Lemon revealed 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.
"Now, look at me, everyone," Lemon began. "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 suggested to 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."
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Lemon declared, "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."
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Waters is currently facing GOP scrutiny over the comments, and Judge Peter Cahill, who was presiding over the trial, told Chauvin'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." Judge Cahill has said this before the jurors came to a verdict
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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," as reported by CNN.
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Lemon suggested 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 been found guilty on all three charges he was convicted of.
Chauvin is likely to appeal the verdict based on the heavy media coverage of the case and politicians intervention.
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