CNN's Don Lemon advises media to leave Trump alone, while CNN continues to closely focus on him
'His power comes from us, that we keep promoting him'
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Left-wing CNN host Don Lemon said Thursday that former President Donald Trump derives any power he has nowadays from outlets like his fixating on him, advising the press to generally "leave him alone."
"I just wonder if we over-inflate it, if we give too much of a voice to it, because Donald Trump right now is the Wizard of Oz," he said on "New Day." "He's the man behind the curtain, and he really doesn't have any power. His power comes from us, that we keep promoting him."
Lemon said it may be wise to ignore Trump at times and that some of his most avid supporters who believe outlandish things like he could still become president this year would have to return to reality.
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WASHINGTON POST OP-ED CLAIMS MEDIA ‘NO LONGER NEEDS TRUMP’ DESPITE NONSTOP COVERAGE OF FORMER POTUS
Liberal CNN commentator Keith Boykin praised Lemon, writing, "We in the media give way too much coverage to Donald Trump. Yes, he’s a former president who says dangerous things that often need to be corrected. But beyond that, we need to stop covering him as much as we do and move on."
"He's a very small, tiny, unhappy man, who is living in a delusion," Lemon said. "Let him have it. Leave him alone."
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FLASHBACK: TED KOPPEL PREDICTED CNN RATINGS ‘WOULD BE IN THE TOILET WITHOUT DONALD TRUMP'
Yet Lemon has frequently focused his show, recently rebranded "Don Lemon Tonight," on Trump or matters related to Trump, leading off his shows the past two weeks with discussions of matters such as Trump's reported belief he could be reinstated as president in August, Republican opposition to a committee on the Capitol riots, and the Manhattan District Attorney convening a grand jury to decide whether to indict Trump.
Former CNN producer Steve Krakauer took a shot at Lemon, noting for instance CNN's gleeful coverage of the collapse of Trump's short-lived "blog."
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