MSNBC Joy Reid theorized that CNN terminating Don Lemon is the network shifting right.
Sis2Sis previously reported in April that CNN fired Lemon without giving a legitimate reason. Lemon accused the network of blindsiding him with the termination, which they denied.
Still, a reason wasn’t given.
Well, according to The ReidOut host, Lemon correcting Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s “facts” on the Civil War on air could’ve led to the network pulling the plug on the TV news veteran.
Lemon’s heated dispute with Ramaswamy occurred on April 19 during a CNN This Morning segment. The Republican presidential candidate *incorrectly* claimed the Civil War happened to secure Black people’s rights to guns and said the NRA had a massive part in it. He stated Black people didn’t secure their second amendment right until after the Civil War.
“Funny fact, Black people did not get to enjoy the other freedoms until their second amendment rights were secured,” Ramaswamy said confidently.
Lemon corrected Ramaswamy and told him his erroneous statement was offensive to Black Americans. Ramaswamy had the nerve to tell Lemon he was doing a disservice to the country and Black Americans by insinuating that progress hadn’t been made since 1964 (Civil Rights Movement) and 1865 (Civil War).
The man running for president proudly stated that Blacks obtained their freedom and rights after the Civil War.
Obviously, the ass hat didn’t pay attention in history class because when were Black men and women allowed to vote? When were Blacks permitted to use the same bathroom as whites? Why was Rosa Parks arrested for simply exercising her fundamental right to sit on a bus? Why were Blacks beaten by the country’s “protectors” for exercising their first amendment rights?
Days after the argument, Lemon was fired out of nowhere.
“Those were absurdities by Ramaswamy, let’s just be clear,” Reid stated. “If that is a factor in the firing of Don Lemon, that seems to be an indication of something about CNN more than it is about Don Lemon.”
Reid asked The Washington Post reporter Jeremy Barr if he thought CNN was positioning itself to be like Fox News, a known Republican network.
“I think the new president of CNN, Chris Licht, made very clear that he wants Republicans to feel more comfortable on CNN,” Barr responded. “I think staffers at CNN are not sure what that really means. Does that mean they don’t have to ask tough questions?”
Reid commented that CNN’s attempt to mirror Fox’s vision for the network wasn’t good “for our republic.”
The Atlantic staff writer David Frum observed that CNN became similar to Fox during the “Trump years.” He added that since the Republican-ran network fired Tucker Carlson, one of the most controversial Republican anchors from Fox, around the same time CNN fired Lemon, it wouldn’t be in their best interest to rip a page from Fox.
