White House Criticizes Fox Host’s Remarks About Arab Americans as ‘Hateful’

White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates criticized Fox News (Opinion rated Right) prime-time host Jesse Watters for comments he made about Arabs and Muslims on Wednesday’s edition of Fox’s “The Five” program.

Watters’ Remarks: Saying “we” — meaning “the West and Western technology” — “created the Middle East” and “made them rich,” Watters said, “We’ve had it with them.” Calling the Middle East a “stupid desert,” the Fox host continued: “Just as we’re about to get out…these crazy Muslim fanatics come in and massacre over a thousand of our allies and hold Jewish people hostage, hold Americans hostage. And so, if you are an Arab American in this country and you ripped down posters of Jewish hostages, American hostages, no! No, no, no. Someone is gonna get punched in the face.”

Bates’ Response: Framing Watters’ remarks as “hateful lies,” Bates said, “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. 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.”

How the Media Covered It: Online coverage was rare in right-rated outlets but common elsewhere. Sensationalism was common, including words like “blasts” and quotes like “sickening.” Some coverage demonstrated a clear split; while a CNN Business (Lean Left bias) writer framed Watters’ remarks as “an astonishing and ugly rant,” Independent Journal Review (Right bias) framed the remarks as simply a “co-host's comment.”