Bill O’Reilly sounded the alarm on Monday, warning that Republican lawmakers appear to have no idea how to improve the economy and make life better for the average American — a failure he says could cost the GOP dearly in November.
The veteran cable news host, appearing Monday evening on NewsNation, urged Republicans to come up with a stronger economic message as quickly as possible. If they don’t, he argued, Democrats will trounce them in the midterms.
“The Republicans are so blanking dumb, they can’t put it together and therefore they may very well lose,” O’Reilly said.
The blunt assessment came near the end of a heated exchange with host Leland Vittert about how both parties are positioned heading into the elections. O’Reilly made clear he was not impressed with either side.
“The Democratic platform has no platform to bring down prices,” O’Reilly said. “Neither do the Republicans.”
With neither party offering real solutions on the economy, O’Reilly said, both have turned to “gimmicks” instead.
He added that even President Donald Trump has not been immune to the “gimmick mania,” though O’Reilly did not point to specific examples of the gimmicks being rolled out by either party.
Still, O’Reilly reserved some of his sharpest criticism for Democrats, whom he described as incompetent when it comes to producing sound economic ideas. He argued that the party is simply “selling socialism” at this point, and suggested that any American who thinks that is a good plan should go to England and take a look around.
“You wanna live there?!” O’Reilly asked.
He went on to argue that Democrat-run states have shown the party only knows how to build bloated government agencies, not deliver economic solutions.
“You want to see affordability? Go to California, there’s nothing affordable there,” O’Reilly said. “So stop with this nonsense.”
O’Reilly’s warning comes as most polls have looked grim for Republicans heading into November. Every major poll tracked by The New York Times since the start of September has given Democrats an edge on the generic congressional ballot.
In an effort to help Republicans win over voters, Trump has hit the campaign trail, holding rallies over the past week in states including Nebraska and Alabama.
At a rally in Ohio on Saturday night, the president struck a defiant tone, predicting that the GOP will stun the world with a stronger-than-expected showing in the midterms.
“We’re gonna shove it up their a**,” Trump declared.
O’Reilly’s message to the party, however, was that confidence alone will not be enough. In his view, Republicans need to put together a clear plan on the economy that speaks to everyday Americans — and they need to do it fast — or risk handing Democrats a victory in November.
