CNN To Build New 'News-First' Morning Show Around Partisan Hack Don Lemon

CNN announced plans for a new morning show built around, wait for it, Don Lemon.

Lemon, Poppy Harlow, and Kaitlan Collins will replace "New Day," which John Berman and Angry Morning Lady Brianna Keilar host. CNN will keep Berman and Keilar employed at the network, for some reason.

Let this sit for a moment.

Morning television is supposed to be welcoming, entertaining, and informative. Lemon is the opposite of all three. He's off-putting, boring, and indifferent to the facts. He's a partisan hack who adopted Chris Cuomo's schtick and sprinkled in Joy Reid's vitriol. 

Thus we can say with certainty that CEO Chris Licht's pledge to pivot CNN back to the middle and restore credibility was false advertising. A network cannot brand itself as news-first with a tool like Don Lemon helming its morning program.

Lemon recently compared his former friends who voted for Donald Trump to "drug addicts who hit rock bottom."

 

Lemon's move to morning TV -- just saying aloud makes you question the sanity of Licht -- opens up a second block in primetime at CNN. Lemon currently hosts his show from 10 pm to 12 am with a viewer base of about 400,000.

Anderson Cooper, anchoring from 8 to 9 pm, remains the only permanent primetime host at the network. Licht vowed to stabilize the lineup by the 2022 midterms.

At this rate, perhaps Licht will move Jim Acosta to primetime. CNN viewers could wake up to Lemon and go to sleep with Acosta on their screens. Beware, competing cable news networks.

As for Lemon's new co-hosts, Collins has proven to be a decent White House reporter, but Harlow's laugh isn't suited for those just waking up for a cup of coffee.

"There is no stronger combination of talent than Don, Poppy and Kaitlan to deliver on our promise of a game-changing morning news program," said Chris Licht.

So Licht is also a liar.

I suppose there are worse choices for a morning show than Don Lemon. Yet no one comes to mind at first thought.