Political commentator Bill O’Reilly expressed concern about the rise of political advocacy in news reporting on Monday while talking with host Laura Ingraham on “The Laura Ingraham Show” about the recent confrontation between President Donald Trump and CNN correspondent Jim Acosta.
The president called Acosta (shown above left) a rude and terrible person during a press conference a day after the midterm elections last week.
The CNN reporter — who often badgers the president, rather than ask straight questions — challenged that the president characterized the approaching migrant caravan as an invasion.
Acosta kept pushing and interrupted after the president reaffirmed his view while trying to leave it at a difference of opinion.
Related: Trump Unloads on CNN’s Acosta During Bitter Press Conference
“There are two things at play. Number one is the money factor. MSNBC and CNN are making money off hating Trump,” said O’Reilly on Monday morning.
“The orders [are] coming down and everyone who works for those organizations knows they can’t go against the hate Trump tide there, or they won’t get assignments. The New York Times and [The] Washington Post are a little bit more subtle in the newspaper industry than they are on television. And the second thing is, I miss good reporting, too. The press doesn’t care about the truth, they don’t seek the truth. It’s basically an ideological play.”
Acosta interrupted Trump several times when the president tried to give an answer.
The CNN reporter continued pushing even as the president tried to move along to another journalist, Peter Alexander of NBC News, for a question. A White House intern tried to grab the mic away from Acosta — but he refused to hand it over.
“Reporters are not supposed to offer commentary. That’s what Laura Ingraham does, that’s what Bill O’Reilly does. We get paid for commentary. But a reporter goes out and finds the facts and presents the facts,” said O’Reilly. “Well, Acosta is now a commentator. He has said outrageous things about President Trump. Never anything good.”
Alexander of NBC defended Acosta as a diligent reporter when he finally had the chance to ask a question — but before he even got the chance to ask a question, Acosta stood back up and started interrupting again.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders later argued that he put his hands on the intern when citing some of the reasons his press credentials were revoked.
Related: Hill Immigration Republicans Wary of Approaching Migrant Caravan
“You have to suspend the correspondent because if you don’t you have anarchy and no decorum and the office,” said O’Reilly.
“It’s all about money. That’s the bottom line on this thing.”
Regarding the migrant caravan that Acosta kept pushing Trump about, the group of people has steadily grown to several thousand as they’ve proceeded toward the border up from Honduras.
Trump has mobilized the military to support National Guard and Border Patrol agents already on the border.
He has also threatened to cut aid to the countries that let the migrants pass through.
The migrants still have a long trip ahead of themselves before they actually reach the United States, but they recently left Mexico City and are headed northward again.
Trump has been challenged on his power to restrict immigration throughoutout his presidency and the caravan is no different. Federal immigration laws allow the president to suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens.
But some critics claim he is beholden to international agreements to process credible asylum claims.
Join the Discussion
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.