Disgraced Fox News host Bill O'Reilly reportedly offered to stand next to White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders as a means of backup when dealing with "out of line" reporters.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, O'Reilly made his offer at a party for new German Ambassador Richard Grinnell on Sunday. He also remarked that President Donald Trump, whom he has known for decades, is "just flamboyant enough to maybe be OK with it."
I said, 'Ms. Sanders with all due respect, if you ever need me to stand next to you in those press briefings, I will volunteer to do that. And, if somebody gets out of line, I will tell them exactly what I think of their behavior.'
She's representing her country in very difficult circumstances, extremely difficult, and she's a patriot — you know, she's taken enormous amount of abuse, enormous.
On Monday O'Reilly continued his defense of Trump on Twitter, claiming the president is a victim of the media.
Americans knew about Donald Trump's social resume when the election was held. What we didn’t know was the intensity of the media hatred toward the man. That loathing has emboldened people to attack the President on every level. Is this a good thing for America?
A few minutes later, O'Reilly tweeted in praise of Sanders.
Had the chance to speak with
@PressSec over the weekend. Very smart woman. Told her that the press is not treating her well but the folks know she’s a patriot. Also said she has the toughest job in the country right now. I’ll tell you about it on https://BOR.com tonight.
Sanders' relationship with the press has strained in recent weeks, particularly because of the president's changing story about his involvement with adult film star Stormy Daniels and the subsequent hush money she was paid.
At last month's White House Correspondent's Association Dinner, comedian Michelle Wolf blasted Sanders' pattern of obscuring the truth and playing loose with the facts.
Every time Sarah steps up to the podium, I get excited. I'm not really sure what we're going to get, you know? A press briefing, a bunch of lies or divided into softball teams.
I actually really like Sarah. I think she's very resourceful. But she burns facts and then she uses that ash to create a perfect smokey eye. Like maybe she's born with it, maybe it's lies.
O'Reilly promptly got dragged on Twitter from people wondering how his presence would help Sanders' credibility.
