Fox News host Bill O'Reilly responded to Jon Stewart's criticism of his annual "War on Christmas" commentaries on Wednesday by accusing Stewart of ignoring evidence of secular intimidation against "traditional Americans."
"I hope Jon Stewart will reconsider the situation, because in his heart, he knows I'm right," O'Reilly said of his Daily Show counterpart. "Christmas is a huge symbol of the cultural struggle in this country, and has been for years. And what a great Christmas gift it would be for Jon Stewart to finally admit it."
Stewart poked fun at O'Reilly on Tuesday for, among other things, asserting that there were no more holidays between Hannukah and Christmas, saying the O'Reilly Factor host was ignoring Kwanzaa, the New Year and Epiphany and pronouncing it "egregious" to use the term "Happy Holidays."
"The Epiphany, Stewart? The Epiphany?" O'Reilly asked. "Well I have an epiphany for you and your 18 writers: you are now on double-secret probation from Christmas. One more time, buster, one more time and you are officially voided from Christmas, with apologies to Dean Wormer."
O'Reilly also responded that what he found "egregious" was threats of lawsuits against school districts and city governments for public Christmas displays.
"Are you getting this, Stewart?" O'Reilly asked. "Are you hearing me? You know what I think it is? Stewart just likes playing the Grinch."
Those actions, he went on to suggest, fit into a secular progressive pattern of trying to diminish Christian tradition in America.
"Any public display of Christianity is not good for the progressive cause," O'Reilly said. "Therefore, the far left has succeeded in getting prayer out of the public school system. And if you want to say a prayer before a public meeting, get ready for trouble."
Watch O'Reilly's commentary, as posted online on Wednesday, below.
