Conservative Hollywood media mogul slams Trump's 'dictator-like' move

U.S. President Donald Trump attends the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit, at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 15, 2025. REUTERS Nathan Howard

The recent arrest of journalist Don Lemon has set off alarm bells within the media world – including from one prominent media executive with ties to President Donald Trump.

In a Friday segment on his gossip site TMZ, founder Harvey Levin lamented the Trump administration's indictment of Lemon – a former CNN anchor — and suggested Trump was taking a page from the authoritarian playbook.

"So the Trump administration wonders why people are saying that they are trying to form a dictatorship. Well, look at the landscape – arresting Don Lemon, who covered a protest in Minneapolis, is just insane, ridiculous, dictator-like," Levin said. "This is the playbook that dictators use to destroy democracies and take the will of the people away. It is as simple as that."

Levin asserted that arresting Lemon was the administration sending the message that it viewed the free press as hostile, which Levin said was a threat to democracy. He went on to argue that the administration's argument that Lemon was impeding the expression of religious rights by covering a protest in a church was "stupid."

"A church invites everybody in. Have you ever seen a church with a no trespassing sign saying no journalists allowed? Have you ever seen any house of worship that says that?" Levin said. "It is insane, insane, that they’re making this stupid argument transparent."

Levin – whose staff has previously called out his ties to Trump as "gross" — said the Trump administration "should be ashamed of itself" for its "ridiculous assault on democracy."

"They will continue to do this. And they are going after journalists. They’re getting search warrants for their homes," he said. "It is obvious what’s happening in this country, people. Look at what is happening. You’re gonna look back in two years, if somebody doesn’t stand up to them, and I know people are now, but you’re gonna back in to years and say, ‘Wow, we didn’t see that coming!’"

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