Bill O’Reilly Pushes Back on First Lady’s Speech: Slaves Built White House but They Were ‘Well-Fed’

Fox News Host Wants America to Know ‘There Were Others Working as Well’

Monday night at the Democratic National Convention Michelle Obama delivered what some say was her greatest speech ever, in support of Hillary Clinton. The First Lady, without even mentioning him by name, also slammed Donald Trump, but her remarks were focused on the theme of family, and how she and President Obama every day “try to guide and protect our girls through the challenges of this unusual life in the spotlight.”

One of the other comments Michelle Obama made in her speech noted a historical fact, one that for the first Black family to occupy the White House holds exceptional relevance.

“That is the story of this country, the story that has brought me to this stage tonight, the story of generations of people who felt the lash of bondage, the shame of servitude, the sting of segregation, but who kept on striving and hoping and doing what needed to be done so that today, I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves and I watch my daughters –- two beautiful, intelligent, black young women –- playing with their dogs on the White House lawn. And because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters –- and all our sons and daughters -– now take for granted that a woman can be President of the United States.”

Of course, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly had to push back on the slavery aspect.

Tuesday night O’Reilly delivered a “Tip of the Day,” supposedly fact-checking the slavery comment.

O’Reilly noted that while slaves were used to build the White House, their masters, 400 of them, were paid, and the slaves, he tried to suggest, were well-treated, as if that somehow made it OK.

“Slaves that worked there were well fed and had decent lodgings provided by the government, which stopped hiring slave labor in 1802,” O’Reilly said, as Politico notes.

“So, Michelle Obama is essentially correct in citing slaves as builders of the White House, but there were others working as well,” O’Reilly insisted. 

“In addition, free blacks, whites, and immigrants also worked on the massive building. There were no illegal immigrants at that time. If you could make it here, you could stay here,” the Fox News host noted.

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