Fox News host Jesse Watters declined to apologize amid backlash over his sexually suggestive comments about Vice President Kamala Harris.
During Monday’s (August 26) episode of The Five, Watters made controversial comments about Harris while discussing her foreign policy and the country’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.
Watters suggested generals “would have their way” with Harris if she was elected as the first woman president of the US.
“What is her foreign policy? This is where the president has the most impact,” Watters asked on Monday’s show. “We don’t know who she is, we don’t know what she believes. She’s going to get paralyzed in the situation room while the generals have their way with her.”
Watters’s co-host Jeanine Pirro immediately condemned his comments, saying “I don’t like that. Take it back.” Dana Perino also jumped in, expressing her disapproval of Watters’ remark.
“Figuratively…Have their way with her, control her…not in a sexual way,” Watters responded in an apparent attempt to walk back his comments.
Watters again acknowledged his comments later in the show on Monday, joking his mother would “probably go on MSNBC tonight” and say that “my son, Jesse Watters made a joke about Kamala Harris being manhandled by generals in the situation room… I can see my mom doing that.”
Following Monday’s episode, Watters faced widespread backlash for his comments on social media. Viewers called Watters sexist and misogynistic and called for him to be fired.
Watters addressed the backlash on Tuesday’s (August 27) episode, claiming his comment was “misconstrued.”
“There’s been some attention to comments I made on the show yesterday about VP Harris,” he said. “People are misconstruing my comments to mean something inappropriate.”
“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 elected.”
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