On Friday's CNN Tonight, during a discussion of President Donald Trump speaking out against Colin Kaepernick and other athletes who have kneeled instead of standing for the national anthem, far-left CNN political commentator Marc Lamont Hill admitted that he also does not stand for the anthem. Hill: "I come on here every week and talk about white supremacy -- I say Donald Trump is a white supremacist -- I don't stand for the national anthem -- and CNN still employs me."
And as he appeared again on Saturday's CNN Newsroom, he further complained that standing for the anthem is "an affirmation of the American empire," and boasted about his willingness to label President Trump as a "white supremacist."
A bit earlier on Friday's show, the liberal college professor and BET host had complained that there is a "plantation logic" being applied to athletes being pressured not to protest during the anthem: "NFL owners own teams -- they don't own NFL players. But part of the problem is this plantation logic that says that somehow, because we're your employer, we somehow own you and we can determine your actions."
Right-leaning CNN political commentator Matt Lewis then commented that CNN would have a right to fire him for inappropriate behavior, leading Hill to both call Trump a "white supremacist" and to admit to not standing for the anthem as he responded:
Okay first of all, I come on here every week and talk about white supremacy -- I say Donald Trump is a white supremacist -- I don't stand for the national anthem -- and CNN still employs me. You have a right to do that. It's not a plantation logic to have rules -- it's a plantation logic to think that you can control people's minds and bodies and politics which is what they're attempting to do with Colin Kaepernick. Also, not standing for the national anthem is not inappropriate or wrong. It's simply something you have a different point of view on.
After Lewis exclaimed, "It's unpatriotic!" Hill continued:
Let me respond to that. ... you don't get to define patriotism for everybody else. People didn't die for the right to stand for a flag, they died for freedom and justice. And Colin Kaepernick is putting his knee down because there is an insufficient amount of freedom and justice for vulnerable black and brown people. When somebody does in this country, we put the flag at half mast. We have a flag, and we put it at half mast, Colin Kaepernick's body is standing at half mast every time he puts his knee on the ground because he's saying that America is not free yet.
As Hill appeared again on Saturday night at 8:04 p.m. ET, he complained that standing is "an affirmation of the American empire." Hill: "The fact is, Colin Kaepernick and me and many other people simply have different politics. It's not neutral to pledge allegiance or sing the national anthem. It's an affirmation of the American empire."
He soon added: "What I'm saying very clearly, unequivocally, unapologetically on national television is that Donald J. Trump is a white supremacist."
