Geraldo Rivera exploded at host of Fox News’ “The Five” Eric Bolling during a segment on Monday morning in which they discussed the Iran nuke deal and President Hassan Rouhani’s assertion that the chant “death to America” isn’t directed at the American people.
In a “60 Minutes” interview on Sunday, the Iranian President insisted that “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” prayers that are often chanted by crowds are not aimed at the people of those countries but rather at their governments for policies that “go against the national interests of Iranian people.”
During the segment, Rivera stated that he is “reasonably confident this deal will hold. I am certainly praying for it.” Rivera also offered an explanation for why Iranian youth would repeat this chant, but Bolling was skeptical, saying that the chant itself doesn’t offer much room for interpretation.
“There are plenty of reasons the Iranians have a beef against us,” Rivera said, citing the 1988 accidental shooting of Iran Air Flight 655.
This sparked outrage among the “Five,” prompting Bolling to ask Rivera whether he thought the U.S. had shot down the plane on purpose. Rivera exploded.
“Why do you say something stupid like that?” he yelled. “That’s like stupid! You said that to make me look stupid and I don’t like it! I don’t like it!”
At the end of the segment, Rivera can be heard apologizing for his outburst, saying he “didn’t mean to lose my temper.” However, this isn’t the first time Rivera and Bolling have butted heads — In July, Rivera threatened to physically hit the host during a discussion about illegal immigration.
