Earlier today, we wrote about how The Kremlin is demanding an apology from FOX for comments made by Fox News host Bill O’Reilly during a pre-Super Bowl interview with Pres. Donald Trump. O’Reilly referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin as “a killer” during the interview, a portion of which aired at around 4 p.m. ET on Super Bowl Sunday. 12.2 million viewers watched the 10-minute segment.
“We consider such words from the Fox TV company to be unacceptable and insulting, and honestly speaking, we would prefer to get an apology from such a respected TV company,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call.
O’Reilly responded to The Kremlin during this evening’s edition of The O’Reilly Factor. The response was brief, and was given about a minute into the program.
“Apparently the Putin administration in Moscow is demanding that I, your humble correspondent, apologize for saying ol’ Vlad is a killer,” said O’Reilly. “So I am working on that apology, but it may take a little time. Check in with me in 2023.”
The Factor played audio of the Kremlin’s conference call with reporters from earlier today.
O’Reilly then concluded his thoughts on the matter. “One footnote: If you want to know about the violent history of Vladimir Putin, you might want to check out the book iWar by Bill Gertz, a Washington Times reporter.”