CNN host Don Lemon is facing backlash after condemning riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin – not simply because of the violence and destruction wreaked on the city, but because the optics aren’t good for Joe Biden and the Democrats.
Speaking to fellow CNN anchor Chris Cuomo on Tuesday evening, Lemon said the protests were a “blind spot for Democrats.” He said the party was “ignoring this problem or hoping it will go away – and it’s not going to go away.”
CNN’s Don Lemon is panicking over the disastrous impact that far-left riots are having on the Democrat Party. pic.twitter.com/lqZl7nuKQ6
During the segment, Lemon freely admitted that his primary concern with the crisis was the possibility that it may hurt Biden’s ability to unseat President Donald Trump in the November election.
“As you know and I know,” Lemon said to Cuomo, “It’s showing up in the polling. It’s showing up in focus groups.” The CNN host added that he believes the silence from the Democrats on the riots is the only line of attack against them “that is sticking.”
Lemon insisted that Biden must address the country, give an Obama-style speech on race and promise to “deal with the issue” of reforming the police.
The CNN host’s specific reasoning for standing up to rioters was blasted on Twitter, with many users accusing him of the same thing he seemingly wanted Biden to do: breaking his silence only when the rioting became politically inconvenient.
Don Lemon: rioting, looting, burning is cool until it hurts my man Biden. https://t.co/Xl8XzkwFmn
Don Lemon says riots have to stop explicitly bc of their political impact–not bc of what they mean for having a functioning society, the criticality of the rule of law, and the impact on the lives of Americans. That is, he cares about it costing Dems the election, nothing more https://t.co/cG2v61vFf2
“Help me my business is on fire”Don Lemon: Hold on let me check the polling on it…
Lemon’s comments also did not go unnoticed by Trump’s campaign team, who quickly tweeted out the video and gloated that even CNN anchors think Biden is “too weak to stand up to rioters and looters.”
Kenosha witnessed a third night of major rioting on Tuesday, with property burned, businesses ransacked and three people shot, one fatally.
The wave of violence was sparked by the police shooting of Jacob Blake on Sunday. The African American man was shot seven times in the back in front of his three children. Blake survived the shooting, but his family have confirmed he is paralyzed from the waist down.
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