Fox News’ Sean Hannity told former co-worker Bill O’Reilly on Monday he should return to the cable news network.
“I don’t know,” O’Reilly responded, after first joking that he was “at the beach every day” and Hannity wanted to “drag (him) back into the swamp.”
“I mean, I have to get this legal stuff done, I have to get this investigation done. This is where I’m putting my energies.”
O’Reilly left Fox in April after news he and the network settled five sexual harassment lawsuits for $13 million caused advertisers to flee his program, “The O’Reilly Factor.”
Hannity said O’Reilly’s fanbase, which helped to propel the show to one of the most watched programs on cable television, missed his voice in the political discussion.
“I think you want back in the swamp and I think you’d love it back in the swamp,” Hannity said. “Look, I know your fans would like you back on, too, and there’s not a day that goes by that people don’t ask me, ‘How’s O’Reilly doing? When is he coming back?'”
The pair, speaking on the Sean Hannity Show, reflected on their competition with the liberal media — and between themselves.
“I do have a regret. I think we were at each other’s throats a little too much,” Hannity added.
