Bill O'Reilly blames the "far left" for his firing from Fox News

Bill O'Reilly complains to Glenn Beck that others are responsible for his firing following sexual harassment claims

By Matthew Rozsa

Staff Writer

Published May 12, 2017 7:40PM (EDT)

Bill O'Reilly; a march against police brutality and in support of Black Lives Matter in New York City, July 9, 2016.   (Reuters/Mike Segar/Eduardo Munoz/Photo montage by Salon)
Bill O'Reilly; a march against police brutality and in support of Black Lives Matter in New York City, July 9, 2016. (Reuters/Mike Segar/Eduardo Munoz/Photo montage by Salon)

Bill O'Reilly still won't own up to his own mistakes.

As Salon's own Matthew Sheffield has pointed out, left-wing activist groups played a pivotal role in holding the former Fox News host accountable for his alleged sexual harassment of network employees. And it appears that O'Reilly is aware of that -- and using that fact to deflect responsibility for his role in his own firing.

During an interview on Friday with Glenn Beck, another former Fox News host, O'Reilly placed blame for his termination squarely on the shoulders of the so-called "far left," according to a report by The Hill.

"This was a hit, and in the weeks to come, we are going to be able to explain some of it. It has to do with destroying voices [the] far-left doesn’t like," O'Reilly groused to Beck.He also denounced far left activist groups as "this crew that terrorizes sponsors and threatens people behind the scenes."

O'Reilly had similar complaints about the way he claims the left is treating President Donald Trump.

"There is some balance on the right as far as Trump is concerned," O'Reilly told Beck. "Some like him, some don't. But on the left, you don't get any of that. What you get is, 'We're gonna take him out. Alright? And we're gonna take advantage of every single thing to take him out.'"

After Beck joked that he wasn't helping O'Reilly's blood pressure and segued to the subject of White House leaks, O'Reilly brought up the negative coverage surrounding Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey — and, again, blamed the media.

"Come on, Beck, you gotta see it. You gotta see how damaging it is to the country," O'Reilly told Beck. "And I'm not sticking up for Trump here as a person or a president. I'm just saying, this dishonesty in the media is harming this nation."

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By Matthew Rozsa

Matthew Rozsa is a staff writer at Salon. He received a Master's Degree in History from Rutgers-Newark in 2012 and was awarded a science journalism fellowship from the Metcalf Institute in 2022.

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Bill O’reilly Donald Trump Fox News Glenn Beck O'reilly Sexual Harassment Partner Video