Don Lemon says Trump tricks U.S. into ending shutdown with fewer briefings: 'All part of the plan'

By Douglas Ernst - The Washington Times - Thursday, April 30, 2020

“CNN Tonight” host Don Lemon said Wednesday that President Trump’s decision to move away from coronavirus briefings is part of a Machiavellian “plan” to fool Americans into a false sense of security.

Mr. Lemon told viewers that Mr. Trump — previously criticized by pundits for having too many Coronavirus Task Force briefings — will employ media sleight of hand to end the shutdown.

“I’ve seen so many people out and about lately not socially distancing, not wearing masks, not following the rules,” Mr. Lemon said, Mediaite reported. “This is not over. You may think it’s over because if you — if you actually pay attention to what’s happening in Washington with this administration, not having the briefings, trying to — pretending that this is over.”

The president recently told supporters on Twitter that granting access to the media for days on end only resulted in an abundance of “fake news.”

“What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately,” Mr. Trump tweeted on April 25. “They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!”

The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin, who is also an MSNBC contributor, responded with elation at the news.

“Yippeee!” she exclaimed. “You finally figured out the more Americans see of you the more contempt they have.”

Still, Mr. Lemon says the president is attempting to trick roughly 330 million Americans to “move on to other things.”

“So not having those briefings, that’s all part of the plan for you to think that this is over, that we have moved beyond this,” Mr. Lemon said. “People are still dying at alarming rates. Those quarantine orders that are given, they’re still in place. There are still orders in most places. So don’t get it twisted.”

Johns Hopkins University reports that more than 1 million cases of the contagion have been reported in the U.S. with 61,000 of those patients dying.