Jesse Watters Downplays Backlash Over Remarks About Harris and Generals

Jesse Watters has sought to downplay the fallout from his recent comments suggesting that generals “would have their way” with Kamala Harris if she were to be elected president. The Fox News host encountered significant backlash for these remarks made during Monday’s episode of The Five, with some viewers calling for his dismissal.

Addressing the controversy on Tuesday night, Watters claimed his words had been “misconstrued” and asserted that he did not intend them to be sexual in nature. “There’s been some attention to comments I made on the show yesterday about VP Harris,” he stated. He added, “People are misconstruing my comments to mean something inappropriate.” He attempted to clarify, saying, “I wasn’t suggesting anything of a sexual nature. I was expressing my opinion that Vice President Harris’s current leadership style could be an issue if she were elected.”

During Monday’s broadcast, the panel discussed Harris’s foreign policy as well as the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, marking the third anniversary of the event. It was in this context that Watters made a controversial remark about the woman campaigning to potentially become the first female president of the United States.

Watters posed the question, “What is her foreign policy? This is where the president has the most impact,” emphasizing a lack of understanding regarding her beliefs. He then made the incendiary comment that she would become “paralyzed in the situation room while the generals have their way with her.” Following his remarks, co-host Jeanine Pirro quickly expressed her disapproval, stating, “I don’t like that. Take it back.” Dana Perino also voiced her dissent, making it clear by addressing Watters by his full name.

In an effort to retract his statement, Watters later clarified, saying, “Figuratively…Have their way with her, control her…not in a sexual way.” During the same episode, he recognized the controversy again while discussing the Kennedy family’s criticism of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after he endorsed Donald Trump. Watters made a joke, speculating that his mother would likely go on MSNBC and comment about him being criticized for suggesting that Kamala Harris would be manhandled by generals.

The reaction from viewers was overwhelmingly negative, with many branding his comments as misogynistic and sexist, prompting calls for the network to terminate his employment. Activist Amy Siskind stated on X, “Jesse Watters should be fired for this. Even the two women on this panel were appalled. What say you @FoxNews?” Another user urged for him to be fired immediately, while others linked his comments to broader issues of misogyny, suggesting such remarks reflect attitudes that could extend even to personal relationships.

Kerstin Emhoff, the ex-wife of Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, also condemned Watters’s remarks, asserting, “There are many things to worry about, but Kamala being manhandled in the situation room is not one of them.”

Criticism came not only from progressive commentators but also from former Republican Congresswoman Barbara Comstock, who noted that “nobody misconstrued” Watters’s comments. She wrote on X, “When even Fox hosts can’t abide the intentional misogyny against @KamalaHarris by the dumbest and most obnoxious man on Fox, Jesse Watters.”

This is not the first time Watters has faced reprimand from his co-hosts; both Perino and Pirro have previously scolded him for making sexist remarks. In a prior incident, Watters mocked a fundraiser for Kamala Harris, suggesting that men who voted for her based on her gender were “childish” and potentially suffering from “mommy issues” or simply attempting to gain female approval. Perino interjected, “What?” during that segment, expressing her disbelief.

In another instance, Watters was criticized by his female co-hosts when he claimed that women in relationships do not control the choice of cars to buy. His comments have drawn widespread disapproval and threats of further scrutiny from both the viewing public and fellow commentators.

The fallout from this incident underscores ongoing difficulties in political discourse and media representation, shining a spotlight on issues of sexism and the treatment of women in leadership roles.

Source: various news outlets