"CNN had tried for years to fix its morning programming and Don Lemon is not the answer," a longtime network morning show producer told Fox News Digital when the move was announced.
" 'Lemon is a talented TV personality who went far down the Trump addiction rabbit hole over the past five years. That may have brought him some degree of success with a small subset of the audience, but ultimately it did not allow for his true talent to shine. He's not a news reader. He's not a strong partisan voice like Rachel Maddow. So what is he? Well he's fun, and he's kind of goofy, and he can fill air time," Krakauer told Fox News Digital.
" 'If that's what the morning show will be, maybe he'll succeed. To be fair, success for CNN in the morning will basically be getting above a ‘scratch’ rating," Krakauer continued. "But I also wonder if Don Lemon in 2022 is currently capable of just being that, of de-politicizing himself enough to be palatable for an audience that doesn't want to be part of the endless divisiveness that his old show brought."
"Lemon has insisted that the move from primetime to the mornings isn’t a demotion. McCall believes network honchos simply did what they had to do, but more changes will be inevitable if Lemon doesn’t figure out a way to appeal to viewers. ". . .