Don Lemon got lit up by GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy after the “CNN This Morning” co-host insisted that black people don’t enjoy freedom in America to this day.
The heated exchange took place during Wednesday’s broadcast of Lemon’s show with co-anchor Poppy Harlow.
Lemon took issue with comments Ramaswamy made during a recent speech to the NRA in which he accused Democrats of implementing gun restrictions in the South as a means to prevent blacks from defending their newfound rights in the post-Civil War era.
“We fought a civil war in this country to give Black Americans the equal protection under the law that we failed to secure them in 1776,” Ramaswamy told the crowd at an NRA conference last week.
“But then you wanna know what happened? Southern states passed anti-gun laws that stopped Black people from owning guns,” he continued. “The Democrat Party, then as in now, wanted to put them back in chains.”
That latter is a nice little reference to the infamous Joe Biden quote.
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Vivek Ramaswamy Fires Back at Don Lemon
Demonstrating an inability to understand complex arguments, CNN host Don Lemon objected to Vivek Ramaswamy’s pro-Second Amendment comments and preposterously accused him of suggesting the Civil War was fought over gun rights.
“I don’t really see what one has to do with the other – and using the Civil War to talk about black Americans – that war was not fought for black people to have guns,” Lemon said after cutting Ramaswamy off.
Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur, explained that wasn’t what he was saying – at all.
“That war was fought for black people to have freedoms in this country. Actually, that’s why the Civil War was fought,” Ramaswamy responded, adding, “Actually, a funny fact is – black people did not get to enjoy the other freedoms until their Second Amendment rights were secured.”
While debating post Civil War history, @donlemon preposterously claimed that “black people still aren’t allowed to enjoy their freedoms.” That’s an insult to the progress we’ve made over the last 160 years. His comments embody what’s wrong with the dialogue about race in America.… pic.twitter.com/7EE4YNGILK
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) April 19, 2023
Lemon again talked over the GOP presidential candidate, saying, “But black people still aren’t allowed to enjoy the freedoms as well in this country.”
“I disagree with you on that Don… I think you’re doing a disservice to this country by failing to recognize that we have equality before the laws here,” Ramaswamy replied.
There are currently no freedoms in this country that are race-dependent.
Ramaswamy later tweeted a clip of the intense debate and called Lemon’s comments “an insult to the progress we’ve made over the last 160 years” and everything that is “wrong with the dialogue about race in America.”
Don lemon makes a series of non-arguments in response to @VivekGRamaswamy’s principled and historically accurate stance on gun ownership and his role in securing freedom for African Americans (and anyone else). When those non-arguments fail to trigger their intended effect,… https://t.co/G8fRIdnePA
— Christian Watson (@OfficialCWATSON) April 19, 2023
Lemon’s Racist Remarks
After getting owned by Ramaswamy, Lemon reached into his little European handbag of debate tricks for liberals and pulled out the ‘You ain’t black’ card.
“Well, OK. When you are in black skin and you live in this country then you can disagree with me,” Lemon said.
Vivek essentially told him to get bent.
“Don, I think we have to be able to talk about these issues in the open regardless of the color of our skin,” he reasoned.
Lemon said Ramswamy’s comments were “insulting to black people,” completely unaware that his ignorance is insulting to people of all races.
The CNN host later snapped at his producers, accused Ramaswamy of “‘splaining” to him, and, in incredibly racist remarks, reduced the GOP contender’s race to “whatever ethnicity you are.”
Don Lemon: “I think it’s insulting that you’re sitting here, whatever ethnicity you are, ‘splaining to me…”
So Lemon makes an insulting reference to Vivek’s Indian ethnicity, while claiming to have been insulted. They’re both Americans. Period. https://t.co/FSVg78KwXA
— David Asman (@DavidAsmanfox) April 19, 2023
“I’m an Indian American and I’m proud of it,” Ramaswamy shot back.
Lemon often finds himself in hot water these days as he tries to outdo Joy Reid with intentionally dumb remarks.
A recent report from Variety claimed the CNN host has a history of demonstrating misogynistic and “diva-like” behavior, even outlining an instance in which he reportedly sent threatening texts to a female colleague.
Lemon found himself in hot water after accusing Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, who is barely 51 years old, and other women in their 40s and 50s of being “past their prime.”
Former President Donald Trump has described Lemon as debatably “the dumbest man on television.”
There are numerous candidates for that title, however.
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