Former CNN anchor Don Lemon compared President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement to the Nazi Party and revealed he was considering a potential 2028 presidential campaign during a Wednesday interview.
“MAGA is the closest thing to the modern version of the Nazi Party,” Lemon said on the “Can’t Be Censored” podcast. “This is America’s version. It’s the closest thing, without the Holocaust and all that stuff.”
Lemon made the comparison after the hosts, Travis Dhanraj and Karman Wong, asked him to define MAGA and consider what could happen to the Republican Party after Trump leaves the political stage.
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“No matter how many facts and how much information you give them about this presidency, about the policies, they don’t change their minds because they’re really not voting for the price of eggs,” Lemon said. “They’re voting for White supremacy. They’re voting for power.”
The former cable news host broadened his attack beyond the MAGA movement, accusing Trump of fascism and arguing that the country had moved beyond ordinary political dysfunction.
“We’ve careened into fascism,” Lemon said. “The president is a fascist.”
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The White House sharply criticized Lemon’s remarks in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“Don Lemon is a low ratings loser that no one takes seriously,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said. “He should immediately seek psychiatric help to treat his severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
Lemon said people had repeatedly asked whether he would run for president and that he was unimpressed by many of the figures he viewed as possible presidential contenders.
“I don’t know, I might,” Lemon said. “I’m serious. I don’t know. I might because people keep asking me to do it.”
“I’ve stuck my toe into it, if you want to put it that way, or I’ve dabbled. I’ve talked to people about it, people who have been in politics before.”
He said he would prefer a campaign financed through small contributions rather than large donors, although he acknowledged that avoiding traditional fundraising might not be realistic.
“I would like it to be a voter-driven, citizen-driven campaign for as much as it can be,” Lemon said. “Maybe at some point I might have to take a donation.”
“I would rather the people of the United States to say, ‘That’s the guy that we want. I’m gonna give him five dollars or $10 or something that doesn’t break the bank because I know that the economy is tough,’”
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Lemon also revisited his April 2023 departure from CNN, alleging that network leaders wanted to remove him because he was “the gay Black guy.” CNN said at the time that the network and Lemon had “parted ways” and disputed his account of how he was notified.
“They wanted to get rid of me as the gay Black guy,” Lemon said. “One hundred percent, that’s what it was.”
A CNN spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the decision had nothing to do with his identity.
“Don was an important member of the CNN family for nearly 20 years,” the spokesperson said.
“The decision regarding Don’s departure was based on factors unrelated to his race or sexual orientation,” the statement continued. “Although we disagree with his recollection of events, we are grateful for his contributions and wish him nothing but success in the future.”
