On MSNBC, Joy Reid calls out Fox host Jesse Watters for “legitimizing QAnon on national television”

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

From the July 27, 2020, edition of MSNBC's The ReidOut

JOY REID (HOST): Okay, you know what's crazy? QAnon. You know, that bananas conspiracy theory that supposes that Donald Trump as president is waging a secret war against an elite clique of powerful pedophiles who also worship Satan? Seriously. 

You know what's even crazier? When a pundit who gets paid actual money to prognosticate on national television goes on air to talk about the good that QAnon has done, alongside the failson of the president. No, not the one whose books that the RNC buys to make them into bestsellers, the other one. 
 
...
 
Okay, okay, okay, so no, Jesse, QAnon did not uncover the facts about Jeffrey Epstein. Reporters did that.  
 

But now it's easy to dismiss QAnon as only crazy, but they also happen to be crazy dangerous. As NBC News reports, QAnon followers have been implicated in armed standoffs, attempted kidnappings, harassment, and at least one killing. Jesse Watters has since retracted his comments, saying that, quote: "While discussing the double standard of big tech censorship ... I mentioned the conspiracy group QAnon, which I don't support, or believe in. My comments should not be mistaken for giving credence to this fringe platform," unquote.

Okay, Jesse. But the damage may have already been done by legitimizing QAnon on national television, and that is the craziest damn thing in the world.