Obama vs. O’Reilly on Benghazi: People Believe It ‘Because Folks Like You Are Telling Them’

Obama vs. O'Reilly on Benghazi: People Believe It 'Because Folks Like You Are Telling Them' (RealClearPolitics)

Bill O'Reilly interviews President Obama before Super Bowl XLVIII.

OBAMA: Bill, listen, I've gone through this and we have had multiple hearings on it. What happens is you have an attack like this taking place. And you have a mix of folks who are just troublemakers, you have folks who have an ideological agenda, you have some who are affiliated with terrorist organizations, you have some that are not. But the main thing that all of us have to take away from this is our diplomats are serving in some very dangerous places and we've got to make sure that not only have we implemented all the reforms that were recommended by the independent agencies but we also have to make sure that we understand our folks out there are in a hazardous, dangerous situation.

O'REILLY: I think everybody understands that, Mr. President.

OBAMA: Actually, not everybody does because what ends up happening is we end up creating a political agenda --

O'REILLY: Absolutely, that was my next question.

OBAMA: -- in which Democrats and Republicans should be unified in trying to figure out how to protect people.

O'REILLY: I've got to get to the IRS, but I just have to say your detractors believe that you did not tell them it was a terror attack because they your campaign didn't want that out. That's what they believe.

OBAMA: Because folks like you are telling them.

O'REILLY: I'm not telling them that. I'm asking you whether you were told it was a terror attack.