Don Lemon Not Worried About Elon Musk's Influence on Donald Trump

Don Lemon isn't losing sleep over Elon Musk's influence on President-elect Donald Trump ... though, he does think people should be concerned about billionaires' control of the media.

We caught up with the newsman at LAX a day before he announced his decision to exit Musk's social media site ... and he shared his 2 cents on the Tesla CEO's close relationship with the soon-to-be 47th President of the United States.

As Lemon put it ... Trump's win doesn't heighten Musk's impact, as the businessman already had a massive reach given his net worth and resources. Lemon is doubtful Musk would step into an official role in Trump's administration, theorizing the tech magnate would follow in the footsteps of billionaires before him ... influencing the prez from behind the scenes.

He continued ... "We've always had rich people who've had huge influence over our country, especially our media. Look at Howard Hughes and others. History repeats itself."

However, Lemon's assessment of the situation may be a bit off the mark ... as Trump has announced he's appointing Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead what he's calling the Department Of Government Efficiency, an organization that doesn't exist yet -- and no further details have been released.

The proposed new department is already sparking controversy given Musk and Ramaswamy's respective businesses have potential conflicts of interest ... particularly with Musk's government contracts involving SpaceX, for example.

Trump announced the appointments Wednesday, when he explained the businessmen would "provide advice and guidance from outside of Government."

Lemon, who famously feuded with Musk over his canceled show on X, departed the platform over claims the site was not a place for "honest debate."