President Joe Biden recently called partisan CNN anchor Don Lemon — who has argued that Americans don't see black people as "human beings" and that parents against critical race theory are just being selfish — "one of the most informed journalists in the country."
What happened?
The president made the remarks while responding to a question about how to restore faith in the American system of government during a town hall on Wednesday night.
"How do you change the mistrust in the system among some members of the black community?" the question said.
Biden began his response by reciting a commitment he made to take responsibility for his mistakes by publicly owning up to them. Then he went on to say that generally, it's about "raising confidence in elected officials."
But confidence in government is at an all-time low, Biden explained, as evidenced by the scoffing that ensued after he declared on the campaign trail that he wanted to "unite the country." According to Biden, Lemon remembered the criticism he received because he is well-informed.
Joke Biden is a liar.\n\n1) "I made a commitment, that when I made a mistake, I'd tell ya." Border Crisis, low unemployment, inflation. All his fault, no apologies.\n\n2) Said with a straight face that Don Lemon is "one of the most informed journalists in the country." pic.twitter.com/kYhttK5mWj— Andrew @ Don't Walk, RUN! Productions (@Andrew @ Don't Walk, RUN! Productions) 1626914882
"I know this is going to sound like a non-answer to you, but part of this is that — you know because you're one of the most informed journalists in the country," Biden said.
"You know the criticism I got when I said I want to unite the country, 'You can't unite the country,'" he continued. "And if you can't unite the country, we can never get some of these problems solved. And that goes to trust. Why can't you unite the country? Why isn't there a willingness to trust?"
What else?
Lemon has insisted in the past that he is a "journalist" and "not a political person" despite his clear and obvious political leanings.
Earlier this year, Lemon made claims of nonbias while in the same breath trashing the Republican Party as "obsolete" and the Democratic Party as the only one "operating in reality."
"Perhaps Americans who want this country to be a country that is sane and rational and equitable and equal ... need to challenge the Republican Party more," he added.
Don Lemon: \u201cI\u2019m not a political person...I\u2019m a journalist\u201d\n\nSure.pic.twitter.com/0jksg15Y92— Steve Cortes (@Steve Cortes) 1621619716
Lemon and fellow CNN anchor Chris Cuomo routinely use the handoff time in between their shows to ruminate on the political happenings of the day from a progressive perspective.
Even so, Lemon has expressed that he doesn't understand why people view his network, CNN, as biased.