A rumor that Fox News host Jesse Watters said, “If [U.S. President Donald] Trump had been president during the Civil War, we would’ve won it,” circulated online in December 2025.
For example, one Facebook user posted the claim (archived) with what appeared to be an image of Watters on the news station, with a chyron — text at the bottom of the screen — that read: WATTERS: “IF TRUMP HAD BEEN PRESIDENT DURING THE CIVIL WAR, WE WOULD’VE WON IT.”
Variations of the rumor spread on other platforms, including Reddit (archived, archived) and Threads (archived). Snopes readers also searched the site for information about the claim.
Some readers seemed to interpret the rumor as a factual recounting of real-life events. However, there was no evidence Watters said the quote in question, which seemed to refer to “we” as the Confederacy.
Rather, the rumor regarding Watters’ alleged quote originated with Facebook user James Schlarmann (archived) — who describes his output as being humorous or satirical in nature. The account’s bio states he is a comedian, and his linked Instagram bio reads: “Comedian. Satirist.” The posts linked above all featured a watermark indicating the story originated from Schlarmann’s account.
The image of Watters appeared to overlay a fictional quote on an authentic photo to resemble a screenshot from a Fox News program.
The fictional story spread shortly after Watters spoke at conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest Conference on Dec. 20, 2025. In his speech, Watters said Trump once told him people compared Trump’s X account to the Gettysburg Address — the speech former President Abraham Lincoln gave during the Civil War (at 15:45):
The social media account in question has a history of making up stories for shares and comments, as evidenced by other claims on its page. Snopes has repeatedly fact-checked claims Schlarmann has posted, something he has then later announced on his pages.
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.
