Was Montel Williams in the military? Years of service explored as talk show host gets emotional on CNN

Television host Montel Williams, who was enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1974, teared up speaking about the military during a CNN NewsNight panel discussion on Wednesday, August 7. The panel was addressing a clip where Democratic presidential contender Kamala Harris stopped Wisconsin rallygoers from chanting "lock him up" directed at Donald Trump.

Harris told the crowd the court would deal with Trump’s legal convictions and asserted:

"We're going to beat him in November, we'll beat him in November, we'll handle that."

Referring to the clip, Montel praised Kamala Harris' disposition which, according to him, focused more on trying to make Americans realize that causes that unite them are "far greater" than the ones segregating them.

The former talk show host highlighted the importance of reaching out to people who often interpret the "wrong message". Montel Williams disapproved of the mindset where one turns destructive if they don't win.

As both right-leaning and left-leaning guests were present at the discourse, Montel presented an example saying they might disagree on the very discussion they were having. However, they could always try to change or adjust their respective opinions and see things from a different perspective.

Next, Montel referred to military veterans and noted there were probably around 40 million of them alive, who swore by the Constitution to protect it against "all enemies foreign and domestic".

"That's why I put a uniform on, to protect this for your generation, for your generation. Let's start focusing on how we protect this stop firing up those idiots who really think they can," he said as he got emotional.

Montel Williams highlighted the alarming number of deaths it can cause if the United States goes into a Civil War.

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Montel Williams served in the Marines before his television career

Montel Williams might be widely recognized as the host of Syndication network's The Montel Williams Show that ran from 1991 to 2008, also left a mark with his military service. The Baltimore-born enrolled in the Marines in 1974.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, after completing his initial training at San Diego’s Marine Corps Recruit Depot in California, Montel was designated as a Crypologic Warfare Officer in USA’s Guam territory. 18 months later, he was sent to Fort Meade’s Naval Security Fleet Support Division in Maryland to fulfil his next role.

In 1980, Montel Williams earned his graduation degree in engineering with international security affairs as his minor from the US Naval Academy. He held his position as a lieutenant commander at the time of retiring after devoting 22 years to the US Navy.

Montel addressed his time in the military while hosting the 2023 Variety Salute to Service in November 2023, and said:

"It literally made me who I am. One of the things the military does teach us is perseverance, endurance, and also the ability to draw upon your knowledge to keep pressing forward. So you know, I salute my own service every day."

Montel Williams was the first Black American Marine to get into the Naval Academy Preparatory School who was designated as a naval officer after receiving his degree from the Naval Academy. Weighing in on this pioneering attainment, the veteran expressed:

"I look back and understand that I opened the door for so many more."

In 2016, Montel hosted a reality TV series called Military Makeover with Montel — a show dedicated to providing home improvements to military veterans across the US.