Don Lemon Admits Trump Is a ‘Media Genius’ Who Played CNN Like a Fiddle
An article discusses a confession from former CNN anchor Don Lemon, who suggests that CNN’s coverage of President Donald Trump was influenced by a desire to boost ratings and profit, rather than purely journalistic objectives. Lemon reveals that top executives, including Les Moonves and Jeff zucker, recognized Trump’s appeal as a ratings magnet, and that CNN deliberately allowed interviews with Trump, advising staff to let him talk and fact-check later. The piece highlights how Trump received significant media exposure early in his campaign, accumulating billions in free coverage. Lemon’s remarks, made during a podcast appearance, shed light on the media’s ofen strategic relationship with political figures, raising questions about the authenticity of coverage and the influence of commercial interests on journalism.
According to one of CNN’s more infamous ex-anchors, the network’s adversarial relationship with President Donald Trump isn’t actually quite as antagonistic as it seems.
Ex-CNN host Don Lemon — no stranger to recent controversy — recently appeared on the “What Now?” podcast, which is hosted by former “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah.
The two men covered a wide range of topics, all with a heavy leftist slant, but the conversation did get a bit critical of a nominally left-leaning network in CNN.
“Did you guys at CNN ever know that [Trump] was, like, playing you guys like puppets?” Noah asked Lemon. “Did you ever figure it out at some point?”
“Oh, yeah,” Lemon replied.
The 60-year-old Lemon continued: “So, I think, honestly, they maybe knew somewhere in the beginning, but it was good for business. Do you remember Les Moonves? He goes, you know, ‘Trump is bad for the country, but he’s good for business.’”
(Moonves is the former chairman and CEO of CBS Corporation, who resigned in 2018 following sexual abuse allegations.)
Noah then mentioned that former CNN head honcho Jeff Zucker echoed similar sentiments.
“[Moonves] did say that,” Noah said. “And Jeff Zucker said, ‘Donald Trump is many things, but one thing I’ll tell you is, he’s a one-man ratings wrecking ball.’”
“I tell you, Jeff got hip to it really early, but he never told us what to say,” Lemon said. “The only thing that he would tell us is, when we were doing interviews, when he allowed us to do interviews, is just, ‘Let him talk, and fact-check.’ You can ask him anything. It’s all in the way you ask the question.”
He added: “Or you compliment him before. ‘You’re a marketing genius. Now, this one thing I don’t understand, because it didn’t quite go over well with your supporters. What happened?’ And then you’re in.”
You can watch the entire exchange for yourself below, though the relevant CNN remarks begin at about the 1-hour mark:
WARNING: The following video contains language that some viewers may find offensive
While some may write off Lemon as a jilted ex-employee, there is something to the idea that, for all the negative coverage the establishment media gave Trump, it was ultimately still coverage.
In fact, even at the very beginning of Trump’s political ascent, it was noticeable.
In September 2016, CNBC reported that Trump had effectively received “$4.6 billion in free media.”
Lemon was actually a part of that breathless Trump coverage, having joined CNN in 2006 and receiving his own show in 2014. He would eventually leave in 2023 under a cloud of scandal.
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