During a guest appearance on CNN’s The Situation Room Thursday evening, CNN Tonight host Don Lemon flipped out and doubled down on comments he made the previous night, blaming President Trump for the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.
Insisting it was the “God’s honest truth,” Lemon decried how the U.S. attorney on the case had said the White House and the Justice Department were monitoring the case, yelling “no one wants to hear that!”
Following a press conference with Minneapolis and DOJ officials, Lemon exploded with anger (Click “expand”):
Now, for the attorney general [U.S. Attorney Erica MacDonald], I watched. I know she has a tough job, but guess what – I’m just – as long as we are being honest with – right now, nobody wants to hear from the White House or the attorney general right now. No one wants to hear from the man who wanted the death penalty to come back from the Central Park Five. No one wants to hear from the man who says that the former president was not born in this country. No one wants to hear from the man who says there are very fine people on both sides.
Do you understand what I am saying? No one wants to hear from the person that they perceive as contributing to this situation – situations like this in this society. Not directly, but allowing people like that to think that they can get away from this.
He went on to say that the only thing he wanted to hear from the President was that he understood “the mistakes” he has “made with African-Americans in this country.”
Teeing up Lemon to continue to vent, Situation Room host Wolf Blitzer read from MacDonald’s statement how the White House and DOJ were investigating to see how they could pursue the case.
“Where is the news in that,” Lemon shouted over his colleague. “The president should always be involved, the Justice Department should always be involved in these situations. That is not a headline. That is not something I felt she even had to announce there. I don't understand why she announced it.”
Ignoring the fact that the President had told the press something similar earlier in the day, and how the liberal media would be on Trump’s case if that message wasn’t delivered at all, Lemon was upset that the U.S. Attorney had said something:
You should leave it-- The White House should be sending out a press release saying that, not just a tweet. If he wants to conduct business by tweet, then let the President tweet that out.
But why does she need to say that? Is she his proxy? Does she speak for him? No. The President should send out a press release and say: “I am monitoring what’s happening here. I am dealing with it. This is a top priority.” He doesn't need the U.S. attorney to do that.
“Again, I said what I said about this President and the environment that he has contributed to in this country. And that is the God's honest truth,” he concluded.
Hours later, during the handoff between Chris Cuomo’s show (Cuomo PrimeTime) and his, Lemon lashed out at people who were angry at the looting and rioting. “Why are you mourning a Target store or an auto body store or an automobile store and you're not placing that same emphasis, if not more, on the conditions that led to this happening; on the injustice that that man felt on the ground,” he said.
But what Lemon failed to grasp was that people weren’t mourning for the stores themselves, they were mourning for the innocent people hurt. Target, Autozone, Napa, and many small businesses may not reopen at all. And that could mean the jobs and livelihoods of people in George Floyd’s community were gone, and it only made the situation worse.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CNN’s The Situation Room
May 28, 2020
6:30:47 p.m. EasternDON LEMON: Now, for the attorney general [U.S. Attorney Erica MacDonald], I watched. I know she has a tough job, but guess what – I’m just – as long as we are being honest with – right now, nobody wants to hear from the White House or the attorney general right now. No one wants to hear from the man who wanted the death penalty to come back from the Central Park Five. No one wants to hear from the man who says that the former president was not born in this country. No one wants to hear from the man who says there are very fine people on both sides.
Do you understand what I am saying? No one wants to hear from the person that they perceive as contributing to this situation – situations like this in this society. Not directly, but allowing people like that to think they can get away from this. No one wants to hear from the birther-in-chief, from the sons-of-bitches-calling person who saying that athletes who are kneeling for this very reason. No one wants to hear from that.
The justice system should work for everyone. The President of the United States, the Attorney General of the United States should have the same system in place for everyone. That should be a given. You should not have to announce that at a press conference. And no one wants to hear that.
Unless you want to come out and say, “I understand how African-Americans feel in this country, I understand the mistakes I have made with African-Americans in this country. I understand that there is an election coming, but I don't just want your vote, I want you to understand that I know were you’re coming from,” we don't want to hear that. And that is the God's honest truth.
So, that was a misstep on her part.
(…)
6:33:54 p.m. Eastern
WOLF BLITZER: You know Don, what she did say – the U.S. attorney, Erica MacDonald was – and I know this is what you’re reacting too, and I’m looking at my notes. She said, in her words, “a top priority” for the Department of Justice here in Washington. And she said the President of the United States, the Attorney General of the United States, in her words, are “directly and actively monitoring the investigation to determine if any federal criminal laws were violated, including civil rights violations.” That’s what she specifically said. And you’re angry--
LEMON: Where is the news in that? The president should always be involved, the Justice Department should always be involved in these situations. That is not a headline, that is not something I felt she even had to announce there. I don't understand why she announced it. You should leave it-- The White House should be sending out a press release saying that, not just a tweet. If he wants to conduct business by tweet, then let the President tweet that out.
But why does she need to say that? Is she his proxy? Does she speak for him? No. The President should send out a press release and say: “I am monitoring what’s happening here. I am dealing with it. This is a top priority.” He doesn't need the U.S. attorney to do that.
Again, I said what I said about this President and the environment that he has contributed to in this country. And that is the God's honest truth. That's how black people feel. The person who said from Klansmen and racists and Nazis and anti-Semites, that there were very fine on both sides, no one wants to hear that!
(…)
