The Fox News folks who turned anti-vax protesters into heroes for snarling traffic and commerce think climate protesters who temporarily interfered with tennis’ U.S. Open should be harassed and physically harmed.
Fox’s The Five show opened today with an attack on the climate protesters who delayed for 49 minutes a semifinal match at the U.S. Open yesterday. Similar protests have broken out at other tennis matches this year.
Cohost Jeanine Pirro began the discussion by saying, “The eco-mobs want to make life miserable for everyone. And it's not just tennis. They cause annoying traffic jams, destroy priceless pieces of art and create unwanted headaches by dumping out gallons of milk at the supermarket. And if you're annoyed by all of this, you can thank Hollywood elites who reportedly fund these radical groups.”
But that was nothing compared to the rhetoric of prime time golden boys, Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld.
Watters said he would have “smashed” tennis balls “120 miles an hour right at these clowns.” He was arguing for hitting the protesters with those potentially deadly projectiles, not just scaring them. “They're not going to dodge it; they're stuck to the floor,” Watters said.
Then he argued that the protesters should be run over.
WATTERS: They have to figure out different ways to deal with people who disturb scenes cause you have to have quiet when you're serving. It's like golf, there has to be quiet when you tee off. It's not a football game. So, NYPD or whoever the security is needs a new game plan because a 20-minute delay at a U.S. Open is way too much. And these matches start late so people are already getting home too late. You can't afford that; everybody needs their shut eye. You have to make an example out of people like that. It's like the people that throw paint. If you allow someone to throw paint or just sit there and don't run them over, or don't treat them like rocks, they're going to continue to do that.
You can always count on Gutfeld to engage in asinine (or worse) “humor.” In this case, he added on to Watters’ idea with an array of other ways to endanger, injure or possibly even kill the protesters for the sin of being annoying.
GUTFELD: I say, like Jesse, it would be good to make it a sport, drag ‘em out on there. And just hammer ‘em with serves to the groin. Cut off their feet!
Am I serious? I don’t know.
There were hearty chuckles heard off-screen. But Gutfeld had more suggestions.
GUTFELD: Protesting is a right, but ruining the experience of others isn't. When you think about the pregnant woman trying to get to the hospital, but the road was blocked by the same organization. So, you have a right to protest and you ask for a solution. So, we deserve that right as well. And I think that we should be posting their exact names and addresses online, on social, on websites. So, if you desire to make their lives extra difficult, you have the right to. They do a group protest. What's wrong with a personal protest? Return the volley, tennis speak.
You connect - what you're trying to do is what you're trying to do with the buses and immigration. Connect the cost to the actions. Dox the people who are destroying other people's experiences, whether they're trying to get to the hospital, or trying to get to school, or trying to watch a game. So, that means, you find out where they live, you pull - you know, you've got bananas in the tailpipes -- but they probably don't own cars, planting bags of dog poo on the porch - but they probably don't have a porch. Let the air out of the tires on their scooters. You know what, tear down their BLM signs. Do anything you want as a sign of protest, because they're doing it to you.
I think what I said is against the law.
There was even heartier laughter at that.
Maybe these America haters think we’ve forgotten how they cheered on anti-vax Canadian truckers who caused more serious damage in 2022 with the hope of starting something similar in the U.S. Media Matters’ Matt Gertz commented at the time, “I haven't seen Fox News try to will a protest into existence with this much effort since the lead-up to January 6.”
I can just imagine the poutrage from the likes of Watters, Gutfeld and Pirro had someone on MSNBC talked about ramming trucks at the protesting truckers or sabotaging their vehicles.
You can watch the selective outrage below, from the September 8, 2023 The Five.