Fox News host Jesse Watters reportedly came to the defense of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller on Tuesday after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) mocked Miller’s height and suggested that MAGA men suffer from “insecure masculinity.”
The exchange, which played out on television and social media, highlighted the increasingly personal tone of political debate and conservatives’ frustration with what they view as the left’s double standard on civility.
The controversy began when Ocasio-Cortez, during an Instagram Live session Monday night, urged Democrats to ridicule Republican men rather than engage them seriously. “They are scrapping and grasping at straws because they have nothing else,” she said. “Laugh at them! Stephen Miller is a clown! I’ve never seen that guy in real life, but he looks like he’s, like, 4′10″. And he looks like he is angry about the fact that he’s 4′10″.”
Her remarks sparked pushback across Fox News, with Watters, Laura Ingraham, and Sean Hannity each noting that Miller’s height was misrepresented. Miller himself appeared on The Ingraham Angle, calling Ocasio-Cortez a “mess” and “train wreck” whose “eyes don’t work.”
Ocasio-Cortez appeared amused, posting “I am crying” with a laughing emoji after Fox News aired her comments and “made him listen to it live.”
During Tuesday’s episode of The Five, Watters took direct aim at Ocasio-Cortez’s comments. Co-host Dana Perino asked whether MAGA men were offended by the congresswoman’s insults. Watters dismissed the idea entirely.
“No,” he said. “I think AOC wants to sleep with Miller. It is so obvious. And, I’m sorry, you can’t have him.” The comment drew laughter from the panel, though Watters quickly added that Miller “wasn’t overcompensating” and praised him as “the best.”
Watters described Miller as “a policy savant” who is “confident,” “provides wise counsel to the President of the United States,” and “battles CNN with grace and with class,” referring to Miller’s tense exchange the previous day with CNN anchor Boris Sanchez.
“This is what AOC doesn’t get about men,” Watters continued. “Miller is a high value man, because he has power and influence. Because he has vision, and he’s on a mission to save this republic and protect western civilization. He speaks with confidence and flair, and he’s unafraid of anything.”
Watters contrasted Miller with men he said Ocasio-Cortez and her allies admire. “AOC may have someone that’s taller, like Gavin [Newsom]. Or maybe someone who has more distinguished characteristics like Adam Schiff, or someone with more wealth, like Soros the younger,” he said. “But those men are not brave men. Those men did not protect the country when the country needed it.”
“Men who are high value men like Stephen Miller take risks,” Watters concluded. “They’re brave, they’re unafraid, they’re confident, and they’re on a mission. And they have younger wives with beautiful children.”
His co-host Greg Gutfeld, ever the comic foil, responded dryly: “I don’t know, man, that was pretty creepy.”
Still, Watters’s remarks reflected a broader conservative sentiment — that progressives’ mockery of masculinity often exposes a fascination with the very strength and conviction they deride.
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