CNN's Don Lemon on Biden's 'semi-fascism' comments: Can the 'unifying message' be that some of it is true?
Biden's plans to argue that American democracy is 'under attack' during his Thursday speech in Philadelphia
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CNN host Don Lemon asked CNN's Scott Jennings and Natasha Alford if the "unifying message" behind President Biden's "semi-fascism" comments could be that "some of what he's saying is true."
Jennings argued that Biden's comments were not in keeping with the president's campaign promise to unify the country. "His message to the nation was we are all in this together, I’m going to unify the country, now he is out saying two things. One, lots of y’all are fascist, and, by the way, if you vote Republican, there is a decent chance that our democracy is no longer going to exist," he said.
"Can the unifying message be that some of what he's saying is true? Because there are a lot of people, I got to tell you Scott, there are a lot of folks that go ‘where’s the lie? I don't see it. No lies detected,'" Lemon said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jennings said there was likely a huge group of people that say just because they choose to vote Republican, doesn't make them fascists.
CNN political commentator Errol Lewis said Thursday that Biden's speech was "discouraging" for those that care about gun legislation. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
"He did not call all Republicans fascists," Lemon said. "He said MAGA Republicans." The president likened "extreme MAGA philosophy" to "semi-fascism" during a fundraiser last week.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"What we’re seeing now is either the beginning or the death knell of an extreme MAGA philosophy," Biden said. "It’s not just Trump, it’s the entire philosophy that underpins the — I’m going to say something, it’s like semi-fascism."
Lemon added that Biden was "telling the truth" about what is happening in the country. "I'm not saying that everybody is fascist."
"I don’t think it was the best thing for him to use that language. But you have to call a thing a thing. You have to call it what it is! You can’t, you know that is unifying. By bringing people around to the reality of what it is," Lemon said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The CNN host argued that he should be spared the "hysteria" from Republicans on Biden's comments.
CNN's Don Lemon described Biden's "semi-fascism" comments as him "telling the truth." (Screenshot/CNN/DonLemonTonight)
"I’m saying I think Republicans in this moment should spare me the hysteria about something that this current president, one thing that he said, when every single day, I sat here for five years, and listened to Donald Trump call people, call country sh--holes, peoples sons of b-----, made fun of reporters for having, for their disabilities," he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}At the end of the segment, Lemon said, "I'm in so much trouble."
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U.S. President Joe Biden greets people on South Lawn after arriving on Marine One from a trip to Delaware at the White House in Washington, U.S., August 24, 2022. (REUTERS/Leah Millis)
Biden is expected to give a campaign-style speech on Thursday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during which he plans to argue that American democracy is "under attack."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"He will speak about how the core values of this nation — our standing in the world, our democracy — are at stake," a White House official told Fox News. "He will talk about the progress we have made as a nation to protect our democracy but how our rights and freedoms are still under attack."