CNN anchor Don Lemon said on Monday that Rep. Maxine Waters wasn’t calling for violence in calling on demonstrators to get “confrontational” if ex-officer Derek Chauvin is acquitted over the death of George Floyd.
Lemon said in a Monday interview with Wolf Blitzer that her comments were not “constructive” but also pushed back on some of the criticism that the California Democrat is now facing.
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“Now, look at me, everyone,” Lemon said. “Do you really think Maxine Waters is calling for violence? Maxine Waters is not calling for violence. Everyone knows that. She makes a lot of people uncomfortable, especially a lot of men, and quite frankly, especially a lot of white men, because she puts them in their place. She tells you, ‘Shut up! Respect this person. Don’t talk to me that way.’ And she gives it to you like it is.”
Waters told protesters in Minnesota on Saturday that if Chauvin was not found guilty in the murder trial against him over the death of George Floyd, they should “get more active,” adding, “We’ve got to get more confrontational.”
Lemon said, “Now, that said, do I think what she said was constructive? Absolutely not. Do I think that she should have said it? Absolutely not. Do I think that she gave her enemies ammunition? I certainly do.”
“Maxine Waters is not the issue here, and we cannot be distracted by Maxine Waters,” he said, adding, “The people who are criticizing her, quite frankly, most of the people are the insurrectionists people who supported the insurrection on Capitol Hill, are the people who support the lie about the election, are the people, in many ways, who are supporting state violence against black people.”
Waters is facing GOP backlash for the comments, and Judge Peter Cahill, who is presiding over the trial, told Chuavin’s defense attorney: “I’ll give you that congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned.”
When asked about the judge’s observation that her comments could be grounds for an appeal by the defense, Waters replied, “Oh, no, no, they didn’t,” according to CNN.
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Lemon said that Waters needed to be “more responsible with her words.”
“Was Maxine Waters really calling for people to loot and riot?” he asked. “I think most people with half a brain know that’s not what she was doing.”
Chauvin has pleaded not guilty to the charges of third-degree murder, second-degree murder, and manslaughter.
The jury has begun deliberations in the case, and a verdict is expected this week. Cities are bracing for protests following the decision, given the highly intense response Floyd’s death sparked in the summer of 2020.
