What To Know
- Don Lemon said he’s considered running for president and believes he could lead the country better than Donald Trump.
- Lemon clarified he has no immediate plans to run but would consider a Democratic bid if the right opportunity arose.
- The former CNN anchor emphasized that while he doesn’t aspire to the presidency but thinks he’d do a good job.
Former CNN anchor Don Lemon has said he’s considered the possibility of running for president and believes he could “definitely” do a better job of leading the country than current President Donald Trump.
Lemon made the comments on the latest episode of Pod Save America, telling guest host Alex Wagner that he believes he “could be president of the United States” if he gave a serious run at it.
“Do I ever think about it? Yes. Could it happen? Yeah, it could happen if the opportunity presented itself, the right opportunity presented itself,” he said, per Mediaite.
Lemon acknowledged that people will think he’s “crazy,” that it will make headlines, and that they will “laugh about it.” But he reiterated, “I think I could be President of the United States. I could definitely run this country better than Donald Trump.”
The veteran journalist said he has no immediate plans to run for the Oval Office, noting that his status as a minority candidate would bring an increased level of scrutiny. “Am I at that point now? No. And I know people are going to say Don Lemon is crazy,” he added.
Lemon is currently registered as an independent, but said he would switch parties and run as a Democrat if he were ever to make a presidential bid.
“Look, why can’t I think about running for office?” he continued. “Why can’t I think about being president of the United States when I look at what we have? Did anybody think Barack Obama, as he says, this guy with a funny name is from a mixed background, did anybody ever think that he would become president, that he had that aspiration?”
He clarified that he doesn’t have an “aspiration” to become president, “but I do think that I could run this country a lot better than Donald Trump.”
Lemon worked at CNN from 2006 to 2023, first as a correspondent, then as a host, most prominently anchoring Don Lemon Tonight from 2014 to 2022. He went on to co-host CNN This Morning alongside Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow before CNN fired him in April 2023 following allegations of misogyny.
He now hosts The Don Lemon Show on YouTube, which has over 1.25 million subscribers.
This story originally appeared on TV Insider
