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Trump shooting: O’Reilly, Rivera weigh in on media’s role

(NewsNation) — Bill O’Reilly believes that, in order to end America’s culture war, it’s necessary for everyday citizens to write letters to companies he claims spread hateful ideologies like MSNBC, Disney and ABC. 

“Write letters, email, call the CEOs of these corporations and say you better knock it off. We’re not going to consume your product or anybody that advertises on your network ever again. That’s the way to attack,” O’Reilly told “On Balance With Leland Vittert.”

NewsNation host Leland Vittert questioned whether attacking would only propel the “war” further, which O’Reilly rejected: “They pay people millions of dollars to hate. That company should be held accountable.”

“We, the American people, you watch what you want to watch,” O’Reilly added. “But if you are contributing to the hate brigade, then you should be ashamed of yourself.”

His comments come in the wake of an attempted assassination against Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally, which has spurred talks of unity from both major parties.

President Joe Biden has come under fire for previous comments asking to put a “bullseye” on his opponent.

“Biden said tonight that he doesn’t traffic in violent language,” O’Reilly said. “That’s not true.”

O’Reilly conceded on “CUOMO” that both Biden and Trump say things they shouldn’t and refuse to own up to mistakes.

NewsNation contributor Geraldo Rivera spoke up about the cancellation of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Monday, saying, “This is the time when an opinion show has to stand up and be counted.”

“To think that they are afraid to say something ‘inappropriate,’ I hope they say things that are inappropriate,” Rivera said. “Talk radio, talk TV have been saying things are inappropriate for decades. It’s part of their tradition.”

Regarding O’Reilly’s opinions on what he deems hateful media, Rivera countered: “How do you know it was because of rhetoric? How do you, Bill O’Reilly, know that?”

Rhetoric, Rivera said, has been around as long as speech has — though O’Reilly thinks “the rise of hatred in our country is fueled by the media and the guttersnipes on social media.”