Donald Trump was hoodwinked by a hoax caller who pretended to be Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan, the TV host claimed.
Morgan told the BBC’s Americast podcast the prankster telephoned the then-president in October when he was on Air Force One.
The prank was only discovered when Mr Trump rang the real Morgan out of the blue while on his way to vote in Florida after the pair had previously fallen out over the TV presenter criticising his handling of the pandemic.
Morgan described the call as “an hilarious story,” adding “somebody had called him pretending to be me the day before and got through to him on Air Force One and they had a conversation with Trump thinking he was talking to me”.
The GMB presenter, 55, is a long-time acquaintance of Mr Trump, 74, and in 2008 won a series of Celebrity Apprentice, a show hosted by the billionaire businessman.
They had been friendly during Mr Trump’s time in the White House before their fallout last year when Morgan accused the ex-president of being a “useless leader.” He said this was down to “character flaws – the chronic narcissism, the desire to make everything about himself”.
If Mr Trump was duped, he would not be the first prominent global figure to be fooled.
In March last year the Duke of Sussex was reportedly tricked into speaking about his decision to quit the royal family by Russian hoaxers posing as activist Greta Thunberg.
