CNN's Rebrand of Don Lemon's Show Bears a Remarkable Similarity to Tucker Carlson's
CNN anchor Don Lemon teased viewers of his floundering show last week about coming changes regarding his status at the network, but it turned out he was merely renaming his low-rated nightly program with some apparent influence from Fox News.
Lemon, who former President Donald Trump once aptly referred to as the “dumbest man on television,” led so many of us to believe he was walking away from his show, “CNN Tonight with Don Lemon.”
The entire gimmicky stunt started with a video Lemon posted on Twitter on Friday evening in which he promised an “announcement,” which would bring about “the end of an era.”
Another @CNNTonight exclusive. I have a big announcement. I hope you’re ok with it. See you at 10pE. #CNN pic.twitter.com/YlvNjuN5ea
— Don Lemon (@donlemon) May 15, 2021
Later, nearing the end of the first hour of “CNN Tonight with Don Lemon,” the anchor got the internet talking.
“It’s been really, really great. This is the last night there will be ‘CNN Tonight with Don Lemon.’” he said, almost somberly. “So, I appreciate all the years of ‘CNN Tonight with Don Lemon,’ but changes are coming, and I will fill you in.”
In a very muted announcement, CNN’s Don Lemon announced the end of CNN Tonight with him at the helm and promised more information.
“I appreciate all the years of CNN tonight with Don Lemon. But changes are coming. And I will fill you in.” pic.twitter.com/P9WbWadKIz— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) May 15, 2021
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Lemon alarmed many of his loyal, low-information viewers. Others, meanwhile, were excited about the prospect that there might be one fewer leftist on cable news to shill for the Democratic Party, support rioting and stoke racial divisions in the country. It turns out, though, that Lemon wasn’t going anywhere.
Saturday, he clarified online that he was simply renaming his show.
“Didn’t mean to set the internet on fire. What I said last night was true. CNN Tonight with Don Lemon is no more. I’ll be back on Monday with my newly named show Don Lemon Tonight. See you Monday at 10pE,” Lemon tweeted.
Didn’t mean to set the internet on fire. What I said last night was true. CNN Tonight with Don Lemon is no more. I’ll be back on Monday with my newly named show Don Lemon Tonight. See you Monday at 10pE. pic.twitter.com/89GFXULV9m
— Don Lemon (@donlemon) May 15, 2021
Perhaps the host was overstating his influence. A great deal of the buzz was arguably related to people who were hoping Lemon would go away. CNN has shed hundreds of thousands of viewers since President Joe Biden assumed office in January. Without Trump to castigate on the airwaves every hour, the network is in the dumpster — as has been Lemon’s show.
Maybe that’s why Lemon was so cryptic when teasing the changes relating to his status at CNN. There would be no end of an era, big change or resignation — sadly. There would only be transparent desperation.
In what is perhaps the most anticlimactic end to a tease that might have seen the country freed from Lemon and his alarmingly dumb commentary, all those who were eagerly awaiting to see if the 55-year-old would walk away from TV were disappointed. The man who theorized on national TV in 2014 that missing Malaysian flight MH370 might have been swallowed by a “back hole,” will still be with us in his current position.
Lemon and the geniuses at CNN simply rebranded the show from “CNN Tonight with Don Lemon” to “Don Lemon Tonight.”
When introducing the show on Monday evening, Lemon noted the name of his “new” show “has a ring to it.”
New name. Same mission.
@donlemon walks through what our show is all about. Watch: pic.twitter.com/v8I029naSY— Don Lemon Tonight (@DonLemonTonight) May 18, 2021
The new name certainly does have a ring to it. There is already a very entertaining show with essentially the same name — a show that airs on a network that blows CNN out of the water. This is a show that delivers truth, facts and analysis while holding elected officials on both sides of the aisle to account.
That show is called “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” and it airs nightly during primetime on Fox News.
Imitation truly is the sincerest form of flattery.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
