Bill O'Reilly Causes a Stir With Coronavirus Comments

Bill O'Reilly may not have his prime-show on Fox News anymore, but his recent comments on the coronavirus were still causing a media stir. While appearing Wednesday on the radio show of former Fox colleague Sean Hannity, O'Reilly said he was happy the US appeared to be on track to avoid the worst-case scenarios from the outbreak. In the course of those comments, he said, "Many people who are dying, both here and around the world, were on their last legs anyway," per Mediaite. He added: "And I don't want to sound callous about that." Hannity immediately checked him on the statement, saying he would get "hammered" on it.

“Well, I don’t care," responded O'Reilly. "I mean, a simple man tells the truth." The pair then discussed how many COVID-19 fatalities had underlying medical conditions, and O'Reilly said "age" was a big factor in global deaths. (The Washington Post reported Wednesday that more than 750 people under the age of 50 have died in the US so far.) The Hill rounds up criticism from both the left and right to O'Reilly's statement, and O'Reilly himself responded on Thursday via tweet and blog post. "The far left wants chaos and carnage so President Trump will lose re-election," he writes. "They are not interested in facts and will try to punish people who provide perspective." (More Bill O'Reilly stories.)