Former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly claimed a large portion of coronavirus victims were “on their last legs anyway.”
During Sean Hannity’s radio show on Wednesday, the pair discussed the impacts the coronavirus may have on public health, and O’Reilly pointed out that most people who have died from COVID-19 were of a high-risk age or had compromised immune systems or underlying health conditions.
“I want life back to normal. Can you fix that in a simple way?” Hannity mused.
“Oh man, I wish I could, you know? But we’re making little steps,” O’Reilly said in response. “The projections that you just mentioned are down to 60,000. I don’t think it’ll be that high. Thirteen thousand dead now in the U.S.A. Many people who are dying, both here and around the world, were on their last legs anyway, and I don’t want to sound callous about that.”
Hannity then interrupted the former Fox personality, saying, “You’re gonna get — hold on — you’re going to get hammered for that.”
“Well, I don’t care. I mean, a simple man tells the truth,” O’Reilly replied.
More than 1.5 million people have tested positive for the coronavirus globally. Of those, more than 89,000 have died from it, and more than 339,000 have recovered. The United States has seen at least 432,000 confirmed cases, with over 14,800 deaths and nearly 24,000 reported recoveries.
