Former CNN anchor Don Lemon returned to the network’s airwaves on Wednesday to promote a recent interview he did with billionaire Elon Musk and talk about how Lemon will appear on PlatformX, formerly known as Twitter. about how their deal to host the show fell through. Especially.
“First of all, he’s not my boss. X was just happy,” Lemon said during an appearance on Erin Burnett’s show. “They were distribution partners. He had no editorial control over the show.”
Lemon provided CNN with a clip of his interview with Musk and said he planned to release the full text on Monday.
In one exchange, Lemon told Musk, a tech and media billionaire, that his campaign is working to “strengthen our finances” for a rematch with President Biden. asked about recent reports that he had dinner with former President Trump.
“I was having breakfast at a friend’s house and Donald Trump came over,” Musk told Lemon. “that’s it.”
When an expert asked Musk what he discussed with Trump, Musk laughed and said, “I’ll just say he did most of the talking.”
Mr. Musk said Mr. Trump did not ask him for money and denied that he would lend Mr. Trump money “to help pay his legal fees,” as Mr. Lemon asked.
Lemon announced early Wednesday, just hours after recording an interview with Musk, that Musk had informed him that his agreement to host a show on the platform was being terminated.
Several reported on Wednesday Lemon reportedly did not have a contract with Musk’s team to host “The Don Lemon Show.”
“During the interview, I never raised my voice. I told him I thought this was important for people to hear,” Ms. Lemon told Ms. Barnett. “He said this is a public square for everyone. Perhaps we are learning that public squares should not be privately owned.”
Musk wrote in a statement Wednesday afternoon that his conversation with the host was “not the real Don Lemon, it was actually Jeff Zucker speaking through Don, and lacked authenticity.”
Lemon was fired by CNN last spring following a number of controversies, including the host’s comments about former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s age.
The cable news veteran said he plans to release the full interview with Musk on YouTube and X on Monday.
“I welcome Lemon/Zucker and everyone else to grow their viewership on this platform,” Musk said.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
