2 billion people joining in this celebration. >> why don't you tell us about your experience at the royal wedding. i know you were there with your close friend, anderson coop sneer i don't think he was that into the royal wedding but as it went on, anderson wilted into the sheer pressure of the event and a million people came up with a line of policemen in front and in front of them, the royal household cavalry with the stunning silver and like a throwback to perform and pageantry and great tradition no other country in the world can do. even anderson was slightly moved by that because it was so damn exciting, the one thing in the world the brits can do better than any else. >> i would agree with that. you guys are, thumbprints on royal weddings, a nice parallel. completely different circumstances. >> people say, why the royal wedding? who cares about the royal family anymore? on that day, the sun was shining, unusually beautiful spring day, i think everyone realized what the royals really give the world are a bit of escapism. for that one day, they gave everybody a little bit of tonic, the world is crush, wars all over the place, financial upheaval. turn on the television and have a moment of, isn't life great? >> have you had them on the show yet? >> i haven't yet but the invitation replay ins extended to them. i'd love to talk to them. let's cross the pond and talk about american royalty. move over to the kardashians and i know a wedding you were not invited to. and kim was on the show, right? >> i had both kim, courtney and their mother. >> i know kris jenner was on this show talking about their marriage and everything was going fine three weeks prior to the breakup? right? >> we taped it. in the time it took her to say everything is break, don't believe the rumors, by the time it aired they had split up. >> does that [ bleep ] you off? >> not really. the kardashians are celebrities. in their own way, they are a phenomenon as big as anything. kim kardashian has made repeatedly up to $100 million for no discernable talent at all. when i met her, i saw a nice girl, very hard working on the day, did exactly what we asked her to do. she was charming, she was polite, well mannered. she had this very fixed idea of how her brand was going to work and it was making her loads of money. yes, we can be churlish, cynical about it but she is a creation of the times, creation of the modern age where andy warhol's big thing, everyone will be famous in 15 minutes, she's the personification of that. >> i bring it up because you have a lot of people on the show who claim to be okay in their marriage or relationship or whatever it is going on and moments later it can switch and this is hollywood. that is par for the course. another example is demi and ashton were on and that was months before it unfurled. what did you think of demi and ashton? did you feel like they were putting on a show and that their marriage was going to fall apart? >> no. i spent some time in las vegas and thought they were happily in love. they spent five years together. what i learned about this job, never be surprised and never be too judgmental when a marriage breaks up. know one knows what goes on behind closed doors. that's different than when i was a newspaper reporter. you kind of have to be judgmental and get excited. the reality is 1 in 3 marriages splits up. why should celebrities be any different? >> what marriage are you on now? your second? >> my last. are you auditioning? >> i'm not auditioning. >> every time you're on you have been outrageously flirtatious with me. >> it would be an offer rejected by me. coming up on your show, something i should have done, the big piers morgan walk-off. i want to know why didn't i get a cutout like the kardashians? ♪ what's he looking for? i think he's looking for savings. ♪ i can't watch this anymore. stop! there's an easier way! we compare your progressive direct rate to other top companies so you get a great price. no more running around. ha ha ha! wouldn't you love to see the world through his eyes? i bet i look like the strongest man in the world. the best place to find a great deal. now, that's progressive. call or click today. the calcium they take because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. that's why my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption. are we off? are we done? >> i'm not. i'm still here. >> well -- >> it would appear the interview has just been ended. are you under the influence right now of any s