On Monday morning, President Donald Trump made clear that he does not watch Don Lemon’s show on CNN, despite a report in The New York Times over the weekend that Trump “hate-watches CNN to get worked up, especially Don Lemon.”
“I never watch Don Lemon, who I once called ‘the dumbest man on television!'” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Bad Reporting.” He also denied that he watches at least four hours of television a day, as reported, which he said is “wrong.” (Back in August 2016, Trump called Lemon “a lightweight” and “dumb as a rock” on Twitter.)
CNN pushed back on Trump’s criticism of Lemon in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “In a world where bullies torment kids on social media to devastating effect on a regular basis with insults and name calling, it is sad to see our president engaging in the very same behavior himself,” a network spokesman said. “Leaders should lead by example.”
The Times also responded to Trump’s claim that the lengthy story, co-written by White House correspondents Maggie Haberman, Glenn Thrush and Peter Baker, is “another false story.”
“We stand by our reporting, sourced from interviews with 60 advisors, associates, friends and members of Congress,” the Times said in a statement posted on Twitter.
In the story, the Times reported: “People close to him estimate that Mr. Trump spends at least four hours a day, and sometimes as much as twice that, in front of a television, sometimes with the volume muted, marinating in the no-holds-barred wars of cable news and eager to fire back.”
According to the story, Trump’s favorite Fox News personalities to watch are Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and Jeanine Pirro.
