Bill O'Reilly: Electoral College critics want to take power from the 'white establishment'
Fox News host Bill O'Reilly told viewers on Tuesday's O'Reilly Factor that he's figured out why "the left" wants to scrap the Electoral College, and he's one of the few people to dare explain it on television.
You see, he began, Hillary Clinton may have won the popular vote by 2.8 million, but "the progressive state of California provided that margin." (Despite the wishes of many, votes from California are still counted in the election.) If the Electoral College were abolished, candidates could just go to the biggest states and cities and "rack up enough votes" to win, he continued. (As opposed to now, when they just rotate through the swing states, hitting up every state fair, barber shop, and hole-in-the-wall diner, ignoring reliably red and blue states of all size.) The political left, O'Reilly said, wants this to happen because "minorities are substantial" in places like Philadelphia and Miami, which "usually goes heavily to the Democrats." Add those cities to L.A., Houston, and New York City, and "you don't really have a national election anymore, you have targeted populations."
By abolishing the Electoral College, "the largely white rural areas in the Midwest and South" would be neutralized, O'Reilly said, assuring that "liberal politicians get power and keep it." In a mocking tone, O'Reilly said he is one of the very few people willing to say that the left believes "white men have set up a system of oppression, and that system must be destroyed." The left sees "white privilege in America as an oppressive force that must be done away with," he added, and they "say that so-called white privilege is bad, diversity is good." O'Reilly's conclusion? "The left wants power taken away from the white establishment and they want a profound change in the way America is run." Watch the video below. Catherine Garcia
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.
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
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
'Cure for Trump amnesia might be his NY trial'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Tesla cuts prices in 'intensifying' EV war
Speed Read Electric vehicle giant has struggled in the face of weakening demand, competition from China and technical setbacks
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay: unwind at this picture-perfect resort
The Week Recommends The retreat that's ideal for recharging your batteries while experiencing life on an Indonesian island
By Yasemen Kaner-White Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published