Fox News’ Jesse Watters claimed Jesse Ventura “declared war” on the federal government after the former pro-wrestler and Minnesota governor’s scathing rebuke of ICE and the Trump administration following the fatal shooting of a 37-year-old Minneapolis mother, Renee Good.
Speaking to a local outlet in Minneapolis outside his alma mater, Roosevelt High School, on Thursday, Ventura slammed Trump, whom he referred to as a “draft-dodging coward,” for turning the United States into “a third-world country” by deploying federal troops into several American cities.
“In third-world countries, they have the military doing their police work in the cities,” Ventura said. “I was in the Philippines the day Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law and went under dictatorship. We went from nobody to a guy with a machine gun on every corner. That’s what happens in a dictatorship. In comes the military. That’s what’s happening here, and people better wake up to it.”
“I took an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I view, after January 6, [2021], the Republican Party as a domestic enemy to our Constitution. I can’t get any bolder than that, can I?” he added.
During his show on Friday, Watters accused Ventura of declaring war against the federal government.
“The former governor of Minnesota, Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura – no relation – just declared war on the federal government,” Watters told his viewers. “Why are the Democrats starting a civil war over foreigners? A civil war over foreigners? I’m confused. Have you ever seen these people fight so hard for Americans? I’ve never seen it. People who put on a badge and uniform and swear an oath to obey the Constitution every day, they’re the enemy? The agents protecting the country from gangs and drugs, they’re the ones being called Nazis and being hit with cars?”
Ventura, has never been a Democrat. He has been affiliated with the Reform and Green parties. However, he’s supportive of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats, as they’ve spoken out against the ICE agents.
Ventura hinted that he might run for office again.
“Freedom is not arresting people without warrants. We have a system here, it’s called a Constitution. And we have a party, the Republicans. Who don’t seem to want to abide by the Constitution. January 6 is a prime example of that. And now they’re all free, and they’re in charge. You know what? Maybe it’s time for Jesse — I only did one term — I’m owed a second,” he said.
