What did Don Lemon say about Jon Stewart? Hot mic audio goes viral

American television journalist Don Lemon seemingly slammed comedian Jon Stewart, stating that he has more "leeway" to discuss matters in what appeared to be a hot-mic moment. Last week, Stewart, 60, spoke with Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks at the War Horse Symposium. He confronted her about the military not taking care of its service despite having a huge budget.

He said:

“If I give you a billion dollars, and you can’t tell me what happened to it? That to me is wasteful. That means you are not responsible. But if you can’t tell me where it went, then what am I supposed to think? We got out of 20 years of war and the Pentagon got a $50 billion raise."

Calling it "shocking," he continued:

“I may not understand exactly the ins and outs and the incredible magic of an audit, but I’m a human being who lives on the Earth and can’t figure out how $850 billion to a department means that the rank and file still have to be on food stamps. Like to me, that’s f— corruption."

However, Stewart's remarks were not liked by Lemon, who was heard saying:

"He gets a lot of leeway with the comedian thing, though."

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Don Lemon tried to clean up his mess but to no avail

After Don Lemon’s seemingly hot-mic moment, there were a few seconds of awkward silence that made it look like the host believed he was speaking to his co-hosts off-camera. Trying to backtrack, Lemon then said:

“We’re just discussing that Jon Stewart is so much more than a comedian — he’s a thought leader.”

Don’s co-host, Poppy Harlow, then interjected and stated that Stewart has always fought for veterans’ rights and used his platform to do so. Again, Lemon tried to clean up his mess and said:

“We were saying when I said comedian and television host, he’s so much more than that. I don’t even know if you need to qualify. Jon Stewart is that but good interview there.”

Don Lemon has been making several headlines lately. His hot-mic moment comes after he was recently accused of behaving misogynistically with several of his female co-workers in a report published by Variety.

As per The New York Post, the television journalist is considering slapping Variety with a lawsuit over its “sexist” remarks.

Writer Clay Travis called out Lemon for his remarks on Nikki Haley (Screenshot via Twitter)

In February 2023, Don Lemon got into an on-air spat with Harlow, who scoffed at his claim that Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley, 51, was “not in her prime.” Lemon was forced to apologize after considerable outrage over his statement. He had to undergo sensitivity training before returning to the air after three days.