CNN opinion hosts Don Lemon and Chris Cuomo on Tuesday night mocked rising crime rates in major Democrat-controlled cities as President Donald Trump hammers the issue on the campaign trail.
The segment with Cuomo and Lemon came after the Trump campaign released a digital ad highlighting the Democrats’ recent push to defund police departments and warning that Americans will not be safe if Joe Biden becomes president.
In voices mocking supposed story lines from conservative media organizations, the duo said:
Lemon: Yeah. “Democratic cities are in chaos right now. Is this what you want from Joe Biden? And they’re gonna take your country away. And they’re taking down the statues.”
Cuomo: “Crime is rising as they defund police!”
Lemon: “Crime is rising! … Oh my gosh! It’s so bad and they get defunding the police.”
The two hosts’ dismissive response comes after Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and New York City have all seen sharp increases in shootings in recent weeks, a surge that has occurred as law enforcement officials have been demonized by the political Left in response to the death of George Floyd.
Cuomo led into the mocking segment by saying that all the “lies” are all being exposed now. “[I]t all fits together, D,” he said. “The lies about the pandemic. The lies about, you know, what this president will make happen. The lies of those around him as an echo of support. The lies about what Black Lives Matter is about. It’s all about creating division. … And making, you know, in a country that is well over 70% white, if this happens, it is bad for you.”
“You see the right-wing machine kick in — media kick in when you see Trump’s poll numbers go south,” said Lemon.
WATCH:
Ghoulish behavior from CNN's Don Lemon and Chris Cuomo laughing about and mocking the rising crime in major U.S. cities, defunding the police, taking down statues, and erasing the Founders from our history.
Dead kids like Secoriea Turner and Horace Lorenzo Anderson aren't funny. pic.twitter.com/BorIYoiC8t
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 8, 2020
TRANSCRIPT:
CHRIS CUOMO: And it all fits together, D. The lies about the pandemic. The lies about, you know, what this president will make happen. The lies of those around him as an echo of support. The lies about what Black Lives Matter is about. It’s all about creating division.
DON LEMON: Yeah.
CUOMO: And making, you know, in a country that is well over 70% white, if this happens, it is bad for you. They literally say it on state TV. It’s coming for you next.
LEMON: Oh, yeah. Well, you – you see the right-wing machine kick in – media kick in when you see Trump’s poll numbers go south. They kick in with, uh, uh, the–
CUOMO: No position on the Confederate flag.
LEMON [mocking]: Yeah. ‘Democratic cities are in chaos right now. Is this what you want from Joe Biden? And they’re gonna take your country away. And they’re taking down the statues.’
CUOMO [mocking]: ‘Crime is rising as they defund police!’
LEMON [mocking]: ‘Crime is rising!’
LEMON [mocking]: ‘Oh my gosh! It’s so bad and they get defunding the police.’ And it’s like and the people who you saw there for the most part — not them specifically, I’m talking about as a whole — fall for it. They fall for it and that’s why they do things like what they did. They want to paint over signs and think it’s our country. This is the country that we built — even though a rich diversity of people helped build the country — and many of us, meaning our ancestors, for free, did not get paid for it, couldn’t get an education, could not build wealth, are not on statues, Confederate or otherwise. They’re not on Mount Rushmore.