The Biden administration is demanding that Fox News apologize to its viewers over host Jesse Watters’ remarks that he’s “had it” with Arab-Americans and Muslims, noting that his “unacceptable remarks” come just weeks after a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy was murdered.
During Wednesday’s broadcast of the right-wing network’s highly rated show The Five, Watters launched into a vicious rant about “the Muslim world” that featured him complaining about how “we made them rich” while seemingly advocating for violence against Arab-Americans.
“We’ve had it with them!” Watters shouted, referencing the recent spate of anti-Israel protesters tearing down hostage posters. “And so, if you’re an Arab American in this country, and you rip down posters of Jewish hostages, American hostages—no. No, no, no. Someone is going to get punched in the face.”
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In a statement to The Daily Beast on Thursday, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates condemned the Fox News star’s comments, adding that the administration is launching an effort to combat Islamophobia.
“These hateful lies about ‘Arab Americans and…the Muslim world’ highlight the urgency of President Biden’s work to ensure hate has no safe harbor in America, and why he committed to the first national anti-Islamophobia strategy in our history,” Bates said.
He also framed Watters’ anti-Muslim tirade alongside the recent murder of Wadea al-Fayoume, a young Palestinian boy who was allegedly stabbed and killed by his landlord in a hate crime.
“These unacceptable remarks come just weeks after the heartbreaking killing of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American child, and during a spike in threats against Muslim and Arab Americans,” Bates concluded. “Fox News owes an apology to every single viewer for this sickening attack on the rights and dignity of their fellow Americans. President Biden will always stand up against Islamophobia, antisemitism, and all forms of hate. Fox News should learn from his example.”
After the White House announced it is developing a national strategy to combat Islamophobia, which comes as anti-Muslim and antisemitic hate has surged across the country in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, Fox News has seethed about the “tone-deaf” message to appeal to Arab-Americans who are angry with the administration’s stance on the war.
At the same time, the network’s reporters have wondered when there would be a national strategy to combat antisemitism, seemingly unaware that the administration unveiled its plan to do just that in May.
