Full Interview: O'Reilly and Bernie Goldberg Discuss the Crazy Media
By: Bill O'ReillyJune 6, 2017
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Bill: So now let's get to the media which is totally falling apart. You heard about Bill Maher using the N-word on his HBO program. We went over the Kathy Griffin thing with the beheading of the president. Megyn Kelly was up against Putin on Sunday night on NBC, first program for them. So let's bring in Bernie Goldberg who is our media watch dog. 

I'm not surprised at all the craziness because the anti-Trump hatred, and you've labeled it Trump derangement syndrome, is now giving people a boldness that they never had even with President Bush the Younger. They feel almost entitled to be gross when it comes to Donald Trump. 

Bernie: I totally agree. I have not, as you know Bill, I have not been a fan of this president. Not his policies, I've never criticized his policies. It's his demeanor. But what we're witnessing now is a feeding frenzy and a feeding frenzy has nothing to do with rational analysis, it takes on a life of its own so that you can listen... I'll name the cable channel. You could listen to MSNBC, and there's a show on in the morning called Morning Joe, and you could listen, and I mean this literally, for three hours, five days a week, and hear nothing but bashing of Donald Trump. 

Now there must be another point of view that they could bring on even as a foil to say "and what do you think about that. 

Bill: Well they do that on CNN. They have this grey haired guy that they trot out and they just beat the hell out of him. But I think it's more than that. And let me give you an example from my own experience. 

These people in the media, including myself on occasion, become undisciplined when they feel that they can attack at will. You call it a feeding frenzy, blood in the water, whatever maybe.

You remember a few months ago, Maxine Waters. I said something on Fox & Friends that her hair looked like a James Brown wig. Remember that?

Bernie: Yeah I do. 

Bill: And I got rightly criticized for making fun of Maxine Waters' appearance. Now I only did that because at that time I was feeling that Congresswoman Waters was so out there, calling for impeachment, saying crazy things, that I could make fun of her that way. That's why I did it. My guard was down. All right. So once I recognized, you know O'Reilly, number one, that was unnecessary, you shouldn't have said it. And number two, it was stupid. And number three, you did it because you felt you could. You felt you could do it. And that's what happens to these people. 

Bernie: No that's a very important point. Once the atmosphere is such and by the way... Let me finish the thought then I'll make the historical point. Once the atmosphere is such that you can say these things, more and more people will say these things. Now we've seen it happen throughout history. In the old south, in the bad old days, it was "OK" in quotation marks to say certain things about black people. So more and more people did just that.

There's no comparison to race in America. So I'm not making that comparison with Donald Trump. But I am saying that once you think it's OK to do something because you're not going to be criticized for it or you're even going to be praised for it, it happens more and more. So Stephen Colbert makes this crude, vulgar rant, which wasn't even funny on his program. And that leads to Kathy Griffin doing the same thing. And that's in an atmosphere of liberal Democrats who have every right not to like Donald Trump, but they talk ridiculously about impeachment and treason. Treason? An atmosphere, Bill, is created, whereas the next person to come along feels, "yeah I can say that too." So I think you're absolutely right. 

Bill: Yeah, I can do whatever I want to do because that person is so marginalized. How about Bill Maher with the N-word. What'd you think about that? 

Bernie: Well that's an interesting thing. First of all, generally speaking in an overarching sense, I don't think people should be fired for saying something that they shouldn't have said. OK. That's number one. Number two, I don't think he should have said it. But I'm one of the very, very few people, maybe the only person, who thinks that the... I'm using the term the N-word, referring to the N-word, not the real word, I think the term the N-word is baby talk. It's too clean. It's too sterile. The other word, what the N-word represents is a vile word with a vile history. I think if we're going to use the word we should use the real N-word so that people feel uncomfortable. 

Bill: But he did, Maher used it and he got hammered everywhere

Bernie: I'm saying as a general rule, when I hear the N-word, that's a word you could use in front of your grandmother. Hey, he said the N-word. No, I want to hear the real word. In Maher's case it had a historical reference. He shouldn't have said it. He's provocative, he's trying to be funny. But I'll tell you this. This I know with absolute certainty. If somebody's on the right had said it exactly the way Bill Maher said it, there would be pickets around the HBO building on sixth avenue...

Bill: Absolutely, the color of change...

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