Fox News host Jesse Watters gushing over former President Donald Trump's mugshot drew an avalanche of jokes and ridicule on social media on Friday.
Trump surrendered to a Fulton County, Georgia, jail on Thursday evening after being indicted in District Attorney Fani Willis's probe into alleged election interference efforts in the state following the 2020 presidential election. Fulton County authorities took Trump's mugshot during his booking, making him the first United States president to have a mugshot taken. Trump has maintained his innocence in the case, accusing Willis of investigating him for political purposes as he runs for president in 2024.
Watters, the host of Fox News's Jesse Watters Primetime and a cohost of The Five, offered praise for the way Trump appeared in his mugshot on Friday.
"I am now going to book the Fulton County photographer for my Christmas card. Because—and I say this with an unblemished record of heterosexuality—he looks good. And he looks hard," Watters said.
His remark went viral on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, where a video posted by user Acyn of his Trump defense garnered 8 million views by Saturday morning. More than 12,000 users had liked the post, and more than 4,500 had reposted or quoted the video.
Many X users ridiculed Watters for the remarks. Newsweek reached out to Fox News for comment via email.
"Jesse thinks Trump looks so good that he might take the air out of his tires," wrote Majority Report cohost Emma Vigeland.
Jesse thinks Trump looks so good that he might take the air out of his tires https://t.co/N3IKxwWvvG
— Emma Vigeland - @emmavigeland.bsky.social (@EmmaVigeland) August 26, 2023
"Well I was wrong. I said it was impossible for Jesse Watters to say something funny," wrote comedian John Fugelsang.
Well I was wrong. I said it was impossible for Jesse Watters to say something funny. https://t.co/HsXlZXVuGE
— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) August 25, 2023
"People are getting hung up on Watters' profession of his orientation. I am still working through the idea that Watters' record on anything is unblemished," wrote NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik.
"They are trying to win back Trump supporters, they are so pathetic," posted David Weissman, an army veteran and ex-Trump supporter.
Others, however, defended Watters.
"What a stupid thing to dunk on obviously the 'unblemished record of heterosexuality' thing is supposed to be a joke," wrote X user Derek Pederson on Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, Willis's investigation has focused on Trump's phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which Trump allegedly asked him to find enough votes to tilt the state election in his favor after Joe Biden narrowly won the state. The investigation also focused on an alleged plot to submit a false slate of pro-Trump electors to the Electoral College.
In addition to the Georgia legal battle, Trump has been charged in two federal cases, one surrounding the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol building, and the other into alleged mishandling of classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. He has also been charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in New York. The former president has maintained his innocence in each case.
Despite charges, prosecutors in the New York and federal cases opted to not require him to take a mugshot.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more
