Fox News’ Jesse Watters sparked an avalanche of public conversation with the rhetoric he used in a speech where he railed against Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Watters spoke at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest summit in recent days, where he encouraged conservative attendees to take a metaphorical “kill shot” at the Biden administration’s chief infectious disease specialist. His recommendation, which was loaded with incendiary language, was for people to go viral by publicly confronting Fauci with accusations that he approved gain-of-function research in China.

Now you’re going for the kill shot. The kill shot with an ambush is deadly because he doesn’t see it coming. This is when you say ‘Dr. Fauci, you funded risky research at a sloppy Chinese lab, the same lab that sprung this pandemic on the world. You know why people don’t trust you, don’t you?’ Boom! He is dead! He is dead! He’s done!

On Tuesday, CNN’s John Berman offered Fauci a description of Watters’ words, and Fauci responded by calling for the Fox host to be fired.

“That’s awful that he said that, and he’s going to go very likely unaccountable,” Fauci said. “Whatever network he’s on is not going to do anything for him. I mean, that’s crazy. The guy should be fired on the spot!”

Fox News is defending Watters, arguing that it’s “more than clear” that he wasn’t calling for actual violence against Fauci.

“Based on watching the full clip and reading the entire transcript,” the network said in a statement, “it’s more than clear that Jesse Watters was using a metaphor for asking hard-hitting questions to Dr. Fauci about gain-of-function research and his words have been twisted completely out of context.”

Watters’ remarks drew a flurry of reactions, and as of this writing, he has been a Twitter trending topic for hours. As the public debates the character of his comments, some people sided with Watters by agreeing his words were rhetorically-charged, but not calling for violence:

Watters isn’t talking about violence at all! He’s advising the crowd on how to ask Fauci a tough question on video.

“Thirty seconds! Now, you get that footage to us.”

Still weird. Imagine @chrislhayes telling Netroots which questions to ambush Rs with.https://t.co/DUIvPPuipj

— David Weigel (@daveweigel) December 21, 2021

He is clearly talking about “ambushing” Fauci with an unexpected “kill shot” question Fauci can’t answer. This is an absurd decontextualization. https://t.co/TDX66BM7AY

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) December 21, 2021

(Also, the way that clip stars *right* at “then you go in for the kill-shot” makes me wonder why a few sentences or at least a few words weren’t included before that. Is it because it adds context to the clip? Maybe. IDK.)

— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) December 21, 2021

Jesse Waters was talking about rhetoric, not violence. Period.

— Steve Tobak (@SteveTobak) December 21, 2021

So TLDR, Watters is giving instructions on how to most efficiently work the conservative media ecosystem, not about how to commit violence against Fauci.

Now, the use of that kind of rhetoric when describing debate tactics is a separate issue, but the context matters here.

— Jake Lahut (@JakeLahut) December 21, 2021

Other, however, were far less approving of Watters’ rhetoric:

“The guy should be fired on the spot,” says Dr. Fauci about FOX News entertainer Jesse Waters.

Yesterday, Waters told a crowd to “ambush” Dr. Fauci with a “kill shot” so he “doesn’t see it coming.” pic.twitter.com/GEnuz1BzIO

— Nora Neus (@noraneus) December 21, 2021

Watters knows exactly what he’s doing, and anyone left at @FoxNews who’s willing to work with people like this are just as bad as he is. No more excuses. https://t.co/NuqZ7qlgWY

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) December 21, 2021

Fox “News” commentator Jesse Watters publicly called for the ASSASSINATION of Dr. Fauci, saying “Now you go in for the kill shot. The kill shot — with an ambush — deadly. Because he doesn’t see it coming.”

Who else thinks this as*hole should be ARRESTED?

— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) December 21, 2021

It wouldn’t be the first time a Fox News host incited murder. Watters’ mentor Bill O’Reilly was a major cause of the murder of Dr. George Tiller; he referred to him as “Tiller the baby killer” dozens of times on his Fox News show. https://t.co/DrKhB88v6s

— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) December 20, 2021

Good morning and Happy Tuesday to everyone who agrees that Jesse Watters must be fired by Fox News immediately for publicly calling for the assassination of Dr. Fauci in an “ambush” with a “kill shot.”

Unreal.

— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) December 21, 2021

.@FoxNews hosts now encouraging harassment of Dr. Fauci. Remember how they whined like little babies when it was done to Tucker Carlson. https://t.co/j9zFTk9JX5

— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) December 20, 2021

Thugs like Jesse Watters know that FOX leadership is weak. Suzanne Scott does not really have authority and is weak. She doesn’t have control. Everyone at @foxnews understands this. https://t.co/91vJ83VKqm

— Cheri Jacobus (@CheriJacobus) December 21, 2021

The post Twitter Can’t Decide Whether to Arrest Jesse Watters or Defend Him Over ‘Kill Shot’ Fauci Metaphor first appeared on Mediaite.

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