A Fox News host who threatened his wife with marital "D-Day" if she did not vote for former President Donald Trump faced swift backlash from viewers who swiftly roasted the controversial conservative pundit.
Jesse Watters on Wednesday night shocked even his own co-hosts with his reaction to Vice President Kamala Harris ads informing conservative women they do not have to disclose for whom they voted — and that the information cannot be accessed by the public.
"If I found out Emma was going into the voting booth and pulling the lever for Harris, that's the same thing as having an affair," Watters said. "That violates the sanctity of our marriage. What else is she keeping from me? Why would she be lying?
"It's over, Emma," he added. "That would be D-Day."
The video quickly made it's way over to social media where voting rights activists and Democratic political strategists sounded the alarm about Watters' message.
"I don't care what type of marriage you have — traditional, modern, whatever — that's not healthy," replied Mike Nellis, a former Harris adviser and organizer of White Dudes for Harris. "And it's weird."
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Olivia March Dreizen Howell, co-founder of the divorced women's advocacy group Vote Without Fear, issued a sarcastic public service announcement to a minuscule subset of American voters.
"If you're married to Jesse Watters, please see below," she wrote. "Friendly reminder that you do not have to tell your husband who you voted for. He will not and cannot find out who you voted for, unless you tell him. For more info, head to: http://votewithoutfear.com or call 888-291-3027 (English) and 866-675-1561 (Spanish)"
Amanda Litman, co-founder of the progressive political organization Run For Something, noted Watters once delivered a notorious anecdote on Fox News about how he seduced his second wife.
"Watters," Litman wrote on X, "famously got divorced after he had an affair that began when he let the air out of his producer’s tires so she had to ask him for a ride home."
Never-Trump group Call To Activism, founded by attorney and political commentator Joe Gallina, condemned Watter's tone when publicly discussing his wife.
"I hope 'Emma' hears the way her husband demeans her as a woman," Call To Activism wrote on X. "And I hope she leaves."
The Daily Beast quipped a divorce might not be the threat Watters thought it was, writing, "The Fox News host perhaps gave his wife the best reason to vote for Kamala Harris."
