Don Lemon released his interview with billionaire Elon Musk days after the X-owner announced his decision to cancel Lemon’s deal with the platform.
In the interview, Musk and Lemon discussed the Tesla X owner’s drug use, his plans to endorse a presidential candidate, his opinions on content moderation and his plans for X. At one point in the interview, Musk seemed reluctant to publicly endorse Donald Trump or Joe Biden for the 2024 election. He admitted that he was “leaning away” from Biden but stopped short of an outright endorsement of Trump.
“I don’t know yet, I want to make a considered decision before the election.”
When Lemon continued to press him for an answer, he added: “I may, in the final stretch, endorse a candidate, but I don’t know yet. […] I want to make a considered decision before the election, and if I do decide to endorse a candidate, then I will explain exactly why.”
The Don Lemon Show episode 1: Elon Musk
— Don Lemon (@donlemon) March 18, 2024
TIMESTAMPS:
(02:23) News on X
(10:07) Donald Trump and Endorsing a Candidate
(13:04) The New Tesla Roadster
(16:46) Relaxation and Video Games
(17:54) Tweeting and Drug Use
(23:19) The Great Replacement Theory
(30:03) Content Moderation… pic.twitter.com/bLRae4DhyO
As the interview progressed, Musk appeared visibly uncomfortable by Lemon’s line of questioning.
To be fair, he was only asking the questions we all wanted answered.
Musk also balked when challenged about whether better content moderation on X would leave fewer problems for Musk, who has faced claims of increased hate speech across the platform.
“I don’t have to answer questions from reporters,” Musk responds. “Don, the only reason I’m doing this interview is because you’re on the X platform, and you asked for it. Otherwise, we’re not going to be doing this interview.” Musk added that he doesn’t “think people should care what the media thinks about them.”
Lemon, a former CNN news anchor, and on-air personality was slated to debut his show on X as part of a deal he struck with the platform earlier this year. However, Musk revoked the deal after sitting down with Lemon.
In response, Lemon wrote, “Throughout our conversation, I kept reiterating to him that although it was tense at times, I thought it was good for people to see and hear our exchange and that they would learn from our conversation. But apparently free speech absolutism doesn’t apply when it comes to questions about him from people like me.”
You can watch Karen Hunter break down the controversy in the clip below.
