Important lesson to be learned from the Elon Musk-Don Lemon Fiasco
Elon Musk was never probably political or ideological: in 2018, Musk revealed he is a “registered independent” and “politically moderate,” but added that that doesn’t mean he’s moderate on all issues.
Thanks Jack. To be clear, I am not a conservative. Am registered independent & politically moderate. Doesn’t mean I’m moderate about all issues. Humanitarian issues are extremely important to me & I don’t understand why they are not important to everyone.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 14, 2018
In 2022, Musk shared a meme that depicted the devolution of the left which inevitably moved him to the right, despite not altering his views.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 28, 2022
When Musk took over Twitter, he said his goal was to preserve freedom of speech. Musk then published the Twitter Files series exposing the collusion between far-left hijacked government agencies and Twitter. This unholy alliance suppressed the Hunter Biden laptop story before the 2020 election. They suppressed information that didn’t support the left’s fanatic advocacy for COVID-19 vaccines and lockdowns.
There has been a vast improvement in free expression on Twitter, now X, since Musk’s takeover. The left’s narrative, including tweets by Joe Biden, are challenged via community notes.
Social media was meant to allow people to communicate and give power to the voiceless. It was meant to bring the establishment, particularly the politicians and media people, to the same platform as citizens.
This is why the establishment despises free speech on social media: they do not want the public to challenge them and expose their ineptitude, hypocrisy, and corruption. This is what necessitated manipulation of the discourse, that was enabled once big tech had a monopoly on social media.
In his quest to make X a place where both the right and left have voices, Musk partnered with former CNN ex-anchor Don Lemon for his new online show. X has already partnered with Tucker Carlson who leans to the right.
The NY Post claims that Lemon dispatched an astronomical wish list to Musk—including a free Tesla Cybertruck, a $5 million upfront payment on top of an $8 million salary, an equity stake in the multibillion-dollar company, and the right to approve any changes in X policy as it relates to news content.
The NY Post also claims that Musk agreed to Lemon’s list despite being aware of some of Lemon’s outlandish demands. When the show began, Musk realized it wasn’t a civil interaction or a debate or an interview, but more of an interrogation. Lemon wasn’t curious to learn about Musk’s perspectives; Lemon’s questions sounded more like sanctimonious lectures. It was almost as if Lemon had appointed himself as Musk’s mentor, and it wasn’t an interview but a performance appraisal review.
The Don Lemon Show episode 1: Elon Musk
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— Don Lemon (@donlemon) March 18, 2024
Lemon asked Musk about his affiliations with Donald Trump, advertisers quitting X, the left’s advocacy of DEI, the great replacement theory, etc.
Lemon was intrusive and asked Musk about his drug use, to which Musk noted that he has a physician’s prescription for ketamine.
During its concluding moments, Lemon questioned X’s free speech policies and the loss of big advertisers. Musk defended his stand, making it clear that X wouldn’t censor content at the request of advertisers.
“You said if they kill the company, it’s done. But doesn’t the buck stop with you?” Lemon asked.
“Choose your question carefully. There are five minutes left,” Musk replied.
After Lemon repeated his question, Musk said, “I acquired X to preserve freedom of speech in America, the First Amendment. If that means making less money, so be it.”
So what is the lesson to be learned from all of this?
Musk was probably expecting a spirited debate. He probably expected to disagree with Lemon without being disagreeable. Most reasonable people assume that the world is like them.
Musk should have known this very elementary fact before agreeing to the appearance though:
He should have known that for the contemporary Democrat party, of which Don Lemon is an eager PR agent masquerading as a journalist, there is no place for difference of opinion.
Lemon is part of a sinister, totalitarian cult that sees its function as eliminating any challengers. The slightest deviation from the groupthink and the challenger has to be targeted and finished.
Once upon a time the late and very great Rush Limbaugh was the target of relentless hate from the left because he was a conservative. Some of that hate transferred to President Trump in 2016, who is by no means a traditional conservative, but one who challenges the groupthink.
Musk is challenging the left’s advocacy of open borders where the citizens suffer. Musk is objecting to schools indoctrinating children about gender politics and coercing them toward transgenderism. Musk has spoken against wokeism where race and gender is often the sole focus rather than talent and individuality. Musk now controls X, which was once under the strict control of the left.
All of this makes Musk an enemy of the left, and in turn, Don Lemon.
It has to be remembered that Lemon fell out of favor with the left following his misogynic remarks on-air when he said that 51-year-old Nikki Haley, who announced her candidacy for president in the 2024 election, “isn’t in her prime.” Lemon claimed that a woman is “considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.”
There were also reports of Lemon’s sexist behavior beyond the camera.
Lemon is desperately looking to rehabilitate himself and what better way to do that than to target one of the left’s leading enemies after President Trump, Elon Musk.
Don Lemon entered the arena not as an open-minded journalist but as an assassin.
When the interview didn’t go well, Musk canceled his deal with Lemon.
Lemon used his firing to play the victim and paint Musk as intolerant, immature, and over-sensitive. He created this controversy and used it as a platform to launch his show. For the news media and various talk shows, anyone who is taking on Musk is welcomed with open arms and hence Lemon was given red carpet treatment.
The strategy by Lemon was petty and mean-spirited. He ended up biting the hand that fed him and extracted a lot of publicity out of it. Musk may not be impacted by this financially but the negative publicity was needless.
Former CNN host Piers Morgan applied an identical strategy when he interviewed President Trump during the first episode: Morgan falsely claimed Trump walked out of his interview to gain publicity.
What Musk and all those on the right looking to befriend leftists need to understand is that there is no diversity on the left. The diversity they stand for is based on genetic attributes such as sex, race, and skin color. They do not care for the most important kind of diversity, i.e. diversity of thought.
There is a stark difference in attitude.
When the Republicans win they feel the need to be gracious and cross the aisle and compromise with the Democrats. When the Democrats win they look at it as an opportunity to vilify and destroy Republicans. In fact, when the Democrats lose they still try to destroy Republicans—the Russian Collusion hoax is proof of that following Trump’s victory in 2016.
You cannot befriend one who thinks of you as inferior. You cannot win over one who thinks of you as an enemy that has to be destroyed. You cannot be gracious with those who lack in grace.
If the culture and the country have to be saved, the right will have to be uncompromising on the principles and values.
Hopefully, lessons will be learned.
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