Last week’s on-air tussle between Bill O’Reilly and George Will has apparently been brewing for some time.
On his show Monday night, O’Reilly essentially confirmed as much.
“Based upon [Will’s] remarks over the years, he sees me as a vulgarian…So there is little common ground between us,” O’Reilly said.
Will, a Fox News contributor, wrote a withering review of O’Reilly’s latest best selling book, “Killing Reagan.”
The column earned Will an invitation on the “O’Reilly Factor,” and the result was a cable news interview crackling with fireworks.
But it was a rare appearance for Will on the “Factor,” the top-rated show on Fox News, something that O’Reilly addressed on the show on Monday.
“You may have noticed Mr. Will does not appear on the ‘Factor,'” O’Reilly explained as he fielded questions from viewers. “That’s because his elitist presentation doesn’t fit our format. Nothing personal.”
O’Reilly’s interview with Will on Friday night certainly got personal. The two debated the factual accuracy of “Killing Reagan” while taking shots at each other’s credibility.
Will said O’Reilly was “something of an expert in misleading people,” while O’Reilly derisively called Will a “hack.” O’Reilly also said that Will had broken a promise to Fox News executive producer Michael Clemente.
According to O’Reilly, WIll had told Clemente that O’Reilly would get a call before the column was published. Will said O’Reilly had his facts wrong.
“It would not be the first time you got something wrong,” he told O’Reilly.
A Fox News spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
In a separate appearance on Fox News last week, Will said that O’Reilly was “unhinged” during the interview.
Will did not respond to a request for comment.