CNN’s Lemon: ‘Almost At a Loss for Words’ at ‘Powerful’ Obama Eulogy

CNN host Don Lemon declared President Obama’s eulogy for Rev. Clementa Pinckney “one of the most powerful and extraordinary moments that I have witnessed on television” that left him “almost at a loss for words” on Friday’s “CNN Newsroom.”

Lemon said, “This is quite possibly one of the most powerful and extraordinary moments that I have witnessed on television, especially a speech coming from the president. I never really — at a loss for words and I’m almost at a loss for words right now. I mean, Van and I couldn’t even look at each other.” And “this is what many people around the country wanted to hear from this president for a long, long time.”

He added, “Once you’re fearless and once you really don’t give a damn, no one can stop you. And I think that the president is in that mode now. He knows that this is his legacy. He knows, if anyone, not just in this country, but anyone in the world, can make a difference when it comes to race relations and getting people to understand each other. And he said that. He said, ‘We have to stop. We have to start listening to each other.'”

Lemon also stated, “As someone who is emancipated and who is, I watching that speech, as a person of color, as a black man, was saying, ‘Go on…say it. If you don’t say it, nobody’s going to say it. Go on, say it. If you don’t say it, nobody’s going to say it. Be damned what everybody thinks.’ He is speaking his truth. He is the president of the United States, but he’s also the first black president of the United States, and he comes from a certain place.”

Lemon later added, “you don’t have to agree with President Obama, but what you must agree with, out of all of this, even if you don’t agree with him, he said, ‘Come in. Listen. Everybody come in. Everybody listen. Stop calling each other names. And start listening.’ We’ve had lots of conversations…we have a lot of conversations about race, but do we ever really do anything about it?”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

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