O'Reilly Breaks Against Fox News' Love Affair With Vladimir Putin, Criticizes Trump For Praising Him

Bill O'Reilly: Putin Should Never Be Put In A Positive Light, “He's A Menace And A Danger” To America

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

After Trump accepted praise from Russian President Vladimir Putin at a campaign rally, O'Reilly criticized Trump explaining that “while making fun of Putin is fair game, putting him in a positive light ... is not,” because “he's a menace and a danger to the U.S.A.” O'Reilly's statement regarding the Russian president stands in contrast to years of Fox News personalities swooning over Putin in order to diminish President Barack Obama. From the January 6  edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:

BILL O'REILLY: And finally tonight, the Factor tip of the day. While speaking in New Hampshire yesterday, Donald Trump said this:

[Start Clip]

DONALD TRUMP: Now Putin comes out and he says, Trump is brilliant. Oh, did you reject that? I agree with him, actually. Totally. But he says Trump is brilliant and Trump is the leader and Trump this -- and he said very nice things about me. So the other people said, oh, that's terrible. That's terrible. He should renounce that. Me. There's no way I renounce the fact that I'm brilliant.

[End Clip]

O'REILLY: Now that was clever, but the problem is, Putin is a major human rights violator and possibly a killer himself. It's been documented that some of Putin's opponents have turned up murdered. He is a former KGB guy and has illegally seized  the Crimea and stoked up war in Ukraine. His goons have shot down a civilian airliner. So while making fun of Putin is fair game, putting him in a positive light -- any positive light -- is not. He's a menace and a danger to the U.S.A. Your Factor tip of the day.