CNN host Don Lemon had a heated exchange with former Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) over President Donald Trump’s address to the nation.
Kasich appeared on the network to discuss Trump’s response to the coronavirus outbreak in his address to the nation on Wednesday.
The conversation pivoted to Trump’s address with Lemon saying, “The president came out to calm people’s fears. He didn’t do a good job of it because they’ve had to come back and clarify it several times.”
He continued, “We need straight, accurate information from this president and this administration and we’re not getting it.”
Referencing the script, Kasich said, “I don’t want to get into that.”
The conversation got heated when Lemon interjected to which Kasich responded, “Can I finish now? Let me talk. Let me talk.”
Lemon cut Kasich off saying, “No you can’t, John! … I don’t want you to go on and deflect and talk about something else.”
Watch the exchange below:
CNN's Don Lemon and John Kasich get into fiery clash over Trump coronavirus response@JohnKasich: "Can I finish now?"@DonLemon: "No, no, no, no, no you can't, John!" pic.twitter.com/OxlVUmqIuD
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) March 12, 2020
Kasich proceeded to make his point to say he thought Trump’s address was “fine.”
Lemon pushed back, “You think inaccurate information that you have to come back and clarify two or three times, you think that’s fine?”
In Trump’s address, the president sought to reassure the American people announcing that he would be suspending travel from European nations to the United States for 30 days, as IJR previously reported.
He also said he would order Small Business Administration to issue low-interest loans to businesses affected by the virus. He additionally called for a payroll tax cut and a delayed deadline for tax payments for certain individuals.
Kasich responded to Lemon’s critiques of the address, saying, “I thought his tone tonight was good. So he had to clarify something, okay, 98% of what he did was good.”
The coronavirus continues to spread across the globe. According to NBC News, more than 1,000 people have been infected with the coronavirus and it has killed at least 33 people in the United States.