Former CNN host Don Lemon said he was fuming after seeing former President Barack Obama chumming it up with President-elect Donald Trump during the funeral service for former President Jimmy Carter last week.
On Saturday, Lemon posted an explosive video, angrily reacting to Obama sharing a lighthearted moment with his political rival as they waited for the eulogy to begin.
“Barack Obama is a classy guy. But these are the very same MAGA people who have called and Donald Trump has helped promote, calling Michelle Obama a man,” Lemon said. “I’m not smiling in your face if you’re calling my sister and my mother or my wife or my girlfriend a man. F–k you!”
Lemon began his rant by stating that he wasn’t concerned with the substance of their conversation, but rather the “optics” of the cordial interaction. The newscaster expressed concern that the exchange could be inadvertently supporting the conservative agenda.
“People had many, many questions. How could Barack Obama, the man who faced vicious, racist conspiracies for years because of Trump act so buddy-buddy with him? Does he not remember birtherism? Does he not remember how for years Trump lied about how he was secretly born in Africa? Does he not remember how Trump suggested that he was secretly a Muslim who was sympathetic to terrorist groups and terrorist causes?” Lemon said, referring to attacks Trump has repeatedly mounted against Obama throughout his presidency and beyond.
Lemon then complained about how Democrats spent much of the 2024 campaign comparing Trump to Hitler, but now seemed to be giving him a pass despite a clear opportunity to put Trump on the spot and hold him accountable.
“Perhaps more critically, does he not remember how his entire political party has been calling the man a fascist, an autocrat, a threat to democracy for months if not years? People could not believe what they were seeing. Had the Democratic Party lied to them? Had Kamala Harris and Joe Biden lied to them?” Lemon added.
Lemon then acknowledged that while Obama’s interaction with the Republican was surprising, he understood the challenges of navigating such a moment during a funeral.
“Look, in reality, Barack Obama was just doing his duty. The former president had died and he inevitably was going to have to brush shoulders with Trump there in the same presidential club. Right. What was the alternative? Not to watch Jimmy Carter be laid to rest?” he stated. “Now, I think he had no choice, but laughing at Trump’s jokes on camera? It was risky, kind of cringy.”
Lemon warned that Democrats need to be cautious about how they engage with Trump going forward, as their actions could alienate voters who have viewed him as a dangerous figure.
“Optics like this are things that Democrats have to consider going forward. They spent years, if not months, if not years labeling Trump a political aberration, someone cruel, if not evil, outside the norm. Their voters may feel lied to if they appear to embrace him now. You can’t just memory hole comparing someone to Hitler. So, Democrats, you’ve got to keep in mind ahead of Trump’s inauguration and frankly, for the next four years, like what that looks like, your behavior around the man will matter. It does matter.”
Lemon pointed out that even Mike Pence’s wife handled her interaction with Trump at the event with more restraint than Obama, suggesting that the former president’s approach appeared too friendly given the context.
“You can’t allow Karen Pence to present as a more steadfast defender of democracy, a more courageous critic of Trump, than yourselves. Democrats, your outdated impulse to prioritize good relationships with your conservative colleagues at all costs. It’s got to end,” Lemon fumed.
On his YouTube show, Lemon also criticized MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski for a segment in which they suggested that people should approach the incoming president with civility and with the same bedside manner as Obama.
During the discussion with Michael Steele and Susan Glasser of The New Yorker, Glasser compared Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin and warned against showing the incoming administration undue deference.
Lemon then seized on Glasser’s comments to call out Scarborough and Brzezinski for their controversial November meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, condemning the idea of extending an olive branch to restore civil discourse after a contentious election.
“You have to indicate to the American people that this is not normal … grinning with someone that you have called a fascist over the last couple of years and the last months. That’s not normal,” Lemon said. “Folks are tired of the behavior being normalized. Civility does not mean befriending people or forgoing your morals and your principles and your character.”
Still on a roll, Lemon declared, “If someone disrespects my loved one, I don’t have to smile in their f–king face!”
