‘New Apprentice’: CNN’s Don Lemon says network should not air coronavirus briefings live

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CNN host Don Lemon said he believes cable networks should not cover live White House Coronavirus Task Force press briefings.

As CNN’s prime-time lineup transitioned between hosts Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon Monday night, the two disagreed on the value of covering the White House task force’s updated briefings on the coronavirus.

“I have said, I don’t think you should really listen to what he says. You should listen to what the experts say. I’m not actually sure, if you want to be honest, that we should carry that live. I think we should run snippets. I think we should do it afterward and get the pertinent points to the American people. Because he’s never, ever going to tell you the truth,” Lemon asserted.

“Guess what he’s going to do? If you ask a question that is a legitimate question, and if he doesn’t like the question, he’s going to say … ‘That is a mean, nasty question,'” he added.

Lemon compared President Trump’s behavior during the press conferences to his former role on NBC’s The Apprentice.

It’s obvious, it’s transparent to me. This has become, those press briefings have become his new Apprentice. They’ve become his new rallies. And he treats the press and the media as if he’s talking to the people in his rallies,” Lemon continued.

In response, Cuomo said he understood Lemon’s “frustration,” but disagreed.

“I’m saying play all of it. I want to hear everything he has to say. I want it all to be out there. And I want him to be held to account,” Cuomo said.

Cuomo then contradicted Lemon’s point about Trump’s honesty, saying, “What he said today was all truthful, you know?”

“It’s just that a month ago he was saying a hoax,” Cuomo added, referencing a narrative that mischaracterized Trump’s description of political behavior during the spread of the virus.

Last week, a White House spokesman slammed CNN and MSNBC for cutting away from the White House press briefing, calling the move “pretty disgraceful.” A spokesperson for CNN responded, saying, “If the White House wants to ask for time on the network, they should make an official request. Otherwise, we will make our own editorial decisions.”

CNN employees have reportedly pushed the network’s CEO Mark Zucker from airing the press briefings live altogether. While the network has cut away from the briefings in the past, Zucker has said he feels the briefings are in the public interest because of the positions Trump and Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx hold.

“It’s a very difficult decision,” Zucker said. “As of now, we are going to continue to carry those briefings.”

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