HOT TAKES! - A 22-Foot Golden Donald Trump Statue… Seriously?!

HOT TAKES! - A 22-Foot Golden Donald Trump Statue… Seriously?!

Don Lemon

0:00 This is a mustwatch.

0:01 If you haven't seen it, you have to watch this.

0:03 It has to do with um Donald Trump and him being elevated as a god.

0:09 You have an evangelical pastor out here touting a golden statue.

0:14 If you know anything about uh the golden cap in the Bible,

0:17 then this would should set you on edge.

0:19 But also not seeming to understand this evangelical pastor,

0:22 the first commandment of the constitution, which is I am the Lord thy God.

0:26 Thou should have no other god before me.

0:28 He seems to have forgotten that and is making excuses in his head

0:33 about unveiling this um golden statue

0:37 of Donald Trump which they call Don Colossus.

0:40 It should be Don Colossus FU up or Don Colossal FU up.

0:44 Anyway, here's the pastor.

0:46 What is your response to that that this is somehow a false idol?

0:49 You know, because people talk about the golden calf.

0:51 Well, is this the golden Trump?

0:53 Yeah.

0:53 Well, of course it's preposterous.

0:55 It's blasphemy to even think that.

0:57 I mean, if you knew me, and of course,

0:59 I don't know anybody who worships Donald Trump as a god,

1:02 but I do know you could you could worship anything as a god.

1:05 Whether it be your job,

1:07 whether it be your money, whether it be your relationships,

1:09 whether it be your career, uh whatever it is,

1:13 you can put it before the living God.

1:15 And God is a jealous God.

1:17 So, nothing should ever be uh put before the living God.

1:22 Ah well let's bring in someone who can talk about that because he

1:25 reported on it last week uh Aaron and talk about other things as well.

1:29 Thank you for joining us this morning.

1:30 Aaron, what is tell us about this golden statue and remember look I am

1:36 uh I did a book on religion just a couple years ago and there's first

1:40 of all and there not supposed to be any god before them and then you

1:44 know Exodus has this whole passage about golden

1:46 cap but this is the most bizarre thing.

1:49 It is so bizarre, Don, and it's great to be here with you.

1:51 So, it's the statue is called Dawn the Colossus.

1:54 It's 22 feet tall.

1:56 It's made of gold, and it was created by a sculptor in, I believe,

2:00 somewhere in the Midwest.

2:01 And it was made in order to promote a cryptocoin, the Patriot Memecoin.

2:07 A MAGA group started it and was like,

2:09 "Let's create a tall statue of Donald Trump." They then

2:12 installed the statue at his country club in South Florida.

2:16 And what you're watching there is a group

2:18 of evangelical leaders essentially blessing and ordaining this statue.

2:23 Donald Trump called in.

2:24 He thank them.

2:26 I mean, it was just truly one of the oddest moments I think you'll really see.

2:30 Let's Erin, let's listen to a little bit of that of of him calling in.

2:38 I want to make sure everyone can hear.

2:40 Okay, sir.

2:43 Hello everybody.

2:44 I want to thank you so much for being

2:46 there today and more importantly for what you did.

2:49 The uh the statue is beautiful.

2:52 You know, I saw it during the weekend.

2:54 We had a big PGA tournament

2:56 with a a great champion and all great champions actually,

2:59 but it was a great tournament and I got

3:02 to look at it very closely and it's incredible and I

3:05 just want to thank I know it was done

3:07 from love and I want to thank Mark Burns a pastor.

3:11 He's a good Mark Burns is a trumper.

3:14 He goes way back.

3:15 But I mean it it seems like a skit from SNL, Aaron.

3:19 Oh, I thought it was AI when I started hearing his voice.

3:22 I thought it was completely made up.

3:23 I I at some point I was like, this is this can't be real, right?

3:26 And and yet it was.

3:28 I mean, insane.

3:30 Yeah.

3:31 And yet and still I mean and then you have a pastor who is I think he's supposed

3:34 to be an evangelical or a southern I'm not

3:36 exactly sure with Mark Burns but uh Mark Burns

3:39 and I go way back to 2015 2016 when

3:42 he was basically a surrogate uh for Donald Trump

3:45 and would say the most bizarre things and then

3:48 test text me in the middle of the night.

3:49 There's a whole I had a whole another life where

3:52 I had direct contact u with these people a a lot.

3:56 So Erin there are big thank you for um for coming on today.

4:00 Yeah.

4:00 And by the way, congratulations on being a new dad.

4:02 We're very happy for you and I hope that's going well for you.

4:06 Let's talk though about the big stories.

4:07 We've been talking about havar virus.

4:10 Um lawmakers are coming back to Washington this week,

4:12 so it's going to be a big week.

4:13 This hentus thing though is quite frightening.

4:17 Yeah, I mean it is.

4:18 I I think though that it's important to recognize uh

4:21 that to me the what's not really frightening is the virus itself,

4:25 but rather kind of the implications of the virus, right?

4:27 So, I think this is really exposing the fact

4:30 that us pulling out of the World Health Organization,

4:32 us decimating the CDC the way the Trump

4:34 administration has over the past 15 months,

4:37 that to me is what's terrifying because there will

4:39 be a virus at some point that's COVID potential, that has pandemic potential.

4:43 This haunt virus isn't it.

4:45 Every single epidemiologist,

4:46 public health expert says we're not going to have an EP a pandemic from this.

4:50 But there will come a time where there is a virus that could cause a pandemic

4:54 and we won't be ready for it because of what we've seen over the past 15 months.

4:59 And that to me truly is terrifying.

5:01 And I mean, even Don,

5:03 you look at the HHS announcement of the American that tested positive.

5:07 They said, quote, "He tested mildly positive."

5:10 What the hell does mildly positive mean?

5:11 Can you be mildly pregnant?

5:13 Like, what does that mean?

5:15 Like, I'm a little bit pregnant.

5:17 What?

5:17 It's so funny because my mom, we were listening to we had the I had the GPS on.

5:21 I was in the car with my mom and it says make a slight right turn.

5:23 She goes, "What is a slight right turn?

5:25 A right turn is a right turn, but go on."

5:27 Yeah.

5:27 Exactly.

5:27 So, I mean like we have people like RFK Jr.

5:30 running the health department, you have lack of leadership at CDC.

5:34 And when push comes to shove,

5:37 when we will need guidance when there is an actual virus that could

5:40 really harm a lot of people in a quick a short amount of time,

5:43 I mean, we don't have the leadership that's willing

5:45 to kind of and that's equipped to fight back.

5:47 So that's I mean that's a scary part.

5:49 I also think yeah, you mentioned Congress going going back to session.

5:52 To me, what's even more interesting is this Trump she

5:54 summit and it comes just as Iran said screw you Trump,

5:58 we're not going to give you what you want on the deal.

6:00 Now Trump's heading to China.

6:02 Iran kind of froze him.

6:04 he can't really do much until he's back from China

6:06 after the 15th because he doesn't want that pushed.

6:09 So, I mean, yeah, there are a lot of news stories happening this week.

6:11 It's going to be a very,

6:13 very hectic week on Capitol Hill and just around the world.

6:16 Well, Republicans are going to want to get back to, you know,

6:18 the big beautiful bill, which is shocking because they're calling it beautiful,

6:21 meaning taking your Medicare away.

6:23 That is uh that doesn't sound beautiful or Medicaid away.

6:26 That doesn't sound beautiful uh to me.

6:28 And the other thing is that they they want to, you know, get this passed,

6:31 but also with a $1 billion allocation or aotment for this vanity project,

6:38 this ballroom that most Americans,

6:41 the vast majority of Americans will never see and never use or take part of.

6:46 Yeah, for sure.

6:46 I mean, I would actually predict though that that's going

6:48 to get thrown out of this for a number of reasons.

6:50 Number one, I think it's a terrible vote for any moderate Republican to take.

6:54 I don't think Republicans are willing to risk re-election efforts on this vote.

6:59 But number two, as you know, there's something called the bird bath rule,

7:01 the bird rule in the Senate,

7:03 and it essentially any spending provision in these reconciliation packages.

7:07 They have to be uh associated with whatever

7:10 the package is that you're putting forth here.

7:12 Um it's specifically related to ICE funding, CBP funding.

7:15 A ballroom has nothing to do with any of that.

7:17 And so I actually would predict the parliamentarian's going to throw it

7:20 out um in the United States Senate if it ever gets there.

7:23 I think one of the most important stories is um

7:26 the voting rights act and the redistricting that's happening across the country

7:29 that is that changes a political landscape especially for African-Americans

7:33 uh political power that is going to be front and center.

7:36 There are even lawsuits surrounding this.

7:38 Um there's Jonathan Martin uh from Politico is going to be on later

7:44 and he's going to he has an article which I think is very interesting.

7:46 He says Trump's redistricting push could cost Republicans more than it it gains.

7:51 I that's a take that I have not heard,

7:53 but this is a huge huge story that everyone

7:56 should be concerned about and paying attention to.

7:59 Yeah, 100%.

7:59 I actually don't disagree with this column.

8:01 I read it.

8:02 It's interesting.

8:02 I think that Republicans are flying a little close

8:05 too close to the sun here in some states.

8:07 I think they're at risk of a dummy mander.

8:09 And for those who don't know what a dummy mander is,

8:11 it's essentially when you gerrymander a state

8:13 so badly that you have five, for example,

8:16 lean Republican seats rather than three solid

8:19 Republican seats and you lose all five of those seats or you lose more seats

8:22 than you would have had you just not gerrymandered.

8:24 And I think that's what will happen to them in Florida.

8:26 I think they're flying a little close to the sun.

8:28 But I I I do think that people aren't talking enough

8:32 about how they are targeting black majority districts across the country,

8:35 whether Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama.

8:37 I mean, you name it, they're going after it.

8:39 And it it is I mean, racism through and through.

8:42 And um unfortunately,

8:44 it's just kind of fallen by the wayside for a lot of folks.

8:48 I think Yes.

8:48 And I think that they don't understand

8:50 just how much this infuriates uh African-Americans especially,

8:54 but not just African-Americans,

8:56 people who understand the history of this country.

8:59 And how you know and uh um the original sin, one of the original sins,

9:03 one was it, you know, it was um you know,

9:06 doing what they did to Native Americans, right?

9:08 The almost the extinction of native native Americans.

9:10 But the other one is slavery and then

9:12 Jim Crow and reconstruction and then Jim Crow.

9:15 And it just seems like they they're tonedeaf.

9:17 And I actually think that this is going to I

9:20 don't think this is going to work well for them.

9:22 But the Republicans are very good at coming together.

9:26 They fall in line and if they redraw these districts the right way,

9:29 that will just essentially it can decimate

9:32 um Democrats standing and also black voters.

9:36 Oh, 100%.

9:36 And I and I think that what a lot of people aren't

9:38 even talking about is that in just about one month to six weeks,

9:42 the Supreme Court's about to hand down a decision that's

9:44 going to gut mail and ballots or mail and voting.

9:46 It's going to make it much harder to vote,

9:48 especially in rural communities across the country

9:50 that don't have immediate access to a voting booth.

9:54 And that's another attack coming down the pipeline.

9:57 This is just setting the stage for a Congress heading into 2027

10:01 where you actually no longer will have a black Republican member of Congress.

10:05 Literally, every single one is retiring or leaving.

10:08 And they're working to dilute uh black and brown

10:11 representation on the Democratic side any chance they get.

10:14 It's all part of the plan and we're just seeing it happen in real time.

10:18 Yeah.

10:18 Erin Parnes, I I you're a good dude.

10:21 I've watched your your updates and your um you know, your your news reports.

10:26 Uh where can we find you and what's up?

10:29 Do you have any breaking news or scoop that you're working on?

10:31 Um well, the big thing that I'm working on is these data centers.

10:35 Uh especially the one in Utah backed by Kevin Olirri.

10:37 A data center the size of 2,000 Walmarts

10:40 will produce the energy of 23 atom bombs daily.

10:43 uh will decimate the environment and not many people are talking about it.

10:45 So we'll have a big breakdown on that this week on

10:48 Is that going in a minority neighborhood?

10:49 Usually they do put that somewhere.

10:51 I mean Utah's not I mean minority you they're really but yes I feel you.

11:01 You're right about that.

11:02 But yeah, I'll have a big uh kind

11:03 of breakdown on that partner perspective on Substack.

11:06 Go check it out.

11:06 Go subscribe.

11:07 It'll come out this week.

11:08 Thank you.

11:09 and Aaron, go restack and check out the uh Lucky Lemon newsletter on Substack.

11:14 Um, and we appreciate it.

11:15 So, we'll go check yours out.

11:16 Thank you very much, Aaron.

11:18 It's a pleasure seeing you and congratulations, New Dad.

11:20 We'll see Aaron Parnes, everyone.

11:22 All right.

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