Bill O’Reilly says Trump will run again

Former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly said Monday that former President Trump will again run for office — advising him to do so in part based on his record of developing the COVID-19 vaccine during his administration.

Appearing on Dan Abrams’s prime-time show on NewsNation, O’Reilly said Trump called him after revealing during a speaking tour in Dallas that he had gotten a booster shot, which elicited some boos from a crowd.

“This is good for you. This is good that people see another side of you, not a political side. You told the truth. You believe in the vax. Your administration did it, and you should take credit for it,” O’Reilly said he told Trump during the call.

When Abrams said that Trump had also politicized vaccines, O’Reilly acknowledged there was a contingent of Trump supporters who were against being vaccinated adding, “Every single politician plays to a crew.” 

“I’m trying to tell President Trump, run on your record. He’s going to run again, all right,” O’Reilly said. “I said, ‘Run on your record because your record is pretty darn good.’”

Trump has repeatedly alluded to a potential 2024 White House bid but has yet to definitively say whether he will run or declare his candidacy. He said last month that he would wait until after the midterms to publicize his decision.

“I am certainly thinking about it, and we’ll see,” Trump said during a Fox News interview last month. “I think a lot of people will be very happy, frankly, with the decision and probably will announce that after the midterms.”

O’Reilly told Abrams that Trump was not expecting a question about whether he had gotten a booster. Trump and former first lady Melania Trump received their first vaccine doses in January just before he left office.

O’Reilly has previously suggested that former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Trump could once again go head-to-head in what could be a replay of 2016.

NewsNation is part of Nexstar media, which also owns The Hill.