Bill O’Reilly broadcasted his show from Los Angeles this evening and had a lot to talk about after this week’s events.
“Things have calmed down a bit in that besieged city [Charlotte, NC) last night, but there is still tension in the air,” O’Reilly said.
The Fox News star noted that earlier Friday, attorneys for Keith Scott, the black man who was shot by a black police officer, released a video of the confrontation. Then, he showed the video.
O’Reilly summarized the video by indicating that it isn’t conclusive and in no way an indictment of anyone. He noted that the confrontation was chaotic and that the police officer obviously believed Keith Scott had a gun.
“Nevertheless, some Americans will reach conclusions that have little basis in reality,” O’Reilly noted before asking those watching to just let the investigation play out before forming a judgement.
According to the NAACP, it doesn’t matter if Scott had a gun or not. Mediaite has the news .
“A local NAACP leader told CNN’s Carol Costello Thursday that it didn’t actually matter whether or not black Charlotte man Keith Scott had a gun on him when he was shot and killed by police.”
The article added that Scott’s family said he was holding a book, while the police say it was definitely a gun.
“At the end of the day we have the right under the Second Amendment to carry here in North Carolina. And [the police’s] responsibility was to engage him in a more deescalated way, to find out if he had a permit for his gun and allow him to go on his merry way and he would still be living today. That’s not what happened,” Costello is quoted as saying.
O’Reilly said that whether people want to believe them or not, many black people sincerely believe that the police are out to kill them. He said it’s important to consider their perception. However, he then emphasized the statistics that go against the belief that police are universally racist.
“According to a Harvard study and Justice Department statistics, there is no methodical persecution of blacks by the police. You are not going to convince some Americans of that. Therefore, decisions have to be made.”
Bill O’Reilly said that he believes that the social unrest in Charlotte will give Carolina’s 15 electoral points to Donald Trump because social order will always be a conservative issue, and Trump is taking a hard stance against recent violence. O’Reilly then played a video in which Trump says that at the center of our society is going to be a simple promise of safety to every American.
“When Americans see looters with masks covering their faces, any individual case flies right out of the window,” Bill continued before noting that both the family of Keith Scott and the black police officer deserve to know the truth about what happened. He said that Hillary needs to support the anti-police crowd to get votes, but that Trump needs to at least understand their concerns.
Then, Bill O’Reilly said he had a message for minority Americans.
“Racial division can only be healed by dignified conduct.That means no hate, no violence and no anarchy. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gained the respect by preaching a message of fairness and exposing bigotry.”
O’Reilly continued by pointing out that not only does King have a holiday named after him, but we also currently have a half-black president. He pointed out that African Americans have made enormous strides since King was assassinated. Do you agree with Bill O’Reilly? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
[Featured Image by Sean Rayford/Getty Images]
