The former CNN host called out Trump voters on TikTok for being “f**king idiots” for believing the president-elect would actually halt immigration after he seemingly did a 180 and asserted that “we need a lot of people coming in.”
Former CNN host Don Lemon called out President-elect Donald Trump’s voters on TikTok for being “f**king idiots” for believing the president-elect would actually halt immigration after he seemingly did a 180 and asserted that “we need a lot of people coming in.”
The controversy erupted after Trump appointed Indian-American technologist Sriram Krishnan as the senior policy advisor for artificial intelligence at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Krishnan has advocated for measures such as creating a startup founder or entrepreneur visa category, allowing H-1B visa holders to establish companies or transition to entrepreneur visas, and fast-tracking green cards for individuals in technical fields.
Trump’s ally, billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy, endorsed Krishnan’s views; he will co-lead the nonexistent “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) alongside fellow billionaire Elon Musk. Ramaswamy justified why major U.S. tech companies often turn to foreign talent, attributing it to what he called a cultural tendency in America to produce “mediocre workers.”
Ramaswamy’s remarks infuriated many in the MAGA base. The backlash intensified when Musk voiced his own support for the H-1B visa program. After prominent MAGA figures like Laura Loomer challenged Musk on X, he retaliated by removing their verification badges and demonetizing their accounts.
Although Trump has previously condemned the H-1B visa system as “unfair” to American workers and “very bad,” he quickly reversed his political stance, saying:
“I didn’t change my mind. I always felt we have to have the most competent people in our country … We need smart people coming into our country. We need a lot of people coming in.”
And Lemon could not help but laugh and laugh.