Why Donald Trump Defending Bill O’Reilly Against Sexual Harassment Claims Is BS

It was shocking enough when The New York Times broke the news that, over the past decade and a half, at least five women have received payouts following their allegations of sexual harassment against popular conservative Fox News political commentator Bill O'Reilly.

It was reprehensible enough when it was further revealed that Fox News contributed to the approximately $13 million paid to these women "in exchange for agreeing to not pursue litigation or speak about their accusations against" O'Reilly. 

And it was mind-boggling enough to learn that two of these settlement agreements were entered into AFTER now-former Chairman and CEO of Fox News Roger Ailes "was dismissed last summer in the wake of a sexual harassment scandal, when the company said it did not tolerate behavior that 'disrespects women or contributes to an uncomfortable work environment.'"

Now Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States of America, has come forward in support of O'Reilly. 

Because, in Trump's own words, "I think he’s a person I know well — he is a good person."

This is our Commander-In-Chief! This is the man we have no choice but to trust with our rights and safety as citizens for the next ...

But who's counting, right?

The entire situation is a brutal smack in the face to women and victims of sexual crimes everywhere and anywhere in the world.

I mean, Trump's statement could make sense. If you want to follow the Trumpian logic that, "No one has more respect for women than I do" and then translate his statement about O'Reilly to read, "No one knows Bill O'Reilly better than I do" ... Well, in a world in which those two phrases would be considered actual facts, Trumpian phraseology could put all of our collective outrage to rest.

Unfortunately, on the planet known today as Earth, none of that data quite adds up.

So it appears the theme of the day in the Old Boys' Club is "Do you as you want to the women-folk ... as long as we know you and like you and think you're a righteous dude."

Oh, wait.

That's been their theme for-just-about-ever. Silly me ...

At least, it's the theme among those in the white/hetero Old Boys' Club. 

Because could you even begin to imagine Trump or anyone remotely close to his administration going to bat in the same way for, say, Bill Cosby, who is currently facing civil charges for alleged sexual assault of multiple women?

Or maybe for Jerry Sandusky, the "former Penn State University assistant football coach convicted in 2012 of sexually abusing young boys."

I feel pretty darn confident that Steve Bannon would have to take The Donald aside for a little talking to if he were to stand up for either an African-American or a homosexual pedophile no matter how well Trump may know them or how good a guy he may believe either to be on the inside.

Leave the pussy-grabbing for the straight white men, please, Gentlemen.

In the backlash against O'Reilly, over 50 companies have now withdrawn their advertisements from The O'Reilly Factor — and the list growing.

Only female-owned Angie's List has said explicitly that they will NOT boycott the O'Reilly Factor, as they told The Daily Beast:

“We do not have plans to change our ad buy. ... We place ads across a wide spectrum of venues intending to reach as many viewers/listeners/readers as possible without taking a position on the viewpoints of the venues themselves. Just as we trust members to make their own hiring decisions, we trust them to make their own media consumption decisions.”

Here is the most recent list of companies, along with highlights from their public statements, as being documented and frequently updated on Axios.com:

• Hyundai statement: "Hyundai currently has no advertising running on The O'Reilly Factor. We had upcoming advertising spots on the show but are reallocating them due to the recent and disturbing allegations...."
• Mercedes-Benz: "We had advertising running on The O'Reilly Factor (we run on most major cable news shows) and it has been reassigned in the midst of this controversy. The allegations are disturbing and, given the importance of women in every aspect of our business, we don't feel this is a good environment in which to advertise our products right now."
• BMW: "In light of the recent New York Times investigation, BMW of North America has suspended its advertising with The O'Reilly Factor," the BMW spokesman said in an emailed statement.
• Mitsubishi: "Mitsubishi Motors takes these allegations very seriously and we have decided that we will pull our advertising at the present time. We will continue to monitor this situation as we assess our long-term strategy."
• Lexus: After saying it would "monitor the situation" the Japanese automaker decided to pull its ads.
• Subaru: The company said on Twitter "Thank you for your comment... After review, we will no longer advertise during the Bill O'Reilly show in the future."
• Ainsworth Pet Nutrition: The parent company of the Rachael Ray-endorsed dog food brand Nutrish, said it "removed our advertising from the program because of these recent and disturbing allegations."
• Constant Contact: "Based on the recent allegations and our strong commitment to inclusion, respect and tolerance in the workplace, we have decided to pull Constant Contact's ads from The O'Reilly Factor," the spokeswoman of the digital marketing company said.
• UNTUCKit: The men's clothing line said "As a company in which more than 2/3rd of our employees are women, we take sexual harassment claims very seriously. Moreover, it is important our corporate partners reflect the same principles of inclusivity and equality upon which we have built our brand. In light of the disturbing allegations, we instructed our media buyer this morning to reallocate our ad dollars to other shows effective immediately."
• Sanofi: The consumer healthcare company said "The controversy around The O'Reilly Factor program and allegations made against Bill O'Reilly are matters that we take seriously and will continue to monitor. We do not endorse the behavior or opinions of program hosts or the content."
• GlaxoSmithKline: The pharmaceutical maker said "We have temporarily put a hold on spots running on The O'Reilly Factor while we assess this situation."
• Bayer: The German pharma company said, it "supports a safe, respectful and non-abusive environment for women, and we have reached out to Fox to voice our concerns regarding this matter."
• AllState: The insurance company said "Inclusivity and support for women are important Allstate values."
• Esurance: The auto insurer, which is owned by Allstate, has pulled ads.
• T. Rowe Price: "We regularly evaluate our media buys to ensure alignment with our corporate values, and in light of the recent allegations we have decided to pull our upcoming ads from The O'Reilly Factor," the global financial firm said.
• Wayfair: The online home goods seller said, "we condemn all forms of harassment are closely assessing the situation."
• Orkin: "Orkin buys its advertising in broad dayparts on networks that reach our target audience. We do not buy specific shows, including the O'Reilly Factor... we have added that show to our 'Do Not Buy' list in the wake of the current allegations."
• Credit Karma: The company said it "will not be advertising" on the program and that it's "asked for our ads to be removed."
• The Wonderful Company: The makers of POM juice, said it does not "currently have or plan for ad inventory on this show."
• TrueCar: The car-buying website told announced on Twitter it had instructed its media buyer "to direct our advertising to other programming."
• The Society for Human Resource Management: The organization said on Twitter that it had decided to "cease its advertising on the Fox News Network."
• Coldwell Banker: The real-estate firm said Tuesday night that it was "disappointed" its ad aired during The O'Reilly Factor, and that "it wasn't part of our intentional media programming." It also said that it would pull future ads from the show.
• MileIQ: The tech company said they are taking the matter "very seriously," and that some pre-booked ads might appear on O'Reilly's program as they wait for the cancellation to take effect.
• Voya Financial: The company said on Twitter "We have no spots scheduled to run on The O'Reilly Factor... We're committed to diversity, inclusion and equality — and respect for all individuals."
• Ancestry.com: The company said on Twitter "We're in the process of pulling our ads from this show."
• H&R Block: The company said on Twitter "We share your concern about recent allegations, and no longer advertise during The O'Reilly Factor as a result."
• Amica Insurance: The company said on Twitter "Our ads on The O'Reilly Factor are being pulled. It may take a few days for this to occur."
• Jenny Craig: The weight loss company said on Twitter "Jenny Craig condemns any and all forms of sexual harassment... We can confirm that we have suspended all ads on The O'Reilly Factor."
• VisionWorks: "Once we learned about the allegations, we pulled our ads from the program."
• LegalZoom: The company said on Twitter "We value your feedback. This was not part of our intentional media programming and we have pulled all ads from this show."
• Pacific Life: The company said on Twitter "As of today, Pacific Life is no longer an advertiser on The O'Reilly Factor."
• Old Dominion Freight Line: The transport company said on Twitter: "In light of the recent allegations surrounding the Bill O'Reilly show, OD has decided to discontinue our commercials."
• Advil: The company said on Twitter "We are no longer advertising on the Bill O'Reilly show."
• Invisalign: The dental company said on Twitter "We appreciate u raising awareness & will discontinue airing ads during this program."
• Stanley Steemer: The carpet cleaner said on Twitter "We are in the process of removing our commercials from 'The O'Reilly Factor'. Thank you, for bringing this to our attention."
• Carfax: "The ongoing controversy over The O'Reilly Factor is a distraction from our mission to help millions of consumers. Therefore, we have instructed Fox News to remove our advertising from the program."
• GoodRx: The company said on Twitter "After review, GoodRx will no longer advertise on The O'Reilly Factor. We are in the process of removing our ads."
• Eli Lilly: Eli Lilly alerted of its move to suspend its advertising on The O'Reilly Factor via email.
• Touchnote: "We requested that our commercials won't run on the show. Sadly pre-booked spots may still air."
• BambooHR: "BambooHR condemns workplace harassment, and in light of recent allegations, has canceled ads on The O'Reilly Factor."
• WeatherTech: The company said on Twitter "We are already working on adjusting our advertising schedule and we appreciate your feedback."
• Propane Council: The energy company said "We have pulled our advertising from The O'Reilly Factor, effective immediately."
• AllStar Products Group: "It was a corporate decision for Allstar Products Group to pull the media."
• Reddi Wip: "We've received some questions about our advertising presence on The O'Reilly Factor. We are removing the show from our advertising plans."
• Southern New Hampshire University: "In light of recent allegations, SNHU has pulled all advertising from The O'Reilly Factor. As a University, we value diversity, inclusion, and respect for all, and we take every measure to ensure our advertising is consistent with our core values."
• BeenVerified: "At this time, we're pulling our advertisements on The O'Reilly Factor. We continually monitor our advertising to make sure it aligns with our company values."
• Consumer Cellular: "We can confirm that Consumer Cellular has removed our advertising from The O'Reilly Factor show."
• Peloton: The cycle company stated "Peloton has currently suspended advertising on The O'Reilly Factor in light of the recent allegations against the show's host, which are in direct opposition to our company's core values."
• Infiniti: "INFINITI has chosen to reallocate our resources to other time slots due to recent allegations."
• Land Rover: "In light of the current situation, The O'Reilly Factor is not a positive environment for advertising our products and thus we are not allocating any ads to the program."
• Next Day Blinds: "Our ads have been pulled from The O'Reilly Factor."
• Mahindra: The car company said on Twitter "Mahindra has ceased all advertising on The O'Reilly Factor.
• Bristol Myers Squibb: The company will no longer be selling ads on The O'Reilly Factor.
• Liberty Mutual: The company said on Twitter "Please know we don't advertise on this show. Our ad ran inadvertently and The company said on Twitter "Please know we don't advertise on this show. Our ad ran inadvertently and we're working to address it."
• Moberg Pharma AB: "We instructed our media agency to drop it immediately. We have a comprehensive media schedule across many cable TV programs."
• Mattress Firm: "We've instructed Fox News not to air any future paid or ADU units during the program"

Executive Vice President of Advertising Sales for Fox News, Paul Rittenberg, shared this statement:

“We value our partners and are working with them to address their current concerns about the O’Reilly Factor. At this time, the ad buys of those clients have been re-expressed into other FNC programs.” 

Just a few weeks ago. Rittenberg announced his plans to step down from his position effective April 28, 2017. We can only imagine he must be thanking his lucky stars and counting down the seconds right about now...

As we all are doing in regard to Trump's presidency.