Jon Stewart mocks Bill O'Reilly as he fails to prove his claims about 'Joe Biden being bad for country'
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly appeared on the Tuesday, July 16 episode of 'The Daily Show' to share his views on political fanaticism and toning down the rhetoric in the aftermath of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
O'Reilly has a contentious history with the show's progressive host Jon Stewart, and had been the target of many jibes from the comedian in the past. Explaining the changing nature of discourse between people with ideological differences, he said, “We are able to disagree without hating each other. Now, I truly hate him. But I don’t show it."
“You hold it very well,” quipped Stewart in response, showing that the nature of their relationship has scarcely evolved.
What made Jon Stewart walk away from Bill O'Reilly?
Being on opposite sides of the political spectrum, the conversation between Stewart and O'Reilly was intense from the onset, reported The Wrap. However, it was his guest's claim towards the end of the show that made Stewart leave his seat.
Stewart noted that Trump had put the peaceful transfer of power, which is "the hallmark of Democracy," in jeopardy back in 2020 when he denied election results leading to the insurrection on January 6, 2021.
"That has haunted him every day since," replied O'Reilly, claiming that if that had not happened, Trump would have been leading Biden in the polls by 25%.
"That’s how bad Biden has been for the country,” he said, making Stewart answer, "Well, I disagree with that."
“Of course you do!” snapped O’Reilly, proceeding to pull out a sheet of paper to prove his claim. From there, he read out that under the current administration, food prices are up 20%, gas prices are up 38%, mortgage rates are up 160%, drug overdoses are up 36% and car insurance is up 125%.
"These are folks. They’ve got to spend that money,” he said before Stewart countered that the United States along with the rest of the world have reeled from the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, and former President Donald Trump ran an $8 trillion deficit and spent $1.7 trillion on tax cuts.
“Look at it in relation to the world. I respectfully say, yes, inflation is too high, and that hurts American consumers. So what did Biden do to create that, though?” he inquired.
“I don’t know,” said O’Reilly. “And that’s what I would ask.”
That proved too much for Stewart, who bursted out laughing and walked away from his desk, much to the delight of the audience.
“So basically you wrote down on a piece of paper but you didn’t look up the answer?” he jibed after returning to his seat.
Internet calls out Bill O'Reilly for his baseless claims
Netizens sided with Stewart in slamming the conservative commentator. Commenting on the clip over YouTube, they pointed out the irony of O'Reilly speaking about cooling down the political narrative in the US, as the following examples demonstrate.
"Oh, the irony of Bill O'Reilly lamenting the horrors of profiting off anger and misinformation," wrote a person.
"Bill O'Reilly is not a journalist. Credit to John for pointing that out," stated another.
"Bill O’Reilly is the WORST person to deliver the message that 'we need to take the rhetoric down a notch.' What a hypocrite," jibed a third.
"I have only admiration for Stewart's patience and his ability to conduct respectful discourse when the person he's conversing with is an absolute numpty who fostered hate and monetized that hate," expressed a fourth.
"It was hilarious watching O'Reilly criticize media for profiting from hate without the slightest hint of self-awareness," shared a fifth.
This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.
