O’Reilly: Trump endorsement ‘doesn’t have the cachet that it did’ because of Iran

Political commentator Bill O’Reilly on Wednesday said an endorsement from President Trump “doesn’t have the cachet that it did” previously, citing the Iran war.

O’Reilly and NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo talked about Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), who secured the Republican nomination in Florida’s gubernatorial race. Trump has endorsed Donalds, but the candidate said it is the president’s decision regarding whether to hit the campaign trail with the Florida lawmaker.

“I don’t know if that means anything now, because Donald Trump has got to solve the Iran thing,” O’Reilly said during his “Cuomo” appearance. “That is really hurting him. Because then the prices follow that. They’re haunting him. So I don’t know if the endorsement –– it’s not going to hurt you if you’re a Republican. No, but it doesn’t have the cachet that it did.”

O’Reilly predicted that Donalds will win the November election and succeed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), “but it’ll be close” unless Donalds can “shake” Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Jolly in a debate.

Cuomo then pressed the former Fox News host on Trump’s handling of the Iran war, its impact on the economy and its unpopularity among Americans, and if Trump can “save your party from having to own your mistake?”

“Listen, I don’t get the daily briefings,” O’Reilly replied. “I don’t know what the intel is. All I know is that this is tied into President Trump’s legacy now. This is personal, as they said in ‘The Godfather’: ‘It’s business, not personal, Sonny,’ OK? So he’s got to come out as the winner in Iran somehow.”

O’Reilly said there is “no doubt” Trump will not sell taking over Iran’s Kharg Island, which holds around 90 percent of Iran’s crude oil exports. Cuomo said that selling the war “is the big problem he has.”

O’Reilly said he was “not sure about that,” emphasizing the Trump administration’s claim that preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon prompted the conflict.

Republican lawmakers have largely stood behind Trump in his military action against Iran, but some have expressed that it could be a political liability come November. Democrats have used the conflict as part of their messaging on the campaign trail.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), whose term ends in January, recently warned that the Iran conflict could be the U.S.’s “ next forever war .”

“And I think it is with gas prices rising again and our oil reserves going down, this is, you know, problematic for a lot of reasons because … the Iran conflict is not on the ballot in November, but affordability is, and the cost of living is, and this thing has increased our cost of living,” she said.

The Iran war could also depress Republican turnout ahead of the midterms, according to polling taken by Politico in July.

Retiring Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) told CNN at the time that the U.S. should negotiate “from the rubble.”

“I think this back-and-forth approach is not the right one, and it will guarantee that this thing delays into the midterm elections, which is precisely what Iran is trying to do right now,” he said.