Don Lemon explained on Friday why President Donald Trump is playing people for suckers with his statement that white nationalism is not on the rise around the world.
The CNN Tonight host said he didnt buy Trumps claim, which he made in response to the mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in which an alleged white supremacist gunman killed at least 49 people .
For Trump to not be able to know that right-wing extremism is on the rise is very ignorant, said Lemon, who suggested the president was being politically expedient with his comments.
He knows that he says he is not racist but the racists think hes racist and they support him and he doesnt want to lose that support, Lemon continued.
He cannot win an election with just his base next time and they are a big, theyre a very vocal and active part of his base. I wont say a big part. But a very vocal and active part of his base and he knows that, he added. Donald Trump knows whats happening. He knows whats up.
Advertisement
Check out the clip here:
.@donlemon: When it comes to the rise of hate, \"Donald Trump knows what's happening... he's just playing people for suckers.\" https://t.co/yvrwlveBxT pic.twitter.com/nciS9or6gh
CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) March 16, 2019","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"CNN Tonight","author_url":"https://twitter.com/CNNTonight","cache_age":86400,"description":".@donlemon: When it comes to the rise of hate, \"Donald Trump knows what's happening... he's just playing people for suckers.\" https://t.co/yvrwlveBxT pic.twitter.com/nciS9or6gh CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) March 16, 2019\n\n","provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":540,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/amplify_video_thumb/1106735474603933696/img/bMRQefRgHyCiG_vp.jpg","thumbnail_width":960,"title":"CNN Tonight on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/CNNTonight/status/1106735740682227713","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5c8c8ffde4b0d7f6b0f3ba16","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/cnn-don-lemon-donald-trump-racists_n_5c8c8ffde4b0d7f6b0f3ba16","entryTagsList":"donald-trump,politics-and-government,don-lemon,white-nationalism,far-right-politics","sectionSlug":"media","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"politics,us-news,black-voices,world-news","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.media","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/694fb3ff-688e-401e-b42c-8593990628ff/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":5},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5c8c8ffde4b0d7f6b0f3ba16","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/donald-trump","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump"},"relegenceId":2789214,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/donald-trump"},{"name":"Politics and Government","slug":"politics-and-government","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/politics-and-government","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/politics-and-government","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/politics-and-government"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Politics and Government","slug":"politics-and-government","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/politics-and-government"},{"name":"Don Lemon","slug":"don-lemon","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/don-lemon","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/don-lemon","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/don-lemon"},"relegenceId":3969561,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Media","slug":"media"},"topic":{"title":"Don Lemon","slug":"don-lemon","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/don-lemon"},{"name":"white nationalism","slug":"white-nationalism","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/white-nationalism","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/white-nationalism","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/white-nationalism"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"White Supremacy","slug":"white-supremacy","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/white-supremacy"},{"name":"Far-right politics","slug":"far-right-politics","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/far-right-politics","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/far-right-politics","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/far-right-politics"},"relegenceId":3506810,"url":"https://action.news/topic/far-right-politics"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"enhancements":{}}">.@donlemon : When it comes to the rise of hate, "Donald Trump knows what's happening... he's just playing people for suckers." https://t.co/yvrwlveBxT pic.twitter.com/nciS9or6gh
CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) March 16, 2019
Lemon later ...
\"President Trump has a long history of minimizing the actions of white supremacists and other members of the far right. Nobody has forgotten.\"@donlemon responds to Pres. Trump's remarks today on the terror attack in New Zealand. https://t.co/yvrwlveBxT pic.twitter.com/LskQERK0ka
CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) March 16, 2019","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"CNN Tonight","author_url":"https://twitter.com/CNNTonight","cache_age":86400,"description":"\"President Trump has a long history of minimizing the actions of white supremacists and other members of the far right. Nobody has forgotten.\"@donlemon responds to Pres. Trump's remarks today on the terror attack in New Zealand. https://t.co/yvrwlveBxT pic.twitter.com/LskQERK0ka CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) March 16, 2019\n\n","provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":540,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/amplify_video_thumb/1106748997983703048/img/k7t8m_LUQYoIOXZg.jpg","thumbnail_width":960,"title":"CNN Tonight on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/CNNTonight/status/1106749583902818304","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5c8c8ffde4b0d7f6b0f3ba16","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/cnn-don-lemon-donald-trump-racists_n_5c8c8ffde4b0d7f6b0f3ba16","entryTagsList":"donald-trump,politics-and-government,don-lemon,white-nationalism,far-right-politics","sectionSlug":"media","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"politics,us-news,black-voices,world-news","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.media","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/694fb3ff-688e-401e-b42c-8593990628ff/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":5},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5c8c8ffde4b0d7f6b0f3ba16","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/donald-trump","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump"},"relegenceId":2789214,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/donald-trump"},{"name":"Politics and Government","slug":"politics-and-government","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/politics-and-government","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/politics-and-government","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/politics-and-government"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Politics and Government","slug":"politics-and-government","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/politics-and-government"},{"name":"Don Lemon","slug":"don-lemon","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/don-lemon","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/don-lemon","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/don-lemon"},"relegenceId":3969561,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Media","slug":"media"},"topic":{"title":"Don Lemon","slug":"don-lemon","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/don-lemon"},{"name":"white nationalism","slug":"white-nationalism","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/white-nationalism","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/white-nationalism","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/white-nationalism"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"White Supremacy","slug":"white-supremacy","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/white-supremacy"},{"name":"Far-right politics","slug":"far-right-politics","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/far-right-politics","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/far-right-politics","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/far-right-politics"},"relegenceId":3506810,"url":"https://action.news/topic/far-right-politics"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"enhancements":{}}">"President Trump has a long history of minimizing the actions of white supremacists and other members of the far right. Nobody has forgotten."@donlemon responds to Pres. Trump's remarks today on the terror attack in New Zealand. https://t.co/yvrwlveBxT pic.twitter.com/LskQERK0ka
CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) March 16, 2019
Support Free Journalism
Consider supporting HuffPost starting at $2 to help us provide free, quality journalism that puts people first.
Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. We hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
_(720p).jpg)
 OFFICIAL HD MUSIC VIDEO.jpg)
.jpg)
