‘No one paid attention to the virus because of impeachment…’
(Ben Sellers, Liberty Headlines) Although he is no longer leading the cable-news airwaves, former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly re-entered the “no spin zone” with an outraged condemnation of the political distractions that allowed the coronavirus to spread.
In an appearance Thursday on fellow conservative Todd Starnes’s podcast, O’Reilly literally trashed the “garbage” impeachment proceedings that distracted much of the nation’s attention during the months of January and February, in what should have been critical moments for preparing a coordinated pandemic response.
“That impeachment thing was the biggest bunch of garbage I have ever seen in my life,” O’Reilly said. “And it will go down in history as contributing to this horrible pandemic here… no one paid attention to the virus because of impeachment.”
Although allegations of sexual harassment in 2017 forced him out of his 16-year run of prime-time dominance, O’Reilly has maintained a presence in the commentary sphere at his own website, where he continues to podcast and tweet his unique takes on the issues of the day.
O’Reilly had made similar links between the impeachment and the initial response failures of the pandemic in premium-member content on the site.
O’Reilly also called out left-wing media who continued to be distracted by menial partisan efforts to attack and undermine President Donald Trump, even as he seeks to unify the country around a cohesive plan to fight the pandemic.
O’Reilly called out ABC News’s Cecilia Vega, one of several reporters on Wednesday who harped on Trump’s use of the term “Chinese virus” during a daily press briefing and claiming, without evidence, that a staff member had used the term “kung-flu.”
Trump also has pushed back at the petty politicization of the virus in some media. On Friday, he called out a fearmongering NBC reporter for trying to criticize his optimistic tone about a prospective cure.
“What do you say to Americans who are watching you right now who are scared?” asked NBC’s Peter Alexander.
“I’d say that you’re a terrible reporter. That’s what I’d say,” Trump replied.