LOS ANGELES.–Twitter [X] CEO Elon Musk, 52, changed his mind about extending a contract to 58-year-old former CNN host Don Lemon after submitting reluctantly to an interview with the King of Woke who was fired by CNN April 24, 2023. Lemon has lost in prime time show Oct. 8, 2022 after 15 years with the network that watched, under former CEO Jeff Zucker, the cable news network turn from a mainstream new into a publicity wing of the Democrat Party. After submitting to an interview with Lemon, Musk realized that Lemon hasn’t changed his woke agenda at all, actually getting more desperate to lash out at anyone, like Musk, perceived as pro-Trump or anti-gay. “First of all, he’s not my boss. X was only content,” Lemon told CNN’s Erin Burnett. “They [X] were a distribution partner; he never had any editorial control over the show,” showing Lemon’s fake bravado.
Like former Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s Feb. 5 interview with 71-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin, Lemon hoped to grab some publicity, continue his relevance after losing his voice when he and CNN parted ways. Unlike Carlson who genuinely concerns himself with war-and-peace issues, Lemon wanted to humiliate Musk, one of the world’s richest men, for his support of 77-year-old former President Donald Trump. Lemon’s CNN show turned into one the cable TV’s Trump-bashing shows, much like MSNBC’s Rachel Madow, who’s following are primarily gay and black activists. Lemon had for years the same edge as Madow, thinking his woke agenda was shared by the CNN audience. Since going woke in 2013, Zucker helped CNN lose some 50% of its audience.
Instead of showing genuine interest in interviewing Musk, one of the most consequential voices in today’s world, Lemon tried to humiliate the mega-billionaire CEO of Tesla Motors and SpaceX. If Musk were to do nothing else, he fathered the electric car revolution and returned a moribund NASA manned space program back to life with his Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon space capsule. Lemon should be ashamed of himself to blow such an important opportunity to help the world know the remarkable Elon Musk a little better. But instead, Lemon used his interview to dig up dirt on Musk, trying to associate him with Trump. When it comes to Lemon’s creed, there’s nothing more despicable than any whiff of backing Trump, something Lemon used to demonize anyone that dares to support the former president. Lemon asked Musk about his recent meeting with Trump.
Musk takes most people at face value, including Lemon, who had a devious agenda trying to nail Musk down as giving cash to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. Lemon asked Musk if meeting with Trump was a way “to shore up his finances” for the rematch with 81-year-old President Joe Biden. “I was at a breakfast at a friend’s place, and Donald Trump came by,” Musk told Lemon. That’s it,” not buying Lemon’s premise that Trump hit the mega-billionaire for campaign or legal cash. Lemon asked Musk what he talked about with Trump, prompting Musk to laugh. “Let’s just say he did most of the talking,” Musk said, demurring from sharing the contents of the conversation. Lemon wanted a contract from Musk to find a place for the “Don Lemon Show” but, shortly after the interview, Musk announced that X would not extend a contract to Lemon, prompting the former CNN host to complain on Erin Burnett’s primetime show. Lemon acted befuddled why Musk reneged.
Lemon plans to release snippets of his interview with Musk in which the high-profile entrepreneur said he was “leaning away” from supporting President Joe Biden, only after Lemon said Musk cancelled his possible contract with X. According to Lemon, Musk recently said on X that President Biden engaged in “treason” and “importing voters,” setting the stage for possible terrorist attacks “far worse that 9/11.” So, when it comes to what Lemon had in mind interviewing Musk, it’s clear he wanted to besmirch Musk’s reputation putting him in the same vile racist and homophobic box as Trump. “During the course of that interview, I never raised my voice. I told him I thought this was important for people to hear,” Lemon told Burnett, implying he was censored by Musk. Musk simply got wind that Lemon had not changed his stripes since he left CNN.
Lemon shot himself in his foot by his own arrogance and hubris, trying to expose Musk as a conspiracy-oriented right-wing extremist. “He says this is a public square for all. Maybe we’re learning that a public square should not be privately owned,” Lemon told Burnett, implying that Musk should not own X. What did Lemon think when CNN parted ways with him, thinking that they wouldn’t dare to part from his woke show, advocating for Back and Gay issues. “Instead of being the real Don Lemon, it was really just Jeff Zucker talking through Don, so lacked authenticity,” Musk said, explaining why he did not extend a contract to Lemon to host an X show. Lemon played victim to Burnett, acting like he was censored by Musk, not admitting he failed his interview. Lemon thinks his reputation precedes him as CNN’s former once preeminent woke cable TV host.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
