Wednesday, CNN’s Don Lemon reacted to President Donald Trump’s surprise visit to the troops in Iraq at the Al Asad Airbase for Christmas, comparing him to the Grinch who “stole Christmas” from the troops.”

“I tried not to because I was with my family, but when we turned on CNN and we saw the president politicizing a Christmas message, it was like– we kept saying, ‘He’s like the Grinch.’ I’m being honest,” Lemon said on “CNN Tonight.”

Network national security analyst Samantha Vinograd then interrupted, reassuring Lemon, “No, he stole Christmas.”

Lemon continued, “Instead of being positive with the troops, saying, ‘This is about the troops, it’s not about me. I’m here to thank you for your service,’ whatever, even if reporters ask him questions. ‘This is not about me. This is about the troops, they serve out country well.’ Maybe he should have said, ‘It’s unfortunate that some of them are not getting paid and I wish they were. We’ll come to an agreement and make sure everyone gets paid, the 42,000 members of the Coast Guard who are not getting paid. So, you know, let’s be positive about Christmas.’ The same thing during Christmas. It was so negative and so — you want positivity when it comes to Christmas. It is perplexing. Why would he visit the troops and do that?”

(h/t Newsbusters)

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