Bill O'Reilly struck back at critics of his biography of Abraham Lincoln on his Monday show, addressing what he said were lies told by his "enemies."
O'Reilly was caught in something of an historical crossfire over the weekend, when reports surfaced that his book --an account of Lincoln's assassination -- had been banned from Ford's Theatre, the place the president was killed, due to factual inaccuracies. In fact, the book had been declined by the official store in the basement of the theater. However, it is still being sold at the theater's lobby gift shop, which, unlike the basement store, is run by the Ford's Theatre Society and not the National Park Service.
On his show, O'Reilly quoted a statement from the head of the Ford's Theatre Society, saying that the book was still for sale. It was not clear whether the book was now being sold in the official basement bookstore.
Then, O'Reilly took the charges of factual inaccuracy head-on. He said there were just four "minor misstatements" in "Killing Lincoln," two of which involved typeset errors. (The National Park Service review of the book lists at least eight errors, including that the book references the Oval Office multiple times, though it did not exist in Lincoln's day.)
O'Reilly said that the storm was being churned up by people who were out to get him because of his success.
"We well understand our enemies are full of rage at that success," he said. "We also know the media lies at will these days with little accountability." He said that "every American student" should read his book, and that "all the guttersniping in the world" would not change that recommendation.
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