Back in mid-July of 2023, Fox News Channel host Jesse Watters, who then had somewhat recently taken over Tucker Carlson’s old time slot on FNC after FNC fired Tucker, got into a smackdown of a fight with FNC’s token liberal co-host on “The Five,” Jessica Tarlov. The two were debating government vaccine policy in the context of presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claiming that he had been subjected to censorship over his views on vaccines.
At the time, RFK Jr. said, when speaking during testimony in a hearing before the House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, “I’m subjected to this new form of censorship, which is called targeted propaganda, where people apply pejoratives like ‘anti-vax.’ I’ve never been anti-vaccine.” He added, “But everybody in this room probably believes that I have been because that’s the prevailing narrative.”
It was in the context of that testimony that the co-hosts of “The Five” fought about vaccines, with Watters speaking about Tarlov, saying, “She’s so upset about RFK Jr. So what if he believes certain things about vaccines? So what?”
Tarlov, firing back, snapped, “Because they’re dangerous,” referring to RFK Jr.’s claims about certain vaccines. Watters responding, asked the same question again, asking Tarlov, “So what? If he believes certain vaccines are dangerous, so what, Jessica? So what?”
Continuing, Watters said that it was “weird” that Tarlov was so upset over what RFK Jr. was claiming about the vaccines, saying, “It’s actually kind of weird that you’re so upset about what one Democrat thinks about vaccines.”
He then added, speaking about bodily autonomy, “You can do whatever you want with your body, you can do whatever you want with your kid’s body, your doctor can decide with you what to do with your body. What does it have to do with …” Tarlov, obviously angry, snapped at him, in reference to his comments about bodily autonomy, “Thanks for advocating for Roe.”
Watch their fiery exchange here:
At the time, other Democrats were unhappy with RFK Jr. as well. For example, Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Virginia Democrat, attacked him during the hearing, saying, “No matter what you may think, Mr. Kennedy — and I revere your name — you’re not here to propound your case for censorship. You are here for cynical reasons, to be used politically by that side of the aisle to embarrass the current president of the United States.”
Continuing, Rep. Connolly claimed, “You’re an enabler in that effort today. And it brings shame on a storied name that I revere. I began my political interest in your father. And it makes me profoundly sad to see where we have descended today in this hearing.”
Also during the hearing, Stacey Plaskett of the Virgin Islands said she was concerned with RFK Jr. being given 10 minutes instead of the usual five for his opening statement. Responding, Rep. Jim Jordan, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, fired back, “If you want to cut him off and censor him some more, you’re welcome to do it.” That drew chuckles from the room.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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