Trump Official Goes On CNN To Explain Discrimination To Don Lemon

Mistakes were made.

This week, Politico is running two featured stories on the former president's influence on the Republican party. As we are typing, you can literally see the headlines " GOP lawmakers mostly silent in response to Trump’s meeting with prominent white nationalist " and " The GOP's great Trump reckoning begins at the state party level " on the site, one on top of the other.

What nonsense! No one who wants to make it out of a Republican primary is getting off the Trump train, even if they realize privately that they've thrown their lot in with a demented gameshow host who will force them to run an obstacle course of humiliation, then discard them for a suitor who shows up with odorless roses from the gas station. If any of these craven hacks was looking for an out, or even to make some space between themselves and the FPOTUS, they'd have already seized on Trump's meeting last week with Kanye West and white nationalist Nick Fuentes. As Politico points out, there's been nary a peep of criticism. The best these limpdicks can manage is some mild throat-clearing about antisemitism being bad actually .

But even that is beyond the pale for Donald Trump, who is loath to alienate the antisemitic wing of his base. Hugo Lowell of The Guardian reports that the former president refused entreaties from his advisers to repudiate Fuentes:

Trump ultimately made clear that he fundamentally did not want to criticise Fuentes – a product of his dislike of confrontation and his anxiety that it might antagonise a devoted part of his base – and became more entrenched in his obstinance the more he was urged to do so.

Instead, on Truth Social Trump attacked "a seriously troubled man, who just happens to be black."

Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, was asking me for advice concerning some of his difficulties, in particular having to do with his business. We also discussed, to a lesser extent, politics, where I told him he should definitely not run for President, “any voters you may have should vote for TRUMP.” Anyway, we got along great, he expressed no anti-Semitism, & I appreciated all of the nice things he said about me on “Tucker Carlson.” Why wouldn’t I agree to meet? Also, I didn’t know Nick Fuentes.

Meanwhile, MAGA world is grasping wildly for someone to blame for this fiasco, and they found ... another Black man. Surprise! Also he's gay, which is a nice little bonus.

“"So why? Why would he do it?" CNN's Don Lemon talks to former Trump administration aide Len Khodorkovsky about the former president's meeting with Kanye West -- along with White nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes -- at his Mar-a-Lago estate last week.”

— CNN (@CNN) 1669642762 

Len Khodorkovsky, a former deputy assistant secretary of State in the Trump administration who is Jewish, appeared on CNN Monday morning to tell Don Lemon that Trump is in no wise antisemitic.

"Why would he do it?" wondered Lemon about Trump's dinner with both West, who has promised to go "death con 3" on Jews, and Fuentes, who has voiced support for Hitler and called the US a "Jewish occupied government."

Khodorkovsky declined to speculate, instead insisting that he is "the grandson of Holocaust survivors" who is "proud" of the Trump administration's record on "issues related to the Jewish community and Jewish state of Israel."

Love to invoke antisemitic tropes about Jews being loyal to Israel over the United States when defending a guy who pals around with Holocaust deniers!

"I can tell an antisemite when I hear one. And I tell you with confidence that President Trump is not an antisemite,” Khodorkovsky went on, only to be redirected by Lemon.

"Okay, sir, I understand that. But can we talk about Nick Fuentes, please?" the host interrupted. "Do you think it was wrong for the former president to meet with Nick Fuentes?"

Khodorkovsky agreed that Fuentes was "disgusting," but defended Trump, who supposedly didn't know who his dinner guest was.

"What about Kanye West? He knew Kanye West was coming, and Kanye West has certainly made many antisemitic outbursts and statements, as recently as a few weeks ago," Lemon countered.

Looking distinctly uncomfortable, the guest admitted as how he wished that President Trump hadn't met with either one of them, before accusing prominent (brown!) Democrats of "mainstreaming antisemitism."

"If we're going to make Trump repudiate Kanye or his sidekick, I think we have to look at antisemitism in the halls of Congress. From Rashida Tlaib, from Ilhan Omar, from AOC."

The Squad! That (Trump) train is never late! Which is ... fitting.

"They're not the former president of the United States," Lemon said evenly, adding, "It sounds like you're making excuses for him, and there's no excuse for bad behavior, there's no excuse for antisemitism, and there's no excuse for being the former president and not knowing who you're allowing into a place where you have kept classified documents."

“Let me explain it to you this way, sir. I know the president is not an antisemite,” Khodorkovsky stammered.

“I’m not asking you if he’s an antisemite,” Lemon pressed. “I’m asking if you condemn him for entertaining and meeting with antisemites," Lemon pressed.

At which point Khodorkovsky made the very weird choice to explain to Don Lemon, a Black, gay man, that he just didn't understand discrimination.

“Don, it’s very rich when you’re telling somebody who is Jewish, who has experienced antisemitism firsthand, who is a grandson of Holocaust survivors, what is an appropriate way to address antisemitism. Frankly, it’s a little bit insulting,” he blustered.

“It’s insulting for you to think I don’t understand bigotry and racism, because I understand it," Lemon shot back. "If someone was a bigot and racist, and you ask me about them, I will always say it’s wrong to traffic and meet with bigots and racists, regardless of what you might think about me and talking about a Jewish person. I’m not talking about the Holocaust. He’s a Holocaust denier. You’re bringing up the Holocaust. A Holocaust denier met with the former president who you worked with. That should be more insulting to you than me talking about how you should respond to it.”

Well! This aggression will not stand, man!

“. @kaitlancollins sat silent while @donlemon unleashed his woke activism. This isn’t remotely journalism.”

— Richard Grenell (@Richard Grenell) 1669636148 

" @kaitlancollins sat silent while @donlemon unleashed his woke activism. This isn’t remotely journalism," whined Trump lackey Ric Grenell.

“Not sure what happened between @MessageFromLen and @donlemon this AM on CNN but will find and play it shortly. Len is a genius and a great guy, and Don is, well, sometimes belligerent when he runs into guests who know what they are talking about.”

— Hugh Hewitt (@Hugh Hewitt) 1669638807 

"Len is a genius and a great guy, and Don is, well, sometimes belligerent when he runs into guests who know what they are talking about," snarked Hugh Hewitt, the world's most perpetually incorrect man. 

Meanwhile over at Truth Social ... yeah, just don't search Don Lemon's name. Those people are filthy.

In summary and in conclusion, it was very wrong of Don Lemon to make Trump meet with that Black rap fellow and his "sidekick," but we will not be discussing it because we need to talk about Ilhan Omar and Jeremiah Wright.

[ The Guardian ]

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