Don Lemon's Morning Show Has Worst Week Ever, But That Wasn't the Only Failure CNN Suffered

By Ryan Ledendecker January 25, 2023 at 4:38pm

Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.

CNN and its heavily anti-conservative narratives laced throughout most of its programming lineup have proven to be an absolute loser of a strategy.

That strategy might have worked when former President Donald Trump was in office, as the Trump Derangement Syndrome was strong during those years, and CNN’s sheep-like viewers couldn’t seem to get enough. But the glory days of above-average ratings for the left-leaning network are long over, and, honestly, it’s incredible that they’re even still in business.

Fox News reported that Don Lemon, one of the few recognizable names left at CNN, is suffering in the wake of being jetted to the network’s scarcely-watched, low-rated morning lineup from his struggling prime-time show in September of 2022.

When Lemon was shuffled to the morning lineup, he insisted that he was “not demoted” and doubled down by explaining that it was his choice to accept what he described as a “promotion.”

“I was presented with an opportunity that I can’t pass up at this network. And we have a new boss who is a morning show impresario. And he wants a morning show that will kick off the editorial direction of the network every single day, and I am honored that he asked me to do it,” Lemon said on-air at the time.

CNN’s @DonLemon on being demoted from primetime to the AM: “I was not demoted” pic.twitter.com/WgatfCzPLT

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) September 16, 2022

However, the numbers don’t lie; they tell a much sadder story for Lemon.

Do you think CNN will ever become fair in its reporting?

His morning show, “CNN This Morning,” has not only taken a beating in the ratings since its launch last year, but recently it suffered its worst ratings week in its existence. The numbers prove, especially when stacked against a powerhouse morning program like Fox News’s “Fox & Friends,” that Americans are sick and tired of the radical progressive nonsense from the left side of the media establishment.

Overall, “Fox & Friends” crushed the morning ratings Jan. 16-22, with an astonishing 1.3 million viewers. Lemon’s “CNN This Morning” barely managed to muster 331,000 viewers.

In the 25-54 demographic, which advertisers pay the most attention to, CNN’s numbers were considerably more embarrassing, managing only 65,000 viewers. “Fox & Friends” cleaned up with 180,000 viewers in that demo.

Lemon’s show has been such a running joke since it went live that even hard-core leftist comedian Stephen Colbert recently took a shot at him for what he wears on air, dialing in on an incredibly bizarre outfit Lemon wore recently.

“I believe a great man once said, ‘What the f*** is that?'” Colbert said, while flashing an image of Lemon in a blazer worn over a hoodie, Fox News reported. “I know they want to add some comedy to CNN, and this is hilarious, but how do you report the news in that outfit? How do you actually talk about tragedy wearing that, because what could be more tragic than that look he had this morning?”

Colbert’s bit about Lemon’s outfit starts at the :55 mark in the video below.

While Lemon will probably land a few new curious viewers just to see what he’s wearing on a given day, it certainly won’t be enough to fix his failing show or network.

Overall, CNN lost out in the ratings game again that week as Fox News dominated. The powerhouse Fox News managed an impressive 1.4 million viewers in the week of Jan. 16-22. CNN managed only 417,000, even beaten by ESPN, HGTV, the Hallmark Channel and its left-leaning rival, MSNBC.

There’s simply no category where CNN lands anywhere close to numbers that would impress anyone, let alone the advertisers it needs to stay afloat. And it’s been like that long enough to where it’s clear that it’s no longer a glitch or a bump in the road.

The humiliating ratings for CNN are a referendum on the network’s content direction and its radical progressive bent, which most Americans are clearly no longer interested in hearing.

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