August 26, 2015

Jesse Watters’ ethnic slur about Univision anchor Jorge Ramos’ confrontation with Donald Trump was disgusting on its face but coming from Watters, who makes a habit of stalking and ambushing people for Fox News, it’s even more despicable.

Fox’s The Five show was just one of many, many Fox News segments cheerleading Trump for throwing Ramos out of a press conference when he began asking tough questions. Even though you know that they’d be howling like stuck chickenhawks if Hillary Clinton ever did the same to anyone at Fox.

But Watters was probably the most offensive on Fox – and that’s saying a lot.

WATTERS: I think Ramos acted like an illegal alien and he got treated like one. He cut the line, was disruptive and was deported. And then, Trump let him back in. Isn’t that his (immigration) policy?

Watters’ cohost, Greg Gutfeld agreed. “The thing is, he was rude,” Gutfeld sneered.

Gutfeld called Ramos “obsessed” with immigration. “He believes that if you’re not for, like, porous borders, somehow you’re bigoted,” Gutfeld added, with obvious disgust.

Then, for even more denigration, Gutfeld began lecturing Ramos: “He should be asking the question, why are his people fleeing his own country? He should be very, very passionate about the corruption and the infrastructure. How come you can’t drink the water?"

Gutfeld also validated Watters’ “illegal immigrant” smear by saying about Ramos, “He cut in line! He interrupted, he was rude. He should be polite. That’s my motto.”

Really, Greg? Because if you believe in courtesy then why didn’t you lecture Watters for his rudeness at a press conference with Mayor Bill de Blasio? Or for stalking, ambushing and harassing liberal blogger Amanda Terkel? Or for deliberately humiliating an elementary school official because it banned “Christmas” items from its holiday-fundraising gift room? Or about Watters’ “questions” to women attending a NOW conference: “Have you ever burned your bra?” and “Have you ever been wounded in the war on women?”

I think we know why. Rudeness and courtesy only matter to Fox’s pals. Otherwise, wouldn’t Gutfeld be smearing Trump instead? Trump’s rudeness to Megyn Kelly, Gutfeld’s own colleague, was far worse than anything Ramos did.

Cohost Kimberly Guilfoyle – who has never met a Fox News meme she didn’t embrace as her own – said high-handedly, “There’s meaning to the process. Have some civility to ask a question, wait ‘til you’re called on, because otherwise it’s disrespectful to the other colleagues.”

I'm putting that on the record in case Guilfoyle “forgets” her own standard when a Democrat is in the crosshairs.

Juan Williams was the only one of the five cohosts on the “fair and balanced” show to call out Watters or Trump. Williams described Watters’ comment about Ramos as “so dismissive and rude, about illegal immigrant.” Williams added, “Jorge Ramos was acting like a journalist.” It's telling that that's exactly what Fox couldn't stand about him. This, one day after Fox chief Roger Ailes told Trump that Fox would not allow any bullying to deter Fox from doing its job.

Williams also noted that Ramos had asked Trump for an interview and been denied, with Trump publishing Ramos’ cell phone number on the internet. As a result, Ramos was “aggressive,” Williams said. “We don’t get punished in journalism for being aggressive.”

Williams also called out Trump for acting like “some kind of dictator or some kind of totalitarian society. …This is bully tactics because he doesn’t like the fact that Jorge Ramos stands up and says this is biased discrimination against people who are Mexican.”

Watters put a condescending hand on Juan’s shoulder.

And if all that wasn’t nauseatingly hypocritical enough. This is probably a good time to remind people that Fox Nation editor Watters doesn’t just allow rudeness but discussion of murder on his site.

Watch this latest round of Fox News hypocrisy above, from the August 26 The Five.

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon