Bill O'Reilly vs. Obama: Who won?
The president sat down with the Fox News star for a head-to-head before yesterday's Super Bowl. Did either man end up looking like a "pinhead"?
President Obama gave a 15-minute live interview with Fox News host Bill O'Reilly on Super Bowl Sunday, in a conversation that ranged from Egypt to health care to football. It was Obama's first sit-down with frequent critic O'Reilly since September 2008, two months before Obama was elected president. In the high-stakes interview prior to the big game, who came out on top: Obama or O'Reilly? (See every time O'Reilly cut Obama off)
Obama won this round: "The president spun O'Reilly's questions like Ben Roethlisberger spirals a football," says Aaron Goldstein in The American Spectator. The president stayed on message, and O'Reilly only challenged him once, pressing him to forecast a Super Bowl winner. This sit-down would more properly have taken place "before a softball game," not the Super Bowl, since O'Reilly mostly "asked softball questions." Clearly, "Obama got what he wanted out of this interview."
"Thoughts on Obama-O'Reilly interview"
Subscribe to 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.
Obama flopped: The president still hasn't learned any lessons from his midterm drubbing, and this interview proved it, says Christian Whiton in Fox News. Obama's answers were all "either delusional or disingenuous," and his repeated "well-trod talking points" showed that he's learned nothing from his November shellacking.
"O'Reilly Obama interview shows that president still hasn't changed course"
Call it a draw: "Both sides scored," says Beth Reinhard in National Journal. O'Reilly "repeatedly interrupted" and even "talked over" Obama, without the conversation turning confrontational, and Fox got an exclusive interview with the president before a "Super Bowl–sized audience." Obama, for his part, was funny and "looked unafraid to face a news network he once described as 'entirely devoted to attacking my administration.'"
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Republicans want to silence Israel's opponents'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spies
Speed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 19, 2024
Cartoons Friday's cartoons - priority delivery, USPS on fire, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published