CNN anchor Don Lemon ended a discussion about the price of security for the first family after CNN political analyst Paris Dennard described the story as “fake news.”
The discussion centered around the cost of President Donald Trump’s trip to Florida, after a report from POLITICO suggested it could cost taxpayers over $3 million.
When asked for his opinion, Dennard, who is a regular contributor to CNN and former and served as an advisor to George. W. Bush, said that the “the president is not breaking any laws, and he’s not doing anything. It’s a fake news story.”
Visibly irritated, Lemon demanded that he “please stop it with that stupid talking point, that it is a fake news story.”
“If you don’t want to participate in the news stories on this network, then don’t come on and participate. But don’t call them fake because you don’t agree with them,” he continued.
However, Dennard refused to back down on the claim that it is a “fake news” story, at which point Lemon abruptly ended the segment.
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A CNN later spokesperson later told Mediaite: “Don said prior to getting to Paris Denard [sic] ‘this is short and I want to get everyone in.’ He was running up against time to end the show and the conversation went long. That is the reason the show ended as it did.”
The incident is further evidence of rising concern at CNN over rising dissatisfaction with their biased, and sometimes unfactual reporting.
Donald Trump has consistently lambasted the network, describing it as part of the “fake news media” who are the “enemy of the American people.”
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