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Fox host says women who haven't been pregnant aren't 'ripe' enough to run for president

On August 3, Fox News host Jesse Watters argued that women aren't "ripe" enough to run for president unless they're married and have been pregnant.
Fox anchor Jesse Watters  in 2022.
Fox anchor Jesse Watters in 2022.John Lamparski / Getty Images

Fox News host Jesse Watters said that a woman has to get married and then get pregnant before she is "ripe" enough to run for president of the United States.

During Thursday night's episode of Fox News’ "The Five," Watters discussed the possibility of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) one day running for president.

"With age comes wisdom and she’s pretty young. That’s my nice way of saying she’s not very smart," Watters told his "The Five" co-hosts. "You know when you like pick a banana and the banana’s in your hand and it’s green and then even if you try to peel it, it’s still not even peeling? That’s AOC. She’s not ripe enough to run for president."

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is currently engaged to longtime boyfriend Riley Roberts. At 32, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is not old enough to run for the highest office in the country, as the Constitution prevents anyone under the age of 35 to serve as president.

Watters acknowledged Rep. Ocasio-Cortez's engagement, adding "then you have to get pregnant."

"Why?" Greg Gutfeld, a "The Five" co-host, asked Watters.

"This is how it goes. Just follow me, Greg. You get married. Then you get pregnant and then once you have the baby, you have a family and the media loves it," Watters explained. "They eat it up. And it makes you more of a mature person."

TODAY Parents reached out to representatives for Fox News and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez for comment but did not hear back at the time of publication.

This is not the first time a Fox News host has argued that a woman's ability to be in a position of power hinges on whether or not she is currently or has previously been pregnant.

On May 5, "FOX & Friends" host Brian Kilmeade said he didn’t “know why you’d give” a pregnant woman an “important” job when discussing Nina Jankowicz's appointment to a Department of Homeland Security advisory board.

At the time, Jankowicz was eight months pregnant.

“I’m not sure how you get a job and then you just — you can’t do a job for three months,” Kilmeade said, referring to a three-month-long maternity leave the Fox News host assumed Jankowicz would take after giving birth.

“I’m not faulting her," he added, "but I don’t know why you would give someone a job that you think is so important."

In 2019, a record number of women with children under the age of 18 were elected to Congress — 21 in the House and two in the Senate.

Up until 2018, newborns were not allowed on the Senate floor. After Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) gave birth to her daughter, Maile Pearl Bowlsbey, on April 9, the Senate voted to change the rules and allow infants under the age of 1 to accompany their parent should they need to vote on a weekend or during a late-night session.

Sen. Duckworth was the first sitting senator to give birth in the history of the United States.