Don Lemon Claims With Straight Face He's 'Not Against Donald Trump' or 'Liberal' — But 'I Don't Like The Way He Treats People'

Don Lemon said his criticism of President Donald Trump does not mean that he is personally opposed to the president or that he identifies as a liberal.

The former CNN anchor addressed his political views while discussing a recent man-on-the-street interview on "The Don Lemon Show." During the exchange, a man told Lemon that he was “against” Trump while arguing that the president deserves more time to address the country’s problems.

Lemon challenged that characterization when he returned to the footage.

“I’m not against Donald Trump,” Lemon said, adding that he is not “against a person in general.”

Instead, Lemon said his objections are directed at what he views as problems with Trump’s conduct and policies.

“I’m against lies. I don’t like his policies. I don’t like the way he treats people,” he said.

Lemon also rejected the assumption that his criticism of Trump automatically makes him a liberal.

“You think that I’m against him just because I’m liberal, or you think that I’m liberal, because I’m not. I’m an independent,” Lemon said.

He argued that political disagreements can have reasons beyond party affiliation and said that reducing his criticism to partisanship minimizes his specific objections to the president.

Lemon also challenged the way people sometimes discuss Trump’s policies without identifying which policies they support.

“When people talk about policies, when they say I like his policies, I ask them specifically, what do you like about it? What policies?” he said.

Lemon has previously identified as an independent. The former CNN pundit said during a 2024 interview with NewsNation that he was neither Democrat nor Republican.

“Not a Democrat. Not a Republican," he said. "I’m an independent. … Some political leanings that are conservative and some that are liberal, like most people.”

Since leaving CNN, Lemon has continued producing independent political commentary on his own media platform. He has frequently criticized Trump and his administration, making his latest comments notable, for making the distinction between opposing specific actions or policies and opposing a president.