‘I Didn’t Think Kamala Was Hot’: Jesse Watters Debates Whether Dems Need ‘Attractive’ Candidate in 2028

Fox’s Jesse Watters ripped former Vice President Kamala Harris, declaring her “not hot” in a heated debate about whether Democrats need an “attractive” candidate to win the 2028 presidential election.

An article by The Bulwark, which proclaimed in its headline that “Dems Want Hotter Candidates on the Ballot,” sparked superficial conversation among Watters and his The Five co-hosts.

Dana Perino, former White House Press Secretary, kicked off the debate by noting the seemingly androcentric nature of the “hot” requirement after Fox played a clip of two women calling for an attractive male candidate.

“Notice that it’s the women—the women aren’t suggesting that there is a democratic woman they would like to put forward, right?” Perino said. “Where is the girlhood? To me, Kamala Harris was an objectively beautiful person, and she couldn’t win, so I don’t think that’s what it is. I also think people are watching too much Love Story. I like the show very much, but they have this idea if they go back and they re-create JFK, that they’ll be able to win, but it’s more about policies than … pretty.”

Co-host Emily Compagno went on to ponder if the so-called “hot” candidate requirement “stems from the media fawning over Gavin Newsom.”

“Especially since he’s like a six at best,” co-host Greg Gutfeld said of Newsom, though he adopted the stance that “people aren’t attracted to ugly ideas.”

Next, Watters jumped in to continue the hot-or-not style debate.

“I have to disagree with Dana,” he said. “I didn’t think Kamala was hot.”

“No, she was attractive,” Gutfeld spoke over him.

“I said she was beautiful,” Perino corrected Watters. “I didn’t say hot.”

Gutfeld offered up Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) as a “hot” candidate, which Watters immediately shut down. “I’m not going to go there,” he said, before doubling down on his comments about Harris.

“I don’t know,” Watters said. “I mean, she was okay. But if we’re talking hot, she’s not hot. Did you ever see the politicians before television? It was like old fat guys with no hair, with like mutton chop sideburns. So, TV is the thing. You’ve got to have a good-looking person, and now I like the fact that Democrats have gone from like, we need a transgender native American amputee, to just someone who is hot. And I feel like that’s progress.”

Co-host Jessica Tarlov slammed the conversation, calling it “ridiculous.”

“This is just being a normal human being,” she said. “AOC is hot, [Michigan Gov.] Gretchen Whitmer is very hot, Kamala Harris is ver—alright, whatever you don’t want to go on a date with Gretchen Whitmer, she won’t go on a date with you either,” she said, breaking off her own train of thought to address her co-hosts before continuing, “I’m just saying, all of this is ridiculous. You want to be in good shape so you stay alive if you do decide you want to run for president.”

It’s not the first time Watters has made controversial remarks about Harris. In 2024, he said Harris would “get paralyzed in the Situation Room while the generals have their way with her.”

He later apologized to viewers, saying the comments were not intended to be “of a sexual nature.”

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