The Daily Populous Sunday July 20th, 2025 morning edition
Authored by independent.co.uk and submitted by Party_Judgment5780

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Fox News host Jesse Watters reluctantly apologized to California Governor Gavin Newsom amid their escalating legal battle during Thursday’s episode of his show.

The host walked back accusations that the governor lied about a phone call with President Trump during the anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles.

“He didn’t deceive anybody on purpose, so I’m sorry, he wasn’t lying. He was just confusing and unclear. Next time, governor, why don’t you say what you mean?” the MAGA-favorite said.

Last month, the governor filed a $787 million defamation lawsuit against Watters and Fox News, accusing Primetime of misleadingly editing a video of Trump to support the claim.

open image in gallery Jesse Watters reluctantly apologized for the claim he made about California Governor Gavin Newsom ( Jesse Watters Primetime/X )

Newsom’s attorneys said Watters aired a deceptively edited clip of Trump suggesting he spoke with the governor just before the president mobilized the U.S. Marines on June 9, when, in fact, records show the call occurred days earlier.

Newsom’s lawyers argued in the complaint that by making the call appear more recent, Trump could falsely imply he and the governor discussed the troop deployment to LA.

The governor, however, had already said publicly that he spoke to Trump after midnight on June 7, and the military was not discussed.

Trump sent Fox News anchor John Roberts a screenshot showing the June 7 date of the phone call, with the time-stamped image used on both Roberts’ and Watters’ shows.

“Gavin lied about Trump’s call,” the Fox News banner blared.

open image in gallery Gavin Newsom (left) and Donald Trump spoke on the phone on June 7 about the immigration protests erupting in Los Angeles ( AP )

Newsom said they did not speak after June 7 and refuted the claim in a post on X.

“There was no call,” Newsom tweeted on June 10. “Not even a voicemail. Americans should be alarmed that a President deploying Marines onto our streets doesn’t even know who he’s talking to.”

After filing the lawsuit on June 28 in a Delaware court, Newsom’s lawyers said they would drop the case if the governor received a retraction and a formal on-air apology.

During his grudging apology Thursday, Watters told viewers he believed Newsom’s X post asserted that the two had not spoken at all.

“We thought the dispute was about whether there was a phone call at all when he said without qualification that there was no call,” he said. “Now Newsom’s telling us what was in his head when he wrote the tweet.”

After Watters’s concession, Newsom showed little sign of remorse or backing down.

“Discovery will be fun,” he said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. “See you in court, buddy.”

duzies on July 19th, 2025 at 21:16 UTC »

In other words, "*he* wasn't lying, *I* was lying."

Prior_Coyote_4376 on July 19th, 2025 at 21:14 UTC »

> The host walked back accusations that the governor lied about a phone call with President Trump during the anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles.

> “He didn’t deceive anybody on purpose, so I’m sorry, he wasn’t lying. He was just confusing and unclear. Next time, governor, why don’t you say what you mean?” the MAGA-favorite said.

He’s so butthurt lol

Arec_Barwin on July 19th, 2025 at 21:10 UTC »

Coward ass liar, Watters.