(Getty)
There’s certainly been no love lost between President Donald Trump and CNN host Don Lemon.
The two have had quite the tumultuous relationship with each other ever since Trump launched his presidential bid. Ever since then, Trump has remained outspoken against Lemon, the veteran CNN broadcaster. And it’s only intensified once he took office.
Here’s what you need to know about Trump and Lemon:
1. Trump Called Lemon the ‘Dumbest Person’ On TV
(Getty)
Trump certainly didn’t hold back on his thoughts about Lemon and CNN in particular in an exclusive interview with TIME Magazine.
In a dinner with reporters from TIME on May 8, Trump called Lemon “perhaps the dumbest person in broadcasting.” He remained extremely critical in his on-the-record remarks about other members of the media, saying that many of them offer an “agenda” against him to their viewers. He then chastised Lemon for cutting off guests that he brings onto the show.
This Don Lemon who’s perhaps the dumbest person in broadcasting, Don Lemon at night it’s like – sometimes they’ll have a guest who by mistake will say something good. And they’ll start screaming, we’re going to commercial. They cut him off. Remember?
I’ve seen things where by mistake somebody they bring in a guest and it turns out to be a positive. And they go, I mean they get just killed. The level of hatred.
It’s not the first time Trump has gone out of his way to criticize Lemon, though. In August 2016, then-presidential candidate Trump referred to Lemon as being “dumb as a rock” after a heated segment.
2. Lemon Has Ended Segments With Pro-Trump Supporters Before
Don Lemon (Getty)
The feud between Lemon and Trump has continued to brew over the years, and it’s only been amplified by Lemon doing things on his CNN show that seem to agitate Trump.
The president, who coined the term “fake news,” doesn’t hesitate to label Lemon and CNN part of the problem.
In a five-member panel on Lemon’s show about Trump’s travel expenses, the CNN host shot down a GOP consultant and ended a segment abruptly.
Paris Dennard was on his show and kept referring to the ongoing discussion as “fake news.” Lemon asked Dennard if he knew the actual definition of “fake news” and he responded, “what we’re doing right now.” That set Lemon off, as he cut the segment short.
Watch a video of the segment below:
As The Ringer reported, Lemon seems to be experiencing a “post-Trump boom” in popularity and ratings in large part because of the sometimes-entertaining things that have been said on his daily show on the network.
3. Trump Criticized Lemon & CNN At a Presidential Press Conference
In one of the most entertaining and bizarre media appearances by Trump since he stepped into the Oval Office, he continued his vitriol toward CNN and news media in general. However, he had high praises for Fox News Channel.
Watch Trump’s remarks at the press conference in the video above.
The press conference lasted almost and hour-and-a-half and was highlighted by Trump continuing to tear into the media. He slammed CNN and in particular Lemon while praising the Fox News morning show Fox & Friends.
“I just see many, many untruthful things. I’ll tell you what else I see. I see tone. The tone is such hatred,” Trump said in response to CNN reporter Jim Acosta regarding the news network. “I’m really not a bad person by the way. I do get good ratings, you have to admit that. But the tone is such hatred. I have to say, Fox & Friends in the morning, they’re very honorable people. Not because they’re good — because they hit me also when I do something wrong — but they have the most honest morning show. That’s all I can say. It’s the most honest.”
In another quip, Trump ripped Lemon’s show, CNN Tonight, saying that it has “poor ratings” with its “anti-Trump” rhetoric. But he didn’t mention Lemon by name.
“You look at your show that goes on at 10 o’clock in the evening. You just take a look at that show. That is a constant hit,” he said. “The panel is almost always exclusive anti-Trump. The good news is he doesn’t have good ratings. But the panel is almost exclusive anti-Trump, and the hatred and venom coming from his mouth. The hatred coming from other people on your network.”
4. Lemon Got His Start at CNN 11 Years Ago
CNN anchor Don Lemon on May 6. (Getty)
Lemon spent time as an anchor for news stations in Birmingham, Philadelphia and St. Louis and reported for NBC News before finding a permanent role at CNN.
He worked as a correspondent for NBC’s Today and also NBC Nightly News while also being a reporter and co-anchor.
Lemon joined CNN in 2006 and has been outspoken in his role since then. He is the current host of CNN Tonight.
Some of his controversial comments have caused quite the stir. In 2015, more than 30,000 people signed a petition that demanded Lemon be fired for a remark that he made about police behavior.
5. Trump Said He No Longer Watches CNN
Donald Trump (Getty)
Trump has consistently been at war with the media, but CNN more than any others.
In his first press conference since winning the November 2016 election, Trump got into a heated exchange with Acosta over his employer covering an unverified report — that was first posted by BuzzFeed — on Trump’s alleged close ties with Russia.
Trump called BuzzFeed a “failing pile of garbage” in the press conference and criticized CNN for building up the story.
Trump continues to label CNN, which sees itself as a reputable news organization, as “fake news.”
It’s a phrase that hasn’t sat well with executives at CNN, who said they are proud and content with the reporting they perform.
“We are fully confident in our reporting. It represents the core of what the First Amendment protects, informing the people of the inner workings of their government; in this case, briefing materials prepared for President Obama and President-elect Trump last week,” CNN said in a statement to Variety.
In his infamous February press conference, Trump continued his hate on CNN and said that he watched the network, but struggled with the “anger” and “the hatred.” He said in the recent TIME interview that he doesn’t watch anything broadcast on CNN anymore, or on MSNBC.
