Things turned tense quickly today between President Obama and Bill O’Reilly in their Super Bowl pregame interview. “OK, Bill, you’ve got a long list of my mistakes,” Obama said to The O’Reilly Factor host near the start of their 10-minute live interview on Fox.
That remark — in response to a question from O’Reilly whether it was the biggest mistake of Obama’s presidency when he told Americans no one would lose their healthcare under Obamacare — was one of a number of points on which the two butted heads. The duo sparred almost from the beginning in the interview live from the White House this afternoon. Obama also took on Fox News Channel when O’Reilly asked him about reports the IRS was investigating Tea Party-related groups for political reasons. “These kind of things keep resurfacing in part because you and your TV station will promote them,” Obama said. “When you look there have been multiple hearings.” Obama denied any corruption, just some “boneheaded decisions.” Earlier, the Fox News host interrupted Obama with a “you’re not going to answer that?” as the President replied to a question about why he didn’t fire Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius after the botched online launch of Obamacare.
The
face-to-face marked the first time O’Reilly has interviewed Obama since
Fox last broadcast the Super Bowl in 2011. The two covered several
topics today including the Obamacare rollout, the attack on the U.S.
compound in Benghazi, and the IRS scandal. Obama wouldn’t offer a
prediction for the game between the Denver Broncos and Seattle
Seahawks. “I can’t make a prediction, I don’t know, these guys
are too evenly matched,” he said. “I think it is going to be 24-21 but I
don’t know who is going to be 24 and I don’t know who is going to be
21.” Just before the interview ended, O’Reilly told the
President he thought his heart was in the right place. O’Reilly and
Obama are set to chat more today for an additional taped portion that
will be shown Monday on O’Reilly Factor.
The
last time the FNC host and the President sat down together three years
ago, O’Reilly grilled Obama about the Affordable Care Act, then before
the courts, and how Obama felt knowing people “hate” him. The first
time the two spoke on-camera was in 2008, when then-Sen. Obama was
running for president.
It’s a
now six-year Super Bowl tradition that the lead newsman for the host
network sits down with Obama. Last year, with CBS broadcasting, anchor
Scott Pelley did the honors, and in 2012 Today’s Matt Lauer
landed the interview when NBC had the game. A well-known big sports fan
and also well aware of the giant TV audience the big NFL game grants
him, Obama noted the Broncos-Seahawks matchup in his weekly online
address yesterday. “Have a great weekend,” he said concluding his
speech, “and enjoy the Super Bowl.”
Obama
and O’Reilly weren’t the only marquee non-sports names Fox lined up
during its pregame coverage. Among the celebs on-camera: Kevin Bacon
from Fox’s The Following showed up to chat. Hugh Jackman, one of the stars of the upcoming 20th Century Fox pic X-Men: Days Of Future Past, gave a red carpet interview, as did Jamie Foxx and The Monuments Men’s Bill Murray.
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