Fox News host Bill O'Reilly insisted on Thursday that Jorge Ramos was wrong to say that he lets Donald Trump "get away with everything" during their on-air confrontation this week, Media Matters reported.
"I like Jorge Ramos. He's no phony," O'Reilly said. "But he is absolutely blind on the Trump issue. And he has no bleeping clue about what we do here, obviously. Maybe Jorge objects because I will not brand Donald Trump a racist."
The Factor host got into it with the Univision anchor on Wednesday when O'Reilly accused Ramos of being unable to cover the Republican presidential candidate fairly.
For his part, O'Reilly said, he has questioned Trump's vow to get Mexico to pay for the construction of a wall along its border with the US, and defended both former candidate Carly Fiorina and colleague Megyn Kelly. However, O'Reilly still defended the candidate's policies while downplaying his remarks about the bulk of Mexican immigrants being "rapists and criminals," among other statements.
"I'm not in the nitpicking business," O'Reilly said. "Trump and every other politician misspeak at times. The gotcha game is cheap and boring. For example, if you really believe Donald Trump is courting the KKK, you need to get some fresh air."
Unlike most politicians, he argued, Trump is willing to take O'Reilly's questions and is accessible to voters.
"Donald Trump is the most important political story in decades. We will cover him fairly on the Factor, allowing you to decide whether or not he has the right stuff to be president," O'Reilly said. "For that, we will be demonized and attacked by those who despise Trump. To quote President Bush the elder, I don't care."
Watch O'Reilly's commentary, as posted by Media Matters, below.
