Bill O’Reilly lobbed a verbal missile at colleague George Will tonight as the latest salvo in the war between the two Fox News talking heads.
In his Talking Points commentary, O’Reilly singled out Will as the epitome of what's wrong with the Republican establishment.
O’REILLY: First show 2016. The biggest political story in America. That is the subject of this evening's Talking Points Memo. Both political parties are helping Donald Trump dominate the polls. The combined Democrat and Republican establishments just may propel a tough-talking political novice into the White House. Obviously a huge situation. On the GOP side, our pal George Will epitomizes what's going on. In a column just before Christmas, Will uses harsh, personal attacks against Trump and then concludes if he wins the nomination the Republican Party will be destroyed. Will fashions himself a Republican intellectual dishing out conservative theory, using as many big words as possible. But when it comes to solving problems that drive right-leaning Americans nuts, Will offers little. Factor has analyzed his columns in the past three years and found no proposed solutions to the immigration mess or to the ISIS terror threat. In that, George Will is not alone. Republican establishment in Washington has not dealt effectively with these and other vexing problems causing great anger among some GOP voters. Thus, Trump's hardline rhetoric on illegal immigration and the jihad has taken root.
O’Reilly’s beef with Will almost certainly has more to do with his scathing critique of O’Reilly’s latest book than any role Will has played in enabling Trump’s popularity. The two went after each other over it in a memorable O’Reilly Factor segment last November. New York Magazine’s Gabriel Sherman wrote that the “feud is being closely studied by executives because it is part of a larger power struggle that’s taking place at the highest reaches of the organization.”
I’ll bet O’Reilly took special malicious glee in the fact that Will despises Trump.
In my last post, I wrote about some bickering on The Five over Trump. I suspect it's part of the same schism. But if it isn't, that's even more fascinating.
Grab the popcorn! Then watch O’Reilly’s January 4 Talking Points Memo above.
Crossposted at News Hounds.
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