Jesse Watters Gets Instantly Fact-Checked After Griping About Mamdani's 'Criminal' Thermostat Advice During Heat Wave

Fox News host Jesse Watters was fact-checked after complaining about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's advice to set thermostats to 78 as a heat wave grips large swaths of the country.

Mamdani—whom the New York Post recently accused of "violating dress code rules" when he jumped into a public pool without removing his suit and tie—has kept New Yorkers in the loop as much of the United States experiences an intense heat wave to rival the ongoing one in Europe.

In one social media post earlier this month, he advised residents to conserve energy, writing:

"New York: it's hot out there, and the power grid is working overtime to keep us cool. Set your AC to 78 degrees, turn off lights/electronics you're not using, and unplug what you can."

"Our City is doing its part too: maintaining the 78 degrees rule in our buildings, dimming/turning off our lights during peak electricity demand, asking private partners to do the same, and powering down non-essential equipment."

"A stable grid means the AC stays on, and lives are saved. Let's ease demand — and get through the heat — together."

You can see Mamdani's post below.

This annoyed Watters, who criticized Mamdani for condemning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's actions amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Mamdani said earlier this week that New York City lacks the authority to execute the International Criminal Court's (ICC) arrest warrant for Netanyahu, but urged the federal government to carry out the warrant instead.

To this news, Watters commented:

“You know what a real crime against humanity is? Seventy-eight degrees during a heat wave. That is criminal. We should lock him up."

At this point, Jessica Tarlov, his co-host on The Five, stepped in to correct him:

“We talked about this. It’s nationwide advice during a heat wave to keep your thermostat at 78, from Texas to New York."

Watters doubled down:

“I haven’t heard that before and I don’t like it. I want to be cool in school."

You can watch what happened in the video below.

Watters was harshly criticized.

Requests like Mamdani's are a routine way to help prevent power outages during periods of extreme demand.

When nearly every air conditioner is running at full capacity, electricity consumption can exceed the grid's generating capacity, forcing utilities to implement rolling blackouts. While those temporary outages are designed to prevent a complete system collapse, they also leave people without air conditioning and other essential electrical services during dangerously hot weather.

According to the Energy Policy and Innovation Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology, "voluntary requests for conservation in the United States are part of the standard energy emergency playbook and go back at least to President Carter’s request for Americans to reduce heating temperatures during the 1977 energy crisis."