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I just went live with Don Lemon for our first weekly Substack Live since his arrest, and it was a great conversation.
We didn’t relitigate the details of his arrest (I’ve already explained why the charges are baseless). Instead, we discussed how this moment has impacted Don and talked about the broader implications for the First Amendment. I talked a bit about how Don is a friend, and my initial reaction was fury. But my immediate next thought was the stakes for the state of journalism.
We talked about what happens when the federal government tests the limits of press freedom and what it reveals about the fragile state of democracy in this moment. The goal of Don’s arrest wasn’t just to intimidate him personally, but to intimidate all journalists. The goal is to make reporting feel risky enough that people quietly start pulling punches.
This conversation was a clear-eyed look at the reality independent journalists are now operating in. A world where intimidation is no longer theoretical, where state power is being openly deployed to suppress the press, and where the old assumptions about institutional protection no longer hold.
Don and I talked about what it means to keep telling the truth anyway, without corporate backstops, without billionaire insulation, and without pretending that this is all just political theater.
At its core, this was a conversation about responsibility. About why independent journalism is no longer just an alternative lane, but the frontline. About why authenticity, collaboration, and audience-supported media are a necessity in our fight to defend democracy. And about why attacks on one journalist have to be understood as attacks on all of us.
You can watch our full conversation above; it was a great one. What follows is a breakdown of the core themes from that conversation and the lessons it offers for anyone who still believes the press is supposed to function as democracy’s immune system.
Don Lemon’s Response To Intimidation Is To Keep Telling The Truth
I asked Don directly if this has changed him. He said he only knows one way: telling the truth. That is the job, but for him it is also the mission.
Key takeaways:
Don frames journalism as a vocation, not a performance. He talked about bringing light to dark places and exposing what powerful people want hidden.
He sees the First Amendment as the foundation for everything else. Don said it plainly: without freedom of the press, the other rights do not stand strong. The implications are structural.
He believes his case can set a broader precedent. Don repeatedly returned to the idea that winning this will be a win for everyone, not because he wants martyr status, but because the precedent matters for the country.
Core point: The only credible response to intimidation is to keep doing the work with more purpose.
Don’s Holding Cell Thought: Am I Playing Too Small?
One of the most striking moments of the conversation was Don describing what went through his mind while he was in custody. He had this unexpected thought: maybe he has been playing too small a game. He wondered if he should run for office, even though he does not like politics and has no desire to be a politician.
It was not a campaign announcement. It was something more human and revealing: the way a moment of pressure can force a person to ask themselves how best they should use their voice.
Key takeaways:
He experienced the “bigger calling” question in real time. Don described it as a weird thought, possibly God, possibly just clarity born from pressure. But it was real.
He still frames public service as service. Even in the hypothetical, he talked about serving viewers, serving the public, and how hard it would be to do both journalism and politics with full commitment.
The instinct was not of fear. It was of scale. The moment did not push him toward silence. It pushed him toward imagining a bigger impact.
Core point: When the state tries to shrink you, sometimes the best response is think even bigger.
Independent Journalism Needs A NATO: Solidarity Has To Become Structure
This was one of the most important parts of the conversation. I told Don my takeaway from his arrest was that we need something like an “independent journalist NATO.” An attack on one should be treated as an attack on all. Don agreed immediately and said he has been pushing this idea for a long time.
Key takeaways:
Don believes independent media gets stronger through collaboration, not rivalry. He contrasted the streaming world with corporate news culture. In corporate environments, everyone competes for guests and scoops. Don sees the independent space as having room for everyone to grow.
He wants a summit and a deeper culture shift. Don said a lot of people are not used to camaraderie because they are trained to be competitive. He wants something more intentional.
Cross-platform support is part of survival. Don described the norm in the streaming world: showing up on each other’s platforms, building together, and strengthening the ecosystem.
Core point: If independent journalism is going to withstand authoritarian pressure, we need an infrastructure of solidarity.
“Bloom Where You’re Planted”: Authenticity Is The Only Moat
Don said something that should be printed out and taped to every creator’s wall: “Bloom where you’re planted.” He credited Allison Rosati, one of his colleagues in Chicago, and used it to explain how he has always approached his career.
He is not obsessed with who is doing what. He is not threatened by other talented people. He is focused on being excellent at being Don Lemon.
Key takeaways:
Don does not compete by tearing others down. He said he has never been jealous or threatened because what is yours is yours.
Authenticity reigns. Don argued that audiences can sense what is real and that authenticity is what people are drawn to in this era.
Core point: In a fractured media world, the one sustainable advantage is being unmistakably yourself.
The National Prayer Breakfast: Trump’s Christian Nationalist Performance
We also talked about the day’s news, and the prayer breakfast became a perfect example of the broader rot. Don was genuinely stunned by what Trump chose to do in that setting: partisan attacks, “rigged election” grievances, bizarre tangents, and the steady fusion of politics with religious identity.
Don broke down the core moral contradiction. He joked about running through the Ten Commandments and how Trump violates them in broad daylight, including the lines about coveting, adultery, and power.
Key takeaways:
Both of us saw the prayer breakfast as a symbol of institutional degradation. A setting designed for unity was turned into a partisan spectacle.
Don tied it directly to his book and his long-running warning. He referenced his book, I Once Was Lost: My Search for God in America, and described the effort to blur and erode church-state separation.
Trump’s rhetoric was openly divisive. Don cited Trump’s line about not understanding how someone could be a person of faith and be a Democrat. We both talked about how unimaginable it would be for a Democratic president to say anything remotely similar without an instant political firestorm.
Core point: Christian nationalism is a direct challenge to constitutional pluralism.
Why Don Won’t Do “Panel Culture” And Why I Find It Frustrating, Even If I Still Participate
Later in the conversation, we talked about the modern political debate ecosystem, the yelling panels, the normalization of liars, and the way media formats can accidentally turn crisis into entertainment.
Don said something that cuts to the bone: this is not folly. This is not fun. We are in a fight for our lives. He said he cannot put liars on his show and cannot treat this moment like a cute game.
Key takeaways:
Don rejects giving a platform to bad-faith madness. He made a distinction between real disagreements and outright lying. He has no interest in laundering propaganda through “debate.”
I admitted I’m nearing a limit with those who defend the indefensible. I said what I feel more and more: at some point, you want to ask, “What will it take for you to admit this is wrong?”
The normalization is part of the danger. We both circled the same reality: living inside a constant firehose can make the public numb, even as the stakes rise.
Core point: A media ecosystem built around performance and conflict is structurally vulnerable to authoritarian manipulation.
Closing: Support Independent Journalists
We ended the conversation where we began it: this is a First Amendment moment, and the response has to be collective.
Don said it directly to viewers across platforms: support independent journalists by subscribing and becoming members. This is how we keep independent media alive and without corporate overlords or billionaires shaping the boundaries of what we can say.
And I co-sign that fully.
If you watched this live, thank you. If you missed it, thank you for being here now. The main takeaway is this: independent media is now a major key to defending our democracy.
If you want to support our work, subscribe here and subscribe to Don’s channel too.
