Don Lemon Gives Elon Musk 'Lavish' Alternatives For His Next Big Interview

Don Lemon defended his interview with Elon Musk on Wednesday by naming two other media figures he could speak to after their testy exchange led to the cancellation of the former CNN host’s partnership with X.

“The interview was precisely what Elon has long claimed that he wants to make a home for on X: a free exchange of ideas. We dug into serious issues. The nuances of the electoral college, the future of automotives, the complexities of DEI, even our own personal battles with depression,” he said during the most recent episode of “The Don Lemon Show.”

“Did he really expect for me to simply lavish him with praise for an hour? If so, he could’ve sat down with Megyn Kelly or Tucker Carlson.”

Lemon’s remarks come after Musk abruptly axed the proposed partnership on his platform following an interview where the former CNN host pressed the billionaire on his posts regarding the antisemitic “great replacement theory” and about advertisers who have left X.

“Well, you are upsetting me, because the way you’re phrasing questions I think is not cogent,” said Musk in one clip from the interview.

Musk, following an announcement about X canceling its partnership with the show, described Lemon as having an approach that was “basically just ‘CNN, but on social media.’”

Lemon, in an appearance on Mediaite’s “Press Club” podcast, told Aidan McLaughlin that he found Musk’s remarks “very telling.”

“That’s why he hired me,” said Lemon, adding that Carlson — whom he referred to as “another former cable news anchor” on the platform — is doing “exactly” what he did on Fox News.

Lemon, during his show, said Musk opted to have a sit down with an “independent journalist” for a “real conversation.”

“I’m glad he did it and if he chooses to watch the whole interview, he’ll come to appreciate just how valuable our discussion was,” Lemon said.