In his Fox News return, Bill O'Reilly congratulates Sean Hannity for having 'slaughtered' Rachel Maddow

(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter/Fox News)

last updated 27 September 2017

On Tuesday's night's Hannity, Bill O'Reilly made his first guest appearance on Fox News since being pushed out over serial sexual harassment settlements in April. He began by congratulating nominal host Sean Hannity for getting better ratings than MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on Monday night, a win he attributed to President Trump's feud with the NFL. "Last night, Hannity kicked MSNBC's butt," he said. Hannity cut in: "No, no, we can say ass," a suggestion O'Reilly waved off. "He's taking over, five seconds in," Hannity said, laughing. "Stop," O'Reilly commanded. "He didn't beat that woman, didn't eke by, slaughtered her."

The anger over NFL players kneeling during the national anthem to protest police violence against minorities is bigger than football, O'Reilly said. The "left" has moved from using the phrase "white privilege" last year to "'white supremacist' now and people are buying it," he said. "Why? Because the far left agents — and I think they're evil — want to destroy the Constitution in the sense that they want it all changed. ... They don't want capitalism, they don't want the Electoral College, they don't want white people generally calling the shots." In earlier interviews, O'Reilly blamed "evil forces" for getting him fired.

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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.