The most unintentionally hilarious few minutes of primetime television on cable news is arguably the time on CNN when Chris Cuomo’s show is ending and Don Lemon’s starts, where they have a brief exchange of thoughts while the cameras are still rolling.

This is the two of them at their most arrogant and narcissistic as they try to one-up each other in the Woke TV Anchor Sweepstakes

Such was the case on Thursday night, when the two continued a discussion they had from the night before about whether or not the network should give airtime to Trump administration officials who they characterized as dishonest.

Fox News sets the scene:

CNN’s anti-Trump anchor Don Lemon on Thursday night told Trump surrogates who attack the media and “lie all day long” that appearing on CNN “is a privilege” and “not a right.”



Following his colleague Chris Cuomo’s “closing argument” that lambasted RNC spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany for claiming that President Trump doesn’t “lie,” Lemon began their nightly handoff by reading the Merrian-Webster’s definition of the word “lie.”



“A lie is a lie all day long,” Lemon said. “For these folks to say he doesn’t lie or that you’re maybe misunderstanding how he’s communicating- that’s rich.”



Lemon knocked Trump defenders who attack the media, insisting they apologize “when the media gets it wrong.”

The media “apologizes” when they get it wrong? Not sure what “media” he’s talking about, but it certainly isn’t CNN.

Cuomo, who (to my surprise) evidently has a tiny bit better of a grasp on what journalism actually is about than Lemon, explained to his colleague why it was necessary to have political guests on their programs:

Cuomo then challenged the “CNN Tonight” host on how he would “conduct the journalism of vetting” the Trump campaign if he doesn’t allow anyone who represents it onto his show, which Lemon countered by saying “you can have people on who represent it” but don’t have to sit through the “lies.”



“We have Trump supporters on all the time and we hold them accountable to the truth and they don’t make excuses for everything this president does,” Lemon explained. “But there are those like the one who was on last night- excuses about everything.”



“It’s the job of us to test and expose and let people see it for what it is- one: so that they can believe their eyes and ears, and two: if they’re against it, they know how to oppose it,” Cuomo told Lemon.

It’s also the job of journalists to have political guests on if for no other reason than to simply allow the airing of differing legitimate viewpoints with which liberal CNN hosts like Cuomo and Lemon might disagree. And if there is disagreement, counter or dispute the argument. If you feel someone is lying or is otherwise not being honest, correct them.

This is what’s called “political discourse” for those of us not well-connected and self-important enough to be awarded primetime anchor chairs on CNN.

Lemon later attempted to up his game during the segment by telling his colleague Cuomo that people who don’t tell the truth should not be allowed on CNN in order to “promote propaganda and lies”:

“I don’t think people need the space to promote propaganda and lies,” Lemon continued. “I think that’s a disservice… It’s allowing someone- giving them a platform that they haven’t deserved, that they don’t deserve.”

Watch their back and forth exchange below:

This must be a new position for Lemon to take, considering how frequently he’s had fraudster Michael Avenatti on his program, not to mention all the times Avenatti has guested on other programs like Brian Stelter’s “Reliable Sources”:

Ina related story, Don Lemon has booked Michael Avenatti on his program dozens of times while hosting him at a private party at his Hamptons home. https://t.co/soBSfh4A2R — Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) August 30, 2019

Flashback: CNN's @brianstelter touts Michael Avenatti as a "serious" contender for 2020. "And looking ahead to 2020, one reason I’m taking you seriously as a contender is because of your presence on cable news.” pic.twitter.com/c5JEdVrLiJ — Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) March 25, 2019

Either Lemon himself is being purposely disingenuous here about not wanting to allow certain guests on CNN who “tell lies”, or he’s being truthful about it and would just prefer CNN limit the dishonest people on their network to those who host their programs.

I’ll leave that for readers to decide.

Related –>> Video: CNN’s Don Lemon Grows Visibly Agitated as Black Pastor Refuses to Take His ‘Trump Is Racist’ Bait

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— Based in North Carolina, Sister Toldjah is a former liberal and a 15+ year veteran of blogging with an emphasis on media bias, social issues, and the culture wars. Read her Red State archives here. Connect with her on Twitter. –