As RedState reported, Don Lemon was finally given the ax by CNN on Monday, ending nearly two decades with the liberal network. The longtime primetime host, who was recently demoted to the network’s revamped morning show, attacked his former bosses immediately, complaining that he wasn’t directly informed.

In poetic fashion, the higher-ups at CNN took one final shot at Lemon, calling him a liar and noting that he was offered an in-person meeting with management. That was just the latest in a series of clashes between the now-former host and the network’s leadership.

Per my colleague Sister Toldjah, there wasn’t one big instance that led to Lemon’s firing. Rather, it was a series of building frustrations that finally boiled over.

According to Variety, the embattled co-host of CNN’s “This Morning” was causing a lot of problems for ad salespeople at Warner Bros. Discovery, and bookers constantly ran into problems trying to get guests for his show. Also problematic, their sources told them, was that Lemon simply couldn’t connect with average viewers.

But while there wasn’t one single event that sunk Lemon, The New York Times is reporting that there was a final on-air segment that left Lemon’s superiors “exasperated.” Just five days before he was given the boot, Lemon interviewed 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Things quickly went off the rails.

according to the NYT this interview that Don Lemon conducted last week with Vivek Ramaswamy played a role in his firing. Note co-host Poppy Harlow sitting silently while Lemon goes after Vivek. pic.twitter.com/Fjx5eX30wU

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 24, 2023

On Wednesday, however, Mr. Lemon made headlines again after a highly contentious on-air exchange with Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican presidential candidate. The segment deteriorated as the men fiercely debated questions of Black history and the Second Amendment; Mr. Lemon’s co-anchor Ms. Harlow could be seen sitting silently beside him, at times casting her gaze elsewhere and scrolling through her smartphone.

The incident left several CNN leaders exasperated, the people said.

In the segment, Lemon rudely interrupted Ramaswamy several times to argue that black Americans have not made progress since the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement. He also claimed that it was insulting for Ramaswamy to tell him, as a black man, what freedoms black Americans do and don’t enjoy.

Co-host Poppy Harlow is seen sitting in silence, playing on her phone and glancing at Lemon as he goes off on their guest. At another point, Lemon started to denigrate his producer for talking in his earpiece. It’s likely those behind the scenes were trying to get him to calm down and move on in the interview. Instead, Lemon blew up again at Vivek and abruptly ended the segment.

The entire spectacle was a microcosm of Lemon’s arrogant behavior on air, which has permeated CNN for years. There was a time when the liberal host at least attempted to adhere to some sense of fairness and decorum. Like with many liberals, though, the Donald Trump era broke him. Lemon had since been reduced to a radical talking head that constantly pushes far-left, overly racialized talking points.

Couple that obnoxious, unpredictable behavior and disrespect for authority with the fact that Lemon’s shows have long bombed in the ratings game, and it was just a matter of time before he got canned. I’m actually surprised it took this long, and it appears that the interview with Ramaswamy was just the final straw.