Chantal Da Silva, Newsweek, November 6, 2018

Fox News co-hosts Jesse Watters and Juan Williams fell into an on-air disagreement on Monday over whether the Democratic Party is “anti-white.”

Watters made the accusation while discussing what Democrats would need to do to see a major win in Tuesday’s midterm elections, with the Fox News host questioning whether the Democratic Party can “be for diversity” but also be “so anti-white,” as first reported by Media Matters.

“Can the Democratic Party be for diversity, but also be against open borders, and not be so anti-white?” Watters said. “So far, they haven’t been able to strike that balance.

Taken aback by Watters’ comments, Williams said, “I don’t think the Democrats are anti-white. Where did that come from?”

{snip}

The accusation that the Democratic Party is “anti-white” is, of course, unfounded. Democrats have, however, long accused the Trump administration of enforcing anti-immigrant policies, including the government’s child separation policy, as well as its current response to multiple caravans of Central American migrants heading towards the United States to seek asylum.

Trump and the Republican Party also faced widespread accusations of racism over releasing controversial campaign-style advertisements, which have since been pulled off the air by Fox News, CNN, NBC and Facebook over their content.

{snip}

White voters continue to be more likely to affiliate with or lean toward the Republican Party than the Democratic Party, with 51 percent leaning towards the Republican Party compared to the 43 percent leaning towards the Democratic Party, the research center noted in a study released on March 20, 2018.

Pew did note, however, that while white voters have, since 2010, been more likely to align with the GOP than the Democrats, the share of white voters identifying as Democrats or leaning Democratic has edged upward from no more than 40 percent from 2009 to 2016 to 43 percent as of March this year. The research center asserted that this growth could be attributed to a slight increase in Democratic leaning independents, however, rather than a rise in Democratic affiliation.

{snip}