Anthony Weiner takes on Jesse Watters
The former Democratic lawmaker Anthony Weiner and the FOX News host debate a wide-range of issues, from Democrats' handling crime, to the border and trans athletes on 'Jesse Watters Primetime.'
Onetime Democratic Party rising star Anthony Weiner, whose political career was derailed by a 2011 sexting scandal, engaged in fierce debate with FOX News' Jesse Watters as he defended his party's various platforms while mocking Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis.
Weiner, who had been a protégé of Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., did not back down when challenged on the merits of the currentSenate Majority Leader's party.
Watters began by challenging Weiner on rising crime, particularly in areas like the former lawmaker's native Brooklyn.
"We don't like crime," Weiner responded. "[Democrats] are the ones who created the COPS program to [get] more cops on the street – crime came down dramatically."
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Anthony Weiner at the 2016 DNC (John Taggart/Bloomberg via Getty)
Weiner, now a 77 WABC radio host, took issue with conservatives' use of the phrase "defunding the police."
"Defund is kind of hot – that kind of implies you stop funding them," he said. "They're big agencies [and] some of them took cuts; education took cuts…"
When asked if he would ride the MTA subways in his hometown, Weiner replied, "Crime is actually down in New York." He claimed crime is 40 percent lower than under former Republican New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who touted his crime-fighting expertise.
"It's not a very substantive critique," Weiner said of the subway example. "But crime is actually down. But I believe it's too high."
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Shifting to the border crisis, Weiner defended the Biden administration, saying officials are working with the same laws that former President Donald Trump had on the books.
Watters countered that Biden is not enforcing those laws, which has led to the migrant deluge.
"The asylees are here legally as part of the law… that was the Trump-era law…" Weiner insisted.
Weiner went on to make an indirect jab at Trump, asking what entity paid for the border wall sections – as the former president routinely boasted he would make Mexico fund it.
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He called on Congress to finally pass immigration reform, which he said could have been a Republican product if they had gotten a deal through early in Trump's term when the GOP controlled both Houses and the White House.
"The Republicans have walked away from having a legitimate conversation… where was the Donald Trump Immigration Reform Act of 2017 and 18?" Weiner asked. "Roll the tape – migrant caravans under Trump."
Watters later pivoted to the transgender issue, asking why Democrats have supported allowing biological males in female sports and restrooms.
"That's working for your guy, DeSantis, real well," Weiner shot back.
When asked if his son, Jordan Weiner, should be allowed to compete in women's sports, the former congressman replied that the government should not be deciding such things, and agreed with Watters that it should be parents who control the conversation.
He again invoked the Florida governor, saying DeSantis and the Tallahassee legislature should be kept "out of it," going on to later mock his current polling performance in the Republican primary and citing the Republican's focus on social issues.
Weiner concluded by dismissing concerns about Biden's competency, saying the president pulled an "all-nighter" while on his Asia and Alaska trip.
"He seems to be doing fine – I don't think he went to sleep," Weiner said.
Biden notably told reporters the latter, as he concluded remarks in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Weiner and wife Huma Abedin during his run for New York City mayor. (Reuters)
Weiner however quipped that Biden does not like him, but that Trump is a much worse choice for 2024:
"I have real problems with Joe Biden. I think Joe Biden is not a great spokesman for anything. I think he's old, period," Weiner said.
"However, he's going to be running against a guy who literally tried to overturn the election, who is is is probably going to be in court or indicted or in jail by the time it's a choice."
Weiner defended Biden even though the president has not been his greatest fan. In a 2016 interview with CNN, Biden notably bristled at the mention of Weiner's name:
"Oh, God – Anthony Weiner – I should not comment on Anthony Weiner; I'm not a big fan, Biden said at the time. "I wasn't [a fan] before he got in trouble. So I shouldn’t comment on Anthony Weiner."
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