NEW YORK ¨C U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday defended TV anchor Bill O¡¯Reilly after a report that the conservative commentator and his employer, 21st Century Fox, paid five women to settle claims he sexually harassed them.
¡°I think he¡¯s a person I know well ¡ª he is a good person,¡± Trump said of O¡¯Reilly in an interview with The New York Times.
The Times reported over the weekend that Fox and O¡¯Reilly paid $13 million to five women who accused him of sexual harassment. O¡¯Reilly, in a statement posted on his website on Saturday, said he had been unfairly targeted because of his prominence.
¡°I think he shouldn¡¯t have settled; personally I think he shouldn¡¯t have settled,¡± Trump told the Times on Wednesday. ¡°Because you should have taken it all the way. I don¡¯t think Bill did anything wrong.¡±
Fox News is a unit of 21st Century Fox.
Several companies have pulled ads from O¡¯Reilly¡¯s Fox News show ¡°The O¡¯Reilly Factor.¡±
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