Don Lemon EXPLODES on MSNBC’s Morning Joe Over Trump: ‘I’m Not Smiling in Their F***ing Face!
Don Lemon criticized MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski for their Friday discussion on Morning Joe about showing civility to President-elect Donald Trump and MAGA supporters.
The former CNN anchor argued that while civility is important, it doesn’t mean going overboard. He said he would show tolerance, but nothing more, to those who have insulted him and his loved ones.
On The Don Lemon Show, he focused on the Morning Joe discussion where Scarborough, Brzezinski, Michael Steele, and others talked about former President Barack Obama’s polite interaction with Trump at Jimmy Carter’s funeral. During that discussion, The New Yorker‘s Susan Glasser warned against showing excessive civility to what she described as a “dangerous regime.”
Glasser shared her experience in Russia during Vladimir Putin’s rise to power, noting that opposition groups focused too much on civility debates rather than the structural changes undermining democracy. She cautioned that such misplaced priorities played into Putin’s hands.
Lemon connected Glasser’s points to Trump’s potential return to power in 2024 and criticized those on the left who, he felt, were being too friendly toward Trump. He said:
“Do you understand what she’s saying? Civility debates were happening while the foundations of society were crumbling. If people are behaving that way publicly—smiling and shaking hands with someone they’ve called a fascist—what are they doing behind closed doors? That’s not normal, and people are tired of it being treated as such. Civility doesn’t mean sacrificing your morals, principles, or character.”
Lemon got personal, saying he wouldn’t tolerate disrespect toward his loved ones. Referring to Senator Ted Cruz, he said:
“If someone disrespects my loved ones, I’m not smiling in their face—they’ll know how I feel. If Ted Cruz won’t stand up for his wife after Trump called her ugly, then who is he standing up for? Look, Barack Obama is a classy guy. But let’s not forget that MAGA supporters—and Trump himself—have promoted hateful lies, like calling Michelle Obama a man. I’m not going to smile in someone’s face if they’ve disrespected my family like that. Absolutely not.”