Ever since his ouster from Fox News, Bill O’Reilly has barely clung to relevance, be it through his No Spin videos on his website or the occasional guest appearance on Sean Hannity. It may come as no surprise that O’Reilly still comments on political matters, but he may have gone one step too far for even mainstream conservatives like Meghan McCain.
The Supreme Court announced on Friday that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 85, had two malignant nodules removed from her left lung. Justice Ginsburg has twice beaten cancer, but this didn’t stop O’Reilly from tweeting his take on the matter.
“Justice Ginsburg is very ill. Another Justice appointment inevitable and soon,” O’Reilly wrote on Twitter. “Bad news for the left.”
Justice Ginsburg is very ill. Another Justice appointment inevitable and soon. Bad news for the left.
— Bill O’Reilly (@BillOReilly) December 21, 2018
Meghan McCain promptly tore into O’Reilly, calling his tweet “ghoulish.”
“There’s really nothing more gross and ghoulish than people in the media pontificating on a public persons health and the hypothetical political ramifications of their death,” McCain tweeted. “Join me in praying for RBG to have a speedy and healthy recovery – we are Christians, aren’t we Bill?”
There’s really nothing more gross and ghoulish than people in the media pontificating on a public persons health and the hypothetical political ramifications of their death. Join me in praying for RBG to have a speedy and healthy recovery – we are Christians, aren’t we Bill? https://t.co/03qXbBzEKQ
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) December 21, 2018
McCain is the daughter of the late Senator John McCain, who died in September after a very public battle with brain cancer. There are parallels between the public perception of Justice Ginsburg’s health and her father’s.
Ginsburg appears to be in good health (as good as any 85-year-old could hope for) following her surgery. Court spokeswoman Kathleen Arberg released a statement saying Justice Ginsburg is “resting comfortably” and will remain in the hospital for several days.
Justice Ginsburg was originally hospitalized in November after fracturing three ribs after a fall she suffered in her Supreme Court office.
O’Reilly’s tweet about Justice Ginsburg was promptly ratioed, receiving more than 32,000 replies.
Here I’ll help you with your post: So sorry to hear Justice Ginsburg is ill. I’m hoping & praying she will get well soon. Or did you really mean to make it sound like you are ready to bury her alive?
— Nomad (@AHavrilla) December 22, 2018
Premature—not to mention classless—dancing on RBG’s grave by @billoreilly . He’s an avatar of how the vicious, demented right drove us into this ditch.
— Jeff Stein (@SpyTalker) December 22, 2018
RBG’s malignant nodules have more class, more honour and are a lot more attractive than you, dude.
— Steph Dyhrberg (@StephDyhrberg) December 22, 2018
O’Reilly was let go from Fox News in 2017 after the network was forced to pay out more than $13 million lawsuit settlements from multiple sexual assault allegations.
H/T Washington Post
Correction: Fox News clarified in an email that both O’Reilly and the network paid for settlements.
