CNN's Don Lemon asks: "Why are you the best candidate to heal the racial divide that exists in this country today which has been stoked by president's racist rhetoric?"
This is a CNN debate question. pic.twitter.com/AZdf0blIhY
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) August 1, 2019
CNN not even pretending to be unbiased.
NEW YORK — CNN’s Don Lemon did not back down despite criticism from President Trump, twice labeling presidential remarks as racist while he was moderating Wednesday’s Democratic debate.
Lemon, with partners Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, presided over a session with questions designed to highlight differences between the 10 candidates onstage, most of whom eagerly took the bait.
Tuesday night’s debate wasn’t a ratings triumph for CNN. The Nielsen company said just under 8.7 million people watched, a sharp drop from the 15.3 million who saw opening night of the first debate on NBC News last month.
Trump used Twitter on Wednesday to attack Lemon. After insulting Lemon’s intelligence, the president said the CNN anchor had insinuated that he was a racist, “when in fact I am ‘the least racist person in the world.’ ” Trump was apparently quoting himself.
Hours after the tweet was sent, Lemon asked Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet what he would do to bridge a racial divide that “has been stoked by the president’s racist rhetoric.”