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Bill O'Reilly
Foreign. Here. Welcome to the no Spin News from Washington D.C. wednesday, March 18, 2026. Stand up for your country. Well, big day here. We've got Senator Ron Johnson from Wisconsin and I just finished chatting with Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina about Iran. He's got all kinds of new stuff where we're going to break a lot of news on Iran. So I think you'll be very interested to hear all that. Then we get the vote ID law and Senator Johnson very involved with that going on. It's just very busy and it's freezing cold. Just an aside I took. I had to shoot my book cover at the Capitol building today. I felt like I was in Greenland. I mean, it was so cold. I know I'm whining. Beautiful shot capital in the background. Here I am and they'll touch me up so I look a little bit better. But I'm sitting there going, it's March 18th. What's going on in D.C. dissent on Iran. We had a big story break yesterday. We told you about I've done a little bit more investigating and that is the subject of this evening Talking Points Memo. So by now you probably know the director of National Counterterrorism, a man named Joe Kent, 45 years old, served in the army for 20 years, was confirmed last year about this time, April 9, he quit. He said that there was no reason to invade Iran with air power and it was not imminent that there was any danger from that country. And now Lindsey Graham contradicts that very interesting debate. So we did a trace Back on, on Mr. Kent. And you know, he basically doesn't like the fact that Israel, he believes was calling some of the shots here. This is what he said in his resignation letter, quote, this echo chamber and he's talking to President Trump here was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, that you should strike now. It was a clear path to a swift victory. This was a lie. It was the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women, unquote. So I don't think Israel dragged us into the Iraq war. I don't think they did. That was a miscalculation on the part of the Bush administration with weapons of mass destruction after 9 11. But Mr. Kent has his point of view now. He was a stand up guy in resigning. But you need to know a little bit more about this. So for whatever reason, Kent was not involved in the Iranian action. He was put on the shelf. And that was very strange, because when you have an action against a foreign nation, you're going to have counterterrorism, and Kent's in charge of counterterrorism, and you got him on a bench. That tells me something was going wrong there. Clear to me also that Mr. Kent does not like the Israeli component in all this.
Senator Ron Johnson
Okay.
Bill O'Reilly
There are others who feel the same way he does. Obviously, President Trump is not one of them. We get into all of this, as I said, with Senator Graham, I think knows more about this than any human being on earth, the exception of Mr. Trump. All right, so once that broke that you have a Trump administration official breaking away from the Iranian action, and the timing was not good because combat's still going on here, and I don't respect Kent's timing. You want to do that, you wait. You don't do it when the planes are in the air. All right, so the, of course, anti Trump press, they love this. Roll it. What's so striking here is that Kent is an ultra Trump loyalist, someone who supported the president through all three of his campaigns. His own base is asking the same
Senator Ron Johnson
questions that a lot of other Americans are asking.
Bill O'Reilly
Why are we at war with Iran? Why did we attack Iran when we did? What are the goals of the war? And how and when does it end? Now, we've gone over this before with Ms. Wallace. Possible questions to answer. You can't answer them. Nobody could. But she continues to say that the Trump administration is evading or lying or whatever, because she's getting paid to do that. Remember, Nicole Wallace worked for Bush, but she's got money now. And masters over at Ms. Tell her what to say, and she says it. That's exactly what's going on. If she were working at Fox News, then she do whatever they told her to do. Just so you know, when will it end? You know, Lindsey Graham does a timeline for us, and it's interesting. Now, Vice President J.D. vance was also skeptical about the Iranian action. It's not a bad thing to have an administration with his opposing points of view. But Vance, of course, did not publicly say anything against him, which is responsible. He's a vice president. You don't make the commander in chief look bad when the commander in chief has decided to launch a military action. They just don't do that. That's not treasonous, but it's certainly disloyal. Okay, so got a few updates. Israel killed the minister of intelligence for Iran last night, Ishmael Khatib. He's done gas prices in USA continue to go up $3.84, up about a buck from a month ago.
Senator Ron Johnson
Buck a gallon.
Bill O'Reilly
That hurts. No doubt about it. And that is a consideration for all of this, particularly with the midterm elections in November and the Revolutionary Guard Corps is warning people to stay away from Saudi Arabia. Iran hates Saudi Arabia. It's a Shia, Sunni thing and all of that. Can't even get involved with that. But Iran's threatening Saudi Arabia because Saudi Arabia is backing the action. Backing the US action. Okay? And that's where we are now. I'm making this part of the Talking Points Memo, the report from the Institute for the Study of War. Now, we have looked at this. It's a think tank in D.C. where we are that provides analysis of armed conflicts and security issues around the world. Doesn't look like there's anything partisan here. Okay, Looks like that. They do studies and they base analysis off that. And they say, quote, Let me get their quote, That everything is going pretty well. All right, there it is. The war in Iran is currently in a phase in which the military trajectory relatively positive. The USA is steadily destroying Iran's ability to use its most essential tool in war. Drone and missile attacks, which in turn underpin the entire Iranian strategy, unquote. Well, you never know that listening to the Nicole wallaces and the CNNs of the world, reading New York Times, the Washington Post, you never know that they are right to their opinion. But I mean, come on, trying to get accurate information here, it's not easy to get it. So I thought you'd. I thought you would like to know that. And that's the memo. Now with all of this anti Trump stuff, particularly when American military is involved, all of it, there is an element that says these television networks that don't tell the truth should be sanctioned. Okay, so Brandon Carr is ahead of the fcc. He said, quote, broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions, also known as fake news, have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up.
Senator Ron Johnson
Hey, it's Howie Mandel and I am inviting you to witness history as me and my Howie do it. Gaming team take on Gilly The King and Wallow 2, 6 $7 million gaming in an epic global gaming league video game showdown. Four rounds, multiple games, one winner, plus a halftime performance by multi platinum artist Travy McCoy. Watch all the action and see who wins and advances to the championship match against Neo right now@globalgamingleague.com that's globalgamingleague.com everybody games the new York Post has been
Bill O'Reilly
delivering impactful headlines for over two centuries.
Senator Ron Johnson
And every weekday morning, I'll bring them straight to you. I'm Caitlin Becker, host of the New York Post. Cast from Washington to Wall Street. If it matters to you, you'll hear it here.
Bill O'Reilly
And it wouldn't be the Post without the stories other outlets like to ignore. So ask your smart speaker to play
Senator Ron Johnson
the NY Postcast, listen and subscribe on
Bill O'Reilly
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in public interest. They will lose their licenses if they do not. That is a threat, a direct threat. Now, there have been two occasions that I pointed out to you where the television press has reported fallacious stories. 2. First was the invasion of the Kurds, which was picked up by a lot of people, that the Kurdish people, army, whatever it may be, were going to invade Iran. That did not happen. I told you it wasn't going to happen because there's no supply line. You can't get them in there logistically. Okay? And the second story, which was as absurd as it comes, reported by ABC News, that Iran was targeting California with drones. It's totally untrue. And. And so is the current thing. And when you report something as fact, it's got to be true, right? And both of those stories got a lot of traction. And America is like, okay, what's. What the deuce is going on here? We are, we have a ground war. Are we going to California, going to go up with drones? Even Gavin Newsom said heavy evidence of that. There's no evidence that there's going to be any drones fired at us. And I'm going, what, does ABC News apologize? No, they didn't apologize. So, you know, Car, I don't like the heavy hand of government on the communications industry. Obviously, I'm doing this for 35 years. I don't want the government tell me what I can and can't say, but if I'm wrong, I have a responsibility, right? Anyway, there was some reaction to Carr and one of the reactors. Senator Ron Johnson, a friend of the program from Wisconsin, and he joins us now from Washington. So, Senator, you went on a record. You said, look, I don't like this FCC surveillance, let's call it that, Correct?
Senator Ron Johnson
Well, a little, Bill. Well, that question was sprung on me before I even heard what Carr said or the points he was making. I wasn't aware of what he was pointing to in terms of what the broadcasters were reporting falsely. But, you know, having the question sprang on me, I Resorted to what my basic belief is, like you, I don't like the heavy handed government. I don't care who wields it. You know, I'm a strong defender in the First Amendment and freedom of speech and freedom of the press. That said, these broadcasters are granted licenses to use this incredibly lucrative broadcast spectrum and they have a certain responsibility of the public. So I'll hedge my comments a little bit. From the standpoint of, you know, the legacy corporate media is highly biased when they get something wrong, I think they do have a duty to correct the record. And if they consistently don't do that, if they consistently report false news, don't correct the record, their license just might be in jeopardy. But again, I would prefer the federal government not having to wield that kind of power. It'd be nice if we had unbiased
Bill O'Reilly
broadcasters, but we don't and we never will again because too much money and being biased, that's easy money to make. But there's a difference and here's the difference. So when you report something and you say this is happening, this is a fact, and it's not a fact that it's totally wrong, you have an obligation to correct the record. And you know, the anti Trump media rarely does that once in a while, but rarely. They'll just let this stuff go. Opinion is opinion. I mean, almost every pundit on television, with the exception of me, is wrong every day.
Senator Ron Johnson
Let's face it, the Washington Post has not given back its Pulitzer Prize for the Russian inclusion hoax stories. Right? They got a Pulitzer Prize for that completely false narrative. They never apologize. They haven't given back that pulse or prize. So no, I'm no fan of legacy media, trust me, but I'm not a big fan of the government.
Bill O'Reilly
And what the senator is talking about is that the Washington Post and the New York Times ramped up this Russian collusion thing that Trump was involved in 2016, totally bogus story. They won Pulitzer Prizes, didn't give them back. I mean, and that was the end to me, that was it. But what I'm trying to say is that opinion, you can be wrong and that's not a problem, but a fact that hey, in California, Iranians are getting ready to drone you. I mean, come on. And then you get into irresponsibility. But here's something very interesting, that there are certain networks on the air, CNN is one of them, that wound book guests, all right, that go against their philosophy. So CNN despises Donald Trump. So you very rarely see that. I think they have One guy pundit on quite often who sticks up for Trump, but it's a mountain of people against him. Ms. Does the same thing. The networks do the same thing. Not as much. You don't see a lot of Trump people on there. Comedians, late night, you don't see anybody. The View doesn't ever book people who are against their liberal point of view. That disturbs me. Now. Now I'm saying, and there's only one correction, Senator, only one. That would be the government licensing stuff, right?
Senator Ron Johnson
Yeah, but I think cable news is different than broadcast news. I don't think it's the same kind of licensing requirements. They're basically paying for their ability to broadcast cable. And you've got competition, too. Again, I like the fact we have a free press. We have all these alternate media types now, and that's a good thing. I'd rather have more speech than government restricting speech.
Bill O'Reilly
Okay. You live in a swing state, a very important state, Wisconsin. And as we reported, oil prices, gas prices pump up a buck very quickly. And Wisconsin is not a wealthy state. And it's working. People, you know that. You know the state as well as anybody knows it. Are those people now are going to accept the Iranian action or are they going to rebel against it because they're getting hurt in their own personal finance world?
Senator Ron Johnson
Well, I need to point out In June of 2022, national gas prices average about $5 a gallon. Inflation was 40 year high at 9.1%. Now, that wasn't caused by a war that we had to engage in. I mean, President Trump, Iran was at war with us for 47 years. They are a menace. They are proving themselves to be a menace. We had to act before. We couldn't act before they became a nuclear power, had so many missiles, had so many drones that you simply couldn't do what we're doing right now. So again, gas prices are up because of President Trump having the courage to act before it was too late. The gas price under Biden, they were up there because of his war on fossil fuel, because the policies they were undertaking. So it's important to point out the American public, yeah, nobody likes high gas prices, but we actually were bringing them down with Trump's policies of drill, baby, drill. And again, I hope people appreciate the fact that we, we had to act. I mean, we have to take Iran out. We can no longer allow them to menace the world. They've been doing it for 47 years. We cannot let them be a nuclear power. But I don't think we, you know, we don't want them to. We can't allow them to plug up straight Hormuz either. They have to be ending that evil regime.
Bill O'Reilly
The polls are about 50, 50. The longer the Iranian thing goes on, the more the economy be damaged and then the midterms loom in November. So it's really impossible to predict it. I don't know how many Americans at this point in history, Senator, are putting their country before themselves. You know what I mean?
Senator Ron Johnson
We're all human beings. We're selfish. The one thing that I'm optimistic about, and again, stunning achievement already by the Israeli and US Military and our brave men and women, but the fact that now you have Iranian citizens basically being able to call in airstrikes, that's the way you can weaken the regime, get rid of the evildoers in Iran so the Iranian people can take over. We've never been able to do that before in warfare where you basically have the Iranian people who want to be freed of this evil regime being able to call in airstrikes. It's got the Iranian security troops shaking their boots. Great article in the Wall Street Journal today about that. So that gives me some hope.
Bill O'Reilly
All right. We all need hope. Finally, a Save America actor very involved with this. On the merits of it, you should have to show an ID because it's in the Constitution that you cannot vote unless you're American citizen. So how else could the authorities police the Constitution unless they're asking for proof of citizenship? That doesn't seem to be that complicated yet. You have an entire party, the Democratic Party, that opposes that. USAA knows dynamic duos can save the day like superheroes and sidekicks or auto and home insurance. With usaa, you can bundle your auto and home and save up to 10%. Tap the banner to learn more and get a'@usaa.com bundle restrictions apply.
Senator Ron Johnson
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Bill O'Reilly
And they're going to block that save act. That's going to be blocked. You're not going to get the 60 votes in the Senate. I'm just flabbergasted at this that an entire party would say, ah, we don't really care about what the Constitution says. We don't want any requirement in order to register to vote. How stunned are you?
Senator Ron Johnson
Well, doesn't surprise me. This is existential to their game plan of turning America into one party nation. If they get the majority, they will eliminate the filibuster. They'll end the filibuster, turn Puerto Rico, D.C. into states, they'll pass Supreme Court. We need to stop them from doing that. So right now the split in the Republican Party isn't so much. Would we like to have the filibuster to stop really bad liberal legislation? Yeah, but the split is do we believe that Democrats will end it and should we do it first? I'm in that camp versus the other people that are hoping against all hope the Democrats won't do it. But the sad fact of the matter is this is their game plan. That's why they flooded millions of people into America. You know, plussed up these sanctuary cities and states, get more members of Congress, make it very easy to cheat. And the fact that they allow illegal immigrants to vote in some of these local elections, like in dc, like in New York, once you're registered to vote in a local election, makes it pretty easy to vote in a federal election. Of course, Democrats sit there, oh, we don't want to do that. No, that's exactly what they want to do. So they're going to lie all day long during this debate. But we're having this debate to hopefully expose the Democrats for who they are and make them defend. Why are they opposed to what 80% of the American people support?
Bill O'Reilly
Well, Minority Leader Schumer continues to make the argument that this is unfair, that a lot of people don't have IDs and they can't get IDs, so some woman who's been married to five different guys has five different names and doesn't have the name on her birth certificate or whatever it may be. And I'm saying to myself, Chuck, do you not understand? The states can remedy that very, very quickly because the states, of course, are in charge of getting people credentials so they can register to vote if they're American citizens. Am I wrong? Am I going off the path here?
Senator Ron Johnson
No. In the end, Senator Lee, it's his piece of legislation. He's made it as easy as possible to get the kind of id, but you have to go through the effort to show that you're a citizen, have the type of ID to vote. But in the end he leaves up to the states. Because we still want states to administer elections. Yeah, we're just talking about some very common sense national standards governing those state run elections. Yeah.
Bill O'Reilly
Because all you have to do, the state legislature would say, okay, and you don't have an id, a valid id. We're going to send you one. This is, here's the form. You fill it out and then you'll get your ID and you'll be able to vote. And. But you don't hear that. You hear Jim Crow. And this is that. And they don't want this one to vote. They don't want that one to vote. And you know, my head's going to blow off. We've been here in Washington for three days. I feel like I've been here three months. I don't know how you guys do it. Crazy.
Senator Ron Johnson
I was just on the floor. Listen to Schumer.
Bill O'Reilly
Yeah.
Senator Ron Johnson
Your head wants to explode. You are forced to refute what he has to say.
Bill O'Reilly
I know, it's just so crazy. But this bill is not going to pass the SAVE act this time around. I don't like busting out the filibuster because exactly what you pointed out, if the Republicans do get around to doing that, then the Democrats are going to use that to do all kinds of insane stuff when it's their turn, when they have the power of the three, you know, the House, the Senate and the presidency. Last word on Wisconsin. How do, do you have a poll? How do you put your finger on how the folks are feeling in, in your state? How do you, how do you know how they're feeling about gas prices? Do you get information coming to you?
Senator Ron Johnson
Well, if you're a candidate, you're doing that kind of polling and it's getting, you know, it gets the micro issues. But in Wisconsin you just basically say it's going to be a 50, 50 race. You know, if it's, it's a, if it's a November election, a fall election, it's going to be close. No matter who's running, who's at the top of the ticket, it's going to be close. We're that close a state. That's why we have a very conservative senator and we have a very liberal senator as well. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but that's what we've got.
Bill O'Reilly
And that's what, that's because of Milwaukee and Madison. Those are the two big urban centers that Vote left, right?
Senator Lindsey Graham
Yeah.
Senator Ron Johnson
So you know, to me, always used to describe Pennsylvania as you've got Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and then Alabama in between. It's very similar to Wisconsin. We got Milwaukee, we got Madison and we got very conservative rural area throughout Wisconsin and just breaks down pretty much 50.
Bill O'Reilly
50. All right, Senator, thanks very much for taking the time to talk to us. Really appreciate it. Hope to see you again soon.
Senator Ron Johnson
Stay well.
Bill O'Reilly
We have a another Senator, Lindsey Graham on the brand new podcast we'll do it Live. But of course we don't do it live, we do it on tape. Now. The Senator Graham podcast is big. I think the man knows as much about Iran and what's going over on the world than anybody. And Lindsey Graham's a hawk, no doubt about it. Wanted to take Iran out, but I have a lot of questions for him. So we're going to drop a preview on. We'll do it live this evening at 8 o' clock Eastern and the whole podcast tomorrow, Thursday. Okay. I guess about noon is when they do it. I mean, I don't know. I have a big stab that does this, but I think it's new anyway. It's a little complicated. So right now I'm going to run a one minute preview clip. In a minute I'll call for it. Then at 8pm I'm going to be on Cuomo on News Nation discussing the Lindsey Graham interview with another clip. And also at 8 o' clock simultaneously, word of the day, we will post a preview. Okay. And you can get all this on YouTube. Billoriley.com you know, the usual. Just go to billorilly.com it's much easier there. And then tomorrow we'll alter the whole thing. That makes sense. Lifelock, how can I help? The IRS said I filed my return, but I haven't.
Senator Ron Johnson
One in four taxpaying Americans has paid the price of identity fraud.
Bill O'Reilly
What do I do? My refund though. I'm freaking out.
Senator Ron Johnson
Don't worry, I can fix this. Lifelock fixes identity theft guaranteed and gets your money back with up to $3 million in coverage.
Bill O'Reilly
I'm so relieved.
Senator Ron Johnson
No problem.
Bill O'Reilly
I'll be with you every step of the way.
Senator Ron Johnson
One in four was a fraud.
Bill O'Reilly
Paying American.
Senator Ron Johnson
Not anymore. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit lifelock.com podcast terms apply.
Bill O'Reilly
Fox News is now streaming live on Fox One. When it matters most, turn to the voices you trust. We go beyond the headlines, bringing you the stories you won't hear anywhere else. Live coverage, sharp analysis, real perspective at home or on the go. Stay Connected when it counts. Stream Fox News on Fox 1. Download today. All right, let's roll the 60 second clock.
Senator Lindsey Graham
I like JD but I can say this. He's been consistent about Iran shouldn't have a nuclear weapon. You know, everybody says.
Bill O'Reilly
But he doesn't want to. Come on, you know that. He was a dissenting voice. Well, you know that.
Senator Ron Johnson
You.
Senator Lindsey Graham
I don't know it. I wasn't there. But I can tell you this. His. His actions about the regime were different than mine. He didn't see it at the same threat level I do. But I think he's been loyal to the President. Don't doubt he's been loyal, and he's a good man. But I will say this. The threat that Iran possesses is just not a nuclear capability. They've been funding terrorism at an industrial scale 40 years.
Bill O'Reilly
I wrote a book on it.
Senator Lindsey Graham
Okay, you wrote a book. You need to buy it. There are 221 Marines killed in Beirut by Hezbollah. There is no Hezbollah without Iran. Hamas couldn't exist one day. There's no October 7th without Iran. The Houthis, all funded by Iran.
Bill O'Reilly
Right.
Senator Lindsey Graham
The third thing they do is that, you know, they try to get a nuclear weapon, they fund terrorism, and they've just been basically the worst people on the planet trying to disrupt the region for religious purposes.
Bill O'Reilly
Okay, so Again tonight on NewsNation, 8 o', clock, Cuomo. We'll be talking about the Senator Graham interview. As you know, the Democrats are not going to fund homeland security because they don't like ice. And that means that hundreds of thousands of air travelers are online because tsa, a lot of them have quit. A lot of them not showing up. The security lines around the block, particularly in South Florida. South Florida having a very hard time. Lauderdale, Miami, Hollywood, they say two, three hour waits to get into the gate. I mean, this is crazy stuff. Now, what are you going to say? Okay, talked about it with, you know, Senator Johnson and look, the Democrats are staking out this territory. That's what they're doing. Will it hurt them? I don't know. I don't like it. I don't think there's any excuse for it, but people have short memories. Anyway, that's on. That is undeniable that this is happening. And here's the director of the TSA go.
Senator Ron Johnson
We have a National Deployment Office force, and we've fully depleted that. So at this point, we're fully stretched. And so, frankly, there's not much else we can do as the weeks continue, if this continues. It's not hyperbole. To suggest that we may have to quite literally shut down airports, particularly smaller ones.
Bill O'Reilly
You know, I think it's going to get resolved, but I'm optimistic in this regard. But it should never happen. All right, Epstein is back. Oh, God. This will never end. So the House Oversight Committee, that's James Comer, is going to subpoena Attorney General Bondi and Commerce Secretary Lutnick. Talk about Epstein. The Ms. Bondi is set to show up to the oversight committee on April 14th. Okay. And Ludnick knew him. And Ludnick admits it. He lived near him in New York City. And I guess Ludnick went to the island, some crazy thing. And so. And Bondi made the mistake of saying, well, I have all the files on my desk is 3 million pieces of paper. Of course, course, Attorney General didn't have all that. I don't even think she knew the extent of this craziness. But anyway, Comer is doing the right thing in subpoenaing Republicans because he brought the Clintons and he brought the Democrats in. So let's be fair. Okay, final thought about my White House appearance yesterday. In a moment. Okay, here's a final thought from D.C. we'll be getting out of here tonight. I was at the White House for the Irish reception. I did see President Trump. I did not talk to him. It was logistically impossible. He had the Irish president there. Michael Martin. It was a big dog and pony show, but the White House is magnificent. So any excuse. I'll. I'll go now if you want to go to the White House because they've cut back big on the tours. Got to go through your congressman. Got to make a request, and your congressman can get it done for you. Put you on a tour. Takes a while, but I'd love every American to see the White House. In the Irish thing yesterday is good food, always good food. Irish. Nobody was drunk. That was good. They did give you booze if you wanted it. And I met a lot of very interesting people. So, you know, people know me, and I posed for a lot of pictures and things like that, but I had some very nice conversations with folks. It was very worthwhile. Again, I did. I saw Mr. Trump from a distance. I don't know whether he even saw me. Doesn't matter. You know, if he needs to reach me, he's got my private number. So that's what happened. It was a good St. Patrick's Day, and I hope yours was as well. So thank you very much for watching and listening to this edition of no Spin News. See you tonight on News Nation. I hope you watch the Lindsey Graham podcast and let me know what you think. Thanks again for watching.
Episode Date: March 19, 2026
Main Theme: Press Dishonesty on Iran, Joe Kent's Resignation, Media Bias Against Trump, TSA/Travel Crisis, and Voting ID Debate
This episode focuses on several intertwined issues: the resignation of Joe Kent, Director of National Counterterrorism, amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran; the wave of press dishonesty and anti-Trump media bias permeating coverage of the conflict; debates around the federal government’s role in regulating media accountability; challenges facing U.S. airport security; and a heated political battle over voter ID laws and election integrity. Bill O’Reilly is joined in-depth by Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), with a featured clip from Senator Lindsey Graham, for conversation and analysis.
Background: Joe Kent, highly decorated, Trump-loyal Director of National Counterterrorism, resigned unexpectedly as Iran-U.S. conflict escalates.
Latest Developments:
Notable Quote:
"For whatever reason, Kent was not involved in the Iranian action... That tells me something was going wrong there."
— O'Reilly (02:39)
Institute for the Study of War Report: Cited by O’Reilly as an authoritative non-partisan assessment—current U.S. military operations are “steadily destroying Iran’s ability to use its most essential tool in war: drone and missile attacks.” (08:12)
Media Critique: O’Reilly highlights how major outlets (CNN, NYT, Washington Post) fail to cover this positive assessment, preferring negative, anti-Trump narratives.
FCC Warning: FCC’s Brandon Carr threatens license non-renewals for repeated “hoaxes and news distortions”—O’Reilly cites egregious examples like ABC News falsely reporting an imminent Iranian drone attack on California. (10:22 - 11:54)
Notable Quote:
“When you report something and you say this is happening, this is a fact, and it’s not a fact... you have an obligation to correct the record. The anti-Trump media rarely does that.”
— O’Reilly (14:00)
Senate Perspective: Johnson ("no fan of legacy media") is uneasy about government regulation but agrees egregious, uncorrected false reporting should threaten broadcaster licenses. He draws the line at consistent, willful distortion. (12:50)
Pulitzer Critique: Johnson and O’Reilly mock the Washington Post and NYT for still possessing Pulitzers for “completely false” Trump/Russia collusion narratives. (14:44 – 15:01)
On Guest Booking and Bias: O’Reilly critiques networks like CNN and MSNBC for not booking pro-Trump voices; Johnson sees alternative media as a remedy.
Notable Quotes:
"Legacy corporate media is highly biased... when they get something wrong... they do have a duty to correct the record. If they consistently report false news, don’t correct the record, their license just might be in jeopardy.”
— Sen. Ron Johnson (12:50)
“We have all these alternate media types now, and that’s a good thing. I’d rather have more speech than government restricting speech.”
— Sen. Ron Johnson (16:36)
Economic Pressures: O'Reilly pushes Johnson—will Wisconsin voters accept economic pain due to Iran policy?
Johnson's Defense: Points to Trump administration action as necessary to preempt Iran's nuclear threat, frames current gas prices as the cost of that security, in contrast to Biden-era inflation being “policy-driven.” (17:35)
Voter Attitudes: Johnson notes “the longer the Iranian thing goes on, the more the economy [will] be damaged and then the midterms loom.” (18:49)
Notable Quote:
“President Trump, Iran was at war with us for 47 years. They are a menace... we had to act before they became a nuclear power... we have to take Iran out.”
— Sen. Ron Johnson (17:35)
O’Reilly’s Argument: Voting ID is constitutional common sense—proof of citizenship is the only way to prevent ineligible voting.
Johnson’s Response: Democrats’ opposition is “existential” to their “game plan of turning America into one party nation.” Claims Democrats seek to end the filibuster, admit Puerto Rico/D.C. as states, “flood” the U.S. with migrants, and make cheating “easy.” (21:37)
Schumer & Dems’ Objections: O’Reilly dismisses fears about disenfranchised voters as easily rectifiable by state-led credentialing.
Legislation’s Fate: SAVE Act is not expected to pass, and O’Reilly warns that abolishing the filibuster could “come back to haunt” Republicans as much as Democrats.
Notable Quotes:
“An entire party... would say, ah, we don’t really care about what the Constitution says. We don’t want any requirement to register to vote.”
— O’Reilly (21:12)
“This is existential to their game plan... That’s why they flooded millions of people into America... to make it very easy to cheat.”
— Sen. Ron Johnson (21:37)
Graham’s View: In a preview clip, Graham states Iran should not have a nuclear weapon, and its regime is a decades-long “menace”—“there is no Hezbollah without Iran. Hamas couldn’t exist one day…The Houthis, all funded by Iran.” (29:02-29:53)
On Dissent in Administration: Graham comments on Vice President JD Vance’s skepticism about action in Iran; respects Vance’s loyalty but disagrees on the level of threat.
Notable Quote:
“The threat that Iran possesses is just not a nuclear capability. They’ve been funding terrorism at an industrial scale for 40 years.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (29:15)
"This echo chamber... was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, that you should strike now... This was a lie." — Joe Kent (Resignation Letter, read by O’Reilly, 01:12)
“Trying to get accurate information here, it’s not easy to get it. So I thought you would like to know that. And that’s the memo.” (09:08)
“I would prefer the federal government not having to wield that kind of power... It’d be nice if we had unbiased broadcasters, but we don’t and we never will again because too much money in being biased.” (13:00)
“Almost every pundit on television, with the exception of me, is wrong every day.” (14:12)
“There is no Hezbollah without Iran. Hamas couldn’t exist one day. There’s no October 7th without Iran...” (29:39)
The episode maintains O’Reilly’s assertive, often combative tone—directly challenging political and media opponents, mixing detailed policy analysis with sardonic commentary, and expressing overt skepticism at the motives and reliability of mainstream media and Democratic leadership. Senator Johnson is measured but firm, focusing on constitutional arguments, the politics of media, and the stakes of current policy decisions. Lindsey Graham’s brief contribution is hawkish and forceful.
This episode of No Spin News is a fast-paced, in-depth look at the impacts and portrayal of U.S. action against Iran, illuminating splits within the administration, and the volatile intersection of national security, media responsibility, and domestic politics. Through detailed dialogue with Senator Ron Johnson and commentary from Senator Lindsey Graham, O’Reilly positions himself as a truth-teller standing against media bias and political gamesmanship. The struggles over voting ID laws and crises like airport shutdowns serve as additional flashpoints in the broader story of tumult and division in 2026 America.