Memo to Bill O’Reilly: I don’t think Donald Trump is the best character reference against allegations of sexual harassment. And “no one was mistreated” is not exactly a ringing denial, either.
The Hollywood Reporter is out with a wide-ranging interview with Bill O’Reilly today. But O’Reilly’s praise of Trump for defending him after a cascade of sexual harassment allegations forced him out of his Fox News show was less than reassuring about either of their records on the treatment of women:
He [Trump] did come to your defense during your final weeks at Fox News …
Yeah. He was a stand-up guy. He’s very loyal to his friends. I think he understands that no one was mistreated on my watch, because that’s the truth. He knows the politics of it because he has been in the same circumstance — accused — and the press will take any allegation and make it a conviction.
In the first place, it’s hard to imagine a less credible man on the subject of sexual conduct than Trump. With more than a dozen accusations of sexual assault against him (not including the “Grab them by the p***y” Access Hollywood tape in which he boasted about assaulting women), Trump’s defense of O’Reilly is hardly persuasive of his innocence.
Furthermore, O’Reilly’s claim that Trump “understands” that “no one was mistreated on my watch” is hardly a claim that he behaved appropriately toward women.
Shorter O’Reilly: I don’t mistreat women when I harass them. Just ask my buddy, the guy who has boasted about assaulting them.
Because if Trump has done even half of what he has been accused of doing and/or what he boasted about doing, O’Reilly’s behavior might look downright chivalrous in comparison.
But that point seemed to have been completely lost on interviewer Marisa Guthrie. Her next question in the printed interview was about Fox’s ratings in O’Reilly’s absence. That’s not a huge surprise, given that Guthrie has acted as a Fox sycophant when she has appeared on the network.
But the interview is still worthy of a read. I’ll have more to say about it in a later post.
(O'Reilly image via screen grab)