Former CNN anchor Don Lemon walked off MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough after a heated argument erupted on his program Friday over whether people should be “civil” with the incoming Trump administration.
Scarborough had a tough talk with former RNC Chairman Michael Steele after the host praised former President Barack Obama for being friendly with President-elect Donald Trump at former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral.
“You like to say 78 million people voted for Donald Trump, then 82 million people voted for Joe Biden … civility is a two-way street,” Steele said.
DON LEMON ACCUSES TRUMP SUPPORTERS AFTER ONLINE REACTION: ‘TOO BAD’
Don Lemon appears on CNN on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, to discuss his interview with Elon Musk. (CNN screenshot)
“Tell us something we don’t know,” Scarborough shot back during the tense exchange.
Lemon faulted Scarborough for preaching civility to Trump after months of calling him a fascist and a threat to democracy in profanity-laced rants during his “Live at Five” podcast on Friday.
“If someone disrespects my loved one, I don’t have to smile in their face! And they’ll know it… These are the same MAGA people who called, and Donald Trump helped promote, calling Michelle Obama a man, I don’t laugh in your face if you call my sister and my mother or my wife or girlfriend a man!” Lemon said.
He added: “If they’re apparently going to agree publicly, what does that mean in the larger fabric of our society?”
“Morning Joe” hosts Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski faced months of backlash from liberals after they went to Mar-a-Lago for their first face-to-face meeting with Trump after the election in seven years.
‘MORNING JOE’ CO-HOSTS HOLD A FACE-TO-FACE MEETING WITH TRUMP FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SEVEN YEARS
Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski have been some of Trump’s harshest media critics for years. (Screenshot/MSNBC)
The Washington Post media critic Eric Wemple attacked the hosts in a column in November titled “Five Reasons Democrats Should Shut Down ‘Morning Joe.’
“Why shut down a soulful segment of ‘Morning Joe’ because of this quasi-revelation? Maybe send a signal to MSNBC’s resistance community: You might not like what you see on this program in the future. Could these people have influenced the ratings to dip into ‘Morning Joe’ right after Monday’s announcement?” Wemple wrote.
Lemon lectured Scarborough about how he thinks he should cover the incoming administration.
“You have to show the American people that this is not normal … to laugh at someone you’ve called a fascist over the last few years and months. This is not normal. People are tired of normalizing behavior,” Lemon said.
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Lemon didn’t mince words when it comes to how he feels about Trump and his supporters. During a December episode of his podcast, he called Trump a “cult leader” and some of his constituents “stupid fucking idiots” with “stupid MAGA brains.”
In the subsequent episode Lemon said he stands by his comments, calling his critics “assholes” and telling those offended “fucking bad.”
