O'Reilly Decries Use Of “Nazis In Analogies” -- But He Uses Them All The Time

Discussing the recent uproar over Hank Williams Jr. invoking Adolf Hitler while criticizing President Obama, Bill O'Reilly said that it is “always bad to use Nazis in analogies.” But O'Reilly himself has a long history of using Nazi analogies.

O'Reilly Rejected Nazi Analogies

O'Reilly: It's “Always Bad To Use Nazis In Analogies.” While discussing Williams' Hitler analogy, O'Reilly said it's “always bad to use Nazis in analogies -- you don't do this.”

O'REILLY: He was trying to make an analogy, and [it's] always bad to use Nazis in analogies -- you don't do this. And he basically said, look, if you get guys together like President Obama and Speaker [John] Boehner:

WILLIAMS: [video clip] It'd be like Hitler playing golf with [Benjamin] Netanyahu.

O'REILLY: I'm of two minds. It's dumb to bring Hitler up, you're absolutely right. Can't do that in this PC society. But what he said, it isn't -- he isn't comparing Obama to Hitler. He's comparing the situation, the strange bedfellows. He's not saying Obama's Hitler. Williams isn't saying that. I mean, I'm just trying to be fair here, OK. But it doesn't matter, I guess. [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 10/5/11]

But O'Reilly Has A Long History Of Nazi Analogies

O'Reilly: Liberals Who Support Gun Control Are “Totalitarians” Like Hitler. On his show, O'Reilly said that liberals who support gun control are “today's totalitarians.” He added that in the past, people like “Hitler and Mussolini” held such positions in favor of “state control.” [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 3/2/10]

O'Reilly: Media Use Goebbels Tactics To Push “Rank Propaganda.” In a July 16, 2009, syndicated column, O'Reilly wrote:

The far left is trying to create a huge federal apparatus that will promote income redistribution and “social justice.” Also, the left sees a major opportunity to knock out Judeo-Christian traditions, replacing them with a secular philosophy.

In order to accomplish this, the left-wing media is marginalizing people like Sarah Palin who oppose the strategy. Under the guise of hard news reporting, the media is pushing rank propaganda on the citizenry. Dr. Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister, successfully developed this tactic in the 1930's. [BillOReilly.com, 7/16/09]

O'Reilly: Huffington Post Uses “Same Exact Tactics That The Nazis Used.” On March 5, 2008, O'Reilly said: “And I said that these tactics that are being used on this website, The Huffington Post, are the same exact tactics that the Nazis used in the late '20s and early '30s to demonize certain groups of people, so it would become easier for them, the Nazis, when they took power, to hurt those people.” [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 3/10/08]

O'Reilly: I Don't See Any Difference Between Huffington And The Nazis. On February 27, 2008, O'Reilly said: “I don't see any difference between [Arianna] Huffington and the Nazis. ... I don't see any difference.” [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 2/27/08]

O'Reilly: Daily Kos Is “Like The Nazi Party.” On July 16, 2007, O'Reilly said that the Daily Kos is “like the Ku Klux Klan. It's like the Nazi party. There's no difference here.” [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 7/16/07]