“I know people that I can guarantee you will give you a call back,” Sean Hannity assured Bill O’Reilly after he complained Gov. DeSantis “could not care less” that two of O’Reilly’s books were removed for review from Florida libraries.
Recently, I wrote for Crooks and Liars that Florida book-ban supporter Bill O’Reilly is Big Mad that two of his own books were removed from Florida libraries. It’s not clear why his Killing Jesus and Killing Reagan books were pulled for review by the Escambia County, Florida public school district. But just like the O’Reilly we not-so-fondly remember, he vowed revenge.
Sean Hannity to the intra-rightwing spat rescue! The Fox “News” host put aside his Trump operative hat (temporarily, I'm sure!) and put on his DeSantis insider hat.
On Hannity’s radio show, O’Reilly said that his staff had contacted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for a comment. “Not only would he not give one, but his media people were so rude that I had to be restrained from getting on the phone with them,” O'Reilly added.
O’Reilly did not get on the phone but he told Hannity’s radio audience that “everybody should know that Governor DeSantis could not care less about this situation.”
HANNITY: I know people that I can guarantee you will give you a call back. Now, nobody -- it doesn't matter if you're Bill O'Reilly or anybody, should be treated brutally by any elected official's office -- or, but I do believe, and this is my opinion, knowing the governor as well as I do, and I've known him for a long time, that this would be an issue that he would care about. I'm not sure.
He's obviously been very busy out campaigning. I have -- I would bet everything I have, he has no idea, that you're trying to reach him. But as a favor to you, I will very gladly reach out to the contacts I have and connect you because I just -- I find it hard to believe that this was brought to the governor's attention.
O’Reilly ranted about DeSantis staying in the presidential primary despite having no chance to win (instead of responding to O’Reilly, I guess) but praised the “good law in Florida” that counteracts the “horrible” acts of the “liberal precincts.”
Hannity agreed about the law and agreed that removing O’Reilly’s book “shouldn’t have happened.” Ditto for Anne Frank, John Grisham and Stephen King books which were also reportedly removed. Hannity went back to defending DeSantis, saying he was so busy on the campaign trail, it was like “a fire hose going down [his] throat.” But, Hannity added, “it shouldn’t have happened.”
Then Hannity offered to pull strings with his Florida Bigwig BFFs for O’Reilly:
HANNITY: And I, on your behalf -- with your permission, I'd like to reach out to people that I know that I know will get the message to the governor ‘cause I would bet pretty much everything I have, this did not hit his desk. This did not make -- he was not informed of all of this, what you're describing. That’s my guess, I’m not being a special pleader for the governor. I just know him. And it’s not his style. And that is not how he rolls.
I'm totally against book banning and much as I dislike O'Reilly, I can assure you that this former librarian would never have removed any of his books. Yet this is hardly the kind of situation that demands instant action by a governor, especially one running for president. But rigging government for right-wingers - it's what MAGA Republicans do!
Think Hannity would have stuck his nose out if the famously liberal Stephen King had complained? Don’t make me laugh.
You can listen to a Fox prime time host offer to interfere on a conservative author’s behalf below, from the January 18, 2024 The Sean Hannity Show, via Media Matters.
(Hannity image via screen grab)
And O’Reilly did not previously have any problem with DeSantis and Angry Right Wing Florida officials banning books he personally doesn’t like. O’Reilly has repeatedly spoke out in praise of Florida’s behavior in these areas. It was only when O’Reilly found his own books in the crosshairs that he suddenly rediscovered the 1st Amendment – and only for himself. In his tantrum about this situation, he’s again stated that he thinks other books he doesn’t like still should be banned.
I must note that O’Reilly’s books are a questionable affair in the first place, and it’s easy to see how they fell afoul of the Florida censorship rules. In addition to being poorly written and poorly researched (almost completely by O’Reilly’s “co-author” Martin Dugard), they usually are loaded with salacious details from questionable sources. O’Reilly’s unfortunate ramblings about “Killing the Mob” and “Killing the Legends” include all kinds of saucy assertions about Hollywood and Elvis and John Lennon, etc. Which of course fuel the usual Angry Right Wing hatred of Hollywood and various celebrities. And there’s the matter that all of those O’Reilly books are in a series he has enthusiastically titled “Killing (fill in the blank)”. As far as having any scholastic value, it would be an extreme uphill battle to prove such about anything O’Reilly has written. One supposes the books are useful as evidence of O’Reilly’s own personal issues and biases. Even though we have plenty of that from his public tantrums and unfortunate comments over the years.
Ellen is correct that no book should be banned – the whole notion of that is an obvious assault on the 1st Amendment. But it’s more than a little interesting to see a disgraced Angry Right Wing pundit being hoist by his own petard.
O’Reilly is not really an author, more of a ghost writer. Still anyone who makes money from selling books but supports the idea of book bans is just asking for the universe to slap them silly.