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Left-wing podcaster and former CNN host Don Lemon claims to be considering a run for president. Count his former colleagues as skeptical at best.
Lemon, an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump who started his own show after being fired by CNN in 2023, recently said there is a “65, 70%” chance he’ll launch a White House bid. Lemon, who has no political experience, has said he would make a better president than Trump and talked up his appeal to voters.
A CNN staffer knocked Lemon’s apparent presidential ambitions.
“Doesn’t someone, according to Don Lemon, have to be in their ‘prime’ to run for president? That would certainly rule Don out,” they told Fox News Digital.
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Don Lemon speaks to the media after a hearing at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Courthouse in Los Angeles on Jan. 30, 2026. (Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images)
The staffer was referring to the infamous 2023 moment when Lemon found himself in hot water for suggesting then-Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was past her “prime” at age 51, enraging female colleagues and sparking public fury. Lemon, who is now 60 and almost six years older than Haley, later apologized for the comments.
“I love it. Bring it on,” another CNN staffer told Fox News Digital of Lemon’s possible bid.
“It would be fun if he ran. Little bit less boring than the standard 18-people on-stage process that we’re about to watch unfold,” they said. “Although, I doubt he actually does it.”
Lemon’s profile was raised earlier this year when slapped with a felony indictment for livestreaming a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a Minnesota church. He has insisted he was working as a journalist and was not part of the group that harassed churchgoers, but Lemon ramped up his criticism of Trump since the incident.
“Don does very much want to have influence and feel his contributions matter. Would seem other ways make more sense because running is merely raising money, which is f—ing miserable, and you can’t get anywhere,” Lemon’s former colleague said.
“I think political office is probably appealing to him. I think a presidential run is obviously not serious, but he could engage in it as a way to launchpad into another office,” they continued. “If Don has the itch, there are ways to scratch it that are more serious. It takes a single-minded focus, and he can’t be a media personality and do it at the same time.”
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Don Lemon was with CNN for 17 years. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
A third CNN staffer said Lemon has done a good job of remaining “relevant” since being fired.
“It’s the most open nomination process in 30+ years for the Dems, I think you gotta take it seriously,” the second staffer told Fox News Digital. “I’m not saying he is serious, but I am saying he’s said it enough that I can’t dismiss it.”
Lemon was fired by then-CNN CEO Chris Licht in 2023 and has since launched his own media company. Lemon’s tenure at CNN came to a bumpy end, as he had recently been pushed out of his primetime hosting gig to an ill-fated morning show stint with co-hosts Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow. His squabbles on the show and the flap over his infamous Haley comments sealed his fate.
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Don Lemon started his own show after being fired by CNN in 2023. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
He wouldn’t be the first CNNer to jump into politics. On-air analyst John Avlon launched a New York congressional bid as a Democrat in 2024 but was ultimately defeated.
Lemon suggested earlier this year he didn’t have political ambitions but said people had been asking him to do so, and therefore, he was thinking about it.
“I actually think I would be a really good president of the United States,” Lemon said on the “Can’t be Censored” podcast.
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“For the people to want me. What it would take is if I ran a political campaign, a presidential campaign, I would like to run it, and I don’t know if this is realistic or not, without having to beg for money. I would like it to be a voter-citizen-driven campaign for as much as it can be,” he continued. “Maybe at some point I might have to take a donation. I would rather not do that.”
Lemon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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