Fox News' Jesse Watters criticizes Trump’s controversial claim that Harris 'turned Black' for politics

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Donald Trump’s recent comments questioning Kamala Harris’ racial identity have sparked significant controversy, including criticism from one of Fox News’ prominent figures.

Jesse Watters, a well-known pundit on the network, weighed in on Wednesday, expressing that Trump’s inflammatory and factually incorrect assertion about Harris’ racial identity was not something he would have pursued.

Jesse Watters criticizes Trump’s racial remarks

On 'The Five', Watters remarked, “Most of us wouldn’t have gone in there and gone, ‘Who is Kamala Harris?’ Is she Indian?’ Well, she’s Jamaican, too. Not something I would have done.”

His comments come in response to Trump’s assertion during a televised interview at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Chicago. Trump controversially claimed that Harris “turned Black” in recent years as a political maneuver.

Trump stated, “She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black. And now she wants to be known as Black. So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black? I respect either one, but she obviously doesn’t. She was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person.”

Kamala Harris’ heritage and Trump’s controversial take

Kamala Harris, 59, is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, and she has consistently identified as both Black and Southeast Asian, in line with her heritage.

Trump, 78, has not retracted his statement, and his comments have drawn criticism from many Black Americans and Harris’ campaign. Furthermore, at a rally in Pennsylvania, Trump’s team reportedly highlighted an article about Harris’ Indian heritage on a big screen, intensifying the controversy.

While Watters did not strongly condemn Trump’s remarks, he acknowledged that the issue will likely be a point of discussion for Democrats during the election cycle.

“I have no idea how this is going to play with the Black community, but I do know they’re going to be talking about Donald Trump and this moment for days and days and days,” Watters said.

Fox News network defends Trump’s remarks as humor

In contrast, other Fox News personalities took a different approach. Harris Faulkner, a Black journalist present at the event, noted that the audience was largely receptive to Trump’s appearance, with many enjoying the chance to hear from a candidate with whom they might not always agree.

“Much of that audience was enjoying the moment of hearing from a candidate that they might not always agree with,” Faulkner observed.