Bill O'Reilly, Image via Screengrab.
Bill O’Reilly says the Republican Party is in trouble for the long haul following the historic wipeout in the 2026 midterm elections. O’Reilly made his predictions during an appearance on NewsNation with Leland Vittert, saying the Republican Party is now “extinct.”
When discussing the Republican base and immigration policy, Vittert suggested that Trump's willingness to be politically flexible could offer hope for bipartisan cooperation, even if it means alienating members of his own party. O’Reilly snapped, “There is no Republican base. Gone!”
He added: “So, what Mr. Trump is trying to do is pack up a few wins before he departs. Now, a new immigration law should have been passed decades ago, and both parties didn’t do it because they used it as a campaign cudgel. And the result was that once an aggressive policy came in, the deportation of criminals, because that’s the policy, they had to get a squad to make that happen, and the squad was undisciplined under Kristi Noem, and then there was violence in the streets, which was the worst thing.”
Vittert added that the Trump’s administration’s response to immigration backfired. He argued that the Republican Party is in political trouble now, and he does not believe the party is prepared to deal with the consequences. O’Reilly replied, “Listen, the Republican Party doesn’t have enough adherents to win any elections ever again.”
Vittert chimed in, saying Trump, as the leader of the Republican Party, pushed for voters to act as if he was on the ballot in the midterms and things still didn’t turn out in his favor. “Well, let’s just talk about what happened. The independents turned against President Trump and the GOP, and there weren’t enough GOP-ers to overcome that. And that’s going to continue. You’re going to see a rise in the independent voter, the non-ideological voter, as I pointed out. So this party-based, MAGA business, this is all in dinosaur territory,” O’Reilly replied, before adding, “It’s extinct, and it’s not coming back.”
The two then discussed whether the GOP seemingly no longer being a thing is beneficial. “Is that a good thing?” Vittert asked.
O’Reilly responded, “For me, it is. I’m a registered independent. I like to vote for the best problem solver. And on the No Spin News tomorrow night, I have Tom Suozzi, my congressman on Long Island, who’s going to tell me that he’s got a vision for a new immigration law and lay it out. Okay. And then I’ll see it. And as an independent voter, I’ll say, 'Okay, that sounds like it’ll help the country.' See, helping your country should be the goal of every public servant.”