Don Lemon fired: Nikki Haley fundraises off CNN anchor’s downfall
Ryan King
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Republican 2024 contender Nikki Haley is seeking to make financial lemonade out of ousted CNN anchor Don Lemon’s cable news exit.
Haley touted her “Past My Prime?” drink cooler campaign merchandise in a nod to Lemon’s swipe against her earlier this year at about the time of her presidential campaign launch.
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“A great day for women everywhere. Now, let’s get men out of women’s sports. #StillInMyPrime,” Haley tweeted with a link to the merchandise.
https://twitter.com/NikkiHaley/status/1650542228614311937
Lemon was ousted on Monday, taking to social media and claiming that he was “informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN.” The network later confirmed it parted ways with its longtime host but rejected his characterization that the network lacked the “decency” to inform him.
In February, Lemon hit Haley’s proposal for aspiring candidates over the age of 75 to submit to cognitive tests. Riffing off that proposal, Lemon suggested she is not in her prime.
“Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime, sorry,” Lemon said. “If you Google ‘when is a woman in her prime,’ it’ll say 20s, 30s, and 40s.”
His remarks stoked swift controversy and accusations of sexism. Lemon later apologized.
Haley’s campaign created the merchandise during the controversy and insisted that she was not past her prime.
Lemon worked at the network for roughly 17 years and occasionally bumped into controversy for some of his hot takes. He was also dogged by reports that he alienated some of his female staffers on set with some of his behavior and off-the-cuff takes.
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Since taking the reins as CEO, Chris Licht has seemingly sought to clean up shop at the cable news channel and reorient its news editorial to a more objective direction, with less focus on opinion. During his tenure, talent such as Brian Stelter and Chris Cillizza parted ways with the company.
Lemon’s departure from CNN came the same day Tucker Carlson, the highest-rated cable news prime-time personality, parted ways with Fox News.