Former CNN anchor Don Lemon found himself in an awkward exchange when his leading questions about Elon Musk‘s supposed influence over Donald Trump backfired during a street interview in New York City.

The uncomfortable moment unfolded as Lemon pressed TikToker and former professional soccer player Will John about Democrats‘ claims that the Tesla and SpaceX founder was acting as a shadow president.

‘Who is the real president-elect, do you think?’ Lemon asked.

‘Well, Donald Trump won, I believe,’ John replied.

The exchange grew tense when Lemon said that ‘Democratic lawmakers in Washington are calling Elon Musk “President Musk” now, and they’re saying Donald Trump is the vice president or the head of communication for President Musk.’

‘What, what, what, what – wait a second, no. No one said that,’ John shot back.

‘Really? Have you not watched and paid attention to the news?’ the ex-CNN anchor responded incredulously. 

‘Absolutely not,’ John interjected. ‘I’m paying attention to what I’m doing during my day, so I can try and get a better life and get ahead.’

Lemon then insisted that John google ‘President Musk’ on his phone and read the names of the publications covering the issue.

John said the search results included stories from Axios, Business Insider, ABC News, the New York Times, the Atlantic, leading Lemon to react as if he’d nailed his interview subject.

‘I don’t trust any of these. I don’t trust any of them,’ John retorted.

‘We’re the common man. We don’t trust any of these. No one trusts the government. No one trusts the common news. We don’t trust any of that anymore. Independent news, we are the ones that own the news now. People trust me. They don’t trust MSNBC because I care, and I’m actually one of them.’

‘I can’t disagree with you,’ Lemon replied.

The clip quickly sparked backlash on social media, with users slamming the former CNN host.

‘Don Lemon can’t go a day without embarrassing himself,’ one user wrote.

‘Don Lemon thought he did something,’ another added.

‘Don Lemon trying to desperately stir the pot,’ a third chimed in.

The heated exchange came just as Trump himself set the record straight about who’s really calling the shots, rejecting accusations from Democrats about Musk’s influence during his first major post-election speech.

‘No, he’s not going to be president, that I can tell you,’ Trump said at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in Phoenix on Sunday. 

‘And I’m safe. You know why? He can’t be. He wasn’t born in this country,’ the president-elect joked.