Bill O’Reilly has finally told a lie that was so big and untrue that even he had to apologize for it on Fox News.
Here is the video from Media Matters:
O’Reilly said, “Last night during my discussion with James Carville about the Martin Luther King commemoration, I said that there were no Republican speakers invited. Wrong, I was wrong. Some Republicans were asked to speak. They declined, and that was a mistake. They should have spoken. Now, the mistake, entirely on me. I simply assumed that since all the speakers were liberal Democrats, Republicans were excluded. So here’s the tip of the day. Always check out the facts before you make a definitive statement. And when you make a mistake, admit it. By the way, I’m sorry that I made that mistake. It’s very annoying because I know you guys watch The Factor for accuracy.”
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Anybody watching Fox News for accuracy has bigger problems than Bill O’Reilly lying to them. O’Reilly could have easily gotten the story correct if he would have looked at any other sources besides the network he works for and right wing media. I suspect that Bill-O knew the truth before he ever went on the air last night, but the Republican talking point of the day was about how they were not invited to the event, so that is what he ran with.
By this morning virtually every media outlet was reporting that Republicans had been invited to the event, but refused to attend. O’Reilly apologized to his viewers because it helped him look like he has credibility, but his apology was half baked.
Bill-O never admitted that all Republicans had been invited to the event. The Republican decision to blow off the legacy of Martin Luther King was party wide, and a whole lot worse than O’Reilly let on. The entire congressional Republican caucus colluded to not show up. This wasn’t just a few leaders declining to speak. It was the whole party giving the King family and all Americans a big middle finger on the anniversary of an important date in U.S. history.
It is a piece of delicious irony that a serial misinformer like Bill O’Reilly is advising people to get their facts straight before they make a definitive statement. Bill O’Reilly wouldn’t know a fact if it bit him in the loofah.
At least now we know how big of a lie Bill O’Reilly has to tell before he will apologize.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
