Don Lemon unleashes Jon Stewart on the hot mic and then on the back pedal.

CNN anchor Don Lemon On Monday, he tried to make a quick recovery on the air, when he caught a hot mic dismissing former comedian Jon Stewart:Daily show The host’s tense exchange with a Pentagon official.

Last week, Stewart He did an interview Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks at the War Horse Symposium in Chicago. In the exchange, which was widely shared on social media, Stewart confronted Hicks about the military’s inability to take care of all of its service members despite a tight budget.

“I don’t understand how $850 billion for a department should still be on food stamps,” he told a second-ranking defense official. “To me, that’s corruption.”

He aired that part of the interview on Monday’s broadcast CNN this morningas a First noticed by TMZLemon seemed unaware that the mic was live as he threw aside Stewart.

“He gets a lot of relief with the comedian thing,” he said, just as his voice cut from the Swart video package. From the several seconds of awkward silence that followed, Lemon seemed to believe that he was talking to his comrades on the air.

The veteran CNN host recently got his Share on the airHe then quickly backtracked and tried to frame his comments in a wider discussion about Stewart’s cultural significance. Acting on behalf of military veterans.

“We were talking about Jon Stewart being more than a comedian. He is a thought leader,” Lemon said.

Colleagues Poppy Harlow and Caitlan Collins added that Stewart “needs no introduction” because of his advocacy for veterans’ rights, praising Hicks’ tough questions.

“Yeah, when I say comedian and TV host, he’s so much more than that,” Lemon added with a double whammy. “I don’t even know if you have to qualify Jon Stewart like that. But there is a good interview. “

Stuart, who now Hosts The problem On Apple TV+Maybe Lemon’s comments are less offensive. In his past career in history, he has It is long cleaned His political influence and influence, arguing that he is “just” a comedian. “There’s a role for what we do, but it’s not a transformational process,” Stewart said. They told Desus and Mero late night jokes with me. In 2020.

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