Don Lemon says 'no one wants to hear' from Trump regarding George Floyd investigation

On The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer Thursday, CNN's Don Lemon blasted President Donald Trump after U.S. Attorney Erica MacDonald shared in a press conference regarding the investigation of George Floyd's Thursday afternoon, that "President Trump as well as Attorney General William Barr are directly and actively monitoring the investigation in this case." When asked about his reaction to the fact that no charges have been made in the investigation of four Minneapolis police officers following Floyd's death, and hearing about Trump's reported involvement in the case, Lemon went off, stating, "As long as we are being honest right now, nobody wants to hear from the White House or the Attorney General right now. No one wants to hear from the man who wanted the death penalty to come back for the Central Park Five. No one wants to hear from the man who says that the former president was not born in this country. No one wants to hear from the man who says, 'there are very fine people on both sides.' Do you understand what I am saying?" Lemon continued, "No one wants to hear from the person that they perceive as contributing to situations like this in this society. Not directly, but allowing people like that to think they can get away from this. No one wants to hear from the Birther-in-Chief, from the 'sons of bitches'-calling person, who says that athletes are kneeling for this very reason. No one wants to hear from that." With protests happening all around the country, Lemon asked why investigators don't have the same urgency towards those who have been abused by police officers as they do towards asking protestors to calm down. "Why don't you have the same urgency that you have for all of these people who are out there, who, most of them protesting, but there are some, who are out there ravaging and pillaging, at least burning down stores. I don't know if it's by accident or what." Lemon concluded, "Okay, fine, that should not happen. But what about the urgency for telling those people to calm down and we need peace, that same urgency when it comes to people who are being abused by the system, who are being abused by police officers, who are experiencing racism in this country, and people are denying it. Where is that urgency?" Ultimately, Lemon stated that, while he does not condone their actions, he does understand the anger of the people of Minneapolis. "I understand the anger of the people who are protesting, who are upset in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I am not condoning their actions. I don't understand the actions, but I do understand their anger, when you feel you have nothing else. When you don't have a platform like a Don Lemon, or Wolf Blitzer, or Laura Coates, or anyone to protest." Lemon then prompted investigators, "Have that same urgency, when you are telling people to calm down, and don't be violent, and don't go out and loot stores, for racism and bigotry. Take the mask off."

Video transcript

DON LEMON: As long as we're being honest with-- right now, nobody wants to hear from the White House or the attorney general right now. No one wants to hear from the man who wanted the death penalty to come back from the Central Park Five.

- On the situation room with Wolf Blitzer Thursday, CNN's Don Lemon blasted President Donald Trump after US Attorney Erica MacDonald shared in a press conference Thursday afternoon that Trump and Attorney General William Barr were paying high attention to the George Floyd investigation.

DON LEMON: No one wanted to-- wants to hear from the man who says that the former president was not born in this country. No one wants to hear from the man who says there are very fine people on both sides. Do you understand what I'm saying?

- With protests happening all around the country, no charges have been made in the investigation of four Minneapolis police officers following Floyd's death. And hearing about Trump's reported involvement in the case did not sit well with Lemon.

DON LEMON: No one wants to hear from the birther-in-chief, from the "sons of bitches"-calling person who says that athletes who are kneeling for this very reason. No one wants to hear from that. The justice system should work for everyone.

- Finally, Lemon asked why investigators don't have the same urgency towards those who have been abused by police officers as they do towards asking protesters to calm down. And ultimately, Lemon stated that while he does not condone their actions, he does understand the anger of the people of Minneapolis.

DON LEMON: Have that same urgency when you are telling people to calm down and don't be violent and don't go out and loot stores for racism and bigotry. Take the mask off.