By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-08 20:31:56 | Updated at 2025-01-09 11:49:51
15 hours ago
Fox News' Jesse Watters mentioned his 'imperial thirst' while discussing his growing desire to take hold of Canada.
The Tucker Carson replacement mentioned the concept on Tuesday, after it was repeatedly floated by Donald Trump.
Watters, 46, first brought it up on The Five, hours after an off-the-rails press conference from the president-elect, where doubled-down on the idea of 'economically' annexing the US's neighbor to the north.
The country is currently in midst of historic inflation and housing crisis, which saw Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resign just the day before.
While some mistook the conservative commentator's remarks as jest, he mentioned them more seriously during primetime - insisting it would be 'a privilege to be taken over' by the US.
Flanked by four fellow panelists on his 5pm show, an especially animated Watters set on explaining his conqueror's mindset.
'Canada - at first I wanted it, and I tried to divide it into two states,' he began, before adding 'And then I realized we'd be adding Montana, basically, for the Republicans, and, electorally, like a Texas for the Democrats.
'And I don't like that,' the co-host said, making the comments while grimacing. He continued: 'But the fact that they don't want us to take them over makes me want to invade. I want to quench my imperialist thirst.'
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Fox News' Jesse Watters mentioned his 'imperial thirst' while discussing his growing desire to take hold of Canada Tuesday
The Tucker Carson replacement first mentioned the concept on The Five, in his capacity as cohost
While the latter assertion was seemingly said in jest, the host went on to mention the idea more seriously on the set of his eponymous program a few hours later.
'What's your problem with the United States absorbing Canada?' Watters asked a visiting Doug Ford, the current premier of Ontario.
Ford, a member of his country's Progressive-Conservative Party, responded by painting Trump as an overeager 'real estate tycoon' who has failed to pick up on public sentiment.
'I love the US, I love Americans, and I get it,' Ford, joining a now-solo Watters remotely, told the conservative.
'You know, President-elect Trump is a real estate tycoon, he’s made billions,' he went on. 'But that property is not for sale.'
Seemingly not swayed, Watters shot back how 'everything has a price'.
Ford, in turn, admitted the two nations could 'come together on a great trade deal,' but not much else.
In another apparent olive branch, the politician stated there's 'not one American' he's met who has problems with Canada.
While some mistook his remarks as jest, he mentioned them again more seriously during primetime to Ontario Premier Doug Ford - insisting it would be 'a privilege to be taken over' by the US. The politician who has held court over the province since 2017 did not appear to agree
Earlier in the day, Donald Trump shocked the world when he again hinted at absorbing the country into the US
Watters - who stepped into the 8pm hour following the ouster of old mentor Tucker Carlson - has since embraced the idea, pushing it repeatedly on both of his timeslots
Watters, on the hallowed 8pm timeslot once manned by his old mentor, grew more aggressive from there.
'I get it. You say that Americans don’t have a problem with Canadians and we don’t talk, but it seems like you have a problem with us,' he argued.
'Because if I were a citizen of another country and a neighbor of the United States, I would consider it a privilege to be taken over by the United States of America.
'That’s what everybody else in the world wants: American citizenship. For some reason that’s repellent to you Canadians and I find that personally offensive, premier.'
Ford, who in the 1990s was also a businessman like Trump, appeared to not take too kindly to Watters' comments, but did not press the matter further.
'Well you know something, Jesse …. We’re proud Canadians just like there’s proud Americans,' he said.
Instead airing the idea to bolster the alliance the countries currently have, the premier maintained, 'No one [would be able to] stop us.'
Watters when on to weigh Ford's interest on a different subject - splitting ownership of Greenland.
The day before, Canadian Prime Minister bowed to political pressure created by rampant inflation and an unprecedented housing crisis, resigning after 10 years
The following day, in response to Trump's renewed remarks, the politician took to X to bash the idea
Trump, just hours before, refused to rule out using the military to take control of the country and the Panama Canal.
The ice-covered landmass, which is rife with resources, is currently a territory of Denmark.
To that, a visibly amused Ford simply responded, 'No. We’re good.'
Earlier in the day, a freshly resigned Trudeau tweeted out, 'There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States.'
Responding to the Trump conference aired just before, the soon-to-be-ex-Liberal Party leader claimed 'workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partner.'
