O’Reilly pushes back on RFK Jr’s media criticism, calling his campaign ‘done’

Former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly pushed back on Independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr.’s recent media criticism, arguing that his campaign is “done.” 

“I told you from the very beginning that this was going nowhere,” O’Reilly said this week on his “No Spin News” show. “I told you; this was never going to work.”

He said Kennedy did not run his campaign well and suggested media interviews matter less when you are “not a factor any longer.” O’Reilly added that he knew the long-shot candidate’s chances were doomed from the start.

The media pundit also claimed Kennedy agreed to join him on his show at one point, but later backed out of the appearance.

“We’ve never had him on the ‘No Spin News,’ but we gave him an opportunity and he said yes. Then he backed out. I didn’t care,” O’Reilly said Saturday. “That was before he threw the bear in Central Park or I don’t know what he’s doing.”

He was referring to an incident over a decade ago in New York City when Kennedy said he dumped a dead bear cub in Central Park. A photo of him posing with a bear carcass surfaced earlier this month following a profile of the candidate in The New Yorker.

In recent months, Kennedy has faced an increase in negative press and his polling has also taken a downturn. Before President Biden made the decision to not run for reelection, Kennedy was polling in double-digits. In recent weeks, his numbers have dropped to single digits. 

The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s national polling index currently shows Kennedy with just 3.5 percent support.

Vice President Harris, who rose to the top of the Democratic ticket after Biden’s withdrawal from the race, is leading former President Trump by 1.8 percent — 49 percent to 47.2 percent respectively. With Kennedy added in, Harris garners 47.5 percent compared to Trump’s 43.7, per the polling average.

The latest New York Times/Siena College poll, released Saturday, showed Kennedy with 4 percent support in the four Sun Belt battleground states. 

Despite lambasting Kennedy’s campaign work, O’Reilly complimented the independent presidential candidate past environmental efforts. 

“I always said, and will continue to say, that man did a tremendous job cleaning up the Hudson River in New York and running an organization called River keepers, tremendous job,” O’Reilly said.

“But other than that, he’s so far out there you don’t you have no idea how far out there he is,” he added.

The Hill has reached out to Kennedy’s campaign for comment.