Don Lemon touts 'abiding by the Constitution' in first TV interview since firing: 'Journalistic duty'

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CNN's Don Lemon, Vivek Ramaswamy clash in tense interview about guns, Civil War

GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and CNN's Don Lemon had a heated argument about the Civil War and the history of Black American gun rights.

Former CNN host Don Lemon spoke to ABC24 in his first TV interview since being fired from the network, telling the local affiliate that he doesn't believe in "platforming liars and bigots" and putting them on the "same footing as people who are abiding by the Constitution." 

ABC24's Rudy Williams asked Lemon about his CNN firing coming down to "truth and responsibility." 

"I have a responsibility not only as a journalist but as an American, to tell the truth and to abide by the promises of the Constitution," he said. "Because the Constitution says a more perfect union — not a perfect union. I'm not perfect. No one is."

"In order to fulfill the promise of the Constitution, we have to stand up for what is right. We have to stand up for the truth," he continued. 

Former CNN host Don Lemon sat down for his first interview since hid firing with ABC 24.  (REUTERS/Andrew Kelly)

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Lemon's firing was linked to an exchange between the former "CNN This Morning" co-host and Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy.  

"I don't believe in platforming liars and bigots, and insurrectionists and election deniers and putting them on the same footing as people who are telling the truth; people who are fighting for what's right, people who are abiding by the constitution," Lemon said after Williams noted the exchange. "I think that would be a dereliction of journalistic duty to do those sorts of things. That has what has gotten me to this point, and that is what is going to carry me forward." 

"To know that I am standing up and abiding by the Constitution, which my profession demands that I do because we are listing in the First Amendment of the Constitution, which is freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom of the press," he continued.

Lemon spoke at the NAACP Memphis chapter's annual "Freedom Fund" event on June 17. 

Don Lemon anchors "CNN This Morning" alongside Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins.  (Mike Coppola/Getty Images for CNN)

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Lemon told the local affiliate that he was not going to "force anything" in terms of his next steps. 

"I’m not gonna force anything," Lemon said. "I’m not gonna let others people’s timeline influence me. I know people say, ‘I miss you on television. What is your next move?’ I’m figuring that out. I don’t have to be in a rush. I think sometimes people rush to make decisions and they end up making the wrong decisions."

Lemon announced in April that he had been fired from the network on Twittter. 

CNN's Don Lemon and 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy clashed over the Second Amendment and during "CNN This Morning" in April. The exchange has been linked to Lemon's firing from CNN. (Screenshot/CNN)

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"After 17 years at CNN I would have thought that someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly. At no time was I ever given any indication that I would not be able to continue to do the work I have loved at the network," Lemon wrote. "It is clear that there are some larger issues at play."

Lemon found himself in hot water in February for saying that Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley was past her "prime" at age 51, citing Google as his source while stunning his female co-anchors in the process. Lemon offered a mea culpa during the network's editorial call the next day, but female colleagues weren’t pleased.

Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.