Silke Jasso
During his Thursday night program, CNN’s Don Lemon turned back the clock and referenced a scene from the 1995 Adam Sandler comedy “Billy Madison.”
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Lemon played a long portion of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s Thursday afternoon press briefing, where the typically flummoxed Spicer had the particularly tough task of explaining the White House’s position on allegations that President Donald Trump was spied on while he was a presidential candidate. An investigation from the Senate Intelligence Committee proved that the claim was false, yet Spicer continued to promote it.
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After airing the clip, which included an awkward back and forth between Spicer and CNN’s Jim Acosta, Lemon invoked a classic line delivered by Jim Downey in the film.
“Did anyone see ‘Billy Madison?’ The game show scene?” Lemon asked before paraphrasing a scene from the film: “‘Everyone in this room is dumber for having listened to that.’ I hope that you’re not dumber, and I hope we are providing you some information.”
The full quote comes after Sandler’s character gives a long and rambling answer about a topic he doesn’t know much about.
“Mr. Madison, what you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought,” Downey says. “Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.”
No word on whether Lemon thinks God should have mercy on Sean Spicer’s soul.
