The Russian government slammed Fox News on Monday, ripping the American media outlet over comments made during a sit-down interview with President Donald Trump ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl LI.
During the interview with President Trump, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly of the O’Reilly Factor pressed him on his personal view of his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
When President Trump said that he respects the Russian leader, but is unsure whether his relationship with Putin will be amicable or not, O’Reilly called Putin “a killer.”
“He’s a killer, though. Putin’s a killer."
Trump drew the ire of some GOP lawmakers by responding that “There are a lot of killers – we’ve got a lot of killers. What, do you think our country’s so innocent?”
O’Reilly’s comments earned the anchor an official Kremlin statement, which said O’Reilly’s words were “unacceptable and insulting”.
"We consider such words from the Fox TV company to be unacceptable and insulting, and honestly speaking,” said spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, “we would prefer to get an apology from such a respected TV company."