Don Lemon's CNN Tonight Opening Statement About Trump's Shithole Countries Comment (video & unofficial transcript)

Edited by Azizi Powell

As those who are familiar with this pancocojams blog know, I rarely focus on political subjects. Also, as those who are familiar with this blog know, I screen out profanity in comments and don't feature any videos that include profanity. This post is an exception to both of those rules.

This pancocojams post showcases a video of CNN Tonight with Don Lemon 01/11/18. I'm showcasing this video because I feel strongly that the entire clip of that news show should be watched and heard, but in particular I believe that Don Lemon's opening statements are just as eloquent and historically important as the Golden Globes acceptance speech that Oprah Winfrey gave which I featured in another pancocojams post last week (http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/01/oprah-winfreys-golden-globes-cecil-b.html Oprah Winfrey's Golden Globes Cecil B. DeMille Award Acceptance Speech (2018) with full transcript).

This post includes my transcription of host Don Lemon's opening statements (cold open/monologue) for that segment of that news program, prior to the segments with the political correspondents.

This post also include segments with a panel of guest political commentators.

The content of this post is presented for historical, socio-cultural, and political purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Don Lemon, and thanks to all the non-racist participants in that television segment.
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Click https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/durbin-trump-shithole_us_5a58c7ffe4b02cebbfdb29c8?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009 for context information about Don Lemon's statement.

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SHOWCASE VIDEO: CNN Tonight with Don Lemon 01/11/18 | CNN News Today January 11, 2018



Amanda Scott, Published on Jan 11, 2018

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UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT OF DON LEMON'S OPENING STATEMENTS (CNN Tonight 1/11/18)
"This is CNN Tonight. I'm Don Lemon.

The president of the United States is racist. A lot of us already knew that.

Today, President Trump talking with lawmakers in the oval office about immigrants from Haiti, from El Salvador, and from Africa said-and I quote-“Why are we having all those people from shithole countries come here?”

But you know who he said he would welcome here? He said, "The U.S. should bring in more people from countries like Norway."

And CNN has been told that he went on to say “Why do we need more Haitians? Take them out.”

Those comments are frankly, disgusting.


There’s other language I’d like to use, but we are on television.

But you know what, they’re not shocking, not even really surprising. Because this is who Donald Trump is. This is what he thinks. Apparently, we have to go through this repertoire every time he says something like this, or exhibits some racist behavior.

This is a man who in the oval office last year said that Nigerian immigrants should, in his words, “go back to their huts”.

Who in that same meeting said “All Haitian immigrants have AIDs”.

A man who bases his entire political career -for years- on the racist birther lie that President Barack Obama was born in Africa.

A man who reportedly still believes that to this day.

A man who started his campaign trashing Mexicans and then made the Muslim ban a centerpiece of his bid.

A man who responded to White supremacists who killed a young woman in Charlottesville by claiming, in his words, “very fine people on both sides”.

A man who responded to protests by Black NFL players by calling them quote “sons of bitches”.

Do we go on with all of this? I -I get tired of saying it.

This is a man who today complained about immigrants who quote “are from shithole countries”.
Tonight a White House official told CNN that they’re not worried. They think that this is good for them. And the President’s comments will actually resonate with his base.

Jesus.

Admitting that for all their talk about making America great, the President is playing to a base that welcomes his racism and will enjoy it. And that is disgraceful.

With that said, here’s what’s worse. And probably the most important point. So gather around the television everyone. And this is for anyone who may be taken aback by my comments. I want to be very clear here. I don’t really care if you are. I hope you are.

For years now-it has been, you know, two and a half years since he officially entered the political arena.

For years I and others have been trying to tell you the American people that this man was exhibiting bigoted behavior.

I asked him about a number of times and he denied it. But kept up the racist rhetoric and behavior throughout the campaign and now while he’s in the White House. His supporters made excuses, continue to make excuses for him. Some of the people I personally know. Some of them are his friends, as a matter of fact. And I can hear them now telling me “Oh, Don. Donald didn’t mean that. Donald isn’t a racist.”. Or people who don’t know him “I don’t think that was what he said. It was taken out of context. I’m not sure.”

Well, how many examples do you need of this?

But he is a racist.

And for all of you who over the last few years have uttered that tired, lazy, uniformed, uneducated, ignorant response of calling me and others who point out racist behavior racist, you know what, you can go do?


I can’t say that. But you can go read a book- a history book. Because you might learn that people from some of those shithold countries were slaves who were brought here by force to help build this country. And then start your learning process from there.

You also might want to do some self-examination. What does it say about you that no matter what, no matter what, you continue to make excuses for this man, for his vile behavior, his sort of vile behavior? Doesn’t that make you just as bad, if not worse than him?

And I have to be honest. I was , I was not shocked that Donald Trump reportedly called the majority of Black and Hispanic countries or continents “shitoles.'” I wasn’t shocked. I’m not I’m really not outraged. I’m not outraged. I’m tired of being outraged, as a matter of fact. I’ve been outraged too many times. It’s more important to be strategic than to be outraged. Some people can be outraged, but it’s more important for level headed people to be strategic rather than outraged. Otherwise, it becomes a sky-is-falling situation every time he says something dumb or stupid or racist.

Here’s why I’m not outraged-because People of Color warned you.

You called us racist or race baiters.


I’m not mad that you called me those things because I’m not one of them.

So why are you mad if someone calls you a racist if you know you’re not one? Think about that.

If you know you’re not a racist then why are you made about it when someone calls out racism?

What does that say about you?

You know what those Black and Brown folks who you called racist are saying now?

They’re saying “You bought it. You own it.”

And as we say in the South-you know what this means- “Bless your heart”."
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This monologue (as Don Lemon referred to it later in that clip) occurs from the beginning of that video to 5:26 of that video clip.

Portions of my transcription are gleaned from these two articles:
http://ew.com/news/2018/01/11/don-lemon-donald-trump-racist/ Don Lemon slams Trump and his supporters: 'The president of the United States is racist' by DEREK LAWRENCE January 11, 2018 AT 11:29 PM EST

and

http://variety.com/2018/tv/news/anderson-cooper-don-lemon-donald-trump-racist-shithole-remark-1202662653/ Anderson Cooper, Don Lemon Call Trump ‘Racist’ Over ‘S-thole Countries’ Remark; By Erin Nyren JANUARY 11, 2018 8:45PM PT

Additions and corrections to this transcription are welcome.

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