CNN host Don Lemon struggled to contain his joy while recounting the times Donald Trump's staff and associates have criticized him in the past before accepting roles in his administration.
Lemon took the opportunity to replay some old clips of Trump being publicly attacked in the wake of the recently unearthed footage of his incoming acting Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney, calling the president a "terrible human being" in 2016.
Read more: CNN's Don Lemon says Donald Trump got "NanChucked" in bizarre Oval Office meeting
Mulvaney was also found to have posted on Facebook that Trump is "not a very good person" days after the controversial Access Hollywood tape emerged in October 2016 in which the then presidential candidate bragged about sexually assaulting women.
"Imagine stating on the record that someone is a terrible human being, or disagreeing with what they stand for, or objecting to their morals and then willingly working for that person," Lemon said. "Well, when it comes to Donald Trump, a few people besides Mulvaney have done exactly that."
Lemon then plays clips showing examples, starting with a "blistering" attack on Trump by Rick Perry in July 2015.
The former Texas governor told a crowd in Washington, D.C. that Trump "offers a barking carnival act that can best be described as Trumpism. A toxic mix of demagoguery and mean spiritedness and nonsense that will lead the Republican party to perdition if pursued. Let no one be mistaken; Donald Trump's candidacy is a cancer on conservatism and it must be clearly diagnosed, excised and discarded."
Lemon remarked, "Well, the cancer must have been cured," since Perry now works for Trump as the secretary of energy.
Lemon then plays a clip from South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham discussing Trump when he was a presidential candidate in 2016.
"I'm not going to try and get into the mind of Donald Trump because I don't think there's a whole lot of space there. I think he's a kook, I think he's crazy, I think he's unfit for office."
Lemon notes that Graham has since become an ally and public defender of Trump since he came into office. The host then plays a clip of Graham speaking to CNN in November 2017 where Graham criticizes the press for their attempts to "label the guy as some kind of kook, not fit to be president," prompting laughter from the host.
"I had to do that," Lemon says.
Lemon also discusses Ted Cruz's remarks after Trump criticized his wife and bizarrely accused the senator's father of somehow being involved with the assassination of JFK.
"He's proud of being a serial philanderer," Cruz said. "A narcissist at a level I don't think this country has ever seen. This man is a pathological liar."
Cruz then asked Trump to campaign on his behalf during the midterm elections in November 2018.
Finally, Lemon plays a clip of Kellyanne Conway from early 2016 saying how Trump had made his money "off the backs of the little guy" despite claiming he is for them. She went on to become campaign manager for Trump and now counsellor to the president.
"So much for little guys," Lemon added.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
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