American political commentator Bill O'Reilly regularly expresses his points of view on a wide variety of political, social, and moral issues. He has personally labeled his political philosophy traditionalism. Bill O'Reilly Calls Himself T-Warrior The O'Reilly Factor, since its inception on the Fox News Channel in 1996, has been the primary outlet of his opinions. O'Reilly started his own radio program, The Radio Factor, a few years later. He has also written several non-fiction books detailing some of his beliefs. O'Reilly generally leans to the right on most issues, most notably the Bush administration's war on terror, but breaks from the conservative and Republican majority on such issues as the global warming controversy, gun control, gay marriage and the death penalty.

Political views Political affiliation On The O'Reilly Factor and on his former talk-radio program, Bill O'Reilly has focused on news and commentary related to politics and culture. O'Reilly has long said that he does not identify with any political ideology, writing in his book The O'Reilly Factor that the reader "might be wondering if whether I'm conservative, liberal, libertarian, or exactly what.... See, I don't want to fit any of those labels, because I believe that the truth doesn't have labels. When I see corruption, I try to expose it. When I see exploitation, I try to fight it. That's my political position." On December 6, 2000, the Daily News in New York reported, however, that he had been registered with the Republican Party in the state of New York since 1994. When questioned about this, he said that he was not aware of it and says he registered as an independent after the interview. During a broadcast of The Radio Factor, O'Reilly said that there was no option to register as an independent voter; however, there was in fact a box marked "I do not wish to enroll in party."The Radio Factor, September 27, 2007. Despite being registered as an Independent, many view him as a conservative figure. A Pew Research February 2009 poll found that 66% of his television viewers identify themselves as conservative, 24% moderate, and 3% liberal. A November 2008 poll by Zogby International found that O'Reilly was the second most trusted news personality after Rush Limbaugh.

In a 2003 interview with Terry Gross on National Public Radio, O'Reilly said:

Domestic politics O'Reilly has opined on many domestic issues. O'Reilly said the Bill Clinton impeachment stemming from the Lewinsky scandal was "not about sex. This is about honesty and cruelty. For Mr. Clinton, it was about undermining the justice system." In the same article he writes that Gary Condit, a moderate Democratic congressman from California who had an extramarital affair with Chandra Levy prior to her disappearance and death, should be held to the same standard.

O'Reilly has been critical of former Attorney General Janet Reno, calling her "perhaps the worst attorney general in history". He claims that the FBI became a "disorganized mess" during her tenure. He later praised former Attorney General John Ashcroft for going after the Arthur Andersen accounting firm, as well as Enron, WorldCom, Sam Waksal of Imclone and Martha Stewart.

In 2002, O'Reilly had criticized Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton, stating that she would run for president in 2008 (Which she did). In an interview with Jay Leno on The Tonight Show, he said, "I just feel that Hillary is a socialist, and I'm paying enough tax. Hillary wants to take my money [and] your money... and give it to strangers. There's something about that that offends me." He said that she had voted for every single spending bill that year. In the same interview, he accused her of running as a political carpetbagger, and said that she intends to abolish the Electoral College in favor of the popular vote, claiming that it would be done only to give her an advantage in the presidential race.The Tonight Show, May 20, 2002.

After criticizing the overturn of Snyder v. Phelps by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, O'Reilly offered on March 30, 2010 to help Snyder pay the in court costs while he prepared an appeal to the Supreme Court.Marine's dad ordered to pay protesters' court fees

2004 presidential election During the lead up to the 2004 presidential election, O'Reilly said that the Democratic Party has been taken over by the "far-left" in a conversation with former Democratic Congressman Brad Carson. Shortly following the election, O'Reilly ridiculed a message in which Democratic challenger John Kerry thanked his supporters for their support as well as opposing "the attacks from big news organizations such as Fox, Sinclair Broadcasting, and conservative talk radio."Scoop Independent News: A Message from John Kerry - 19 November 2004 O'Reilly shot back, calling Kerry a "sissy" six times.The Radio Factor, November 29, 2004. Kerry himself stated publicly in a 2006 interview that he always felt he'd have a "fair shot" at conveying his views on The O'Reilly Factor and regrets not doing an interview prior to the election.

Although O'Reilly has never officially endorsed any candidate, he did advise his audience not to support Democratic South Dakota senator Tom Daschle in his Senate re-election bid on his radio program, saying that, "[W]ith all due respect to the senator, we don't have any respect for him at all. And we hope he loses in South Dakota. And I -- really, I stay out of all these races, but you guys listening in South Dakota, vote for the other guy."The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly, July 21, 2004. Daschle would lose the 2004 Senate election in South Dakota to John Thune.

2008 presidential election In the 2008 Democratic primary, O'Reilly urged his viewers not to vote for a candidate, this time John Edwards, and called Edwards a "phony" regarding his public statements on poverty. O'Reilly has, on many occasions, admitted to "having no respect for him", and called him "arrogant" for keeping his campaign staffer Amanda Marcotte on after making remarks O'Reilly called offensive to Christians.

O'Reilly has also criticized Republicans. When speaking to Ed Schulz in 2007, O'Reilly said that then-presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani had "terrible character judgement" with Bernard Kerik and felt that "disqualified him from being president."

"Culture War" and domestic politics O'Reilly has taken to using the abbreviation "S-P", for "Secular Progressive", as a shorthand way of referring to a political category of people who want "drastic change" in the country. O'Reilly classifies the group as "far left", and almost always refers to the group in a negative manner. However, he says that he is not equating the negative qualities he sees in "SPs" with a "liberal" political ideology, saying the SP camp is far more "libertine" with social values:

Liberal thought, however, can be a good thing. Progressive programs to help the poor, fight injustice and give working people a fair shake are all positive. But libertine actions damage a just society because actions have consequences. Kids who drink and take drugs are likely to hurt themselves and others. But obviously, the SPs do not make judgments like that.

In his book Culture Warrior, O'Reilly called President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. examples of liberals who were also traditionalists, also citing current US Senators Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Evan Bayh of Indiana as liberal/Democratic "traditionalists".

Foreign politics Immigration and border control O'Reilly has supported stricter border controls, including placement of the National Guard troops on the US-Mexican border and has criticized President George W. Bush for not allocating enough resources to make border security effective. He also criticized Ronald Reagan's act of amnesty, claiming that it made the illegal immigration problem worse. O'Reilly makes a distinction between criminal illegal immigrants and non-criminals by saying that criminal illegal immigrants should be deported immediately. O'Reilly criticizes the lack of cooperation between local sanctuary cities and the INS.

The Iraq War O'Reilly initially supported the invasion of Iraq. Speaking on ABC's Good Morning America on March 18, 2003, O'Reilly promised that "If the Americans go in and overthrow Saddam Hussein and it's clean [of weapons of mass destruction]...I will apologize to the nation, and I will not trust the Bush administration again."Good Morning America, ABC. March 18, 2003. In another appearance on the same program on February 10, 2004, O'Reilly responded to repeated requests for him to honor his pledge: "My analysis was wrong and I'm sorry. I was wrong. I'm not pleased about it at all.""Bill O'Reilly admits he was wrong about Iraq", Associated Press. With regard to never again trusting the current U.S. government, he said, "I am much more skeptical of the Bush administration now than I was at that time."

O'Reilly has questioned the U.S. invasion of Iraq in hindsight, in particular the performance of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. However, he maintains that the United States "did a good thing by trying to liberate a country". O'Reilly says the war effort should continue as long as progress is being made. He has also said that some anti-war activists are actively rooting for the United States to lose:

General McCaffrey says strong progress is being made. He believes the Sunnis have turned against Al Qaeda and that the Maliki government is neutralizing the Shi'ia death squads.

Again, I don't know. With all America has sacrificed in Iraq, though, it seems reasonable to let the end game play out. If things are getting better, don't derail the train.

But the anti-war crew is now fully invested in defeat. So the struggle at home is becoming even more vicious. Iraq is a shooting war. America's a political war. Both are driven by hatred.

O'Reilly called the Iraqi people a "prehistoric group", citing a poll showing that only two percent of them viewed the U.S. Forces as liberators and 55 percent preferred that they leave. "We cannot intervene in the Muslim world ever again", he said. "What we can do is bomb the living daylights out of them (...) no more ground troops, no more hearts and minds, ain't going to work."The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly, June 17, 2004.

In an interview with White House Press Secretary (and former Fox News colleague) Tony Snow, O'Reilly said that the United States cannot win given the circumstances of Iraqis not supporting the effort: You can't win. No one could. No nation could unless the Iraqi people turn on all the terrorists. And they're not. They're not, Tony. O'Reilly went on to say that the country was corrupt and compared the situation to the American support of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War: It's like South Vietnam. It's the same thing. There were a lot of South Vietnamese helping us. A lot fought and died on our side but there wasn't enough of them to prevent the communists which were more united.

O'Reilly would go on to praise General David Petraeus for reducing American casualties and advancing American objectives with the 2007 troop surge: The cost has been great. We all know that. In suffering and cash. And the Iraqi government is still a mess. But General Petraeus, backed by a brave and professional U.S. military, has restored much order, largely defeated the Iraqi Al Qaeda thugs, and at least given the good people of that country a chance to prosper. General David Petraeus is "The Factor" person of the year by a wide margin.

During The Rumble with Jon Stewart, O'Reilly admitted that "We should not have gone to Iraq. Afghanistan we had to." Iran In April 2026, O'Reilly opined that Trump needed to win the Iran war to change the public's perception of him: "See, if he wins in Iran, the equation changes because he becomes the victor, and to the victor go the spoils, as the cliche goes."

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