O'Reilly said Virginia Beach mayor "should be baking pies, not running a major city"

On the April 6 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly stated that Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera Oberndorf "should be baking pies, not running a major city." O'Reilly made the comment while discussing a March 30 automobile accident that resulted in the deaths of two teenage girls, reportedly at the hands of an illegal immigrant who said he had been drinking the night of the accident. O'Reilly blamed Oberndorf in part for the accident, saying that Virginia Beach's "sanctuary city policy" prevented police from detaining and deporting the driver, despite three previous alcohol-related convictions.

O'Reilly also stated that "Oberndorf, is, with all do respect -- I'm trying not to be insulting here -- limited in her intellectual capacity" and called Virginia Beach Police Chief Alfred M. Jacocks Jr. "an arrogant incompetent." As Media Matters for America has documented (including here, here, here, and here), O'Reilly has often denied that he makes "personal attacks" despite his history of repeatedly doing so.

Additionally, O'Reilly again commented on the March 7 Bronx fire that killed nine people, saying: "You know, the kids in the Bronx all burned to death because the city -- sanctuary city of New York -- doesn't regulate how many people you cram into a slum." As Media Matters for America has documented (here and here), O'Reilly blamed the victims' deaths on the "compassion crowd" and responded to a viewer's email critical of his comments by saying, "Your so-called compassion helped kill those kids." He added in response to the viewer, "It's people like you, [viewer], who promote that kind of chaos in the name of compassion, who look the other way while poor workers and children are exploited by greedy landlords and businesses because you don't like the immigration laws."

From the April 6 edition of Westwood One's The Radio Factor:

O'REILLY: Now, the crux of the matter is that the guy who killed these girls, [Alfredo] Ramos, an illegal alien from Mexico, was allowed to stay in this country even after three alcohol-related convictions. OK? And another identity theft conviction. Everybody in the Virginia Beach area knew this guy was a criminal, yet no one would take action to even report him to the federal authorities so he could be deported. No one. And that's because of the crazy sanctuary city policy. All right?

Now, the mayor of Virginia Beach, Meyera Oberndorf, is, with all do respect -- I'm trying not to be insulting here -- limited in her intellectual capacity.

[...]

O'REILLY: OK. The ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement]. You know, look, and this is for everybody in Virginia Beach, if you're gonna elect a person like this, you're gonna have chaos. All right? This woman should be baking pies, not running a major city. Now, the real villain in this, as we continue to investigate, is Chief Alfred Jacocks. It is the chief who refuses to obey the law.

[...]

O'REILLY: We have no business doing so. So if we have a criminal illegal alien in our community, Chief Alfred Jacocks is not going to do anything. All right. Now, you have the combination of the mayor and the chief, and you know why you have two dead girls. OK? You know, you know. There's no doubt about it, there's no debate about it. This is what you have, and as long as people like that are in a position of responsibility, you're gonna have dead girls in the street.

[...]

O'REILLY: All right, look. There's no question -- I don't know what's going on in Cincinnati politics. I know it's a, it's a tough city. But there's no question in Virginia Beach that the mayor is clueless. The mayor has -- the ICE -- she has no idea what's going on. And the police chief is an arrogant incompetent.

All right. Now, if you elect these people, that's what you're gonna get. Dead girls.

[...]

O'REILLY: Because, look, just listening to her soundbites, just listening to her try to explain the situation, she is not capable of running the city. As I said, she should be home baking pies. This is not a woman who has any grasp of public policy. So, I have nothing personal against this woman. I couldn't care less about her. I just wanna protect Americans and I wanna protect illegal aliens.

Remember, these people are dying -- 500 died in the desert trying to cross into the USA last year. You know, the kids in the Bronx all burned to death because the city -- sanctuary city of New York -- doesn't regulate how many people you cram into a slum. And now we have to the two dead American girls in Virginia.

—A.I.