Fox News personality Jesse Watters was mocked online after he quoted the late poet and essayist Maya Angelou while praising Senate Majority Leader John Thune's "jacked" body after seeing him at the gym, arguing this is proof Democrats need to work out more to "become men."
Disparaging comments about Democrats' masculinity are not out of left field for Watters—this is the same man who once suggested former President Joe Biden is "not manly" for publicly enjoying ice cream—but this comment really had people giving him the side-eye.
Speaking on The Five, Watters made misogynistic remarks and was critical of the physique of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, implying that Thune's own physique is indicative of the inherent superiority of Republican men.
He said:
“I saw Senator Thune at the gym. The man is jacked, the guy is in great shape and he lifts hard. You look at Schumer, he’s built like a woman. Men do not want to be led by the party of women."
"Men want to be led by other men so Democrats need to become men, and then they can persuade men. But they have to lift first.”
“There’s a quote by Maya Angelou, ‘People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’"
"People don’t like the way they feel around Democrats because Democrats don’t like the way they feel. If they lifted they’d feel better and then everyone around them would feel better.”
You can hear what Watters said in the video below.
People were very weirded out.
Oddly, this isn't the first time Watters has made comments on the air about "jacked" bodies.
Last year, he had critics raising their eyebrows after he speculated that then-candidate Donald Trump—who would be found guilty of 34 felonies in New York and faced other federal investigations—would become a beefcake in the event he goes to prison because working out is "all there is to do."
Watters' comments were especially weird because Trump is known for his love of fast food and his aversion to exercise. In a New York Times Magazineprofile, Trump expressed skepticism about the benefits of exercise, stating that people who work out regularly are often at risk of injuries and health issues.