Politics

Don Lemon Says All Trump Voters Are ‘In The Crowd’ With KKK And Capitol Rioters

Virginia Kruta Associate Editor
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CNN anchor Don Lemon claimed Wednesday that anyone who voted for President Donald Trump was part of the Klu Klux Klan (KKK) and the Capitol riots.

Lemon told fellow CNN anchor Chris Cuomo that there was no longer any excuse for people who quietly supported Trump and also say they were not part of the extremist groups that also supported him, some of whom stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. (RELATED: ‘Girl, Bye’: Don Lemon Bashes Kayleigh McEnany For Criticizing Media)

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Lemon began by saying that the Capitol riot was about “preserving whiteness,” not about conservative principles or anything else.

“They were wearing Nazi insignia on their clothing. They were neo-Nazis. They were fascists or fascist supporters. They were members of groups that people in Washington should not be fighting for at this point.”

Lemon went on to say that politics had to be taken out of the conversation because it created an easy way out for those who would defend the rioters, giving them an excuse to not have the more difficult conversation about race.

Turning the question to Cuomo, Lemon asked what he might do if he were in a crowd and realized that the people around him were wearing neo-Nazi insignia or a Camp Auschwitz logo.

“In your mind wouldn’t you say, ‘my goodness, I have made the wrong decision, I need to get out of here,'” Lemon began.

“Unless I agreed with those ideas,” Cuomo agreed.

Cuomo then provided the counterpoint, adding, “And if they say I don’t agree with those people, I just like Trump’s policies.”

“Well, then get out of the crowd with them,” Lemon said.

“I wasn’t in the crowd,” Cuomo protested hypothetically.

“You’re in the crowd who voted for Trump. If you voted for Trump you voted for the person who the Klan supported. You voted for the person who Nazis support. You voted for the person who the alt-right supports. That’s the crowd that you are in,” Lemon replied. “You voted for the person who incited a crowd to go into the Capitol and potentially take the lives of lawmakers. Took the lives of police officers. Took the lives of innocent lives who were there on the Capitol that day.”

Lemon concluded by saying that there was no longer any excuse for making the conversation about politics rather than race, saying, “We had racist people who tried to take over the Capitol. We have tens of thousands of members of the military who are now guarding the Capitol of this country. Because of what? Because these people tried to take over the country. Because we told you about it. The news told you about it.”