Lighthearted commentary on serious topics had Bill O’Reilly informing Jon Stewart about the one thing that was keeping the former president from being up on his rival “by 25 points.”
“That has haunted him every day since.”
(Video Credit: The Daily Show)
Roughly a decade since their last on-air dialogue, the former Fox News host joined “The Daily Show” Tuesday night for a live discussion on the state of political discourse. The back-and-forth that acknowledged there were extremes on both sides of the aisle ultimately arrived at the leading candidates heading into the November election and the one issue allegedly keeping former President Donald Trump from a potential blowout victory.
“[Trump] said the election was stolen and rigged,” argued Stewart after O’Reilly checked the host with a reminder that he was an Independent. “And drove people to this madness on January 6th. How are we to deal with that, truly — you know, what is the hallmark of a democracy? Peaceful transfer of power. That put that in jeopardy.”
“That has haunted him every day since,” added the “No Spin News” commentator who earned snark in response. “Oh, he’s paid a terrible price.”
Brushing aside the clowning around from Stewart, O’Reilly held to his conviction about the detriment President Joe Biden’s administration had brought on the nation and made his case, “If Trump hadn’t done that on January 6th, he’d be ahead of Biden by 25 points in the poll. That’s how bad Biden has been for the country.”
To that point, even as he purportedly sought to “lower the temperature in our politics” after the assassination attempt on Trump, Biden still brought up the breach of the U.S. Capitol among other charged talking points from the left in a fashion more like a campaign speech than an address to the nation.
“Violence has never been the answer, whether it’s with members of Congress in both parties being targeted in the shot, or a violent mob attacking the Capitol on January 6th, or a brutal attack on the spouse of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, or information and intimidation on election officials, or the kidnapping plot against a sitting governor, or an attempted assassination on Donald Trump,” said the president. “There is no place in America for this kind of violence or for any violence ever. Period. No exceptions. We can’t allow this violence to be normalized.”
Stewart’s vocalized disagreement with O’Reilly was met with receipts from his guest who reached into his jacket pocket as he said, “I’m gonna ruin your day.”
“I was prepared for this,” added O’Reilly as the host appeared crestfallen before notes were read off. “Food prices under Biden, up 20%. Gas prices, 38. Mortgage rates, 160%. Drug ODs up 36%, okay? Car insurance, 125% up. These are folks. They have to spend that money.”
The duo couldn’t agree on which president was responsible for inflation while Stewart faulted COVID for tarnishing the incumbent’s record. The segment ended before any further points could be made, but there was agreement earlier in the conversation that they themselves had benefitted from riling up their audiences.
“You and I are both somewhat fossilized practitioners of the rhetorical arts that are confrontational at times, provocative at times,” said Stewart. “And we made a really spectacular living pushing those envelopes.”
The pair were slated to continue their conversation on Stewart’s podcast.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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