Bill O'Reilly Denies The Existence Of Child Hunger: “It's A Total Lie”

O'Reilly: “You Are Telling Me That You Believe In The United States Of America ... There Are Urchins Running Around That Don't Have Any Food Because Of The System?”

From the October 6 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:

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KIRSTEN POWERS: It's not -- this idea that -- so Democrats believe that people are entitled to certain things. They're entitled to healthcare, they're entitled to food. They're entitled to some basic necessities of life.

BILL O'REILLY: Yeah, free stuff. Free. Free.

POWERS: What you call “free stuff” and what Jeb Bush calls “free stuff” that actually are necessities in life. So the problem with when he said “free stuff” is that he's talking about children getting food. He's talking about people who -- a lot of the people who receive welfare, even the adults are working poor. They're people who have jobs. But they don't have enough money to get food, so it's --

O'REILLY: Yeah, but that's -- that myth has been busted time and time and time again.

POWERS: It's is not a myth, it's not even -- it's not a myth, no, no.

O'REILLY: Sure it is. Look, if you look -- if you look at the studies of poverty --

POWERS: At least 50 percent are working.

O'REILLY: Powers. If you look at the studies of poverty, most poor people in this country have computers, have big screen TVs, have cars, have air conditioning. This myth that there are kids who don't have anything to eat is a total lie. And --

POWERS: It is absolutely not a lie, and there actually are students --

O'REILLY: It is absolutely a total lie on a mass level.

POWERS: There actually are students in New York City, there are kids in New York City who go all weekend without anything to eat except when they eat in the schools. That is absolutely a fact.

O'REILLY: Oh, that is such the biggest baloney. You produce one. You produce one. You can't.

POWERS: And I know it's a fact, I know that because of the churches that I have worked with in New York City who serve those children. I mean, it's an absolute fact.

O'REILLY: There are food banks in these churches, and it goes back to the parents who are usually derelicts of some kind.

POWERS: I'm sorry, Bill, but there are people who -- no, no.

O'REILLY: And who squander the food stamps that come in, who sell them on the black market. This is insane. You are telling me that you believe in the United States of America, with all the entitlement programs and food stamps and everything else, there are urchins running around that don't have any food because of the system?

POWERS: There are children.

O'REILLY: No, it's their parents who are abusing them.

POWERS: And -- they're children. And who -- being poor is not abuse, actually. Being poor is not child abuse. And there are people who actually work very hard and who still cannot make enough money to make ends meet and have enough food for their children. And I'm sorry that you refuse to believe that, but it --

O'REILLY: That is, look. The entitlement culture that we have in place, the entitlement culture we have in place -- public housing, food stamps, direct payments, all kinds of things have wiped that out.

Previously:

Bill O'Reilly Defends Jeb Bush's Comments That Democrats Use “Free Stuff” To Court Black Voters

Bill O'Reilly Blames Poor Americans' Choices For Their Poverty

O'Reilly: “Most Of The Poor Are In That Circumstance Because Of Poor Personal Decision-Making”

Fox Cites Ownership Of Appliances To Downplay Hardship Of Poverty In America

How Right-Wing Media Talk About Poverty In America