Can Piers Morgan actually make a difference to gun control in the U.S.

In 1994, at the age of 28, Piers Morgan was made editor of the now defunct tabloid The News of the World. To put that in context, it’s a bit like being made an army general, Premier League football manager or government minister before you’re 30.

Not only does it display a precocious natural talent but also a well defined skill set. A strong stomach, a monstrous appetite for storing info and the capacity to turn in 60-hour weeks also figure.

Additionally, I would say such a man probably doesn’t shy away from confrontation - indeed, he may well thrive off it.

So when American radio host Alex Jones went on to Piers Morgan’s CNN chat show, he knew that he was going to face someone accustomed to frank exchanges of opinions. And watching it back now, it’s fairly clear that Jones’ approach to debating is not based on outmanouevering his opponent. It’s based on nuking them.

However, outmanoeuvered he was - that is - if Jones is serious about his campaign to deport Morgan back here to the UK. The Texas-based DJ’s ranting was as unhinged as it was loud, and towards the end of the interview he fell into an Alex Jones-sized bear-trap.

Morgan teased out Jones’ theory on 9/11 - that it was a conspiracy of the U.S. government. Middle America can stomach a good deal of anti-British sentiment, but to accuse the government of having a direct role in the deaths of so many people is too big an ask. It invalidated his argument.

Now you can pore over the “interview’s” key moments, but you don’t need to. People, more now than ever, go on impressions they get from something. The impression you got from this was a fixated gun enthusiast shouting at a journalist. The Englishman was his normal snarky self, but he was level-headed, and reasonable.

If he makes America wake up to tighter gun regulation, every liberal from Shoreditch to San Francisco will thank him, and here’s why. It takes someone with a strong constitution when it comes to facing public hostility to really bring the gun control debate into the heart of U.S. politics - where it belongs.

But is that individual Piers Morgan? I don’t know that there is anyone better qualified in dealing with sustained public ire. Furthermore, his outsider status as a Limey in the States may well help his cause, serving to shake the middle ground over their acceptance of the status quo.

Real change won’t come during Obama’s Premiership; the gun lobby in America is just too powerful. But Piers Morgan has brought the issue of gun control to centre stage in the U.S., and for that at least, it’s hard to criticise him.