Bill O’Reilly’s No Spin News and Analysis - No Spin News Special: Live From the Kennedy Center

Episode Date: December 24, 2025

Earlier this year, Bill had a show at the Kennedy Center, where he was joined by Chris Cuomo, Stephen A. Smith, Tom Homan, Senator John Fetterman (D-PA), and more to analyze the future of America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Get the yes you've been waiting for at Capital One.ca.ca. slash yes. Terms and conditions apply. I put together the three Americans concept. This is an offshoot of the three Americans concept. And I wanted Cuomo and Smith to be part of it because together they make me look much smarter. all right so it's purely selfish the country is in a change mode we're in flux everything's changing economy's changing social mores are changing media is collapsing collapsing right before our eyes and my job as a independent is to bring some understanding to it all See, I'm not that concerned about the polarization and the back and forward.

There are lines that need to be drawn and adhered to, but that's always been the case. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, they hate each other. And they use surrogates to just knife, and it's always going to be that way. Because the pursuit of powers like the pursuit of money. You can't get enough. They can't get enough. And if there's somebody trying to inhibit their power, they want to hurt them.

They want to diminish them. So I'm realistic in the sense of being a historian to know that's not going to change. But what has to change is your understanding of really what's happening, really what's going on here. And that's why News Nation is so valuable because the others play to a choir. They play to a certain segment of the population.

They tell them every night what they want to hear. Because you can make easy money doing that. But News Nation doesn't do that. It wants everybody to look in and decide who's got the stronger argument. And when I started Fox, that's what the philosophy was, but that's changed a bit. And the reason all of it has changed is because of Donald Trump. Trump. He's so overwhelming. His presence is so massive that he dominates every news cycle and everything that happens that he does is blown up into this colossal debate between the

progressive left and the conservative right. And if you think back, George W. Bush wasn't even close to that. Barack Obama was a little polarizing, but he didn't want to be. It was just, you know, But it wasn't close. Biden was taking a nap, so nobody knew what he was talking about. But then Trump comes on and just, it's like, boom, you're just pinned to your seat. But you've got to understand the why of what he is doing. And the other power broke us as well. The one thing that I would say is this.

You can understand the why. Bill's absolutely right. But the times that we're living in, those past presidents, you talk about the advent of social, media, the reach that you can have as a candidate, as an elected official, the way that decisions, perspectives can be disseminated to a point where it can influence so many lives and cause or fervor. That's different than it was in the past. And when Bill brings up the media, he's absolutely right from this perspective. There's absolutely positively no excuse for a member of the media. I'm talking about a journalist to take a side. The facts are the facts. Like, I didn't

vote for Trump, I'm not the biggest fan of how he behaves. But the fact is, is that if he's done a good job, give him credit for doing a good job. If he's done a good job here, fine. If he hasn't done a good job there, fine. Call it as you see it because you have to make sure that the public at large is able to look at you and say

that I trust that you believe what you're saying you believe and that it's based on factual information and not your personal feelings or personal animus. And when you do that, then you galvanize the American people because they're going to say, okay I can trust you and as a result there won't be a dissipation or diminished level of trust in the media what happened what has happened to the media is that unfortunately too many people are looking to say things

just to be saying things just to have a particular side because it gets them paid well guess what it's damaging to the country and I think that you have an obligation to think about the country more than you thinking about just yourself when you are a member of the media or you have kind of influence that media is supposed to have. That level of sensitivity is required for any conscientious soul that has the interests of the American people ahead of themselves. Why are you a Democrat, though? And I don't say that being a wise guy. You support Israel, correct? Yeah, well, I do. And that's been isolating, too. But look, you support Israel, and the progressives don't, generally speaking. You are for a very

rigorous defense against Putin and Ukraine, correct? You want to stop them, right? Oh, yeah, of course. I mean, I would fully support, I, in fact, I just on social media, I encourage President Trump to provide tomahawks to the Ukrainians. I mean, it's like he is probably the only person in the world that could end this terrible war. And I think, why can't we all agree that that's, that's, that's, that's, you're not a wild spender. You want to get the debt under control.

So why are you Democrat because your party is against you on all three of those issues? Well, I mean, a lot of the things that maybe I really believe in calling balls and strikes, and I think I want to follow the truths. Why aren't you an independent now? Well, I mean, those are some independent thoughts, but overall, I mean, you have to pick one side, Republican Democrat. That's always been my party. Bernie is an independent. Bill, let me just say.

It's like, I'm the only Democrat. to my family. I grew up in a conservative part of Pennsylvania, and I grew up and I know and I love people that voted for President Trump. But they are not fascists. They're not Nazis. They're not trying to destroy the Constitution and those things. And that's part of another thing. I refuse to call people Nazis or fascists or I would never compare anybody, anybody to Hitler and those things. And now that kinds of extreme rhetoric is going to continue, we're going to be more likely in resulting in extreme kind of outcomes and political violence and doing all these kinds of things like Charlie Kirk. For me, all I could say is, is like, let people grieve, give people the space. I'm not going to use that terrible thing and that pacic assassination to make my argument and try to put out my views.

It's like, my God, you know, he's a father that had his neck blown out by a bullet. And now people have forgotten. President Trump was in my state was shot in the head. And if that would have, could you imagine where our nation would be if he was hit in the same way with Kirk? We really got to turn the temperature down. And we can agree to disagree on these kinds of things. But right now, shutting down the government. I just can't take it that.

So what do the Democrats, your contemporaries, say to you when you say, that to them what do I say to them is like no what do you what do they say to you when you say to me yes yeah well parts of my base are angry with me no and uh and uh primarily which is really strange really strange i you know run the run the numbers run the numbers uh i vote i think 90 plus democrat but they're angry and for it's like but but i uh with my base um very very angry about me being fully, fully unapologetically supportive for Israel. And that really pushed that. I've backed Israel through this entire thing.

Now, of course, it's heartbreaking in the tragedy in Gaza and what's happened to the innocent Palestinians. Now, for me, I blame Hamas and Iran and Hezbollah and some other people, they'll believe Israel, and I refuse to do that. I know George Stephanopoulos is one of your best friends. He convicted you on television, okay? of a $50,000

bribe. Stephanavolus did this on ABC. The vice president, J.D. Vance, defended you. And I thought he did so pretty well. His due process is important. Do you want to clarify anything about that situation? I didn't take $50,000 from anybody.

Okay. How did that get into the mainstream, do you think? I have no idea. Look, there's been hit pieces on me since I came back to administration. There's got to be 30, 40 hit pieces on me about how I'm involved with the contract and government contracts when, in fact, day one I came back. I recused myself from any discussions, any contract, or any monetary decisions like that, because I used to have a company that did consulting. So I cleared myself day one. What people don't talk about is I took a significant, huge pay cut to come back and serve my nation. And I'm not enriching

myself doing this job. Does this make you angry that they're coming as to this way? I don't care what people think about me and never have. No, because I know who I am. I work for the greatest president of history of this nation, in my opinion, and we're doing the right thing every day. Okay. I got one more question and then you guys jump in. The ICE agents that you command have been demonized as Gestapo and they're kicking indoors and dragging people out and their kids are crying. You've heard it all. But what I want you to explain tonight

is what are the orders of the men and women who are on these raids? What are they supposed to do? Well, they're enforcing immigration laws as enacted by Congress. They're upholding the old they took to enforce those laws. They're not making this up.

So when the people want to attack ICE for doing what they're doing, but why don't you go scream at Congress? They wrote the law. I mean, ICE is just enforced the law. But ICE is prioritizing public safety threats and national security threats. And the data proves it. I look at the data every morning on the way to work.

I look at 22 pages of data. And the last time I looked at a couple of days ago, when I actually looked at percentages, nearly 70% of everybody ICE arrests are public safety threats or national security threats. What about the other 30? How do they get? Many of them are national security threats. For instance, 3,000 Iranian nationals. Most national security threats

don't have criminal histories They're laying low to do the dirty deed A lot of them are final orders People who had due process at great taxpayer expense Were ordered removed by a federal judge Our jobs execute those orders to remove them A lot of them are gang members So if you look at the data

And as far as the question is Okay, how about the ones that aren't national security threats Not public safety threats, not national security threats Not gang members, who are they? They're a collateral arrest. because when the sanctuary city forces us into the neighborhood to find a bad guy

because they won't give us access to the jail so now we've got to go to the neighborhood and find them when we find that criminal many times are with others others who are in the country legally we're not walking away from them we're going to enforce immigration law unlike the last administration did so even if collateral people

they are subject to deportation even if they don't have a criminal record absolutely is there in a country legally it's not okay bottom line is it's a crime to enter the United States illegal illegally and we're not going to turn a blind eye to that Mr. Holman thank you for the message we want to send though is enter the country illegally it's a crime but don't worry about it

well that's what we had for in the past that's the message we send that enter the country illegally it's a crime but don't worry about unless you commit another crime no one's looking for you you're never going to fix this problem people are continued to put themselves in harm's way to come to the greatest nation on earth I got a couple of questions. First of all, good to see you, and thank you for being on my show on a couple occasions. I really appreciate it.

But I have to ask you when you say, okay, you entered the country illegally, it's that cut and dry. Is that consistent in your mind with what the president told America during the campaign and immediately after that he was targeting criminals, not people who just entered illegally? Like I just said, we are prioritizing criminal aliens, national security threats, and public safety threats. Data clearly proves it, 70%. Actually, the percentage of criminals were arresting is higher than what the Biden administration did, even though they said they're going to concentrate

on criminal aliens with convicted of aggravated felonies. And that's just a stone cold fact. We still target criminals. They come first. Wars first. But our others wrapped up, certainly especially in sanctuary cities where most collateral arrests occur. Could you explain why when it comes to ICE agents,

there's been this whole big deal about concealing their identity. Law enforcement officials throughout this country don't get the license to do that. They have to walk up to you. They have to identify who they are. They have to make sure it's clear. An ICE agent getting to conceal their identity is not a privilege

or a situation that other law enforcement officials have. Why should ICE agents have that? Look, I don't pretend. I don't particularly like the man. I don't particularly like the mask either, but name another law enforcement agency that's over a thousand percent attacks on them. And name another law enforcement agency whose spouses and children have been docks on social

media and been attacked and bullied in churches and schools. These men and women put a gun on her hip and wear a kevlar vest to go on the streets every day, look for the worst or worse makes this country safer. Then wearing a mask. If that protects them and protects her families, then that has to be done. You talk about seeing data all the time, you guys do not put out data enough. Track is the best thing that they have, right? Syracuse University has this open FOIA request.

I hear you on shows all the time, Tom. I do not think that you're FOS, okay? I've known you a long time. You can't say I see the data all the time, great, I don't. Put the data out because track, you can look it up for yourself, TRAC, it's an acronym through Syracuse University. It's like 50-50. That takes me to the next point, which is you're not cutting fat, you're cutting my

muscle. And these communities need people who may have entered the wrong way but have done everything right since. And their kids are here and they're productive. And their employers need them. What? That's for Congress to do. They got to read. I'm not on, listen, Tom and I have talked about this. You're an enforcement guy. I'm with you and Tom makes the right point that they got to fix it. But enforcement priorities matter, okay? And I think that's part of it that you should address. One big thing, both of you guys. Yes, Tom, go ahead. And I'm going to throw it over to the director. Oh, well, that's very nice of you.

I say this. Deputized as you've been. It has to be said. The surge of foreign nationals through the open border instituted by President Biden solely was about 15 million human beings. So, of course, there's going to be more pressure on a president incoming than Barack Obama. the most of Obama's deportations were at the border. But when Biden took over, he opened the border. Am I right or wrong?

You're right. That's what I thought. Well, get your answer, Chris. The bottom line is... Thank you. The bottom line is the data clearly shows. Trump is keeping his... Go to ICE.gov.

And track... It's like the last time they put it out was in, like, September. But I can tell you, when I was the Ice Director of Track, you just brought a lot of information. You can take raw data and make any assumptions you want, unless you know that data means. Tom, I'm with you, but that's the burden. Be transparent and then have the fight.

I'm being transparent tonight. 70% of everybody arrested a criminal. President Trump said we're going to concentrate and that's just curious that, that's exactly what we're doing. The data shows it. And like I said, for the hundreds of thousands of criminals that is going to be removed in this administration

that makes that country safe again, keeping President Trump's promised to American people what he was going to do. He said he's going to have the largest deportation operation in the history. We're going to have the large deportation operation in history. You look at numbers right now and just told you, over half a million have been deported between CBPNIs. And that's not counting the first four months of the fiscal year that were under Biden.

We're not even counting those months. But if you extrapolate the monthly apprehension we got right now, you do have the biggest operation in the history of the nation. And one of the reason people don't understand, why do we have the most secure border in nation's history? Because President Trump's Executive Board, it's his leadership on that, the men and women of the border to who stand in that front lines and end catching release.

And third, because the whole world sees ICE out there every day across this nation enforcing the immigration law, sends the clear measures of consequences so families don't spend their life savings handed to a criminal cartel to make that dangerous journey because they know there's consequences. President Trump's policies what people want to face her or not is saving lives by the thousands. Why do you think Governor Pritzker is so adamant against? you and ICE. Why? Because they hate Trump more and they love

the residents of Chicago. Is it that simple, though? You're telling me, I don't know. I don't know. I think any elected mayor, any elected governor, any elected city council person, their number one responsibility is the safety of their communities. So why would you not stand shoulder to shoulder with

ice to remove public safety threat? Because you don't think that the people that they're arresting are the number one security interest in your community? Well, I think they are. I get your opinion. I get my opinion, but I also get that you don't make the policy. Bill is right about that. It hurts every time I say it.

That Congress should make these priorities. Congress should give what your men and women have been asking for since I first met you, 100 years ago, which has changed it to the rules of what is asylum and how they can process and what their resources are. They won't do it because they love the problem, because it allows them to make everybody hate each other. Well, they love the problem. They love the problem because it's also something they think they can campaign on. Let's not forget that.

Campaign on the problem. But I agree with Cuomo on this. All right. You need a better PR guy out there. Yeah, a higher bill. So there's a lot of politics in play here because the Republicans feel that they're gaining. And CNN, actually, the other night, had a poll that showed Americans are blaming most Americans are blaming Democrats for the shutdown. That could change.

Okay. So when the Republicans see that, the urgency of this drops because the midterms loom. But I want to ask the three Democrats here. This is what I think is underlying. I don't know if you saw the Oregon Treasury report. Two and a half. Two and a half. Two and a half.

Well, we got one and a half Republicans and two and a half Democrats. We're good. Let's make a deal. Oregon releases a budget. And in the budget, it shows the state of Oregon is spending $1.5 billion for the years 25, 26, 7 to give free health care to undocumented migrants. In the same budget, the state police get 50% less than that. There is a deep suspicion on the part of the Republican Party that the health care system

is being gamed. It's a con, okay? and that all of this money going into Obamacare is being used by the blue states to do things they're not supposed to do. Matali, is there a shell game? Wait, wait, wait, wait. Here's the question. Okay, no, that's not the law, and that is not true. But the stats are the stats.

Oregon said we are going to spend $1.5 billion to give health care. We're the federal government. The federal government does not allow that. Democrats have said there's no money going, and that's not true. So... You know where the money goes? Two and a half. Emergency care.

Wait, Congress. Let her answer the question. She's got... It's a Ronald Reagan bill. Health care for those who come into our emergency room that they don't die. It's not emergency rooms. It's not emergency room. You're talking about Oregon.

We're the federal government. In the state of Oregon. So I believe, and remember people believe what they want to believe, I believe that the goal of the Democratic Party is to is to have socialized medicine in this country, one payer. And right now on CNN, you have a communist town hall with AOC and Bernie Sanders. I thought I was going to that town hall. I really thought I was. Chris, what happened?

My question is, to you, to Congress... This is where right and left come to be reasonable. Is he still here? Yeah. Bill, I just... Wait, wait, here's my question. I said you had mellowed down since the Foxx stays. You want a one-payer government runs the health system?

Great question. Yes, or no? You know what I want? Yes, I do want Medicare. You know who else? You know who else wants it? I want health care. Okay, that's great.

Arj. Taylor Green is talking about it's not working. You want a car. No, no, I want two things. I want an actual budget. I am newly an appropriator. You're drifting. No, I'm not drifting. I'm telling people what they need to know.

You want social life. Appropriators are supposed to put forward bills, bills, have them pass, go over to the Senate, reconcile where you can. This is a dodge. Come on. It's not a Dodge at all. I want everybody in America to have health care. Okay. The only way that happens is a

one-payer Canadian system. Let me just... The only way it happens. Bill, you know who else with me. One of my favorite, one of my favorite Martin Luther King quotes is the greatest injustice. The greatest inequity is injustice in health. Okay. Health care is a human right. That's fine.

Then you must be for a single payer or health care for all the half democrat right here do you want socialized medicine no i don't but i do want to revamp the medical system that we have it now because people don't know what they're paying for they don't know what they're getting okay but you don't want the government we can fix that right the government basically has to offer so it's two against one bill you know Donald trump in his i don't know him he called for read his book he says we should have the canadian single pair system before he became president is that before after we take over canada That's a fair point.

I don't know, maybe that's his plan. Maybe that's his plan. But look, Marjorie Taylor Green and a lot of Republicans, they're saying this is broken. You get, you had $71 billion of profit by insurance companies. Ordinary Americans premiums are doubling. They're still paying deductibles, and they're saying this is a deadweight cost on our country. I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm saying this is the divide.

This is why the stuff doesn't get done. But you throw the word socialized in there. Because it's a poison pill. No, even Canadian. See, this is all code. This is all code. That's what they've paid. It's code.

It's code. If she says yes, I want socialized, all over TikTok, you know, they're socialists. And that's why nothing gets done. Because it's not about the practicality of the purpose. It's just about name calling and which side is worse. Oh. You're going to say something?

I just want to say. There it is. Trying to be very respectful to everybody because they deserve it. because they deserve it. Why? Let me say to another because you deserve it. But let me say this. I don't think

Washington understands how ticked off we truly are. Think about the conversation that we're having right now. You brought up the single-payer system emulating Canada. You know, we're looking at a president that just gave $20 billion in Argentina.

We're hearing about or witnessing what I consider to be a retribution tour and even though to some degree I don't blame them because of how people went after him. Still, it appears to be counterproductive. We're listening to this kind of stuff

while a young man walked up to the microphone and said that he had to leave here to go and work on DoorDash to help pay for his daughter's tuition. Meanwhile, everybody up here getting paid. But he ain't. This is this kind of stuff right here. That's how you know, and I'm not accusing any of you directly or personally of feeling this way.

I'm just talking about the apparatus that is Washington, the nation's capital. This is why you have so many Americans, excuse my language, so pissed off at Washington, because somehow, some way you get to have these conversations, engage in specific elements of it, to talk about what we need to do to get things better. Our debt is $37.8 trillion. Somehow, some way, the taxpayers been paying this, been throwing money, because we all look at our check, and it's been going to the government. And somehow, some way, you're supposed to be doing something constructive and productive enough

to make sure that we don't have that kind of deficit. It isn't happening. A government shutdown is going on right now. A man has to work on DoorDash when he's really. an air traffic controller, that we applaud it, and we're up here talking about how much some money is going to cost, and the only person that don't have a check coming is him. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to take a break. All right. Bill, what's your big takeaway from the night?

That you're still standing, Cuomo. I came in with a lot of, you know. Cuomo does a good job. I give him a lot of grief, and he deserves every bit of it. But he does a good job because we're now into this for two hours and 20 minutes and kept it moving. You guys liked it, right? I'm watching. And I thought we had a very good panel and people spoke from the heart.

I didn't see a lot of phony stuff because I'm not big on phony stuff. But I think you did a nice job, Cuomo. That was my takeaway. Thank you.