Bill O’Reilly is unhappy that Jake Tapper is making him look like a “hypocrite” over the White House ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
In an episode of “The Lead” earlier this week, Tapper brought up the fact that former President Barack Obama once tried to keep Fox News from the White House and was derided for it by most of the press – including O’Reilly. He wondered why the conservative personality changed his tune when Trump issued his ban last week.
“Bill O’Reilly was absolutely right then, although he has the opposite take now,” Tapper said. “If you stand for principles only when they benefit you, you’re not actually in possession of those principles … It is disappointing how few voices there are in conservative media who are protesting President Trump on any of this.”
You can watch the “No Spin News” clip in the video below.
On Wednesday’s episode of “No Spin News,” O’Reilly clapped back at Tapper. He claimed that the circumstances surrounding the attempted ban during the Obama Administration were different than what Trump is attempting.
“That’s false,” O’Reilly said. “That’s just not true, OK? I don’t have the opposite take now. What I have is new information that the situation has gotten so wildly out of control because of President Trump, the hatred – that it’s a whole different story than it was back when Barack Obama was whining about Fox News.”
He added: “Anybody researching a story would know that. But that doesn’t fit into Tapper’s narrative that I’m a hypocrite, OK? That’s what he wanted to establish and that’s what he tells his viewers. And how would his viewers know? That’s fake news. That’s what is in play along with the suppression and the coupling of the media as I said with the Democratic Party.”
Trump announced last Friday that he was banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House “effective immediately.” Reporters for the three outlets were subsequently denied access to the complex and had their hard-pass credentials deactivated.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued the Trump administration Monday, arguing that the ban retaliated against them for their coverage in violation of the First Amendment and deprived them of due process under the Fifth Amendment.
By noon on Thursday journalists from the three organizations were finally let back into the White House, several hours after they were turned away despite a federal judge’s order requiring the Trump administration to immediately restore their access.
Judge Timothy Kelly granted the outlets a 14-day temporary restraining order early Thursday, finding they were likely to succeed on their claim that the White House revoked their press credentials without constitutionally adequate due process. He ordered officials to “immediately return, reinstate, and restore” the hard passes revoked last week.
