YouTuber and atheist influencer Hemant Mehta shared a powerful reminder for Democrats who fear a minority candidate can't be elected president after Fox News host Jesse Watters mocked Texas Senate nominee James Talarico, referring to him as "prepubescent" and questioning his masculinity on the air.
President Donald Trump has described Talarico as “a weird—a weird—candidate,” a line that was quickly incorporated into an advertisement from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who argued that that Talarico is unfit to represent Texans partly because of his supposed veganism.
Right-wing media members have also questioned Talarico's masculinity and sexuality. For instance, podcaster Benny Johnson said Democrats have “given up on masculinity” and called Talarico an “effeminate, estrogenetic, catty, and totally embarrassing” candidate.
Now Watters—who has previously been criticized for being obsessed with what "real men" do—mocked Democrats for "nominating someone more effeminate than" former Representative Beto O'Rourke, who was the party's Senate nominee in 2018 as well as Dems' gubernatorial nominee in 2022.
He added, addressing his colleague Greg Gutfeld:
"I can't wait for this race to get underway. Did you know he looks prepubescent? Did you know that he looks like the guy who leaves an apple on the teacher’s desk?"
"The major factor in this race is whether 'Talafreako' is a vegan."
You can hear what Watters said in the video below.
Then Mehta weighed in with this key observation reminding Democrats—amid pearl clutching that America is somehow not ready for a woman president, or even a gay one for that matter—that no matter who Democrats nominate, even a white straight guy like James Talarico, the right will tear them down and go ballistic no matter what.
He noted:
"There are Democrats who worry AOC can’t be elected president because she’s a Latina woman. Or Pete Buttigieg because he’s gay. This is a helpful reminder that Republicans will go completely apesh*t if you nominate a straight cis decent white guy too."
You can see his post below.
@hemantmehta/X
Others concurred.
Others criticized Watters directly.
Remember, this is Watters we're talking about.
Watters once suggested former President Joe Biden is "not manly" for publicly enjoying ice cream, demonstrating his weird fixation on other men's eating habits. He later outdid himself when he questioned Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's "masculinity" because Walz drinks his vanilla shakes with a straw.
Sounds like someone is protesting a bit too much...
