The O'Reilly Update, October 21, 2025

Summary

The O’Reilly Update – October 21, 2025

Podcast: Bill O’Reilly’s No Spin News and Analysis
Host: Bill O’Reilly
Episode Date: October 21, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode of The O’Reilly Update covers significant national news stories, legal controversies regarding federal and immigration actions, a major tech outage, and political reflections. The episode features both news reporting (by Mike Slater) and commentary segments (from Bill O’Reilly), including O’Reilly’s signature "Message of the Day" and an in-depth look at the legal troubles of John Bolton.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. National Guard Deployment and Legal Rulings (00:10–01:30)

• Oregon National Guard in Portland:
  The Trump administration redeployed 200 Oregon National Guard members to protect federal property near a Portland ICE facility. Initial legal blocks were overturned by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, allowing the president’s order to proceed.

  • Quote (Mike Slater, 00:20):
    "The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals just said the president can do that... The Oregon attorney general said of the Ninth Circuit judges, they have chosen to not hold the president accountable."

• Shifts in the Ninth Circuit:
  Notably, the Ninth Circuit, formerly left-leaning, now has 13 of 29 judges appointed by Republican presidents, making it more centrist.

  • Quote (Mike Slater, 00:52):
    "Oddly worth noting, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which used to be this laughingstock... Now, 13 of the 29 judges were appointed by Republican presidents."

• Chicago Judge vs. ICE:
  A Chicago judge ruled ICE officers can be arrested if they detain suspected illegal immigrants in Cook County courthouses without a warrant.

2. Immigration Enforcement and Detentions (01:30–02:25)

• Mass Arrests Announced:
  The Trump administration claimed 480,000 illegal aliens have been arrested, with 70% facing criminal charges or convictions.

  • Quote (Mike Slater, 01:49):
    "We are not gonna let these individuals terrorize our streets anymore. We're not gonna let them make victims out of families that live in this country." (quoting Kristi Noem)

• Notable Arrests:
  Arrests highlighted included a Cuban national (convicted of homicide, ordered deported in 2008) and a Mexican national (convicted of incest with a minor, deportation ordered in 2019).

3. Prevented Atlanta Airport Shooting (02:25–02:48)

• Plot Disrupted:
  Police, alerted by family, arrested a man preparing to attack the Atlanta airport. He had 27 rounds of ammunition and was charged with terroristic threats and attempted aggravated assault.

4. Amazon Web Services Outage (02:48–03:06)

• Major Tech Disruption:
  Amazon Web Services' breakdown caused widespread internet outages, affecting users of Venmo, Outlook, Zoom, Snapchat, Lyft, Alexa, Ring, and more, before being resolved.

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Bill O’Reilly’s Message of the Day (03:30–05:23)

• Political Tensions Post-Gaza Hostage Release:
  O’Reilly claims that the far left has increased anti-Trump activities, frustrated by the administration's foreign policy success, especially regarding the Gaza hostage situation.

  • Quote (Bill O'Reilly, 03:35):
    "The far left cadres have stepped up their anti-Trump activities after the hostage release in Gaza. That is driving the progressives crazy because any success by the Trump administration makes critics of the president look foolish."

• Biden vs. Trump Foreign Policy:
  O’Reilly draws sharp contrast, suggesting Biden's administration "failed" in international arenas, giving Trump credit for results.

  • Quote (Bill O'Reilly, 03:46):
    "President Biden tried but failed in the Middle East, Ukraine, Afghanistan, China. Few, if any foreign policy positives came out of the Biden Harris administration."

• Midterm Elections and Historical Legacy:
  Emphasizes that Trump's historical stature and critics’ influence hinge on the coming midterms.

  • Quote (Bill O'Reilly, 04:18):
    "President Trump has three more years to achieve historical greatness... his critics cannot really affect what happens unless the Democrats win the midterms next year."

• On Democratic Choice:
  O’Reilly underscores the importance of the voters’ power in shaping America’s direction.

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Listener Mail (05:23–07:30)

• News Nation Appearance:
  Clarifies an air date and thanks a viewer:
  • "I don't care when you watched it. Thank you for watching it. Country needs to see more of the three Americans and they will, hopefully." (Bill O'Reilly, 05:41)
• Stephen A. Smith’s Walk-Off:
  Explains Smith left a stage after three large coffees, not just due to emotional reasons.
  • "That's God's honest truth. Got a lot of mileage out of that." (Bill O'Reilly, 05:58)
• Senator Fetterman’s Height:
  Confirms Fetterman is taller and heavier than O’Reilly.
  • "I think he's two inches taller. I'm six four. I think he's six six, well over 300 pounds. Enormous guy." (Bill O'Reilly, 06:07)
• Favorite Projects and Upcoming Specials:
  O’Reilly says he enjoys whatever he’s doing at the moment and previewed a Veterans Day special on News Nation (Nov 11).
  • "Whatever I'm doing at the moment. You know, you just have to be locked in on what you're doing." (Bill O'Reilly, 06:31)
• On Progressive Immigration Policy:
  Attributes progressive opposition to strict immigration enforcement to a "one world approach."
  • "The progressive movement doesn't want borders. They want everybody to go anyway. It's freedom whenever. That's what they want." (Bill O'Reilly, 07:14)

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Something You Might Not Know: John Bolton Legal Troubles (07:57–10:27)

• Case Background:
  Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, pleaded not guilty to mishandling classified material (18 counts). If convicted, he faces a decade in prison and $7 million in fines.
• Bolton’s Political History:
  Summarizes Bolton’s service under Republican presidents and his eventual break with Trump over major foreign policy issues.
  • Bolton's critique: "Look, I don't think Trump is fit to be president. I've said that for a long time. It's very bad news for the United States and all of its friends around the world that we're going through this now." (O'Reilly quoting Bolton, 08:44)
  • Trump’s retort: "I'm not a fan of John Bolton. I thought he was a sleazebag, actually. And he suffers major Trump derangement syndrome." (O'Reilly quoting Trump, 09:17)
• Legal and Financial Proceedings:
  Bolton’s legal defense may exceed $5 million; he has retained attorney Abbe Lowell at a thousand dollars an hour. Next hearing set for Nov. 21.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Ninth Circuit's shift (Mike Slater, 00:52):
  "It's a pretty centrist circuit court, actually."
• On policy and accountability (Bill O'Reilly, 04:44):
  "Once again, the voters have the power to decide whether it's Trump or the progressive movement that they want to lead the country."
• On progressive border attitudes (Bill O'Reilly, 07:14):
  "The progressive movement doesn't want borders. They want everybody to go anyway. It's freedom whenever. That's what they want."
• On John Bolton’s legacy (Bill O'Reilly, 09:47):
  "Nobody knows how this is going to turn out, but it's certainly not a good look for John Bolton."

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Useful Timestamps

• National Guard, ICE, and Immigration News: 00:10–02:25
• Airport Shooting Prevented: 02:25–02:48
• AWS Outage: 02:48–03:06
• O'Reilly's Message of the Day: 03:30–05:23
• Listener Mail: 05:23–07:30
• John Bolton Section: 07:57–10:27

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Tone and Style

Bill O’Reilly maintains his trademark direct commentary (“no spin, just facts”) with a blend of sharp critique, wry humor, and audience engagement. Mike Slater’s news delivery is straightforward and concise, laying out complex legal shifts in accessible terms.

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For more in-depth analysis and future updates, listeners are directed to BillOReilly.com.

Transcript

[Bill O'Reilly]

Foreign Bill O'Reilly, here. You are listening to the O'Reilly Update. Coming up next, the news with Mike Slater.

[Mike Slater]

Thank you, Bill. It is Tuesday, October 21, 2025. Here's what's happening today in America. Guard back on 480,000 detained, airport shooting prevented and aws back up. It's all coming up. And Bill is going to be here with your message of the day. But first, the Trump administration deployed the Oregon National Guard to Portland. Then a lower court said the president can't do that. But a panel on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals just said the president can do that. The Oregon attorney general said of the 9th Circuit judges they have chosen to not hold the president accountable. The 200 Oregon National Guard members are there to protect federal property outside of a Portland ICE facility. The lower district judge said that the conditions in Portland were, quote, not significantly violent or disruptive enough to justify a federal takeover of the National Guard and that the president's claims about the city were, quote, simply untethered to the facts. Oddly worth noting, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which used to be this laughingstock, they were so far in the left all the time. Now, 13 of the 29 judges were appointed by Republican presidents. So it's a pretty centrist circuit court. Actually. On the flip side, a Chicago judge said that ICE officers can be arrested in Cook county courthouses. And if they arrest an illegal alien without a warrant, the judge's order, the point of it is to prevent what are called collateral arrests, where ICE may be going for someone specifically, but then they find another illegal alien there as well, and they just grab them, too. The judge did this because he said courthouses must be places where witnesses and suspects feel safe. That being said, the Trump administration announced that they have arrested 480,000 illegal aliens. According to Kristi Noem, 70% of those individuals have criminal charges against them or have been convicted of those criminal charges. She said, we are not gonna let these individuals terrorize our streets anymore. We're not gonna let them make victims out of families that live in this country. At this press conference, she highlighted a couple males, one from Cuba, who's been convicted of homicide. He was ordered deported in 2008. Just got him the other day. He's been here this whole time. Another illegal from Mexico convicted of incest with a minor. He was ordered to be deported in 2019. Just finally now caught by ICE, a man threatened to shoot up the Atlanta airport, but he was arrested right when he entered the terminal. The man's family alerted police when he told them he was going to do it. He had 27 rounds of ammunition in the truck just outside the airport. He is a felon and he's been arrested with making terroristic threats and criminal attempt to commit aggravated assaults. Amazon's web services broke down yesterday causing widespread Internet outages all day long. It affected websites like Venmo, Outlook, Zoom, Snapchat, Lyft, Alexa, Ring cameras, among many others. Took them all day but they announced everything is back up and running. I'm Mike Slider from the podcast Politics by faith. Bill O'Reilly has your message of the day next.

[Bloomberg Announcer]

You know the words dominating today's headlines.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Private equity, generative capital gains tax on Fed rate cuts.

[Bloomberg Announcer]

But do you understand how they impact your world and your wallet? In a world that skims the what? Understand the why. Because context changes everything. [e-mail].

[Bill O'Reilly]

Time now for the O'Reilly update. Message of the day on this Tuesday. As predicted here, the far left cadres have stepped up their anti Trump activities after the hostage release in Gaza. That is driving the progressives crazy because any success by the Trump administration makes critics of the president look foolish. President Biden tried but failed in the Middle East, Ukraine, Afghanistan, China. Few, if any foreign policy positives came out of the Biden Harris administration. I'm not a soothsayer, but it's almost impossible to believe a President Harris could have gotten the Hamas hostages released or blunted Iran's nuclear ambitions. The no Kings protests over the weekend didn't amount to much, but the lefties did not embrace violence. So let's applaud that. Nothing wrong with peaceful dissent. President Trump has three more years to achieve historical greatness, which he really wants to do. And his critics cannot really affect what happens unless the Democrats win the midterms next year. So once again, the voters have the power to decide whether it's Trump or the progressive movement that they want to leave the country. I can't predict what will happen. I can tell you many things are going to unfold over the next 12 months. I'm Bill O'Reilly. I approve the message by writing it. You can reach me billorilly.com billorilly.com name in town. If you wish to opine now, let's go to the mail. Bruce Telecki, Broadview Heights, Ohio. Thursday. Great program on News Nation. Actually, it was Wednesday. But Bruce, I don't care when you watched it. Thank you for watching it. Country needs to see more of the three Americans and they will, hopefully. Tim Davis, Crossville, Tennessee. Do you know why Stephen A. Walked off the stage. I got the impression he was upset about the air traffic controller was struggling to feed his family. Yeah, he was upset about that. But the real reason he walked off the stage was he had three giant cups of coffee right before he went on. That's God's honest truth. Got a lot of mileage out of that. Bill Peterson, Akron, Ohio. Great show. Is Senator Fetterman taller than you? He's a big guy. I think he's two inches taller. I'm six four. I think he's six six, well over 300 pounds. Enormous guy. Deborah Rutan, Nazareth, Pennsylvania, really enjoyed three American show at the Kennedy center, your YouTube commentary on Charlie Kirk and your Confronting Evil book. Well, I appreciate you consuming all of those things. Deborah, you're involved with so many events. What is your favorite? Whatever I'm doing at the moment. You know, you just have to be locked in on what you're doing. We have a very good Veterans Day special coming up on News Nation November 11th. Boy, that's going to be good. I'll remind you, Shelly, excellent show. Enjoyed all of it. She's talking about the News Nation show. I'll be sending a letter, though, asking to please explain to us why the progressives don't want immigration of dangerous criminals in force because they want a one world approach. The progressive movement doesn't want borders. They want everybody to go anyway. It's freedom whenever. That's what they want. In a moment, something you might not know.

[Piers Morgan]

I'm Piers Morgan, the host of the Piers Morgan Uncensored podcast. We do big interviews and we do big debates about whatever's getting people talking. We make news, we make noise, and we make little bit of trouble, too. Come and see what all the fuss is about. You can listen to Piers Morgan uncensored on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Now the O'Reilly update brings you something you might not know. Last week, Donald Trump's former national security adviser pleaded not guilty to 18 counts of mishandling classified material. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison, $7 million in fines. Here's the story of John Bolton. Born November 1948 in Baltimore, Bolton served as an advisor to Ronald Reagan, then Bush the Elder. He was selected by Bush the Younger to serve as a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. In March 2018, President Trump selected John Bolton as his national security adviser. Quickly, their relationship deteriorated. The two split on policy decisions regarding North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan and Ukraine. Bolton then left the Trump administration in 2019. But the feud continued. He routinely appeared on CNN and other outlets describing the president as dangerous, uninformed, mentally unwell and unfit for office. Look, I don't think Trump is fit to be president. I've said that for a long time. It's very bad news for the United States and all of its friends around the world that we're going through this now. We're going to emerge with a lot of damage done to our relationships. In response, President Trump called his former advisor names. I'm not a fan of John Bolton. I thought he was a sleazebag, actually. And he suffers major Trump derangement syndrome. But so do a lot of people and they're not being affected by anything we do. John Bolton's next court appearance is set for November 21st. According to legal experts, the former adviser's defense will cost him more than $5 million. He's hired thousand dollars an hour. Attorney Abby Lowell. Nobody knows how this is going to turn out, but it's certainly not a good look for John Bolton. Back in a moment.

[Mike Slater]

This is a real good story about.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Bronx and his dad, Ryan. Real United Airlines customers.

[Bloomberg Announcer]

We were returning home and one of the flight attendants asked Bronx if he wanted to see the flight deck and meet Captain Andrew.

[Mike Slater]

I got to sit in the driver's seat. I grew up in an aviation family and seeing Bronx kind of reminded me of myself when I was that age. That's Andrew, a real United pilot. These small interactions can shape a kid's future.

[Bill O'Reilly]

It felt like I was the captain.

[Bloomberg Announcer]

Allowing my son to see the flight deck will stick with us forever.

[Mike Slater]

That's how good leads the way.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Thank you for listening to the O'Reilly update. I am Bill O'Reilly. For more news and honest analysis, please go to billoreilly.com no spin, just facts. And always looking out for you, Sam.