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Don Lemon Faces Backlash From Black Community, Accused Of Struggling To Stay Relevant After Controversial Comments About Kamala Harris

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Former CNN anchor Don Lemon stirred up trouble within the black community this week but gained praise from conservatives after an interview with Jen Psaki on MSNBC by which he questioned the legitimacy of Vice President Kamala Harris’ candidacy and solid doubt on polls that show her ahead of former President Donald Trump.

Lemon, known for his controversial opinions and former outspoken criticism of Trump, sat down with “Inside With Jen Psaki” host on Monday to debate conversations he’s had recently with black voters who, surprisingly, support Trump.

Lemon claimed he spoke with many black voters who were unfamiliar with Harris and intended to vote for Trump, believing he was “on the side of black people” because they thought he could provide one other stimulus check if re-elected, despite Trump making no such promise.

Don Lemon Faces Backlash From Black Community, Accused Of Struggling To Stay Relevant After Controversial Comments About Kamala Harris
Don Lemon attends the premiere of “Origin” in New York City on November 30, 2023 at Alice Tully Hall in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)

“I don’t know if it was surprising, but it was definitely eye-opening to hear so many people, even people of color and women, saying they’re going to support Donald Trump,” Lemon said, before questioning recent polls that showed Harris leading the race for the White House.

Lemon taped his own interviews on the Atlantic City, New Jersey, boardwalk, which supports the veracity of his reporting, but he drew criticism from many black individuals who said Lemon was grasping at straws and struggling to remain relevant after being fired from CNN in April 2023.

“Oh my God, how the mighty have fallen” he wrote @delinthecity_. “Remember when mainstream news used to make fun of content creators and influencers? Now, former CNN employee Don Lemon is out on the streets doing content creator-style interviews, asking people if they support Kamala Harris or Donald Trump.”

Another user, @JennyBGoodX, said Lemon was “clinging to life.”

“Let’s be realistic, he could have fished on that boardwalk all day and night and probably gotten all the answers he wanted,” user X SausageMcBigot said. “He actually posted both sides, even though he made it clear he was still on his side.”

Lemon’s interview with Psaki, in turn, provided fodder for conservative activists and conspiracy theorists, who raced to share videos of Lemon on their social media channels while claiming without evidence that polls were being rigged to favor Harris.

“This is what I mean when I say Kamala’s popularity is fake” he wrote @BehizyTweets, verified X user. “How can she grow so fast when her most engaged base (black voters) knows nothing about her? It’s all a facade and some people are falling for it.”

In the comments section, other Republican pundits seized on Lemon’s remarks to discredit Harris and praise Trump.

“People are shocked to learn that Trump has done more for the black community than the current administration,” @USACannibal wrote, without providing any links to the bills.

Lemon, who occasionally appears on national news programs, continues to command respect within the media despite a bent toward biased reporting that has plagued him throughout his long profession as a political commentator.

“I’m not entirely sure if the polls are accurate in terms of the tightening of the polls and who’s going to support who,” Lemon told the host, sparking a virtual frenzy amongst Trump supporters who fiercely attacked Harris on social media.

Psaki, meanwhile, appeared surprised by Lemon’s recent comments in regards to the GOP nominee once they were in comparison with Lemon’s withering criticism of Trump following his election in 2016.

At the time, Lemon had his own prime-time show, “CNN Tonight with Don Lemon,” on which he blasted Trump almost every night, delivering sharp commentary on his presidency.

After Trump left office, Lemon’s rankings plummeted, and his show was eventually canceled. From there, he became a co-host of “CNN This Morning” before being fired last yr after 17 years on the network.

Earlier this yr, Lemon announced a brand new show on X called “The Don Lemon Show.” X owner and billionaire Elon Musk was the show’s first guest. However, after taping the interview, Musk reportedly canceled the show before it aired.

Following the disaster, Lemon launched the Don Lemon Show on YouTube, also often known as Lemon Live at 5, a prime-time news format by which he borrowed clips from his old station to present his views.

His last show on August 28 was titled “Will Black Women Save Democracy” and featured an interview with LaTosha Brown of Black Voters Matter.

Returning to the segment with Psaki, Lemon described his interviews with black voters and travels through key battleground states, where Harris began traveling this week in an effort to drum up support in rural areas.

Despite positive economic indicators favoring Harris within the race, Lemon claimed that many Black voters told him they planned to vote for Trump solely due to stimulus check they received in 2021 with Trump’s signature, stating that Black individuals are willing to “vote with their wallets.”

“There were a lot of black men, Jen, who said they supported Donald Trump simply because he gave them a stimulus check,” Lemon explained. “He gave them $1,200 when he was president. They didn’t remember that the current president also gave them a stimulus check, it’s just that his name wasn’t on it,” he added, referring to the incumbent President, Joe Biden.

Lemon said he has repeatedly reminded Black voters that the stimulus check was not issued by Trump but by a Democratic Congress, and Trump delayed its release so he could sign it.

“So when they got the check and his name was on it, they automatically thought it came directly from Donald Trump, which I think is good marketing,” Lemon said. “The same thing he does with buildings all over the country, especially in New York. He doesn’t actually own them, but he puts his name on them, which makes people think they own them, and that makes them think he’s richer, bigger, more charitable than he is.”

At that time, Psaki turned her attention to Harris, asking Lemon for her tackle how voters view the Democratic nominee in comparison with Trump.

“In most cases in Pittsburgh or the Jersey Shore, Ohio, a lot of people didn’t know who she was. They weren’t familiar with her,” Lemon said, before turning his attention back to Trump with gusto. “They thought he was better for the economy. That he brought money into the community. That he stood with black people.”

But Lemon noted that most of the reasons voters supported Trump were based on misinformation.

“I’ve been doing this long enough that you never know where people are going to be and how they’re going to vote,” he said. “That’s their personal prerogative. But I think it’s important that they understand and go to the polls with some knowledge that they’re informed about as voters. And for other reasons that they told me, all the information was false. They didn’t understand the actual reasons why they could vote for him.”

The host reminded Lemon of his earlier statements by which he called Trump a “racist on TV” and asked if the people he spoke to shared that view.

Lemon didn’t argue, noting that he’s repeatedly criticized Trump for “lying”: “Of course, I think he’s a racist. You look at his rhetoric and his history, and everyone can see that,” he replied. Lemon then asked why so many individuals within the black community support Trump, suggesting that folks are more concerned with “how much or how little money they have in their pockets.”

During the interview, Lemon repeatedly presented his theory about support for Trump among the many small group of black voters he interviewed as representative of the broader sentiment of the whole black community in America.

Lemon then suggested that black voters are ignoring Trump’s achievements and only supporting him to get one other stimulus check.

“We’re talking about low-information voters. I like to call them low-partisan information voters because a lot of the people I talked to weren’t sitting in front of the TV every day and every night following every micro-event about Donald Trump and what was happening in politics,” Lemon said.

Both during and after his presidency, Trump continued to spread rumors and deliberately stoked racial tensions through the election campaign to enrage his supporters.

He has previously sharply criticized black court officials who oversee his quite a few criminal and civil cases, making them targets of his limitless political grievances.

During Black History Month, Trump sparked one other firestorm when he called President Biden a “very nasty and vicious racist” during a speech on the South Carolina Federation of Black Conservatives’ annual gala.

Following her speech, Vice President Harris wasted no time in criticizing Trump for pandering to the black community, calling him a hypocrite and insincere.

“The audacity of Donald Trump to address a room full of Black voters during Black History Month as if he were not the proud poster boy of modern racism,” Harris fumed. “This is the same man who falsely accused the Central Park 5, questioned George Floyd’s humanity, compared his own impeachment trial to a lynching, and drove unemployment among Black workers higher during his presidency.”


This article was originally published on : atlantablackstar.com
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Politics and Current

Kamala Harris Recognized for Her Spotlight on Race and Reparations During NABJ-WHYY Interview

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Kamala Harris, theGriio.com

In a wide-ranging interview with the National Association of Black Journalists and public radio station WHYY, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke more broadly about race than at some other time since becoming a presidential candidate and then the Democratic Party nominee.

The historic presidential figure (Harris is the primary Black woman and Indian-American to be nominated by a significant party) made her first appearance as vice chairman on the difficulty of reparations and outlined the systemic harms inflicted on Black communities by U.S. history, including African-American slavery and racial oppression.

“We need to tell the truth in a way that leads to solutions,” said Harris, who co-sponsored HR40 when she was a U.S. senator.

While members of the Congressional Black Caucus and advocates have called on President Joe Biden to take executive motion within the absence of three many years of inaction on Capitol Hill, the presidential candidate has signaled she believes it should come through Congress. She cited Congress’s ability to carry hearings and “raise awareness” in regards to the history of slavery and racial discrimination.

However, the vice chairman added: “I am not downplaying the significance of any executive action.”

Referring to her economic plan if she wins the White House in November, Harris said her ideas for creating an “opportunity economy” would aim to “explicitly address the obstacles that exist historically and currently” in areas similar to student loan debt, health care debt, biased home valuations and black maternal mortality.

Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris (left) is interviewed by National Association of Black Journalists members Gerren Keith Gaynor (far right), Eugene Daniels (second from right) and Tonya Mosley (third from right) on the WHYY studios in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

“I am pleased that Vice President Harris has recognized the important role truth plays in our pursuit of racial healing and transformation,” said Lee. “My legislation to establish a Commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation would usher in a moment of truth-telling by educating and informing the public about the historical context of the racial inequities we witness every day.”

But Hunter said that despite Harris’ clear preference for congressional motion on the commission’s creation, such a commission through executive motion “could be a source of legislative policy.” He continued,

Political pundit and radio host Reeta Colbert admitted that Harris “hung around” during her CNN interview and presidential debate with Trump to discuss her racial identity.

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This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Airlines forces 14-year-old girl off plane due to weight and balance issues, leaving her to fend for herself

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The mother of a teen who was banned from a plane in Canada due to a weight imbalance is outraged at how the incident has put her daughter’s safety in danger.

According to the CBC, 14-year-old Camryn Larkan boarded a Porter Airlines flight home from Toronto to Victoria, British Columbia, on August 30 after visiting family and friends. Once she was seated on the plane, a flight attendant approached her and told her she had to get off the plane.

14-year-old stuck at the airport
14-year-old forced to leave plane due to “weight and balance” issues. (Source: Pexels)

“I was a little disoriented… I thought I was going to go back to my seat. I thought they were just going to take my bags.” – Camryn he said CBC. “As soon as I got off the plane and saw the doors close, that’s when I started, you know, getting really concerned.”

Porter Airlines pulled Camryn from the flight due to a “weight and balance issue.” The airline said agents asked for volunteers, but when nobody got here forward, “passengers were selected based on ticket type.”

After Camryn and several other passengers were asked to leave the plane, a Porter Airlines agent arranged for Camryn to fly to Victoria the subsequent day. Camryn immediately called her father, who got here to pick her up on the airport.

Camryn’s mother expressed her frustration, saying the airline completely mishandled her daughter’s exit from the plane.

“They put my child in immediate danger,” Catherine Larkan said. “It was complete neglect and it shouldn’t happen to any other minor.”

The airline’s policy is that unaccompanied minors are exempt from involuntary disembarkation. The company offers a $100 service plan for children traveling alone. The plan is required for children ages 8 to 11 and optional for children ages 12 to 17.

Camryn’s family didn’t know the service existed, so the airline treated the 14-year-old as an adult.

“At the time, our team was unaware that Camryn was a minor,” a Porter Airlines spokesperson said. “Camryn left the airport quickly and our team had limited ability to discuss options with her.”

Children travelling without an unaccompanied minor plan are considered “independent adults” and are subject to “adult passenger considerations such as weight, balance and unloading situations.”

“They provide a service, saying we know these people are at risk, and they say if you don’t pay for the service, you’re going to be treated like any other adult passenger traveling,” Camryn’s mother said. “It’s just absolutely absurd.”

An airline representative told People magazine that its customer support department is in touch with Camryn’s family and that Porter Airlines is working on solutions to minimize the chance of an incident like this happening again.

This article was originally published on : atlantablackstar.com
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Here’s What You Need to Know About Threats in Springfield, Ohio, After False Accusations About Haitian Immigrants

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Haitian immigrants in Springfield Ohio, theGrio.com

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — A small Ohio town has been flooded with false bomb threats since last week’s presidential debate, when former President Donald Trump falsely accused Members of Springfield’s Haitian community kidnap and eat cats and dogs.

Trump’s vice presidential candidate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, has amplified debunked web rumors about Haitian migrants because the Republican ticket criticizes President Joe Biden’s administration’s immigration policies, which Trump’s Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, supports. City officials acknowledge that the influx of about 15,000 Haitian migrants is causing problems, but say there is no such thing as a evidence to support the claim that they’re eating people’s pets.

More than 30 bomb threats since last week have targeted schools, government buildings and the homes of city officials, forcing evacuations and closures. Springfield also canceled its annual diversity, arts and culture celebration in response to the threats, and state police on Tuesday distributed in city schools.

Here are some things to know concerning the situation in Springfield:

Who is behind these false threats?

Foreign actors, in particular. That’s according to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican who said many of the threats got here from abroad. The governor’s office said a criminal investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies found the “vast majority” of the threats were international in origin. Officials didn’t provide further details on how investigators determined they got here from a foreign country, and DeWine didn’t name the country.

What’s happening?

DeWine has sent dozens of Ohio State Highway Patrol members to all 18 city schools, where checks might be conducted twice every day to prevent further disruptions and help parents and students ensure that the buildings are secure. But even with the increased police presence, many parents still didn’t let their children go to school Tuesday.

Meanwhile, security cameras have been placed at strategic locations around the town, and an explosives-sniffing dog has been deployed to Springfield and might be on duty 24 hours a day.

DeWine $2.5 million declared greater than two years to increase support for primary health care. State highway patrol also helps local law enforcement implement traffic laws. DeWine said many Haitians are inexperienced drivers who’re unfamiliar with U.S. traffic laws.

How is the town reacting?

Springfield never wanted to be the focus — not like this.

City officials said Tuesday that misinformation and lies about Haitian immigrants have sown fear and division, disrupted science and price taxpayers money. In an announcement, they implored public figures, community members and media to “move beyond divisive rhetoric and instead work to promote unity, understanding and respect.” The statement didn’t mention Trump or Vance by name.

Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said the influx of migrants is straining police, hospitals and schools. He also criticized the federal government, saying the town asked for help months ago. But on Tuesday he urged national leaders to “soften their words and speak the truth.”

Why did so many Haitians move to Springfield?

Work and word of mouth.

Springfield in consequence, industrial jobs were lost and the population dropped significantly late last century. But the town made a concerted effort to attract employers and Haitian immigrants who helped meet the growing demand for employees in its factories and warehouses. Word spread, and Haitians began arriving in larger numbers in the past few years.

Haitians from Springfield and elsewhere have come to the U.S. to escape violence in their home country. Many Haitians are here under a federal program called Temporary Protected Statusallowing them to live and work temporarily in the U.S. because conditions in Haiti are deemed too dangerous for them to return to the island.

What do Haitian immigrants say?

Members of the Haitian community say they were uneasy even before Trump and Vance picked up on the pet-eating lies, as former residents were angered by the brand new arrivals’ impact on jobs, housing and traffic.

“Some of them are talking about living in fear. Some of them are afraid for their lives,” Rose-Thamar Joseph said last week on the Springfield Haitian Community Outreach and Support Center.

On church service on Sunday, Mia Perez said her daughter was evacuated from school twice last week.

“Children at school are asked by other children, ‘What does dog taste like? What does cat taste like?'” Perez said. “She asks, ‘Are we Haitians who eat this stuff? Is it true? What’s going on?'”

“It’s a conversation I wasn’t ready to have with my daughter,” Perez said. “I felt disrespected by our culture.”

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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