Longtime conservative journalist Bill O’Reilly took exception to CNN anchor Jake Tapper’s characterization of his position on the White House press ban, accusing Tapper of making him out to be a “hypocrite.”
Tapper had pointed to an attempt by former President Barack Obama’s administration to exclude Fox News from the White House, noting how O’Reilly and other high-profile journalists fought against that effort at the time.
But the CNN anchor apparently irked O’Reilly when he went a step further.
“Bill O’Reilly was absolutely right then, although he has the opposite take now. If you stand for principles only when they benefit you, you’re not actually in possession of those principles… It is disappointing how few voices there are in conservative media who are protesting President Trump on any of this,” Tapper said.
President Donald Trump ignited a political firestorm on Friday when he abruptly banned CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House. A judge later forced the administration to restore access to the outlets.
O’Reilly addressed the matter at length during his Wednesday podcast, where he played a portion of Tapper’s segment that included the anchor’s remark before going on to slam Tapper for portraying him as a hypocrite.
“That’s false,” O’Reilly said. “That’s just not true, OK? I don’t have the opposite take now.”
The veteran broadcaster argued that his view reflects changed circumstances rather than a reversal of principle.
“What I have is new information that the situation has gotten so wildly out of control because of President Trump, the hatred — that it’s a whole different story than it was back when Barack Obama was whining about Fox News,” O’Reilly said.
O’Reilly also offered a personal reflection on his own dealings with the former president.
“And as an aside, Obama treated me very well. I interviewed him three times. I had number of phone conversations and and one thing drove me absolutely nuts, again, that’s in the book, but he wasn’t aggressive toward me at all. Sean Hannity, he was,” he said.
O’Reilly noted that he and Hannity had discussed the matter that same day on his radio program, which is available on BillO’Reilly.com.
He then returned his focus to Tapper’s specific claim.
“But Tapper says ‘although he has the opposite take now.’ That’s just not true,” O’Reilly said.
O’Reilly accused the CNN anchor of failing to do his homework in order to push a predetermined storyline.
“And anybody researching a story would know that. But that doesn’t fit into Tapper’s narrative that I’m a hypocrite, OK? That’s what he wanted to establish and that’s what he tells his viewers,” he said.
“And how would his viewers know?” O’Reilly asked.
The former Fox News host then turned Tapper’s criticism back around on the CNN anchor, using a phrase often associated with President Trump.
“That’s fake news. That’s what is in play along with the suppression and the coupling of the media as I said with the Democratic party. Fascinating story,” O’Reilly said.
The exchange between the two media figures comes amid the continuing fallout over the Trump administration’s move to bar CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House, a ban that a judge ultimately forced the administration to reverse.
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