Fox News host Jesse Watters clapped back after controversial comments he made about Vice President Kamala Harris sparked backlash.
During Monday’s episode of “The Five,” Watters questioned Harris’ foreign policy credentials and implied a scenario where she would be ineffective in the situation room.
“What is her foreign policy?” he wondered. “This is where the commander in chief has the most impact. We don’t know who she is. We don’t know what she believes.”
Watters continued by suggesting that Harris would be indecisive in critical situations, allowing generals to dominate her, but his comment struck a cord with his female co-host and some outraged viewers alike.
Watters: She's going to get paralyzed in the situation room while the generals have their way with her
Jeanine: I don’t like that
Watters: Not in a sexual way pic.twitter.com/xmtAjShIwT
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 26, 2024
“She’s gonna get paralyzed in the situation room while the generals have their way with her,” he remarked.
Co-host Jeanine Pirro immediately made her disapproval known, saying “I don’t like that. Take it back.”
Watters clarified that he meant the comment “figuratively.”
“Have their way with her! Control her,” he explained. “Not in a sexual way,” he scrambled as co-host Greg Gutfeld snickered.
Watters tried to steer the conversation back to his main point about Harris’ foreign policy, questioning the capability of having her as commander-in-chief during a conflict like the Ukraine invasion of Russia.
Some viewers, however, were shocked by his choice of words, with social media critics suggesting intended to make an inappropriate remark.
Jesse Watters uses Kamala Harris’ birth certificate to claim she didn’t didn’t grow up in Oakland pic.twitter.com/ksM0zjcrlk
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 27, 2024
“The fact that he has to clarify it means it’s exactly what he meant to say, but was called on it,” one person pointed out.
“This is beyond a mistake. He clearly meant to say that, and gave that stupid smirk after,” another added.
“Watters should be fired for this, but since it’s Fox, he will likely get a promotion.”
“If canceling people is still a thing, can I nominate him?” Someone asked.
In response to the backlash, Watters released a statement addressing the controversy. He clarified that his remarks were not meant to imply anything inappropriate and were solely about Harris’ leadership style.
“People are misconstruing my comments to mean something inappropriate. I wasn’t suggesting anything of a sexual nature,” he commented.
Watters: You’re a hard news guy
Roberts: *laughs* pic.twitter.com/MKHACzO3GS
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 28, 2024
“I was expressing my opinion that Vice President Harris’ current leadership style could be an issue if elected.”
Despite his statement, Watters was right back to hammering Harris on the Tuesday night episode of his eponymous show.
He asked if Americans were willing to “gamble our country away on a frightened woman.”
Watters: Are you going to gamble our country away on a frightened woman? pic.twitter.com/EtvCjIt5IR
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 28, 2024
In his Tuesday night monologue Watters scrutinized Harris’ position on various policies, accusing Democrats of not defining her stance clearly.
“Democrats haven’t decided what Kamala Harris believes in. They haven’t decided. Is she a Joe Biden Democrat or a Trump Republican?”
He questioned whether she was committed to her role as vice president or her previous position as a prosecutor, asking, “Is she the border czar or not?”
He also speculated about Harris’ preparation for an upcoming interview with CNN anchor Dana Bash.
“It will be taped, Dana Bash will be asking the questions, and Coach Walz will sit right next to Kamala the whole time,” the Fox News star snarked.
Watters speculated that Harris might have spent an entire week preparing for the interview and even conducted mock sessions to reduce performance anxiety.
He drew comparisons between Harris and former President Donald Trump, stating the Republican nominee “did a live townhall on CNN and he didn’t spend a week worrying about it. CNN was the one worrying.”
“He knows who he is, you know who he is, and you know what he wants to do,” Watters noted.
Before juxtaposing that “Harris pretends be somebody she’s not and doesn’t know what she wants to do until her campaign tells her.”
He claimed that when world leaders face off with Harris, they can “smell fear,” and “know her tells.”
“Are you gonna gamble our country away on a frightened woman too insecure to tell us who she is?” Watters asked his viewers.