'Teetering on a dictatorship': CNN's Don Lemon says Trump may be 'declaring war on Americans'

On Monday, CNN anchor Don Lemon reacted with horror to President Donald Trump's speech, set against the police and military tear gassing peaceful protesters in front of the White House.

"Open your eyes, America ... we are teetering on a dictatorship. This is chaos," said Lemon. "Is the president declaring war on Americans? What is happening here? He's saying he wants to protect peaceful protesters, at the same time sending law enforcement and military into the streets to push peaceful protesters back, to be aggressive with peaceful protesters. He is doing the exact opposite of what he said in that speech."

"I think the president is playing a very, very dangerous game here," added Lemon. "There are a lot of Americans who are out on these streets who are upset, who are frustrated, who are angry. Again, I'm not condoning violence at all, and I hope that they remain peaceful, but I hope that they stand up and fight for their rights to peacefully protest in this country. But he's playing a very dangerous game, because this will backfire."

"People are upset and they're angry," added Lemon. "These people as I've been saying as well, they feel like they are occupied in their own communities by police departments. Many of them militarized police departments. Now the entire country according to his orders we are living under a militarized country or we will be soon and it will play out in front of our very eyes on national television."

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