Bill O’Reilly is under fire for diving into the history behind Michelle Obama’s remark during her DNC speech that she wakes up “every morning in a house that was built by slaves.”
“Slaves that worked there were well-fed and had decent lodgings provided by the government, which stopped hiring slave labor in 1802,” O’Reilly said during his history lesson to “O’Reilly Factor” viewers on Tuesday night.
“However, the feds did not forbid subcontractors from using slave labor. So, Michelle Obama is essentially correct in citing slaves as builders of the White House, but there were others working as well,” O’Reilly continued. “Got it all? There will be a quiz.”
Shortly after the “Tip of the Day” segment aired, Twitter erupted.
Watch the video above, read some of the best tweets below.
I will provide decent lodging and food to Bill O'Reilly if he becomes my slave. Need a shed built. https://t.co/udmtJKbhse
— rabia O'chaudry (@rabiasquared) July 27, 2016
https://twitter.com/owillis/status/758288529457840128
https://twitter.com/jelani9/status/758303222830366720
Dear Bill O'Reilly…Maybe now you'll get why people are having a hard time with your description of the slaves 'accommodations'.
— Audra McDonald (@AudraEqualityMc) July 27, 2016
Not only was Bill O'Reilly's slaves were "well-fed" comment offensive….it was wronghttps://t.co/QrMO36EznZ pic.twitter.com/LIFczA5zfH
— Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew_lawrence) July 27, 2016
The slaves who built the White House were well-fed the same way the people who watch Bill O'Reilly are well-informed.
— Fred Coppersmith (@unrealfred) July 27, 2016