Viewers looking for overheated analysis of President Donald Trump’s speech Wednesday about his plan to combat the coronavirus outbreak found it on CNN.
Anchor Don Lemon sparked a verbal smackdown with John Kasich, the former GOP governor of Ohio who is now a CNN contributor. (See the clip below.)
Lemon criticized Kasich, who ran for the Republican nomination in 2016, for positively assessing Trump’s address after the president provided incorrect information on multiple topics and clarifications had to be issued. Trump misspoke about banning goods from Europe during the public health crisis and falsely claimed that insurance companies would forgo charging copays for treatment of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. (Only testing fees would be waived.)
Lemon said Trump’s speech didn’t calm fears, adding that “we need straight, accurate information from this president.” He accused Kasich of “tiptoeing” around the truth.
The sparring match intensified as Lemon drowned out Kasich, prompting the former GOP governor to ask if he could finish a thought.
“No, you can’t, John!” Lemon snapped back. “I don’t want you to go on and deflect and talk about something else.”
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