On Wednesday night, CNN host Don Lemon blasted Donald Trump for what he called the “biggest lie of all,” the “outrageous claim that the so-called deep state spied on his campaign.”

“It’s not true. It’s a lie,” Lemon said. “James Clapper, the former director of national intelligence did not in any way admit to the false charges, spies in the Trump campaign.”

Lemon then said that Trump’s claim was not just a one-off alternative fact. Instead, according to Lemon it was “a deliberate and coordinated effort to save his presidency to cast doubt on the Russian investigation by repeating a lie.”

The CNN host continued on: “That repetition is a key part of the strategy here. Because if you hear him say the same thing over and over and over it gets into your head. You may even start to wonder if there’s some truth to it. That’s exactly what the president and his allies want.”

Lemon then pointed to Trump’s oft-repeated and debunked birther claims about former president Barack Obama as further proof of Trump’s pattern.

“That was a lie. A lie he told for years,” Lemon continued on. “A lie he reportedly still clings to today but it served Trump’s purpose, he rose to prominence on it…What lesson do you think he learned from it? I wonder. And you may wonder. You may have been wondering through all of this why doesn’t his own party stand up against this blatant disregard for the truth?”

He then concluded: “This is not just about talk. This is about facts. Facts do matter, the truth matters, and the truth is under daily assault from the President of the United States and that is a crisis and that is the truth.”

Watch above, via CNN.

[image via screengrab]

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