Do You Think Don Lemon Went Too Far?

Don Lemon is arrested. Surprise! TikTok is still terrible. And Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota. Just to change things up, Minnesota! That and more on this week's America Uncovered headlines. Welcome to America Uncovered, I'm Chris Chappell. I know everyone is sick of talking about this topic, but as a news channel, it's my sole responsibility to cover what's taking over the zeitgeist. I'm of course talking about the Melania movie. I still can't believe how many times they played Kanye West's gold digger in it. My favorite part of that last statement is the fact none of you saw the movie, so you have no idea if I'm joking or not. I am, to be clear. I don't want you to lose your trust, because trust is hard to come by these days. Especially since experts say Trump's use of AI images is further eroding the public's trust. The Trump administration says these are just jokes. And the White House Deputy Communications Director posted, the memes will continue. But many feel this could lead to people no longer trusting the government in the future. To which I say, the future?! Trump continues to prove he's a monster by trying to make housing and credit cards more affordable. This is what I have to be against now to keep my social circle? A coalition of 35 advocacy groups warned the Trump administration to as it could lead to another 2008-style crash. But I don't know why they're so worried. If you buy a house you can't afford and go bankrupt, you can just follow the Trump plan for getting back on your feet. Just star in your own reality show. Speaking of people living in abysmal reality, Iran. Oh wait, this is Minneapolis. I'd show you footage of the protests happening in Iran right now, but the government is doing its best to create a total media blackout. And the footage that is coming out, well, it's not exactly YouTube advertiser friendly. The estimated death toll of protesters killed by the oppressive Iranian regime could top 30,000. Two weeks ago, Trump encouraged the protesters. To all Iranian patriots, keep protesting. Take over your institutions if possible. And save the name of the killers and the abusers that are abusing you. You're being very badly abused. However, as time dragged on, and there seemed to be no action coming from the US, many Iranians began to feel abandoned. Until now, because the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group has reached the Middle East. Trump is demanding Iran stop killing protesters, and he's asking for a halt to its nuclear program, limits on its ballistic missiles, and the end of its support to allied militias in the Arab world. Such as what I like to call the three H's. Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Hamas. And what is Iran's response to seeing what Trump calls an armada? Iran's foreign minister made it clear that Iran will not negotiate with the US while under threat. And posted on X, Our brave armed forces are prepared with their fingers on the trigger to immediately and powerfully respond to any aggression against our beloved land, air, and sea. He also said, Nuclear weapons have no place in our security calculations, and we have never sought to acquire them. Really? Never? At all? Not even a little bit? Why do I think this guy isn't telling the full truth? Oh, that might be why. So will Trump and Iran's government reach a deal? Will Trump be forced to use the big, beautiful armada? I guess we'll just have to wait and see. And I swear if I get another middle of the night notification that history-changing news has happened after I already filmed this, and I have to rush into the studio on my only day off, that's what I'm going to do. Speaking of Trump deals, TikTok. The Chinese-divested, US-backed TikTok is officially here, so users no longer have to worry about Chinese propaganda flooding the app. Now they can look forward to US propaganda. Because users are alleging that political content is being censored on TikTok since the US takeover, claiming it's blocking mentions of Jeffrey Epstein, anti-Trump videos, and anti-ICE videos. The company is blaming this on tech issues. But Bernie Sanders isn't buying that, saying right-wing multi-billionaire Larry Ellison is controlling the TikTok algorithm, and this is what oligarchy looks like. Had to throw in the word oligarchy, because you need that brand recognition. And California governor, in name only since he's putting all his energy into his inevitable 2028 presidential campaign, Gavin Newsom, says he's launching a review into whether TikTok is violating state law by censoring Trump-critical content. Assuming he finds time away from his podcast. It looks like an ABC sitcom that gets cancelled halfway through its pilot episode. You know, there's an obvious solution here. Stop using TikTok! And teach kids critical thinking so they don't get all their opinions from videos of people recording themselves in their car. Tell them to form their own opinions. Or at least get them from people recording themselves in a basement in New York. Because those are the only opinions you can really trust. But let's lighten the mood. Minneapolis! I bet you wish for once I said abortion. The nation is still reacting to the shooting of Alex Preddy by Border Patrol agents. And the shooting of Rene Good before that. The chief judge of Minnesota's federal court ordered ICE Director Todd Lyons to appear in court and threatened him with contempt if he didn't explain why detained immigrants weren't being given due process. That's not just Minnesota. Sam Altman became the first major CEO to say ICE is going too far. Though his opinion would probably carry more weight if we weren't all so sure this is just him setting up a pitch to replace agents with robots and calling them A-ICE. And some people are calling for the firing of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, calling her incompetent with how she's handled operations thus far. Especially her disastrous PR work in the aftermath of the shootings of Good and Preddy. Though I don't know what anyone's talking about. She's totally competent. Just look at how she's definitely not pointing that gun directly at this officer's head. Yep, that's the face of a man who's not at all concerned right now. Trump held a two-hour meeting with Noem. But it wasn't a case of taking old Yeller out behind the shed. Or Noem taking her dog out wherever. Sources say Noem's job wasn't threatened, but she and the president had a prank talk about how best to implement his immigration plan amid all the backlash, some of it coming from fellow Republicans. One shakeup was removing Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino from Minneapolis, while some sources say he was fired. It's more accurate to say he was shuffled out and into another position. People still stand by Greg Bovino. Which probably annoys him, since he can't see over them. Trump also sent Border Star Tom Homan to Minneapolis. Homan, who looks like if every NFL coach was one person, is a controversial figure because he's an unrepentant Trump loyalist, and oh wait, he was actually the head of ICE under Obama, and actually given the Presidential Rank Award for his service deporting millions of immigrants during the Obama administration. Hmm, I wonder why he's just controversial now all of a sudden. Homan says he's working on easing ICE's presence in Minnesota. And Trump says that the federal government is going to de-escalate, which is a great sign that levelheads and compromisers are taking over. Is what I'd be saying if former CNN anchor Don Lemon wasn't arrested by federal agents in connection with the Minnesota church protest. Yep, that's definitely going to lower the temperature. But while we talk about escalation and de-escalation, it's important to remember, we're being played. I know I've said this many times already, but until people start listening, the memes will continue. Earlier this week, a man squirted vinegar from a syringe at Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar. This was a wake-up call to everyone. The tensions are way too high, and we need to— I'm just kidding. Many said this assault was staged. The man who did it had a lengthy criminal record, made pro-Trump posts online, and appeared drunk and or disoriented before the assault. People on the left carefully explained this, trying to tone down the rhetoric. And just kidding, many said nuh-uh, Trump's assassination is what was staged. Russia and China are laughing hysterically watching America tear itself apart like this. But we may not just be getting played by foreign bots trying to divide us. Because signal chats to coordinate rapid responses to ice activity, including deploying anti-ice agitators, are being used in Minnesota. And materials are being distributed showing how to engage with ice officers. And there are reports of encouraging the doxing and harassment of ice officers. This isn't terribly surprising. But what is surprising are the allegations that Minnesota officials, including Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan and Representative Brad Tabkey, are participating in, and potentially even leading, some of these groups. Again, these are just allegations. Flanagan denied these claims, and the reports were from online journalists. So either take that with a grain of salt, or let it make you salty. But if true, leaders encouraging citizens to fight back against the federal government will do about as good a job at lowering the temperature as a dumpster fire in the desert. Kash Patel says the FBI is now investigating the signal chat. And I'm sure the results of that will satisfy everyone, because the FBI is as trusted as... This is where I usually throw in a funny analogy, but every example I can think of historic liars would insult them to compare them to the FBI. And while we're still on the topic of escalation, new video footage that's making the round online appears to show Alex Preddy days before he was fatally shot getting into a confrontation with ice and damaging their vehicle. Which puts just a little bit of a damper on both the narrative that he was just a peaceful observer, and that he was a would-be assassin who sought a massacre. Hopefully, Trump's discussion with Waltz truly was productive, and Homan helps ease the situation before things escalate further. Because as First Lady Melania Trump puts it, We need to unify. I'm calling for unity. That was my favorite scene in the movie, right before she jumped that 18-wheeler over the Grand Canyon. And since none of you saw the movie, what do you think? Leave your comments below with that American flag emoji to show YouTube that we've got engagement. Once again, I'm Chris Chappell. Thank you for watching America Uncovered.