It’s a problem when the co-host of a morning news show keeps becoming a news item himself.
CNN’s Don Lemon has been making headlines with his performance on “CNN This Morning,” and it is not because he is doing a good job.
On Thursday, Lemon may have hit a new low when he said women 50 and older are “past their prime.” People on social media and his own co-hosts unleashed responses to what many described as an ageist, sexist smear.
The “CNN This Morning” host was discussing the newly announced presidential campaign of Nikki Haley. The former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador reversed course on her earlier position she would not run for president if Donald Trump ran.
Lemon offered a different take on Haley’s situation, and in doing so, he created a controversy that once again made the story about Don Lemon.
As reported by The Hill, Haley, 51, called for mandatory “mental competency tests” for politicians over 75, such as 80-year-old President Joe Biden.
Lemon tried to undermine the need for a test initially. “This whole talk about age makes me uncomfortable,” he said. “I think it’s the wrong road to go down.”
But he kept talking and came out with what OutKick founder and sports writer Clay Travis called “the dumbest thing ever said on CNN.”
Lemon said, “She says people, you know, politicians or something are not in their prime. Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime. Sorry. When a woman is considered to be in her prime — in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.”
He cited Google as a source to back up this claim, to the surprise and barely concealed outrage of co-host Poppy Harlow.
Don Lemon: “Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime. Sorry, when a woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s, and 30s, and maybe 40s…”
Poppy Harlow: “Are you talking about prime for like child bearing?”
“Don’t shoot the messenger! I’m just saying what the facts are! Google it!” pic.twitter.com/n1HmtkWTpl
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 16, 2023
According to the New York Post, Harlow temporarily walked off the set after the exchange.
She was not the only woman to provide a rapid response to Lemon’s chauvinism. Fox News meteorologist and author Janice Dean tweeted her retort to Lemon’s careless assertion.
“Just heard Don Lemon said Nikki Haley is ‘past her prime’ as a woman,” Dean said. “And then when challenged he said: ‘just google it!’ And CNN wonders why they are hemorrhaging viewers.”
Just heard @donlemon said @NikkiHaley is “past her prime”
as a woman. And then when challenged he said: “just google it!”And @@CNN wonders why they are hemorrhaging viewers.
— Janice Dean (@JaniceDean) February 16, 2023
“I just ‘googled’ and found out that I’m a year older than Nikki Haley. According to Don Lemon all women aged 50 and up are ‘past our prime!’ I’d argue we’re just getting started!”
I just “googled” and found out that I’m a year older than @NikkiHaley.
According to @donlemon all women aged 50 and up are “past our prime!”
I’d argue we’re just getting started!
— Janice Dean (@JaniceDean) February 16, 2023
Dean had a point about CNN viewership. From Jan. 16 through 22, ratings for Lemon’s “CNN This Morning” showed 331,000 viewers. The competing Fox News show “Fox & Friends” had 1.3 million viewers.
Lemon has hit a rough spot in his career.
In September, he insisted being moved from having his own prime-time slot to co-hosting a morning show was not a demotion. While hosting a live New Year’s Eve event, he missed the countdown to midnight. He has been accused of “mansplaining” to his female co-hosts, whom he reportedly views as his “backup dancers.”
In another blow from rival network Fox News, Tucker Carlson made Lemon the subject of a mocking monologue last week.
Dean sent a follow-up tweet that summed up what many are thinking.
“Wow. How long does CNN continue to let Don Lemon get away with this kind of behavior?” she said.
Wow. How long does @cnn continue to let @donlemon get away with this kind of behavior?https://t.co/5YVFAUdINW
— Janice Dean (@JaniceDean) February 16, 2023
Of course, Lemon had to walk back his remark.
“The reference I made to a woman’s ‘prime’ this morning was inartful and irrelevant, as colleagues and loved ones have pointed out, and I regret it,” he tweeted. “A woman’s age doesn’t define her either personally or professionally. I have countless women in my life who prove that every day.”
The reference I made to a woman’s “prime” this morning was inartful and irrelevant, as colleagues and loved ones have pointed out, and I regret it. A woman’s age doesn’t define her either personally or professionally. I have countless women in my life who prove that every day.
— Don Lemon (@donlemon) February 16, 2023
If Lemon were a conservative, no apology would be good enough. He would have already been fired. As a progressive, though, Lemon is on the privileged side of the establishment media’s double standards.
It wasn’t just the attack on women that made his comments so outrageous. Lemon overlooked the elderly leadership of the Democratic Party.
The octogenarian Biden demonstrates almost every day why a cognitive test for politicians is a good idea.
The same goes for California Sen. Diane Feinstein, 89, who did not even know she announced her retirement.
The top Democrat on Capitol Hill is Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is 72.
The nation’s most prominent leftist leader is 81-year-old Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Many people, especially politicians, become successful later in life. It takes time to go through the tests and experiences that shape us.
We are never really out of our prime until we literally can’t function.
By that standard, Lemon appears to be past his prime. He can’t function as a co-anchor, even on a show hardly anyone is watching.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
