Fox News analyst Juan Williams said on Friday that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s accusation that President Obama doesn’t love America was “wrong-headed” and could stoke racial discord.
“Let me just tell you something: This is divisive. This invites all kinds of racial tension,” Williams said during an appearance on the Fox News show “The Five.”
Jesse Watters, a correspondent for the Fox News show “The O’Reilly Factor” who was also appearing on “The Five,” quickly objected and tried to cut Williams off.
“No one introduced the race card until you just did,” Watters said to Williams.
Williams responded by suggesting that Giuliani’s comments about Obama’s upbringing had racial overtones.
“So If you don’t grow up — I don’t know where you’re supposed to grow up and be exactly like this to be an American,” Williams said. “But gosh, so difference is not allowed?”
“This doesn’t have anything to do with race,” Watters said. “I know you’ve condemned things the right has said about the left and vice versa, but I remember a long time ago — actually, it was just a few years ago — when the Obama campaign arm said that Romney murdered a woman with cancer.”
“What?” Williams gasped.
“The left made a movie glamorizing the assassination of George W. Bush! The Republicans were called hostage-takers during the debt ceiling crisis! Now all of the sudden everyone’s upset because someone questions the president’s patriotism?” Watters continued.
The show’s co-host Greg Gutfeld attempted to defuse the situation.
“Perhaps when he said ‘America,’ he meant the actress America Ferrara,” Gutfeld said.
