CNN anchor Don Lemon slammed Republicans for defending President Trump from impeachment Tuesday, voicing concerns that he denied coming from a partisan or liberal perspective.
Mr. Lemon criticized the president’s allies on Capitol Hill while discussing their defense of Mr. Trump’s July 25 phone call with the newly elected leader of Ukraine.
“Everyone knows, even the people who are defending the president, that what he did on that call was not perfect, that what he did was wrong. They’re just trying to figure out a defense and how to twist themselves in knots to come up with something,” Mr. Lemon said near the end of his nightly CNN show.
“I think on this one, the Republicans are on the wrong side of history, and they are the most hypocritical,” Mr. Lemon added. “I’m not a partisan. I know people think that I’m some liberal Democrat. I’m not. They used to think I was a conservative Republican. I’m not. But I don’t think the Republicans are serving themselves well right now with their defenses or lack thereof of a credible one.”
Mr. Lemon, a frequent critic of Mr. Trump, made the remarks after members of the House of Representatives held two hearings spanning several hours Tuesday as part of the impeachment inquiry sparked by the presidential phone call.
Democrats controlling the House initiated impeachment proceedings after the Trump administration tried to block members of Congress from viewing details of a whistleblower complaint flagging the phone call.
A rough transcript subsequently released by the White House showed Mr. Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former U.S. Vice President and current Democratic presidential candidate Joseph R. Biden while the U.S. withheld military aide from Kyiv.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly described the phone call as “perfect,” and fellow Republicans have similarly defended his conduct amid public impeachment hearings happening in the House.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.