Fox News host Jesse Watters found himself in an awkward position on Monday, October 20, 2025, when he revealed during The Five that his mother had joined the millions who participated in the anti-Trump “No Kings” protests just two days earlier. The admission came as the conservative commentator discussed the massive demonstrations that swept across the nation on Saturday, October 18, 2025, drawing an estimated 4.5 million to 6.5 million participants.
During the broadcast, Watters appeared visibly uncomfortable as he disclosed that his mother, Anne Purvis, a child psychologist and staunch Democrat, had attended one of the rallies on Long Island. “I know my mom was there. Can you believe my mom was there? Sometimes I think I was adopted,” Watters told his co-hosts. The 47-year-old anchor later repeated the revelation during his own primetime show, shaking his head as he described the No Kings event as featuring people with what he termed Trump Derangement Syndrome.
The acknowledgment did little to soften Watters’ criticism of the protesters. He suggested that demonstrators, including his own mother, were simply obsessed with President Donald Trump and compared their reaction to the administration to a drug addiction. The Fox News personality claimed that while some protesters like his mother understood why they were marching, most attendees had no clear understanding of their purpose and were simply wandering around the demonstrations.
Watters went further, dismissing the protest movement’s effectiveness and arguing that similar demonstrations including the Women’s March, Black Lives Matter rallies, and recent Musk-related protests had ultimately harmed Democrats politically. He contended that despite these bursts of activist energy, liberals had lost cultural influence, media dominance, and political power in Washington. The conservative host also accused Democrats of being hypocrites, suggesting they actually enjoyed government control over various aspects of their lives including healthcare and speech.
The Saturday demonstrations attracted massive crowds across at least 2,500 cities and towns nationwide. Organizers estimated approximately 7 million total participants, potentially making it one of the largest single-day protests in American history, rivaling the 2017 Women’s March that drew between 3.3 million and 5.6 million people. Notable attendees included actors Pedro Pascal, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Cusack, Ben Stiller, and director Spike Lee, along with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Protesters voiced opposition to what they characterized as Trump’s authoritarian tendencies, with many demonstrators donning colorful inflatable animal costumes that had become popular symbols at anti-ICE protests in Portland, Oregon. Signs at the rallies displayed creative slogans including “For the Epsteinth time… No Kings,” “He’s more burger than king,” and “Impeach Trump again.” The demonstrations were described by organizers as overwhelmingly peaceful, though scattered reports of violence and arrests emerged from cities including Portland and Chicago, particularly near Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities.
According to preliminary data collected by American University researchers and reported by Axios, nearly 90 percent of No Kings participants identified with the political left. The typical attendee was described as an educated white woman in her 40s. Demonstrators expressed concerns about various Trump administration actions, including ongoing immigration raids, the State Department’s revocation of visas for six foreigners who allegedly mocked the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, and the temporary suspension of comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s ABC late-night show after he made assertions about Kirk’s killer being a Trump supporter.
The public discord between Watters and his mother over politics has become something of a running joke on Fox News programs. In 2023, Purvis called into her son’s show to remind him to “be kind and respectful” and to avoid falling into conspiracy rabbit holes. The conservative host previously ran a segment called “Mom Texts” where he would read his mother’s critical messages on air. One such message from 2017 read: “Oh my goodness! And you actually believe Trump is not divisive!!! You’ve been swallowed by semantic quicksand!!!”
Watters revealed in 2024 that he had not been invited to Thanksgiving following Trump’s election victory, with his mother citing a scheduling situation and insufficient space. When she later invited him for Black Friday, he declined, saying he would be at Best Buy instead. The anchor told the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2018 that he managed to clear out the entire Thanksgiving table with his praise for Trump during the first holiday after the 2016 election, describing the Obama years as tough times for family gatherings.
Trump responded to the No Kings protests by initially insisting he was not a king, then posting an AI-generated video depicting himself wearing a crown while piloting a fighter jet labeled “KING TRUMP” and bombing protesters with brown liquid. Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr, appointed by Trump, announced he was considering an investigation into Kimmel and ABC following the late-night host’s comments. The president also suggested that networks giving him negative coverage could face revocation of their broadcast licenses and has since excluded ABC reporters from covering his presidency.
