Fox News host Jesse Watters made some eyebrow-raising claims about men who vote for women candidates. On his show The Five, Watters expressed disbelief that anyone would vote for a woman just because of her gender. “Vote for a woman just because she’s a woman?” Watters asked. He then suggested possible reasons why someone might do this: “It’s either childish or that person has mommy issues or they’re just trying to be accepted by other women.”
But Watters didn’t stop there. He went on to make an extraordinary claim about what happens to men who vote for women candidates. “I heard that scientists said the other day that when a man votes for a woman, he actually transitions into a woman,” Watters stated. This comment drew reactions from his co-hosts. Dana Perino responded sarcastically, “Oh, is that right? That’s what the scientists say?” Watters doubled down, replying, “Yeah, that’s what the scientists say,” as per The Daily Mail.
The Fox News host also questioned why any man would support the Democratic party. “I don’t see why any man would vote Democrat. It’s not the party of virtue, security, it’s not the party of strength, it’s definitely not the party of family,” he said. These comments came after a successful fundraising event called “White Dudes for Harris”. The event, which included celebrities and politicians, raised $4 million for Kamala Harris’s campaign, as per The Independent.
Watters mocked the event, calling it a “struggle session for pale, hairy, flabby California artists.” He suggested the men supporting Harris were doing so to appease women, not for policy reasons. Co-host Jessica Tarlov disagreed with Watters. She pointed out that the event had over 180,000 participants. “There were tens of thousands of people on this call. They weren’t all Hollywood elites. There were a lot of regular people that wanted to come and show support for her, and the Democratic ticket,” Tarlov explained, as per The Rolling Stone.
Tarlov also highlighted an important aspect of the event. “The conversations that I thought were really important — and this is a policy issue — is the number of men that were expressing a regret from past elections, that they didn’t do enough to get the Democratic candidate elected,” she said. Jeanine Pirro, another co-host and former judge, eventually addressed Watters’ comments directly. “I want to say one thing. The men who voted for me didn’t turn into women. OK?” she stated firmly.
A Fox News spokesperson later clarified Watters’ intention behind his comments, “Anyone who watched the full segment can obviously tell that he was joking, which was also made clear later in the discussion.” A recent survey shows Harris pulling ahead of former President Donald Trump in several swing states. The race is tight overall, but Harris is now leading in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin.
