(NewsNation) — Former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly told NewsNation that former President Donald Trump “went into his greatest hits” during a prime-time town hall with CNN on Wednesday evening.
From the moment Trump walked onto the town hall stage in Goffstown, New Hampshire, O’Reilly says he could tell Trump was not in the best mood.
While reviewing footage with NewsNation host Chris Cuomo, O’Reilly said: “He’s not standing up straight. He’s walking slowly. He looked exhausted. I can tell because I’ve known the guy for 30 years; he’s in a bad mood, not a good mood.”
“Then, Trump went into his greatest hits. The election was rigged, the Ukraine war would stop in 24 hours, Joe Biden had more documents than he did, just stuff that you have heard 1,000 times,” O’Reilly continued.
At the town hall, Trump called Jan. 6, 2021 a “beautiful day” and doubled down on his unfounded claims of election fraud in 2020.
While speaking with O’Reilly, Cuomo asked: “This has been carefully vetted. His assertion is false. The question is: Does he (Trump) know that it’s false? Or do you believe that he is delusional and has chosen to just believe this?”
O’Reilly said he thinks the latter, answering: “He (Trump) believes because he wants to believe. People believe what they want to believe. It always goes back to that.”
He continued: “You’ve got to be a realistic person. He’s never going to concede – ever. So, why bother anymore? People make up their own mind.”
Trump’s town hall appearance came one day after a New York jury found him liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll nearly 30 years ago and defaming her. Carroll, who claimed she was raped by Trump, was awarded $5 million in damages. Trump has denied the claim and that he ever knew her.
Trump did not attend the trial or testify on his own behalf, but the 2024 GOP candidate spoke about the case at the town hall, mocking Carroll’s claims and drawing laughter from the audience. Trump described Carroll as a “whack job” and said her claims were “a fake story.”
“He (Trump) should have testified on his own behalf. He should have looked the jury in the eye and said ‘This is bull’ and told that story or whatever story he wanted to tell,” O’Reilly told Cuomo. “To tell it on television and not show up to the trial, it put himself in jeopardy.”
CNN and Trump have famously feuded over the years. The town hall marked the former president’s first appearance on the network since 2016.