Trade War Escalates With China, Elon Musk Clashes With Peter Navarro Over Tariff Policies, President Trump vs. CBS, & Cornel West on the Age of Division

Summary

Podcast Summary: Bill O’Reilly’s No Spin News and Analysis

Title: Trade War Escalates With China, Elon Musk Clashes With Peter Navarro Over Tariff Policies, President Trump vs. CBS, & Cornel West on the Age of Division
Host: Bill O’Reilly
Release Date: April 9, 2025

Overview:
In this episode of Bill O’Reilly’s No Spin News and Analysis, host Bill O’Reilly delves into several pressing issues shaping the political and economic landscape in the United States. The episode covers the intensifying trade war with China, a high-profile clash between Elon Musk and Peter Navarro over tariff policies, ongoing legal battles between President Trump and CBS, and a candid discussion with Cornel West on societal division. Additionally, the episode touches on public safety concerns related to fraud scams targeting seniors and provides historical reflections on key amendments in American history.

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1. US-China Trade War Escalation

Timestamp: [00:00] – [05:40]

Bill O’Reilly opens the episode by addressing the escalating trade tensions between the United States and China. He highlights the substantial trade imbalance, noting that China derived about $300 billion more in trade with the U.S. than the reverse last year. O’Reilly emphasizes the strategic advantage the U.S. holds due to China’s dependency on the U.S. dollar, which funds China's military expansion.

Notable Quotes:

• "China is a ruthless enemy of the United States. Here are the facts. Last year, China derived about $300 billion more in trade than we got from them. 300 billion." ([02:15])
• "China invests, has, is holding $760 billion in US investments. Those are bonds, real estate, company investments, TikTok, all of that. 760. China could pull that money out of here. If it does, we'll go into a severe recession." ([04:50])

O’Reilly forecasts that most nations except China will reach trade agreements with the U.S., attributing this potential success to President Donald Trump’s economic policies. He warns of the severe repercussions should China refuse to cooperate, potentially triggering a significant recession.

2. Elon Musk vs. Peter Navarro: Clash Over Tariffs

Timestamp: [14:30] – [20:00]

A significant portion of the episode focuses on the public disagreement between entrepreneur Elon Musk and White House Trade and Manufacturing Senior Counsel Peter Navarro regarding U.S. tariff policies. O’Reilly recounts Musk’s frustration with the tariffs, particularly how they impact the cost of goods manufactured by Tesla.

Notable Quotes:

• "When it comes to tariffs and trade, we all understand in the White House and the American people understand that Elon's a car manufacturer, but he's not a car manufacturer. He's a car assembler." ([16:45])
• "Elon didn't like that very much and he posts on X quote, 'Navarro is truly a moron. What he says here is demonstrably false. Then Elon puts up, Tesla has the most American made cars. Navarro is dumber than a sack of rocks,' unquote." ([18:10])

The dispute highlights differing views within the Trump administration on the effectiveness of tariff policies. O’Reilly speculates that Elon Musk may soon return to the private sector due to these internal conflicts, although he admits to having no concrete information on Musk’s future plans.

3. Media Bias and Legal Battles: Trump vs. CBS

Timestamp: [20:00] – [19:10]

O’Reilly criticizes mainstream media outlets, particularly CNN and CBS, accusing them of bias against President Trump. He references an incident where CBS’s "60 Minutes" allegedly supported Kamala Harris, undermining Trump’s legacy.

Notable Quotes:

• "CNN is a very smart woman. She's an ideologue to the left, but she's not a nut... But I was listening to her commentary and she was almost sympathizing with China." ([06:25])
• "60 Minutes helped Kamala Harris. And every Sunday, if you watch 60 Minutes, they try to hurt Donald Trump every week. So now there's arbitration." ([21:40])

O’Reilly anticipates that Trump will prevail in arbitration against CBS, similar to his previous legal victories against other media platforms. He contends that the media’s hostility towards Trump is part of a broader pattern of institutional opposition.

4. Immigration and Supreme Court Rulings

Timestamp: [19:10] – [19:47]

The discussion shifts to immigration policies under the Trump administration, focusing on the Supreme Court’s support for Trump's efforts to deport criminal migrants to El Salvador. O’Reilly explains the legal framework used, referencing the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798.

Notable Quotes:

• "The Supreme Court says you can. But here's the real important part. The Supreme Court Rule 5 to 4. Amy Coney Barrett joined the liberals that yes, president has a power, but due process has to be respected." ([21:20])
• "If I were President Trump, I would say, no, I'm bringing him back. I'm sending a plane down to get him. That's what I would do. Because that's the right thing to do." ([25:00])

O’Reilly underscores the importance of due process in deportation cases, highlighting the case of Kilmar Garcia, a Maryland resident mistakenly deported to El Salvador. He advocates for Trump's intervention to rectify such injustices, emphasizing the need for compassion and adherence to legal standards.

5. Interview with Cornel West: The Age of Division

Timestamp: [23:08] – [34:36]

A significant segment of the episode features a discussion with Cornel West, a prominent philosopher and academic. The conversation centers on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), societal division, and the moral compass of the nation.

Notable Quotes:

• Cornel West: "It's about staying in contact with the humanity of other people that you have deep disagreement with in a moment in which your culture is being more and more gangsterized." ([25:21])
• O’Reilly: "I believe that equity, which is now against the law by the executive order of President Trump, creates a culture of dependence and is actually insulting to the people who get hired or accepted in college because of it." ([32:26])
• Cornel West: "We’re at a moment now where we’re seeing a kind of expansion of what I called a gangsterizing sensibility, which is push integrity, push honesty, push decency aside." ([25:27])

Throughout the interview, they explore the complexities of addressing historical injustices without perpetuating contemporary biases. West advocates for compassion and fairness, while **O’Reilly emphasizes the importance of merit and cautions against policies he views as fostering dependence.

6. Public Safety: Fraud Scams Targeting Seniors

Timestamp: [22:43] – [29:57]

O’Reilly addresses the issue of fraud scams targeting senior citizens, highlighting the financial vulnerabilities exploited by scammers. He reports that Americans over the age of 60 lost $3.4 billion to fraud in 2023, primarily through telephone scams.

Notable Quotes:

• "Never do business on the telephone. Ever. Do not talk to these people." ([27:32])
• "You have a mom who's older, a dad who's older. You tell them that you have to do it, you have to do it, because they'll pick up the phone, they'll get engaged, they'll get scammed, they'll give credit card numbers, they'll do this, they'll do that." ([28:05])

O’Reilly urges listeners to educate their elderly family members about the dangers of unsolicited phone calls and to implement protective measures such as not sharing personal information over the phone.

7. Historical Reflections: The 13th Amendment Anniversary

Timestamp: [29:03] – [33:23]

O’Reilly reflects on the 161st anniversary of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States. He provides a historical overview of the amendments and their implications for contemporary issues.

Notable Quotes:

• "We cannot correct historical wrongs by creating contemporary wrongs." ([31:08])
• "If you're born here, you're a citizen. President Trump doesn't want that and some other Americans, too." ([19:23])

He compares the abolition of slavery to current debates on citizenship and voting rights, emphasizing the importance of upholding constitutional principles to ensure fairness and justice.

8. Personal Note: Remembering Holly

Timestamp: [34:19] – [End]

In a poignant conclusion, O’Reilly shares a personal tribute to Holly, presumably a close associate or family member who passed away. He recounts the thousands of condolences received and his effort to respond with handwritten thank-you notes, highlighting the human aspect amidst the political discourse.

Notable Quotes:

• "Got millions of condolences on the Internet, millions, if you can believe it, worldwide. But some people did write me cards and I tried to answer." ([34:36])
• "If you write a thank you note by hand, put an envelope, put a stamp on it, people will remember that that separates you from the email and text brigades." ([34:36])

O’Reilly underscores the value of personal connections and traditional gestures of gratitude, contrasting them with the impersonal nature of digital communication.

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Conclusion:
This episode of No Spin News and Analysis offers a comprehensive examination of pivotal issues impacting the United States, from international trade conflicts and internal political strife to societal divisions and historical reflections. Bill O’Reilly provides his perspective on these matters, interspersed with notable interactions and interviews, aiming to inform and engage listeners who seek straightforward analysis devoid of spin.

Transcript

[Bill O'Reilly]

Foreign here. Welcome to the no Spin News for Tuesday, April 8, 2025. Stand up for your country. Another harrowing day on Wall Street. I have to look. I have to look because that's my job to report to you. You don't have to look, okay? If I were you, I wouldn't just let it play out, this tariff madness, okay? Don't get caught up in it. Do not let it affect your personality. Don't get depressed, don't get angry. Don't do any of those things. You cannot control this. Now, tomorrow, I'm going to talk about capitalism and the dangers of capitalism. Begin with a message of the day in the morning on Wednesday, which I hope you read, because that's what this is all about. It's about capitalism. And capitalism is hard and it's risky. So, anyway, that's my advice personally to you, and the Talking Points memo will bring you right up to date on where we are. So I do expect that most nations in the world will make negotiations with the United States happen soon. From those negotiations, I expect deals to emerge. And the reason I expect this is it's Donald Trump's legacy. If the American economy falters, his legacy will falter. Think George Bush the elder. Think him, because it just blew up right in his face. And his son, George Bush the younger legacy, was absolutely damaged by the economy. In the last part of his second term, Donald Trump wants to go on Mount Rushmore. The joke is if there's no room, he'll buy his own mount, okay? But he wants to go out as one of the greats, and he can't if this doesn't work. So I'm putting my money on the President's power to bring prosperity from this madness. I could be wrong. Now, let's get to the facts. The only nation that's not going to play ball, sorry for the cliche, is China. China is a ruthless enemy of the United States. Here are the facts. Last year, China derived about $300 billion more in trade than we got from them. 300 billion. Second was Mexico with 172 million. I mean, Mexico is doing great with the USA, but China, way out there, we buy more Chinese goods than any other place on earth by far. There are 1.5 billion people in China. 1.5 billion they need to feed them. China needs us. And nobody wants the yuan, their currency. That's why China has invested an astounding am amount of money in the usa. I'll get to that in a moment. China is using the $300 billion a year to fund its war machine. Donald Trump knows that China's now not building its military for defensive purposes. It has more than enough defense. It is building its military for offensive purposes. It is using US Trade dollars to do that. Again, nobody wants China's currency. They have to do business in dollars. Okay, now China invests, has, is holding $760 billion in US investments. Those are bonds, real estate, company investments, TikTok, all of that. 760. China could pull that money out of here. If it does, we'll go into a severe recession. So you can see both sides have a huge amount at stake. This is a trade war. Not with the other countries. Canada, Mexico, they'll make deals. Eu, they'll make deals. Israel's already made its deal. Okay, so. But China, Very, very risky. All right, now, last night at 7 o'clock I turned on CNN because again, I have to accumulate information. And Erin Burnett was the anchor. And Erin Burnett is a very smart woman. She is a left wing person because that's the culture at cnn. Can't hold a show there unless you're a liberal. Cannot. But she's not alone. But I was listening to her commentary and she was sympathizing with China. As Mick Jagger might put it, sympathizing with the devil. Roll the tape.

[Erin Burnett]

It sounds deeply unserious. It sounds made up. It sounds petulant. On what basis? Another 50%. And by the way, he says this is happening Wednesday. So here's the situation. If Trump says he's going to hit China with another 50% tariff on top of the 34% that he just put on all goods from China, which comes on top of the 20% already in place, that means US tariffs on everything from China of 104%. So just going off the new tariffs in the past week, just those buying something that was $10 from China a week ago, if you went online at Amazon, it came from china, it was 10 bucks, it would be $18. I'm sorry. And 50 cents on Wednesday. $10 a week ago. $18.50 on Wednesday. That's insane.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Why is that insane? Don't buy it. Don't buy it. What don't you understand about China's cheating? What don't you understand about China's threat not only to America but to the world? Don't buy Chinese stuff. Here's what I said on News Nation. I turned on CNN just I wanted to get a wider look and reaction to what Trump did today. And the anchor at seven is a very smart woman. She's an ideologue to left, but she's not a nut. To my shock, she was almost sympathizing with China. Let me tell you about China. They are the worst cheaters on the planet. They steal every untoward thing that you could do economically. They do. Every year the United States sends $300 billion more to China than they send to us in trade. 300 billion. Ireland with a population of 5 million takes more US goods than China Ireland. I rely on physical precious metals like gold and silver to protect my savings. And and the only company I trust is American Hartford Gold. A tax advantaged gold IRA can protect your savings from inflation, recessions and more. You can even roll over your 401k or IRA tax and penalty free with thousands of five star ratings and an A from the Better Business Bureau. American Hartford Gold has delivered billions in precious metals. Trust American Hartford Gold to help you. Call or text American Hartford Gold. Tell them Bill O'Reilly sent you for up to $15,000 of free silver on qualifying orders. 8663-265576-86326-5576 or you can text BILL to 998-899 again 866-326-5576 or text BILL to 998-899.

[Erin Burnett]

This weekend only at Macy's.

[Bill O'Reilly]

It's our lowest prices of spring. How low?

[Erin Burnett]

Diamond rings, pendants and earrings only $399.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Originally $1,500 ninja blenders now $89.99.

[Erin Burnett]

And $395 men's designer suits only $99.99.

[Bill O'Reilly]

So if you're wondering why you should shop Macy's lowest prices sale.

[Erin Burnett]

Well, the name pretty much says it all.

[Bill O'Reilly]

It's our lowest prices for one weekend only. Starts tomorrow at Macy's. Savings off already reduced prices. Exclusions apply. Can you believe that? China's got 1.5 billion people to consume. Ireland's got 5 million. They take more stuff because China stops American stuff from going into the country and that the products that do make it are parts for airplanes. Kind of quasi military stuff. All right, you get it. So why would anybody on the planet sympathize with China? All right, let's sum up. This is very dangerous. It's a trade war. I'm hoping that Xi and Trump will meet in June. I know negotiations are underway. I'm actually scheduled to go to China at the end of May. That has nothing to do with anything. But if I disappear, you'll know why. The Biden administration did not care at all about this. As a footnote, they let China do absolutely what China wanted to do. So it is a shock. The Trump administration is shocking Beijing. And that's the memo. All right. Inside the Trump administration, there is a brawl between the senior counsel for trade and manufacturing, Peter Navarro, and Elon Musk. So it started when Musk kind of said, I really don't like the tariffs. And here's how Navarro replied, go. When it comes to tariffs and trade, we all understand in the White House and the American people understand that Elon's a car manufacturer, but he's not a car manufacturer. He's a car assembler. In many cases, if you go to his Texas plant, a good part of the engines that he gets, which in the EV case is the batteries come from Japan and come from China. The electronics come from Taiwan. The tires come what, what we want. And the difference is in our thinking and Elon's on this, is that we want the tires made in Akron. All right, so Trump, Trump. Elon didn't like that very much and he posts on X quote, navarro is truly a moron. What he says here is demonstrably false. Then Elon puts up, tesla has the most American made cars. Navarro is dumber than a sack of rocks, unquote. So, boys, boys, now, I believe that Elon Musk will go back to the private sector soon. I have no inside information about that, but that's, I think will happen. Could be wrong. But it's interesting. This tariff thing is now, you know, it's causing a lot of turbulence. Stock market up, down, in, out. I know I'm not taking it seriously. I have resigned myself to a six month period of pain, if you will. I think by the fall and things will even out a little bit. I hope they do, but I'm not going day to day on it. I'm not. Okay? It's crazy. As I said in the beginning, don't let it affect your personality. Now, yesterday, CNBC reported a false story that caused the stock market to rocket up. Here's what CNBC said. I think we do have some headlines. I think we can go with this. This headline from. Apparently Hassett's been saying that Trump will consider a 90 day pause in terrorists for all countries except for China. Except for, oh, that's you. No, it wasn't huge. It was not true. So 19 minutes later, CNBC had to come back and say this. Spoke to Caroline Levitt, the White House press secretary on the phone just a short time ago and she tells me it Is quote unquote, fake news that the White House is considering a 90 day pause. So the White House pouring cold water on this idea, wherever it came from. Well, that came from you. Okay? Cnbc, that's where it came from. Don't give me wherever it came from. You reported it. I don't know. NBC News totally collapsed. It's 100%. What the deuce is going on over there? Believe me, I'm in charge of NBC News. Sorry, those people are gone. You can't do that. They do it. All right, big story. So Supreme Court supporting President Trump in his quest to deport criminal migrants to El Salvador. So the Trump administration is using the Alien and sedition Acts of 1798, which are huge acts, but here's the part, quote, this is 1798, that it shall be lawful for the President of the United States at any time during the continuance of this act to order all such aliens as he judged dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States or shall have reasonable grounds to suspect are concerned any treasonable or secret machinations against the government thereof to depart out of the territory of the United States. So the Trump administration says, hey, these undocumented gang members are dangerous in the United States and we're going to boot them. And the federal judge, James Boasberg, a US District Court, Washington goes, oh, you can't. No, no, we're stopping it. And then it goes to the Supreme Court. Supreme Court says you can. But here's the real important part. The Supreme Court Rule 5 to 4. Amy Coney Barrett joined the liberals that yes, president has a power, but due process has to be respected. However, Boseberg has no jurisdiction. That's the key. The judge that has the jurisdiction, a federal judge, is in Texas where those gang members were being held before they were shipped back to El Salvador. That's the key. So all of these other judges, Spokane, Washington, all of these hand picked, cherry picked judges that are trying to stop the Trump orders are going to be knocked out because they don't have jurisdiction. I told you that when all this started to happen. That's the big thing here. Now, the migrants should have due process. And that brings us to Kilmar Garcia. He's a Marylander who the Trump administration admitted was deported by mistake. He's in the country, he's going through the asylum process. A judge has issued an order of protection against his deportation, but they booted him out anyway. And, and now he's in El Salvador. He shouldn't be in El Salvador. He should be Back in Maryland with his wife and kids. That's due process. So the Supreme Court did comment on his case, says, look, we're going to take a look at it. I can guarantee you 100% that this man will be back here, and he should be. If I were President Trump, I would say, no, I'm bringing him back. I'm sending a plane down to get him. That's what I would do. Because that's the right thing to do. The man was under a judge's order here. He applied for asylum here. If the judge says the asylum claim is not worthy, then he goes back home. That's the way it works. All right, Donald Trump versus CBS. This is about 60 minutes helping Kamala Harris, which they did. No doubt about it. 60 Minutes helped Kamala Harris. And every Sunday, if you watch 60 Minutes, they try to hurt Donald Trump every week. So now there's arbitration. A mediator in this case. Trump and CBS have agreed to have mediation, which means Trump wins. He's going to win this just like he won against ABC and George Stephanopoulos and cbs. Off the right, his library, a check. That's what I think will happen. Here's the update on that. Iran. So both Israel and the USA have told the world quite clearly they are not going to let Iran develop a nuclear weapon. That's not going to change now. Say the Democrats win in four years. Biden would have let them. Biden was giving them money, the mullahs, billions of dollars. Biden was giving them for no reason. Okay, but Trump and Netanyahu, no. So now there are talks scheduled for Saturday about this. And here's what President Trump said about it. Go. And I think everybody agrees that doing.

[Cornel West]

A deal would be preferable to doing the obvious. And the obvious is not something that I want to be involved with or frankly that Israel wants to be involved with if they can avoid it.

[Bill O'Reilly]

All right, the obvious is that the air power from Israel and the USA would attack Iran and just destroy its infrastructure. And the Persian people would obviously be harmed. Now, they wouldn't bomb civilian centers. They'd bomb the ports and the military and just take out everybody, all military capability. I hope it doesn't happen. Who wants that? Nobody. The world does not need that. But we can't. The world can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon. Get it? Joe Biden. I don't even know where Joe is. Colorado. Used to live there. 78 to 80. Loved it. Boy, did I like living in Colorado. Traditional state back then. Now it's radical left. Stunning The Boulder mentality has taken over Denver. Okay, so the legislature house push through a bill. Here's what the bill is. Quote this is from a summation by FOX News. The bills were passed include SB 25 183, which requires taxpayers to fund abortion HB 25 1309, mandating insurers cover transgender procedures regardless of age HB 251312 imposes statemented gender policies on schools, considers it coercive control in child custody cases when a parent does not affirm a child's gender identity and SB25 129, which prohibits cooperation with out of state investigations on transgender procedures and abortion services. Okay, so that's clearly unconstitutional because of the Hyde Amendment. You cannot force people of religious people, non religious who don't believe in abortion to pay for it. Colorado doesn't care. Taking all parental rights away. If you're a parent in Colorado, you have no rights. Now if this is signed by the dopey governor out there who's a total loon, probably will be signed. You have no rights. Your 10 year old mingle, oh, I want to be a girl. And you can't stop it under Colorado law. This is just insane. So the good people of Colorado, and there are many, you need to get out off your skis. You need to get out in the streets and you need to right this wrong. Throw these people out of office. All right, let's bring in a guy who sees it differently. Known him a long time. His name is Cornel West. All right. He is a college professor, taught at Harvard, Princeton, and he's now at the Union Theological Seminary. He's got a new book out with another professor, Robert George. Here's the book. I was reading it last night. Truth Dialogue on Fruitful Disagreement in an Age of Division. I guess Professor George is a little more conservative than Cornel west, but Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is more conservative than Dr. West. This episode is brought to you by LifeLock.

[Cornel West]

It's tax season and we're all a bit tired of numbers, but here's one you need to $16.5 billion. That's how much the IRS flagged for possible identity fraud last year. Now here's a good number.

[Bill O'Reilly]

100 million. That's how many data points LifeLock monitors every second. If your identity is stolen, they'll fix it, guaranteed.

[Cornel West]

Save up to 40% your first [e-mail].

[Bill O'Reilly]

Podcast terms apply like a bull in a china shop. Donald Trump came in to drain the swamp in Washington, D.C. but with his bold reform and Rejuvenation agenda comes so many legal questions nationwide injunctions, Are they constitutional? What's the deal with birthright citizenship? What about the administrative state? Can he actually clean the, the deep state and end the politicization of the federal bureaucracy? I'm Josh Hammer, host of America on Trial with Josh Hammer. Subscribe to America on Trial with Josh Hammer for your daily updates on all of these questions and more. And he joins us now from New York City. You know, I know this DEI executive order signed by Donald Trump wasn't in play when this book was written, but I wanted to get your feeling on it. I, I have no problem with diversity. I think that's a strength of the country that's provable. I have no problem with inclusion. I want every American to have an equal pathway to success. I have a big problem with equity, favoring certain groups because of gender, skin color, that kind of thing. Am I wrong?

[Cornel West]

Well, I mean, one. I think the important thing, though, brother, and thank you so much for having me on. It's been a long time since we've had a chance to have these conversations that we used to have. But the important thing is just trying to keep a moral and spiritual compass at the center. So even before we talk about dei, talk about foreign policy, it seems to me we're at a moment now where we're seeing a kind of expansion of what I called a gangsterizing sensibility, which is push integrity, push honesty, push decency aside. And so empathy becomes an enemy, cruelty becomes a strategy, and truth becomes an afterthought. Brother Robert George, and he is a conservative Catholic brother who I love very deeply and respect. We talked together for 20 years at Princeton. We have deep ideological and political disagreements. But he's my brother, and he's in many ways like family. So the question becomes, how do you stay in contact with the humanity of other people that you have deep disagreement with in a moment in which your culture is being more and more gangsterized?

[Bill O'Reilly]

Give me an example of the gangsterism. Give me one very vivid example of the gangsterism.

[Cornel West]

Yeah, wonderful question. You remember the great Rabbi Heschel said, indifference to evil is more insidious than evil itself. I think there's an indifference to vulnerable people, the people who are on the margins, people who are weak and feeble. There's not attempt to embrace and have a compassion, even when we have disagreements in policy. When you make the point, for example, about the brother who was taken to the El Salvadorian prison, Right. And we know that they got it wrong because every institution is going to be falling in some way. These are human beings. They definitely got it wrong. And we ought to bring him back. I don't hear that from any of the officials in Washington. They said they're not interested, even though they know that he's.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Well, that's an excellent point. That's an excellent point. Donald Trump, the president, should have said it. We're going to bring him back, as I mentioned.

[Cornel West]

Absolutely. Where's.

[Bill O'Reilly]

All right, let me, Let me challenge. Let me.

[Cornel West]

You learn this at Marist College. You learned this from William and Winifred. There's got to be some moral sensibilities. I got it even in a moment of high polarisic.

[Bill O'Reilly]

And I do not disagree with that. I don't. I think that you have to do the right thing. And the right thing. The right thing is fairly clear to most people. But we live in a country that's divided between the politicians, the ruling class, and the folks. I'll submit to you based on data because I know you're a big shot Ivy League professor.

[Cornel West]

Union Seminary. Union Seminary, brother.

[Bill O'Reilly]

I know, I know. But I got a Harvard degree, okay? The American.

[Cornel West]

Well deserved, well deserved.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Well, I don't know about that, but the American people are the most generous people on earth, all right? We give more money to help poor people, marginalized people, than any other population, okay? And our system, both state and local and federal, is loaded, loaded with entitlements for marginalized people. So that you, even the poorest in America, have air conditioning, computers, refrigerators, cars. Our poor live better than European middle class. So I don't know whether this, whether this tsunami wave that you're portraying of insensitivity really exists.

[Cornel West]

Well, my brother, you know, We've got about 1.4 homeless people in the country.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Mostly drug addicted, mostly people who cannot.

[Cornel West]

Earn a living, don't have televisions that they out in the cold. I live in Harlem. I can see them. I give them money from my pocket.

[Bill O'Reilly]

But you know what they're doing with the money? They're buying heroin with it and fentanyl with it.

[Cornel West]

No, no, but some of them are unemployed and actually, some of them.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Not many.

[Cornel West]

Well, no, I don't think you can say that the vast majority are. And I spent a lot of time with them.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Well, the stat is between 75 and 80% of homeless people are addicted to substance. That's the stat.

[Cornel West]

Yeah, but that, but that doesn't mean they're not worthy of a certain kind of passion.

[Bill O'Reilly]

But you can give them as much money as you as you want and the money's going for substance. All right? The only time they see a television is when they steal it and sell it. Come on.

[Cornel West]

But we've got one out of five children who are in poverty.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Two out of five because their parents are substance abusers.

[Cornel West]

Well, no, no, no. You know, the vast majority of children who are poor don't have parents who are substance abuse abuses.

[Bill O'Reilly]

75% of all.

[Cornel West]

No, no, no.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Come on, we're. We're academics here. 75% of all abused and elected children, neglected children are the sires of addicted adults.

[Cornel West]

75%. I haven't seen that statistic. Now, if that's the case, Department of.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Health and Human Services, just go to them and they'll give it to.

[Cornel West]

I'd have to see. See that, though. But for me, whatever their condition, they deserve serious attention because the human beings made in the image of God and they have.

[Bill O'Reilly]

They deserve to be treated with dignity.

[Cornel West]

Absolutely. That's what I do agree.

[Bill O'Reilly]

You have to isolate them in order to do that.

[Cornel West]

Well, I can understand that, too, but the crucial point is the dignity, because we're living in a time in which it's so easy to lose the dignity. So, for example, when we talk about DEI right now, I've never been a big DEI person.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Why?

[Cornel West]

Because I believe in truth, justice, and love. That's what I'm willing to live and die for. I'm not willing to die for diversity, equity, and inclusion. DEI was an attempt to respond to the fact that for so long, black people enslaved for 244 years, nearly 100 years of lynching, Jim Crow, Jane Crow, and. And segregation. And we finally raised the question, how are we going to treat black people fairly and decently in a society where they have not been treated that way? So we started with affirmative action. We had debates over affirmative action. We must ensure that people are qualified, but when they're qualified, they must not be discriminated against.

[Bill O'Reilly]

100% with you.

[Cornel West]

Why? Because we're concerned about truth.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Yep, 100% with you. But here. Here's where you're making your mistake.

[Cornel West]

You don't ought to be about.

[Bill O'Reilly]

You don't correct historical wrongs by creating contemporary wrongs.

[Cornel West]

Oh, I agree. I agree to.

[Bill O'Reilly]

To apply college admission or job acceptance based on skin color or gender is wrong.

[Cornel West]

Oh, I agree with that.

[Bill O'Reilly]

All right, so we're on the same page there for sure.

[Cornel West]

But part of the challenge is this, though, my dear brother, as you know, for so long, when the pool of the qualified was one in which, going back to the history of Harvard, right. Was anti Catholic, was anti Jewish, was deeply anti black. It was the wasps. It was the white Anglo Saxon Protestants. Qualified who were chosen. Qualified Irish couldn't get in. Qualified Jews couldn't get, for the most part, couldn't get it. Yeah. Quotas for Jews. Qualified black folk could hardly get in. W.B. du Bois, Ph.D. from Harvard, writes a dissertation in German and University of Humboldt in Berlin. He can't think about getting a job in university. We know that's racist. That's old racism. Just like you got an anti Catholicism and you had anti Jewish sentiment. Now you move to the 60s and we say, oh, now we can expand the pool of the qualified, and we're not talking about the unqualified.

[Bill O'Reilly]

And I agree that that should happen. And that's why I was a big factor in President Obama's Brother's Keeper program, because that's the pathway. And here's my last question for you. I want you to think about this question. I believe that equity, which is now against the law by the executive order of President Trump, creates a culture of dependence and is actually insulting to the people who get hired or accepted in college because of it. It's basically saying to you, you know, you're not good enough to compete. So we're going to get you in here based on something that doesn't have any do with the competition. And I believe that that creates a culture of dependency, that Big Brother government, okay, or Big Brother Harvard or Princeton or whoever, we're going to decide that. You need a little help. I don't think that's right. Last word.

[Cornel West]

I think that you make a very important point. But the crucial thing is how are we going to make sure that people who have been hated and despised like black folk are treated fairly and justly? Because if you have a history of a country where in the name of marriage, you allow white male mediocrity, and, you know, there is a history.

[Bill O'Reilly]

It happened, sure. Absolutely. Mediocrity absolutely happens.

[Cornel West]

And through family connections and legacies and so forth and so on, where's the fairness? Where's the truth? Where's the compassion?

[Bill O'Reilly]

Well, extra help is what I got when I needed it in biology and geometry and extra help is fine, but not exclusionary equity policies. The book is Truth Matters, I Want Everybody and, you know, it's really worthy. And I'm sorry you left Harvard, by the way. You want to tell us real quick why you left Harvard?

[Cornel West]

Well, we had a major struggle over the issues of the Palestinian struggle. And my connection with what's going on.

[Bill O'Reilly]

In Gaza, it was all of that, all right?

[Cornel West]

All of that going on. And for me, I believe in lifting every voice. Everybody has a right to be wrong. They have a right to be right.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Okay, well, I can't identify with that doctor because I'm never wrong. But thanks for coming on in. We appreciate it. We'll take it out. Family man, it's good to see you again. Thank you. Okay. Smart life. Listen to this. According to the FBI, Americans over the age of 60 lost $3.4 billion of fraud in 2023. Almost all of it on the telephone. It was just financial scams. Grandparents scam, tech scams. All right, this is. I don't. I think that the figure is more than this. I think it's more than 3.4 billion. What happens is my phone rings, I don't know, eight, nine times a day for people calling. They don't know who I am or whatever. They're just trying to get my attention, sell me something. But, you know, we all have call id. We know what that is, but the older people don't understand it. Smart life. Never do business on the telephone. Ever. Do not talk to these people. Say to them, if you have something you want me to take a look at, send it to me. Don't give me your address, by the way. And that's the end of the conversation. You have a mom who's older, a dad who's older. You tell them that you have to do it, you have to do it, because they'll pick up the phone, they'll get engaged, they'll get scammed, they'll give credit card numbers, they'll do this, they'll do that. Got to stop it. Never do business on the telephone. Smart life. This day in history just said what Dr. West talking about. 13th amendment passes 161 years ago that abolished slavery. So the vote in The Senate was 38 to 6. The six senators who wanted to keep slavery were in Kentucky, Indiana, California and Delaware. Delaware, okay. And California was just a state. They didn't know what they were doing. No excuse. But here's what's interesting. It took two other amendments to knock out slavery, totally. So Lincoln, Emancipation Proclamation, you know, all that, that was just for the Confederate states. This 13th amendment was for everybody. No more slavery in the USA. Can't do it. But then the 14th amendment, four years later gave slaves and everybody else full citizenship who lived here. And that's at play today. Okay? So if you're born here, you're a citizen. President Trump doesn't want that and some other Americans, too. Fifteenth Amendment. You can't base voting rights on skin color. Everybody votes if they're qualified to vote. They're American citizens. Okay? Now, at the time of the founding of our republic, the Constitution, no country in Europe banned slavery. No. Not one. It was accepted all, all over the world. And, you know, the first country was to ban slavery. Denmark, 1792. How about that? All right. Abolish slavery. Anniversary is today. Final thought, the aftermath of Holly in a moment. So last night I spent two hours writing thank you notes like this with my hand on paper, addressing the envelope to people who send condolences about Holly. Holly passed last month, as you know. Got millions of condolences on the Internet, millions, if you can believe it, worldwide. But some people did write me cards and I tried to answer. I can't answer all of them. But I did write for two hours last night. If you write a thank you note by hand, put an envelope, put a stamp on it, people will remember that that separates you from the email and text brigades. It's dying out. But, boy, I felt an obligation to do it. And thank you once again for all the condolences for Holly. Thank you for watching the no Spin News. I'm Bill O'Reilly. We will see you again tomorrow.