Fox News’ Jesse Watters Wants Someone to ‘Ambush’ Fauci With Conspiracies

The same day Fox News announced that all employees must have at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of December, one of the network’s most prominent hosts encouraged attendees of a conservative conference to “ambush” White House Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anthony Fauci with disproven claims about the coronavirus.

On Monday, Fox News host Jesse Watters told a crowd at the AmericaFest—a conference run by the conservative organization Turning Point USA, which also featured acquitted Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse—they should “ambush” Fauci with the “deadly” argument of Fauci funding research at the Wuhan, China, lab targeted with unproven allegations that it created COVID-19. 

“The kill shot, with an ambush—deadly, because he doesn’t see it coming,” Watters said. “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!” Watters said. “You do that, 30 seconds is all you need. You get that footage to us, to Fox… Imagine Tucker Carlson teases out of the A-block, ‘Brave college student confronts Lord Fauci at dinner!’”

Later, Watters added, “Just make sure it’s legal.” 

Fauci responded by calling for the network to can Watters. “It’s such a reflection of the craziness that goes on in society,” Fauci told CNN. 

“That’s awful that he said that. And he’s very likely going to go unaccountable,” Fauci said. “The guy should be fired on the spot.”

Watters rose to prominence during the 2000s as a correspondent on Bill O’Reilly’s Fox show who “ambushed” unsuspecting people, including reporters and local school board members, into confrontational television interviews. 

Watters, however, doesn’t like getting the same treatment. In 2016, Watters briefly got into a scuffle with then-HuffPost Washington Bureau Chief Ryan Grim when Grim attempted to film him during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. 

More recently, two months ago, Watters criticized progressive activists who confronted conservative Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in person over her opposition to parts of the Democratic agenda. "That's the playbook. Don't think for yourself,” Watters said during one October segment of his show, Watters’ Words. “Just do what we want. Don't try to persuade; just intimidate.” 

While the network’s hosts continue to fuel skepticism of the coronavirus, Watters and Carlson included, Fox itself is accelerating its vaccine mandate for employees. On Monday, the network’s parent corporation reportedly told employees that in compliance with New York City’s vaccine mandate, Fox News employees would be required to get their first shots of the COVID-19 vaccine by no later than Dec. 27.

The decision came as the Omicron variant continued its rapid spread throughout the U.S. and particularly in Fox News’ headquarters of New York City, fueling fears of another surge and how that might affect hospitals already buckling under the weight of Delta.

Previously, unvaccinated Fox employees had the option of regular testing. More than 90 percent of employees are vaccinated, a company spokesperson told the New York Times on Monday.