Don Lemon continues to tease a 2028 presidential run: ‘Why not?’
Don Lemon, a former CNN anchor, has renewed public speculation that he could run for president in the 2028 election. Speaking at a London summit hosted by Tina Brown, Lemon joked about his success and said he believes the country “needs” him, arguing Democrats “took a wrong turn” and may have become too focused on identity politics. He also compared himself to other potential candidates by suggesting his digital and social-media savvy would give him an edge.
the remarks come months after Lemon was indicted on federal civil rights charges. Since leaving CNN in 2023 over a disputed sexist comment, he has leaned into his independent media profile, launching the Lemon Media Network in January 2024 and hosting his daily show. His political ambitions would continue a broader pattern of high-profile media figures entering politics; the article also notes Trump’s reality-TV background and recent speculation around other media personalities.
Former CNN anchor Don Lemon recently continued a public push to tease himself as a potential candidate for the 2028 presidential election months after making headlines for being indicted on federal civil rights charges.
Lemon spoke on Wednesday in London at an annual summit hosted by former Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Tina Brown that brings together journalists to honor Brown’s late husband and former journalist, Sir Harry Evans.
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“You laugh,” he said onstage. “I’m a self-made millionaire… I made it to the top of my profession.”
Lemon has alluded to a presidential run multiple times in recent months.
He referenced it in a March Pod Save America episode and further applauded the idea on an April 15 episode of the show Sherri.
“I think the country needs me,” he told a Vanity Fair reporter after the show. He said he thinks that the Democratic Party took “a wrong turn” and theorized it may have been due to an obsession over identity politics. “I do think that Democrats sometimes tend to eat their own and to alienate their allies, right?” he said.
Lemon was fired from CNN in 2023 over an allegedly sexist comment he made about former presidential candidate Nikki Haley, saying she was past “her prime.” He was also accused of mistreating female coworkers while at the network.
Lemon leaned into his status as an independent media figure in the private interview. “I think someone who’s savvy about digital media and social media would make a better candidate than most. And that person would be me,” he said.
Lemon announced the launch of the Lemon Media Network in Jan. 2024, and he hosts the daily The Don Lemon Show. He has periodically gone viral for doing man-on-the-street interviews and refers to his followers as “Lemonheads.”
Lemon would continue a trend of media figures entering politics should he choose to run. President Donald Trump hosted The Apprentice before his successful 2016 campaign, and sports commentator Stephen A. Smith has also been linked to a 2028 run.
Lemon pleaded not guilty to federal civil rights felonies after being arrested at a Minnesota church while covering an anti-ICE protest. He and eight others were charged with conspiracy against rights and with injuring, intimidating, or interfering with the exercise of religious freedom at a place of worship under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.
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Editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal Emma Tucker, reporter Patrick Radden Keefe, and tech journalist Kara Swisher were also in attendance.
Swisher interviewed Lemon onstage.
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