In car-speak, a “lemon” is a slang term referring to a car that never runs right, a largely unreliable hunk of junk that spends more time broken down in the repair shop than it ever does on the road.
So it’s fitting that it would also describe a certain liberal talking head’s failing career.
The aptly named Don Lemon will reportedly be absent, at least temporarily, from his spot as co-host of CNN’s "This Morning" after making tasteless remarks last week about women being past their prime after hitting 40 in an attempt to slam Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
According to a source who spoke with Confider, Lemon, who was also notably absent from his usual seat on Friday, will also be absent on Monday, with no official word on when - or even if - he'll be back. Instead, Poppy Harlow will joined by Sara Sidner and Kaitlan Collins.
The source confirmed that “There are ongoing conversations about Don’s future,” saying Lemon is “a constant distraction."
After being pulled from his primetime slot several months back and reassigned to the network’s new morning show, Lemon’s career at CNN has seen no shortage of scandals. He reportedly publicly bit Collins’ head off for trying to “interrupt” him during a show in December, in which the 30-year-old couldn’t get a word in edgewise while Lemon, 56, rambled on.
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In his latest oopsie, Lemon went on a cringeworthy tirade last Thursday condemning Nikki Haley for saying elderly politicians over the age of 75 should be given a cognitive test, saying that as a woman, Haley (who is five years his junior) is herself “not in her prime.”
"She says people, politicians are not in their prime, Nikki Haley is not in her prime, sorry. A woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s, 30s and maybe her 40s," he said, giving every listener - and his shocked cohosts - a nice bout of secondhand embarrassment.
Harlow, clearly bewildered and uncomfortable, interjected to ask if Lemon meant "prime for childbearing" or "prime for being president."
"If you Google, 'when is a woman in her prime,' it'll say 20s, 30s, and 40s,” Lemon charged on. “I'm not saying I agree with that so I think she has to be careful about saying that.”
Lemon later apologized (kind of) for the comment on Twitter without ever mentioning Haley by name. He also reportedly tried to smooth things over during an internal office call with CNN employees, which apparently went over like a lead balloon.