WOLF BLITZER (HOST): As if all of this is not enough, in that new interview with The New York Times, the president also comes to the very strong defense of Bill O'Reilly of Fox News who is now -- according to a long story over the weekend in The New York Times -- settled several sexual harassment lawsuits for many millions of dollars. Let me read a sentence from what the president said: “I think he's a person I know well. He's a good person. I think he shouldn't have settled. Personally, I think he shouldn't have settled. Because you should have taken it all the way. I don't think Bill did anything wrong.” And that's going to cause a bit of an uproar, shall we say, as well.
DANA BASH: You know, talk about the education of Donald Trump becoming president. Don't talk about Bill O'Reilly and a sexual harassment suit or suits when you know nothing about the context and the content of what those suits are. OK, it's nice that he's a loyal friend. It's nice that they've known each other for years and years and he's coming to his defense. But he's the president of the United States and to say that, no matter how nice he's been, is completely inappropriate.
WOLF: For the president of the United States, Gloria, to say, “I don't think Bill did anything wrong” --
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON: Yeah, based on nothing. And this is after the White House made a big showing of women's history month and how welcoming it was to women and talking about Ivanka Trump and empowering of women and economic empowering of women, and for him to come out and essentially say there's no there there in terms of these women -- it's troubling and he should have said “no comment.” I do think there is background here. He himself, [President] Donald Trump -- we all remember the Access Hollywood tape and the things that he was saying on that tape and some of the accusations leveled at him, so he probably should have just passed on this question.
GLORIA BORGER: He was also loyal to Roger Ailes. And giving Roger Ailes advice privately during the campaign.
HENDERSON: This sort of “boys will be boys.”
BLITZER: The former leader of Fox News who was removed.
BORGER: I am sure that the aides who were in that room were not happy when he weighed in on this.
BASH: They probably got physically nauseous.
