O’Reilly draws backlash for ‘well fed’ slaves remark
Addressing Michelle Obama’s remarks about slaves having built the White House, Bill O’Reilly said Tuesday on his Fox News program that those slaves were “well fed and had decent lodgings provided by the government.” His response drew swift rebukes online.
In a 90-second segment near the end of his show, O’Reilly delved into the history of the White House dating to George Washington’s selecting the site for it in 1791. O’Reilly, a conservative pundit and the author of historical books like Killing Kennedy, appeared to be attempting to fact-check a statement the first lady made on Monday at the Democratic National Convention, calling her words “a positive comment” and adding that “the history behind her remark is fascinating.”
“Slaves that worked there were well fed and had decent lodgings provided by the government, which stopped hiring slave labor in 1802,” he said. “However, the feds did not forbid subcontractors from using slave labor. So, Michelle Obama is essentially correct in citing slaves as builders of the White House, but there were others working, as well.”
Twitter users seized on his comments, which were criticized as making light of the slaves’ treatment and regurgitating the antebellum view of the “happy” or “content” slave.
Historians generally agree that slaves indeed helped build the White House. The White House Historical Association said African-Americans — enslaved and free — provided “the bulk of the labor that built the White House, the United States Capitol, and other early government buildings.”
Slaves worked at the government’s quarry in Aquia, Va., to cut the stone for the White House walls, the organization said.
Jesse Holland, a journalist who wrote The Invisibles: The Untold Story of African American Slaves in the White House,s aid he appreciated that O’Reilly acknowledged the slaves, considering others had disputed their role in the White House after Obama’s comments.
Most of O’Reilly’s history lesson was accurate, he said.