Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Congressional caucuses Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other Jesse Bailey Watters (born July 9, 1978) is an American conservative[1] political commentator and television program host on the Fox News cable television network.

Broadside Books (a subsidiary imprint of HarperCollins) published his second work, Get It Together: Troubling Tales from the Liberal Fringe, in March 2024.

Watters was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in several neighborhoods of the northwest city, and then briefly during high school to Long Island, New York.

[2] He is the son of Stephen Hapgood Watters, a teacher, and child psychologist Anne Purvis, daughter of Morton Bailey, Jr., publisher of Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

[9] In 2001, he graduated from Trinity College in the state capital of Hartford, Connecticut, with a Bachelors of Arts academic degree, majoring in history.

[10] After graduation from Trinity College in Hartford, Watters began work as a production assistant at Fox News in New York City.

[13] On June 11, 2014, Watters debuted on the Fox News Channel show Outnumbered, later occasionally appearing as a guest co-host.

[23] In June 2023, Fox News announced Watters as the permanent host of the network's 8 p.m. EST hour following the firing of controversial fellow conservative commentator Tucker Carlson.

[24] In January 2024, he presented to his viewers a thought, without evidence, that Taylor Swift and Kansas City chiefs player Travis Kelce's relationship was part of a "psyop" directed by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Seven years later, at the White House Correspondents Dinner journalists' reception, The Huffington Post's Ryan Grim approached Watters with his phone camera running and asked him to walk over to Terkel and apologize.

[31][32] In New York City's Chinatown, Watters asked Chinese Americans if they knew karate (a Japanese martial art), if he should bow before he greets them, or if their watches were stolen.

[34] Numerous other lawmakers and journalists, including US Senator Mazie Hirono and US Representative Judy Chu, also condemned Watters.

[35] The segment was also criticized by the Asian American Journalists Association, which issued a statement saying, "We should be far beyond tired, racist stereotypes and targeting an ethnic group for humiliation and objectification on the basis of their race.

[42][43] In July 2020, Jesse Watters' comments during his show about the conspiracy theory movement, QAnon, drew public criticism.

Following the outcry over his commentary, Watters released a statement that said: "I mentioned the conspiracy group QAnon, which I don't support or believe in.

"[44][45] Watters attended the Turning Point USA's AmericaFest conference in December 2021, where he advocated for attendees to aggressively confront and question National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci about his alleged funding of gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, in Wuhan, of the Peoples' Republic of China, saying, "Now you go in for the kill shot.

[48][49] Fox News Channel indicated their continued support for Watters, saying he "was using a metaphor", and that his comments "had been twisted completely out of context".

"[50] This statement was condemned by White House spokesperson Andrew James Bates, saying "These unacceptable remarks come just weeks after the heartbreaking killing of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American child... Fox News owes an apology to every single viewer for this sickening attack on the rights and dignity of their fellow Americans.

"[51] During the August 27, 2024 broadcast of The Five, Watters commented on Vice President and 2024 Democratic Party presidential nominee Kamala Harris: "We don't know who she is.