On Monday's CNN Tonight, Montel Williams targeted the activists who recently shouted down former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley at the left-wing Netroots Nation conference for his "all lives matter" remark: "I'm sick of the fact that we now have to think that this term only belongs to one community. You know, lives matter in America. Black lives definitely matter. But every life in this country matters – especially the lives of the soldiers who put their life on the line every day to defend this democracy." [video below]
Host Don Lemon asked Williams about the O'Malley issue near the end of an interview that was mainly about the spat between Donald Trump and John McCain. Lemon played the video of the confrontation and noted that "this is Governor Martin O'Malley at the Netroots, and he said...'Every life matters. White lives matters.' And he got booed. What do you make of that?" After blasting the mentality that the phrase "only belong to one community," the veteran/TV talk show host added that "I can't get upset at the fact that he used that phrase that way. Governor O'Malley has other issues that he's got to deal with."
Moments earlier, Williams used the latest Trump controversy to spotlight the plight of one of the four Americans currently held prisoner by Iran – something he did six weeks earlier on the June 2, 2015 edition of CNN Tonight: "I'm working on trying to see if we can get Amir Hekmati out of an Iranian prison. Right this minute, we're working along with his family, along with a lot of the people. Is Donald Trump trying to say that Amir is in prison at his own fault? It's his fault for him being there, and we shouldn't help him? I don't understand this at all."
The transcript of the relevant portion of the Montel Williams segment from Monday's CNN Tonight:
DON LEMON: This is a joke that Chris Rock did back in 2008. Take a listen.
MONTEL WILLIAMS, TV HOST, ACTIVIST: Yeah.
CHRIS ROCK, COMEDIAN (from 2008 HBO special): McCain just got that old story. His (expletive deleted) has been telling the same story for 45 (expletive deleted) years. He a war hero – he a war hero – be a war hero that got captured. (expletive deleted) that! I don't want to vote for nobody that got captured! I want to vote for the (expletive deleted) that got away!
LEMON: So, I mean, that joke has been around, but it's – he's a comedian-
WILLIAMS: Comedian!
LEMON: Okay – yeah-
WILLIAMS: Comedian! This guy claims to be – he's keeps saying he wants to make America better. You make America better by dividing it and being as divisive as he is? You make America better by making sure that the soldiers that are, right now, worried about being redeployed – would have to worry that the man in charge thinks that they are some sort of – less than honorable because they got caught?
And you know me right now, Don – I'm working on trying to see if we can get Amir Hekmati out of an Iranian prison. Right this minute, we're working along with his family, along with a lot of the people. Is Donald Trump trying to say that Amir is in prison at his own fault? It's his fault for him being there, and we shouldn't help him?
LEMON: Yeah-
WILLIAMS: I don't – I don't understand this at all. And I know he made an apology today or some veiled attempt – not an apology. He tried to gaffe this off and move on. He just thinks that I can just move on beyond denigrating people the way he did. But there will be a price to pay for this-
LEMON: Hey, Montel, you know how this works. If you just have 10 seconds, can you respond to this, because I wanted to get this-
WILLIAMS: Yeah-
LEMON: You don't have to roll the video – I mean, you don't have to roll the sound – just roll the video and show it. This is Governor Martin O'Malley at the Netroots, and he said – you know, 'Every life matters. White lives matters.' And he got booed. What do you make of that? Quickly.
WILLIAMS: I'm sick of the fact that we now have to think that this term only belongs to one community. You know, lives matter in America. Black lives definitely matter. But every life in this country matters – especially the lives of the soldiers who put their life on the line every day to defend this democracy-
LEMON: Yeah-
WILLIAMS: So, you know, I can't get upset at the fact that he used that phrase that way-
LEMON: Thank you-
WILLIAMS: Governor O'Malley has other issues that he's got to deal with.
LEMON: Thank you. Montel. I appreciate it.
WILLIAMS: Yes, sir. Thank you.
