Don Lemon, who spent years bashing former President Trump on CNN before he was fired last year, celebrated being free from "corporate overlords" so he can formally support Vice President Kamala Harris in November’s election.
Lemon never appeared to hide his feelings on CNN, where he compared Trump supporters to Ku Klux Klan members, laughed as a guest referred to Trump’s base as the "credulous boomer rube demo" and regularly slammed the former president. But Lemon told the "Black Men for Harris" virtual meeting that he is now free to admit his loyalties.
"I’m happy to be in an independent space where I don’t have to worry about corporate overlords now, where I can stand up for democracy, where I can say who I’m supporting. I’m on the side of democracy," Lemon said on the virtual meeting.
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"I’m on the side of someone who is going to help our people, I’m not on the side of Project 2025. I’m not going to pretend to put these two campaigns on equal footing," Lemon continued. "We have heard enough about Donald Trump. We’ve heard enough about MAGA."
Lemon later suggested that Trump supporters receive too much media coverage, adding, "People need to understand Black people in this election, because that's whose going to decide this election."
When the clip was shared on social media, one user joked that "it was always a real mystery which party Don Lemon was supporting."
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Lemon was a key figure in the network’s Trump-era transition from a just-the-facts news network to partisan opinion programming.
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Lemon compared Trump and Adolf Hitler in 2019 while arguing that such "bad people" shouldn't be given a platform. In 2020, Lemon accused then-President Trump of letting former President Obama get under his skin because he is "better looking," better educated" and has a "more accomplished" wife, in a segment that quickly went viral.
Lemon declared in 2021, "If you voted for Trump, you voted for the person who the Klan supported. You voted for the person who Nazis support."
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When CNN moved to a new headquarters in New York City’s swanky Hudson Yards, Lemon showed off his new digs as he fawned over the elaborate space before taking a shot at Trump.
"The only person who could afford an apartment like this, maybe, well, it wouldn't be Trump. It would be someone who's actually a real billionaire," Lemon said.
In 2022, he was pulled from his prestigious solo primetime gig to an ensemble morning show that struggled to find an audience and was eventually replaced.
Lemon, who had been with CNN for 17 years, was fired by then-CNN CEO Chris Licht in 2023 after a series of gaffes and scandals. Licht was shown the door himself that same year.
Lemon has been posting pro-Harris messages on his social media feed in recent days, referring to her as "your next president" and praising "White Dudes for Harris."
