Jesse Watters—like CNN-turned-NewsNation host Chris Cuomo—closed his first 8 p.m.. Fox News show by taking a call from his mother, who offered advice on how he can avoid the fate of his predecessors Bill O’Reilly and Tucker Carlson: losing his gig.
Her first suggestion: “Do not tumble into any conspiracy rabbit holes.” Watters’ mother, a Democrat who would occasionally call in to Jesse Watters Primetime in its earlier slot, explained: “We do not want to lose you and we want no lawsuits.” (After Carlson pushed the baseless theory that a Jan. 6 rioter named Ray Epps was an undercover federal agent who helped incite others, Epps sued Fox News and Carlson himself for defamation.)
The next item for Watters to adhere to: “Do no harm.”
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“We need you to be kind and respectful,” she told the 20-year Fox veteran, who just last month called homeless people “bags of flesh mutating on the sidewalk.”
“Use your voice responsibly to promote conversation that maintains a narrative thread,” she urged. “There really has been enough Biden-bashing and the laptop is old. Perhaps you could suggest that your people take less interest, for example, in other people’s bodies and talk about that.”
Watters didn’t seem too enthused by that idea, though, and attempted to wrap up the call, but to no avail.
His mother pressed on by suggesting that, to the extent that Watters has the ear of Donald Trump, he encourage “that Bedminster friend of yours” to go back to having a television show.
“Everyone in his audience could wear a red hat, and I’m sure the ratings would soar, although never as high, my darling, as yours on Jesse Watters Primetime,” she said toward the end of the two-minute call. “Good luck!”
