On Monday evening's edition of "The O'Reilly Factor," host Bill O'Reilly attacked National Review's "Conservatives against Trump" symposium, saying that it's not surprising that elitists are upset with Trump's "populist" -- he likely means "nativist" -- statements on immigration and other subjects.
"When a bunch of right-leaning scribes hammered Donald Trump last week, some Trump supporters were outraged," he began. "Why? If you support Trump, you surely know his bombastic style and populist statements, especially on immigration, have angered many voters."
"There is nothing wrong with some conservatives objecting to Trump," he continued. "At the same time, it is appropriate for Trump to hit back against his critics, as he believes they are putting ideology above problem-solving -- and that may be true."
O'Reilly went on to praise himself for his alleged independent credentials, saying that "for years some on the right have criticized me for not fitting into their narrow view of the world. The Factor marches to an independent beat and ideologues on both sides don't like it, especially because we are a powerful voice."
"My recent go-round with George Will illustrates that -- and by the way, Will and his crew are also dismissive of Trump and come across as elitist, which actually helps Trump. This is one of the few times that ardent conservatives and liberals agree on something: No Trump!"
He noted that recent polling has Trump pulling away from his closest competitor, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, and O'Reilly attributed that to "millions of Americans hav[ing] grown tired of political talk -- they want action."
"Trump believes he will bring in legions of new voters to counter the liberal-minority coalition that gave Barack Obama power," O'Reilly argued, without providing anything by way of evidence, "but in the end, independent voters will make the call, not conservatives or liberals."
"No matter your political philosophy, you have a perfect right to speak your mind on the election and attacks on that right are irresponsible, the product of small and sometimes hateful minds," he concluded. "We are a divided nation. That's reality, but out of robust debate can come clarity and strength. Hopefully that's what will happen next November."
Watch the entire Talking Points Memo below via Fox News.
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