Chris Cuomo Slaps Down Bill O’Reilly in Explosive NewsNation Debate
What To Know
- Chris Cuomo and Bill O’Reilly engaged in a heated debate on NewsNation.
- The argument centered on differing interpretations of statements about Iran’s uranium enrichment levels.
- Cuomo challenged O’Reilly, insisting on proper context and disputing claims that the U.S. fully understands Iran’s nuclear operations.
NewsNation host Chris Cuomo and his frequent guest, Bill O’Reilly, went head-to-head on Wednesday night (April 8) in a heated exchange about Iran’s nuclear capabilities. And it ended with Cuomo telling the Fox News veteran: “Be a man. Don’t be a big mouth.”
The pair were discussing comments from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi relating to Iran’s uranium enrichment. Hegseth said in a press conference on Wednesday that the U.S. knew the full extent of Iran’s nuclear operations.
Cuomo took issue with Hegseth’s comments, saying the U.S. can’t know the full extent of Iran’s nuclear capabilities when the head of the IAEA himself doesn’t know the exact figures.
O’Reilly responded, “No, but the director, Rafael Grossi, on March 22nd of this year, made it very clear that he believes the enriched uranium in Iran stands at 60%. So, why would you say that?”
“Well, that’s not exactly what he said,” Cuomo replied.
O’Reilly then said he had Grossi’s quote “right here,” while Cuomo fired back, “Yeah, me too. What’d you think? I’m just going to let you take it out of context? Like you did on your show last night? Not here. Here we’re going to give you the context.”
The former Fox News host argued that he didn’t take the quote out of context on his show, while Cuomo continued to say that he did.
“He said that they have 60% enriched uranium. Why? Because Iran said they were going to do it after what they said was Israel hitting one of their enrichment facilities. They were never able to go in and verify it,” Cuomo stated, noting how the IAEA was never able to verify the claim.
“That’s the context, okay?” Cuomo added.
O’Reilly continued to stand his ground, saying, “You can believe what you want to believe.”
“Just say I’m corrected, and let’s move on. There’s more to talk about,” Cuomo replied.
O’Reilly then said he would read the quote and told Cuomo to “keep quiet.”
“No, it’s my show, pal. If you don’t like it, you can go,” the former CNN host fired back. He also told O’Reilly, “And don’t point. Be a man. Don’t be a big mouth. Read it.”
You can watch the full heated exchange in the video above.
Cuomo, Weeknights, 8 pm et, NewsNation
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