Lemon’s criticism of co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski came after he also criticized former President Barack Obama and his viral laughter with Trump at former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral, saying people “have a right to be concerned” over Obama’s behavior. He added that people such as Scarborough and Brzezinski, who deemed the president-elect as “fascist” in the past, should not be “grinning” with the same person they repeatedly warned the public about.

“Folks are tired of the behavior being normalized,” Lemon said on The Don Lemon Show. “Civility does not mean befriending people or forgoing your morals and your principles and your character. If someone disrespects my loved one, I don’t have to smile in their f***ing face, and they’re going to know it!”

In directing some criticism toward Obama, Lemon argued that the 44th president is “a classy man” but that his socializing with Trump at Carter’s funeral came after the president-elect “has helped promote” the claim that Obama’s wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, is a man. Lemon then said if he had been in Barack Obama’s place, he would not have been “smiling in your face,” and instead would have just “mind my business” at the funeral.

Lemon’s tirade is the latest in a flurry of insults directed toward Trump supporters at the end of 2024, accusing them of being in “a f***ing cult” without realizing it due to having “stupid MAGA brain.”

The Morning Joe co-hosts have repeatedly defended their meeting with Trump following the election, arguing that it was done “to have an off-the-record comment” with the incoming president and that other media outlets have done the same. Scarborough has also argued that there is “a massive disconnect” between social media and “the real world,” and he received multiple phone calls from people telling him they “understand” why he and Brzezinski met with Trump.

Former presidential candidate Nikki Haley, who previously worked as Trump’s United Nations ambassador, joked that the two co-hosts did not suddenly see “the light” with their decision to meet with Trump and instead met with him out of fear of losing their ratings.