Don Lemon Goes OFF on NBC for Letting Trump Dictate Their Programming: ‘Outright Embarrassing Ratings Ploy!’

CNN’s Don Lemon tore into NBC for setting up a town hall with President Donald Trump in direct competition with ABC’s own event with former Vice President Joe Biden.

Since the 2nd debate was scrapped after Trump refused to abide by the virtual format proposed by the Commission for Presidential Debates, NBC’s town hall more or less establishes a substitute event where voters will have no choice but to switch back and forth to watch the 2020 candidates. When Lemon joined Chris Cuomo on Wednesday night, he brought up the public outrage the set-up caused, asking “why on Earth would NBC agree to do that?”

“You can do equal time on a different night. You can do equal time at a different time. You don’t have to do it, at the same time, and then divide the country further by having them choose,” Lemon said. “The whole point of it was to bring them together to have a debate.”

Lemon went on by emphasizing that the 2nd debate was effectively canceled because Trump got infected by the coronavirus at a White House super-spreader event, refused to be transparent about his testing history, and is still refusing to abide by public safety guidelines. To this end, Lemon was aghast that NBC was “rewarding [Trump] with prime time” after he “made all the wrong decisions” throughout the pandemic.

How does that help the American people? How does that inform the electorate, by putting those two people on at the same time and making people choose from one to the other? And don’t give me that BS about ‘well, you can tape one.’ That’s not what this is about. This is an outright embarrassing ratings ploy on behalf of NBC. And I am shocked and surprised that they would allow the president of the United States to do their programming and manipulate them into doing this. It is embarrassing.

Lemon continued by saying he has friends at NBC who are also “incredulous” over the situation, but they’re afraid to speak out for fear of losing their jobs.

“I think you should speak out,” he said. “There is no other moment where you have this much leverage, and you are going to be able to tell your bosses what you think is right. There’s no need to do it at the same time. Absolutely, no need. It is absolutely ridiculous, NBC.”

Watch above, via CNN.