Watch Trevor Noah, Tomi Lahren’s Fierce Debate About Black Lives Matter
Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren clashed with The Daily Show host Trevor Noah in an extended 25-minute debate Wednesday night. The conversation centered on the Black Lives Matter movement and the efficacy of political protesting. But the takeaway was the utter disconnect between the host and the 24-year-old firebrand, who works for Glenn Beck’s website The Blaze.
“Why are you so angry?” Noah asked the Dallas-based host, who appeared tone-deaf insisting that she wasn’t angry, as clips of her viral ‘Final Thoughts’ rants punctuated the segment. In one clip, Lahren calls anti-Trump protesters “crybabies with nothing better to do than meander around the streets with their participation trophies and false sense of purpose.” “It’s just that there are things that need to be said, and a lot of people are afraid to say them,” Lahren said to Noah.
Noah challenged Lahren about the infamous statement she tweeted (and subsequently deleted) last July, calling Black Lives Matter movement “the new KKK” after five police officers were fatally shot in Dallas. Lahren cited violent rhetoric she allegedly heard from some protestors (“Fry ’em like bacon,” she repeated). Noah reasoned that the radical actions of the fringe aren’t representative of the larger movement.
Pressing the issue, Noah asked Lahren how black people in America should meaningfully assert their First Amendment rights without peaceful protests and marches. He pointed to Colin Kaepernick’s example: “Here’s a black man in America who says, ‘I don’t know how to get a message across. If I march in the streets, people say I’m a thug. If I go out and I protest people say it’s a riot.’ What’s the right way for a black person to get attention in America?”
Lahren punted the question, and others, saying: “It’s controversial … but I think there’s some things that need to be said.”
Colin Kaepernick, by deciding to sit as protest during the National Anthem, has uncovered a lot of truths about race in America. Watch here.