The Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants has energized many to oppose it, especially in Minnesota after ICE shot dead two US citizens. The situation escalated after independent journalist Don Lemon reported on a protest at a Minneapolis church after it was found that one of their pastors was a local ICE official.
This led to Lemon’s arrest Thursday, which saw many media members accuse the Trump administration of violating the First Amendment, especially as Lemon, a former CNN anchor, was only there to cover the protest.
One of the people critizing his arrest is ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who blasted the hypocrisy of the people calling for their First Amendment rights to be respected while also calling for Lemon’s arrest.
“Whether you like it or not, Don Lemon is a member of the press. Don Lemon has been in journalism for 30 years, Don lemon has worked at CNN for 17 years. And just because you don’t have a specific organization for, that’s where the word independence comes from,” he explained.
“This is straight BS that he’s going through,” he said. “I’m a member of the press to, and ain’t no way in hell anybody in the field of journalism should’t be supporting Don Lemon today, and that includes anyone on the right… You support this, you don’t support the First Amendment.”
He admitted that Lemon has criticized him in the past, but said that this does not matter. He also said that it does not matter if a person agrees with what Lemon did, the bottom line is that this should not have happened and that the administration is impeding on the freedom of the press.
Stephen A. Smith Starting To Change Tune on Donald Trump
In May 2025, Stephen A. Smith raised eyebrows when he suggested that it would be better to appease Donald Trump. This was regarding Trump attacking the board of Howard University, with Smith suggesting that the school was better off trying to appease Trump rather than being combative.
Fast forward a few months and Smith is now siding with one of his biggest critics, Don Lemon, calling his arrest an attack on the freedom of the press.
He has slowly started slamming Trump over the last few months, going on a fiery rant during “The View” in December over calling the affordability crisis a Democratic “con job,” reminding the president that he won the election because he promised affordability.
The prices have increased over the last few months, with many blaming it on Trump’s tariffs. He also predicted that the Republicans might lose the midterms the way things are.
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