Don Lemon Rails Against Networks Airing Trump Coronavirus Press Conferences: Briefings Are Trump’s ‘New Apprentice’
CNN primetime host Don Lemon railed against cable networks opting to air President Donald Trump’s daily coronavirus press conferences in full on Monday evening, arguing the briefings have turned into Trump’s old reality TV show, The Apprentice.
Lemon began, “I have said, I don’t think you should really listen to what he says, you should listen to what the experts say. I’m not actually sure if you want to be honest that we should carry that live.”
“I think we should run snippets. I think we should do it afterward and get the pertinent points to the American people. Because he’s never, ever going to tell you the truth. Guess what he’s going to do? If you ask a question that is a legitimate question, and if he doesn’t like the question, he’s going to say…that is a mean, nasty question.”
“Why? Because he wants his base to think the media’s being mean to him and they’re attacking him,” Lemon continued.
“It is all a plot. It is all orchestrated, and if you can’t see it, I don’t know — I don’t know what you’re looking at.”
Lemon then likened the press conferences to Trump days on reality TV and the president’s political rallies before the coronavirus outbreak.
“So, you know, I…it’s obvious, it’s transparent to me. This has become, those press briefings have become his new ‘Apprentice.’ They’ve become his new rallies, and he treats the press and the media as if he’s talking to the people in his rallies,” Lemon stated.
The CNN host added, “It’s the same thing. It’s no different.”
“It’s just that the audience is not there,” Lemon continued.
CNN host Chris Cuomo responded, “Well, look, I understand the frustration with his messaging. But, you know what? Too many dead people.”
Cuomo maintained the belief that Trump’s presser should be aired live in their entirety for all the American people to see in full. That’s a point that CNN boss Jeff Zucker made to staff, according to a report by the Daily Beast.
Watch above, via CNN.
