Don Lemon on Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric: ‘That’s bull***’

Stephen Proctor
Updated

CNN’s Don Lemon pulled no punches as he and Chris Cuomo discussed the type of xenophobic rhetoric used by some to demonize immigrants. On multiple occasions, Donald Trump has pushed the idea that undocumented immigrants are responsible for the plight of working-class Americans, but Lemon isn’t buying it.

Earlier this year in the State of the Union address, Trump said, “Working-class Americans are left to pay the price for mass illegal immigration: reduced jobs, lower wages, overburdened schools, hospitals that are so crowded you can’t get in, increased crime and a depleted social safety net.”

As Cuomo was making the case that a lot of Americans believe this to be true, Lemon called the idea as a whole, to paraphrase, BS.

“You know that’s not right,” Lemon went on. “You can’t say it’s harder for you because somebody else is coming in. It's not how it works. That’s just not how it works. It's a lie. That is people trading on fear for political purpose.”

Lemon also shared his thoughts on why Trump seems only to be focused of stopping illegal immigration at the southern border rather than focusing on visa overstays, which have exceeded illegal border crossings for seven consecutive years. For Lemon, it was simple.

“Because they’re not brown. They’re not the brown menace as he casts them,” Lemon said, adding, “Because people who come from airplanes look like him.”

CNN Tonight With Don Lemon airs weeknights at 10 p.m. on CNN.

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