The Hollywood Liberal

Political History 101: O’Reilly falsely claimed Nixon never met with Mao

On the April 22 edition of Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor, host Bill O’Reilly falsely claimed that President Richard Nixon never met with Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

While discussing President Obama’s handshake with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Fox News political analyst Alan Colmes said: “What do you, ignore somebody standing right next to you? Do we — because he touched him, put his hand on his shoulder, shook his hand? Do these people have a problem with Mao and Nixon?” O’Reilly responded, “It was [Chinese Prime Minister] Zhou [Enlai] and Nixon. Mao was not involved.” Colmes then said, “Did you have a problem with looking into [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s eyes and seeing his soul? Did you have a problem with any of the other –” O’Reilly interjected: “OK, all of those are valid points, as long as you realize it was Zhou Enlai, not Mao Zedong.” Colmes replied: “Zhou Enlai, OK.”

In fact, while Nixon indeed met with Zhou, he also met with Mao on February 21, 1972:

From the April 22 edition of Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor:

O’REILLY: Ok, so the best thing that the president did in the past weekend?

COLMES: Well, he certainly had a wonderful moment with Hugo Chavez.

O’REILLY: That was wonderful.

COLMES: And now, I know that you people often think you — when I say “you people,” I mean, you — probably think that dictator DNA got off on him, and he’s going to come back and infect the United States because, look, he touched the guy.

O’REILLY: You like this thing?

COLMES: Do I like it?

O’REILLY: No, Miller didn’t like this whole thing.

COLMES: Oh, what a shock. What a shock that Miller didn’t like that.

O’REILLY: But you — you — what did you find worthy about it?

COLMES: Well, first of all, this shows — first of all, what do you, ignore the guy? When George W. Bush was at the UN and asked, “Will you ever — will you talk to Ahmadinejad if you’re in the same room?” “No, I won’t talk to him” — like a 5-year-old.

What do you, ignore somebody standing right next to you? Do we — because he touched him, put his hand on his shoulder, shook his hand? Do these people have a problem with Mao and Nixon? And of course, you worked for Richard Nixon. I mean, Nixon goes to China, do you have a problem with —

O’REILLY: It was Zhou and Nixon. Mao was not involved.

COLMES: There was —

O’REILLY: Yeah, Zhou.

COLMES: Did you have a problem with looking into Putin’s eyes and seeing his soul? Did you have a problem with any of the other —

O’REILLY: All right, but — OK, all of those are valid points, as long as you realize it was Zhou Enlai, not Mao Zedong.

COLMES: Zhou Enlai, OK.

O’REILLY: OK. Yeah, I don’t want to confuse you — the high school thing. But —

COLMES: Talk slowly and I think I’ll be OK.

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