Fox News star anchor Bill O’Reilly says Hillary Clinton once called to thank him for defending her over what was widely perceived to be a gaffe that showed she is out of touch.
Back in 2014, while on a book tour, Clinton, who this week became the presumptive Democrat’s nominee for president, said that she and her husband were “dead broke” coming out of the White House due to debt and other bills.
At the time, Clinton’s political opponents accused her of stretching the truth about her financial situation, given that she and her former president husband were in a unique situation to quickly recoup any money they would need.
“Mrs. Clinton gets paid about $200,000 for a speech,” O’Reilly said on his program at the time. “And she flies to the venue in a private jet. And you know what; there is nothing wrong with that. Bill and Hillary Clinton have a unique position in the world and many people want to hear what they have to say. Mrs. Clinton also has a new book out for which she was paid more than $10 million — again, nothing wrong with that, publisher believing it will make money selling Hillary’s book. That’s capitalism.”
In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter published Wednesday, O’Reilly said that Clinton personally called him to say thank you.
“The jackals swarmed,” O’Reilly said. “And I’m saying hold it, when you come from a place where she came from, you see money differently, because I come from that place. And she appreciated that. But see, that’s the kind of thing that I’ll do. I’m not in the business of ideology.”
