WATCH: Jon Stewart and Bill O'Reilly spar over the Obama scandals
Stewart and his best frenemy talk the IRS, Obama's crackdown on a Fox News reporter, and racial profiling
On Wednesday night, The Daily Show played host to one of the occasional sparring matches between Jon Stewart and his Fox News frenemy, Bill O'Reilly. This go-around, Stewart and O'Reilly agreed that the Justice Department over-reached in its "troubling" investigation of Fox News reporter James Rosen, and that the IRS targeting of some conservative tax-exempt applicants is a big, bad deal. (You can watch extended versions of the O'Reilly interview below.)
Stewart asked O'Reilly: After five years of Fox News being "always on DEFCON 1, red alert" over Obama, how does it feel to "finally have a few things that really look worth investigating?" Are people at Fox experiencing "joy? Is it sexual arousal?" Stewart asked.
Stewart and O'Reilly found some juicy ground for disagreement, of course. On the IRS scandal, O'Reilly said that his "educated speculation" is that Obama used the IRS to intimidate Tea Partiers after their success in the 2010 midterm elections, and Stewart asked him if his theory has made him change his mind about racial and religious profiling. You can see where this is going.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Earlier in the program, Stewart added one more person to his short list of people who have no right to criticize Obama over the controversies swirling around his administration. Watch:
Here's Part 1 of the extended O'Reilly interview:
And Part 2 (this segment contains a bit of NSFW language at the end):
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Political cartoons for October 26Cartoons Sunday’s editorial cartoons include Young Republicans group chat, Louvre robbery, and more
-
Why Britain is struggling to stop the ransomware cyberattacksThe Explainer New business models have greatly lowered barriers to entry for criminal hackers
-
Greene’s rebellion: a Maga hardliner turns against TrumpIn the Spotlight The Georgia congresswoman’s independent streak has ‘not gone unnoticed’ by the president
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June
-
Ghislaine Maxwell: angling for a Trump pardonTalking Point Convicted sex trafficker's testimony could shed new light on president's links to Jeffrey Epstein
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidentsThe Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: who are US billionaires backing?The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration
-
US election: where things stand with one week to goThe Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
