When the White House asks “journalists” like the kind at CNN to jump, Don Lemon asks “how high” and doesn’t seem to care how ridiculous it makes him look.

According to the New York Post, the White House has been secretly begging for more “favorable” coverage according to reports.

“I’m told the conversations have been productive, with anchors and reporters and producers getting to talk with the officials,” CNN’s Oliver Darcy wrote.

To be sure, Lemon took the ball and ran with it, making the “favorable” coverage about one of the worst things he possibly could; the price at the pump:

CNN host Don Lemon celebrated that the national average for gas prices was “easing up” — after it was revealed that the Biden administration reportedly had secret talks with media outlets to push for more positive coverage about its handling of the economy.

“Big economic relief for millions of Americans who have been dealing with soaring energy prices. The price at the pump is finally easing up,” he said on “Don Lemon Tonight” on Tuesday.

Lemon said that AAA data showed that the price per gallon was at $3.35 — the lowest since October — and noted that forecasts showed it could drop to $3.01 by January.

“Can we just celebrate the good news for a minute? I’ll take it where I can get it,” he said.

Weirdly, Lemon didn’t just stop at complimentary reporting. He actually did a little singing and applauded the administration on his program.

State-run media: CNN's Don Lemon does the White House's bidding by praising the price of gas falling just 5 cents. This is what the Biden administration wanted when they brought in media outlets to tell them how to spin the numbers. pic.twitter.com/q5aTak5rfx

— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) December 8, 2021

This five-cent drop in gas prices was paraded around CNN as a Biden victory throughout the day according to Fox News. CNN even released an analysis piece that described the falling gas prices as a “seven-week low” without divulging where the measurement came from. The U.S. Energy Information Administration, however, seems to have info that disagrees with this assessment:

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the highest average price of all grades of gasoline combined was $3.49 per gallon for the month of November, the highest average for the entire year. It was $3.38 for the month of October, four cents higher than the numbers CNN was touting this week.

For reference, Fox News pointed out that a year ago the price of gas was $2.15 a gallon.

Singing and applauding for mediocre results aside, the bigger issue is that the White House knew it could beg news outlets for positive coverage and these outlets were only too happy to oblige.

It ceases to be journalism at this point and proceeds to be propaganda. CNN is no better than state-run media.