Jesse Watters blasted for saying Harris sounds 'like Fani Willis' despite being raised by 'Indian mother'

WASHINGTON, DC: Fox News personality Jesse Watters faced backlash on social media following his recent criticism of Vice President Kamala Harris. He accused her of using multiple accents during his 'Jesse Watters Primetime' broadcast on Tuesday, September 3.

Watters also aired an edited film featuring a compilation of Harris' remarks from Monday in Pittsburgh and Detroit. He falsely claimed, “Kamala was raised by an Indian mother in Canada,” fabricating her entire upbringing as the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, and added, “But now she sounds like Fani Willis.”

White House aide highlights how Jesse Watters' criticism of Kamala Harris overlooks code-switching

Bill Clinton's White House adviser Keith Boykin pointed out that Jesse Watters' criticism of Kamala Harris overlooks the concept of code-switching and its commonality.

“I grew up next to a cornfield in a mostly white community in Missouri but spent weekends and summers with my Black cousins in the city of St. Louis,” he wrote. “Fox News continues to display its ignorance about the bifurcated reality of life for many Black people in America.”

Watters' attempt to target Harris and Black Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was already met with criticism on X. Willis filed an indictment against Donald Trump for attempting to rig Georgia's 2020 presidential election, but the case is still facing appeals, as per HuffPost.

Kamala Harris faced attacks on her identity from the Republicans 

During the campaign, Republicans have frequently attacked Kamala Harris' identity and voice. On Tuesday, Fox News' Peter Doocy questioned White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about why Harris appeared to have “what sounds like a Southern accent” during a campaign speech.

Former President Donald Trump and Sen JD Vance (R-Ohio), his running partner in 2024, have also made several remarks questioning Harris' Black identity.

“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?” Trump said in July, per CNN. 

JD Vance also criticized Harris for "talking with a fake Southern accent" during her address to Georgian voters in August this year. The Ohio senator called her a “chameleon” and “phony,” as per The Telegraph. 

Kamala Harris identifies herself as both Black and Indian American

Kamala Harris was born in Oakland, California, and identifies as both Black and Indian American. In her 2019 memoir, 'The Truths We Hold,' she described her early years as being spent "living on the boundary between Oakland and Berkeley."

The New York Times reported that the vice president relocated to Montreal when she was twelve years old after her mother was hired for a position in the Canadian city. After high school, she attended Howard University, a historically Black institution in Washington, DC.

Jesse Watters slammed for racist remarks on dialects and Black culture targeting Kamala Harris

Jesse Watters was called out by netizens for promoting racist comments about dialects and Black culture by comparing and insulting the speech patterns of Fani Willis and Kamala Harris.

One X user tweeted, "I don’t know who Watters and Fox News are targeting with their 1950 racist dog whistle because there isn’t any racist still left out there who isn’t already supporting Trump."

“They can’t attack her on her education, her career, or her record so they’re going with straight-up racism,” wrote another.

"Jesse was raised by a liberal mother in Philadelphia, but now he sounds like Nathan Bedford Forrest," remarked one. "Racists and going to be racists," said someone else.

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