Former CNN anchor Don Lemon called the MAGA movement "the closest thing to the modern version of the Nazi Party" during a podcast interview, and then said he might run for president in 2028.

Lemon made the remarks on the July 15 episode of the "Can't Be Censored" podcast, hosted by Travis Dhanraj and Karman Wong. When asked to define MAGA and what might happen to the Republican Party after President Trump leaves the political stage, Lemon offered a comparison that drew immediate pushback from the White House and sharp criticism online.

As Fox News Digital reported, Lemon told the hosts:

"MAGA is the closest thing to the modern version of the Nazi Party. This is America's version. It's the closest thing, without the Holocaust and all that stuff."

He did not stop there. Lemon accused tens of millions of American voters of being motivated not by economic concerns but by racial animus.

"No matter how many facts and how much information you give them about this presidency, about the policies, they don't change their minds because they're really not voting for the price of eggs. They're voting for White supremacy. They're voting for power."

He also called President Trump "a fascist," saying the country had "careened" into fascism under his leadership.

White House fires back at Lemon's Nazi comparison

The White House did not let the remarks pass without a response. Spokesman Davis Ingle issued a statement to Fox News Digital dismissing Lemon's relevance entirely.

"Don Lemon is a low ratings loser that no one takes seriously. He should immediately seek psychiatric help to treat his severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome."

The statement was blunt, but the underlying point, that Lemon's audience and influence have shrunk dramatically since his CNN days, reflects a broader reality. Lemon departed CNN in April 2023 after the network said the two sides had "parted ways." Since then, he has operated largely on the fringes of the media landscape, appearing on podcasts and social media rather than any major television platform.

The trajectory is worth noting. A man who once anchored prime-time cable news now makes his most headline-grabbing statements on a YouTube podcast, and the headlines land not because of his reach but because of how far he is willing to push the rhetoric. CNN itself, the network that Ted Turner built into a cable news empire, has moved on from Lemon entirely.

Lemon says he 'might' run for president in 2028

Perhaps the most revealing portion of the interview came when Lemon floated a potential 2028 presidential campaign. He told the podcast hosts he had been thinking about it seriously.

"I don't know, I might. I'm serious. I don't know. I might because people keep asking me to do it."

Lemon said he had already taken preliminary steps, describing his interest as more than idle talk. He claimed he had "stuck my toe into it" and had "talked to people about it, people who have been in politics before." He did not name any of those people.

He also laid out a vision for how such a campaign might work financially, saying he would prefer a grassroots, small-dollar model.

"I would like it to be a voter-driven, citizen-driven campaign for as much as it can be. Maybe at some point I might have to take a donation."

Lemon added that he envisioned ordinary Americans chipping in modest amounts: "I would rather the people of the United States to say, 'That's the guy that we want. I'm gonna give him five dollars or $10 or something that doesn't break the bank because I know that the economy is tough.'" No evidence in public filings suggests he has formed an exploratory committee or taken any formal steps toward a candidacy.

The idea of a former cable anchor, one who just compared half the electorate to Nazis, launching a competitive presidential campaign raises obvious questions about viability. But the fact that Lemon raised it at all suggests he views himself as a political figure now, not merely a media personality. That shift in self-image matters, because it colors everything else he says. When a man who wants to run for office calls the opposing party's voters white supremacists, he is not offering analysis. He is campaigning, and doing it in the most divisive way possible.

Lemon's account of his CNN departure contradicts the network

Lemon also revisited his April 2023 exit from CNN, offering a version of events that the network explicitly disputes. He alleged his departure was driven by his identity, not his performance or conduct.

"They wanted to get rid of me as the gay Black guy. One hundred percent, that's what it was."

CNN pushed back through a spokesperson, who told Fox News Digital that Lemon "was an important member of the CNN family for nearly 20 years" but that "the decision regarding Don's departure was based on factors unrelated to his race or sexual orientation." The spokesperson added: "Although we disagree with his recollection of events, we are grateful for his contributions and wish him nothing but success in the future."

The network's response was measured but firm. CNN did not specify what factors did drive the decision, leaving a gap in the record. But the flat denial of Lemon's identity-based claim is notable from a network that has spent years positioning itself as a champion of diversity. The tension between CNN's public posture and its internal decisions is not new, and Lemon's accusation, whether accurate or self-serving, puts the network in an uncomfortable spot.

Arrest and federal charges add context to Lemon's trajectory

Lemon's post-CNN path has not been limited to podcasts and political musings. The New York Post reported that Lemon was arrested in January for allegedly joining anti-ICE activists who stormed a church service in Minnesota. He has pleaded not guilty to federal civil rights charges stemming from the incident.

That arrest adds a layer to the interview that the podcast itself did not address. A former prime-time anchor facing federal charges, comparing the governing political movement to Nazis, and floating a presidential run, all within the span of a few months, paints a picture of a public figure operating well outside the mainstream. The Post also noted that Lemon claimed during the same interview that he would be a "really good" commander-in-chief.

Conservative media has long scrutinized the conduct of cable news anchors who blur the line between journalism and activism. The pattern is familiar: an anchor leaves a network, sheds the constraints of institutional editorial standards, and says publicly what critics always suspected they believed privately. Lemon's remarks fit that pattern precisely. The difference is the extremity. Comparing a political movement supported by roughly half the country to the Nazi Party, even with the caveat "without the Holocaust and all that stuff", is not political commentary. It is a smear directed at millions of Americans who voted on issues like the economy, immigration, and public safety.

President Trump has confronted CNN directly over what he views as the network's bias, and Lemon's post-departure rhetoric only reinforces the argument that the network's editorial culture produced advocates, not journalists.

A qualifier that does not qualify

Lemon's Nazi comparison included a caveat, "without the Holocaust and all that stuff", that he apparently intended as a moderating clause. It does not function as one. The Holocaust was not a footnote to the Nazi Party; it was the defining horror of the regime. Stripping it out and then applying the label to a democratic political movement does not make the comparison more precise. It makes it more reckless.

Millions of MAGA supporters include veterans, churchgoers, small-business owners, and working families who voted for lower taxes, border security, and a check on federal overreach. Telling those voters they are the moral equivalent of a genocidal regime, minus the genocide, is not a serious argument. It is the kind of rhetoric that poisons democratic debate and makes good-faith disagreement impossible.

Online reaction reflected that view. One user on X, responding to Lemon's comments, wrote: "Such an absolute SICK man. THESE lies will bring violence, pain, and suffering to the American people. He's horrible."

The broader pattern in progressive media, treating political opponents not as wrong but as morally defective, has consequences that go beyond cable news ratings. It tells half the country they are not just mistaken but dangerous. That framing does not persuade. It alienates. And when the person doing it is simultaneously asking for the public's trust as a potential presidential candidate, the contradiction speaks for itself.

Don Lemon wants to lead a country whose voters he just compared to Nazis. If that is the platform, the campaign is already over.