The last four years have given us disaster after disaster: unprecedented natural calamity, worsening racial tensions, the rise of right-wing militias and terrorism, a global pandemic—just to name a few. Through all this, CNN viewers have also witnessed the radicalization of anchor Don Lemon, who under the Trump administration has gotten notably spicier, particularly when talking about Trump and race.
Lemon kept the 2.0 vibes strong on Thursday night in the handoff between Chris Cuomo’s show and his. The two were discussing the recent spikes of coronavirus cases, particularly in red states and in the wake of President Donald Trump’s campaign rallies. Lemon then got serious about how he’s cut friends out of his life for supporting the president.
“I have many people who I love in my life and, yeah, I come from a red state—I’ve lived in several red states,” began Lemon, who is from Baton Rouge, La. “There are a lot of friends who I’ve really had to get rid of because they are so nonsensical when it comes to [the coronavirus].”
“Every single talking point that they hear on state TV and that they hear from this president, they repeat it and they’re blinded by it,” Lemon continued.”Here’s the thing, I had to get rid of them because they are too far gone. I try and I try and I try; they’ll say something really stupid and I’ll show them the science and I give them the information, and they’ll still repeat those talking points.”
And despite the highly visible surges of the virus in red states, apparently, Lemon’s little conservative friends weren’t trying to hear it.
“I just had to get rid of a lot of people in my life because sometimes you just have to let them go. I think that they have to hit rock bottom like an addict and they have to want to get help, they have to want to know the truth, they have to want to live in reality,” Lemon said, adding that he wasn’t sure if he’ll ever return to those friendships.
“At a certain point, you just say, ‘They’re too far gone and I’ve got to let them go.’ If they’re willing to come back and willing to live in reality, then I will welcome them with open arms. But I can’t do it anymore.”
That’s right, Don Thee Lemon is ending 2020 with some big “cut ‘em OFF” energy. It’s a remarkable journey for the cable news anchor, who in 2013 blamed high incarceration rates on single parenting and criticized hip hop for promoting “thug and reprehensible behavior.”
“Pay close attention to the hip-hop and rap culture that many of you embrace, a culture that glorifies everything I just mentioned. Thug and reprehensible behavior,” he said at the time.
Ahhh, growth. We love to see it.