Bill O'Reilly Attacks Historian Ken Burns Over Trump Criticism

O'Reilly: Burns “Recently Got A Bit Hysterical Talking About Trump ... This Is A Smear Tactic”

From the July 21 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:

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BILL O'REILLY (HOST): In the Personal Story segment tonight, documentarian Ken Burns, who I know, he's a pretty good guy, he did the civil war series. Well, he recently got a bit hysterical talking about the Trump phenomenon.

[...]

O'REILLY: Burns is a smart guy. I don't know what comes over them, it's not like Germany in the 30's, not like Italy in the 30's, not like Albania in 1812. It's not like anything. It's America, people are angry. So, why do you think Burns is doing it?

BERNARD GOLDBERG: Well, I think I understand this. And it's not just Burns. It starts out with the fact that Donald Trump is unlike anybody who has run for president in our lifetime, and way, way before that. He is detested, and that's the word I want to use, detested, not just by people like liberal Democrats like Ken Burns. He is also detested by more than a few conservative Republicans. And it's not simply -- I don't even think it's mainly because of his policies. I think it's largely because of his demeanor.

Donald Trump is seen by Ken Burns and people on the left also, mainly people on the left as a barbarian, as someone who is vulgar, someone who is a narcissist. Someone who lies a lot. And they hate that, but most of all, they hate the fact that he is not universally condemned. He says something outlandish, and he is cheered by millions and millions of Americans. I think that bothers them.

O'REILLY: But wait a minute -- Wait, wait, wait wait. How does that have to do though -- even if that's true, what does it have to do with the Third Reich, or Mussolini?

GOLDBERG: I was in the middle of a sentence that said but when it comes to the comparisons of the Nazis, that's something that's almost entirely a liberal democratic thing. America in 2016 is not Germany in the early 30's that led up to Hitler. It's just not an intelligent comparison, and I find it to be insulting to the memories of all the people who were slaughtered by real Nazis.

[...]

O'REILLY: I was disappointed with Ken Burns. He is a historian, he knows better. This is a smear tactic that we're seeing far too much of in this campaign.

Previously:

“RNC Contact” Gave White Supremacist And Virulent Misogynist A Convention Pass

“The Guy Scares Me”: Holocaust Survivors Warn About The Danger Of Trump's Right-Wing Media Approved Rhetoric

ABC News: Holocaust Survivor Condemns Donald Trump's Rally Salute As “Offensive, Obnoxious, And Disgusting”

White Nationalists Love Trump’s Convention: “GOP Is Becoming The De Facto White Party”

Trump Surrogates Promote Campaign In Interview With Neo-Nazi Holocaust Denier