Politics'My Own Words Haunt Me': Bill O'Reilly Disturbed by What He Told Donald Trump Before Start of Iran War
Bill O’Reilly admitted his warnings to Donald Trump about Iran now ‘haunt’ him.
Aug. 4 2026, Published 4:48 p.m. ET
Former Fox News star Bill O’Reilly said his own words now "haunt" him after a private conversation with President Donald Trump in February 2026, shortly before military action against Iran began.
Speaking with NewsNation host Leland Vittert, O'Reilly detailed the warnings he gave Trump about the potentially catastrophic consequences and political optics of a direct military conflict.
“My own words haunt me,” he admitted.
O'Reilly said he urged Trump to avoid direct military strikes in favor of a more aggressive diplomatic strategy aimed at containing Iran.
'My Words Haunt Me'
Bill O’Reilly warned Donald Trump that military action against Iran would be ‘the biggest gamble’ of his life.
“In February, I talked to the president, just him and me. I said, 'This is the biggest gamble you have ever taken in your entire life, messing around with these people.' They’re irrational,” he warned the POTUS. “They are like the militants in Japan in World War II, in Germany in World War II, they’re not going to surrender. It’s going to be exceedingly difficult, and you cannot count on the Persians to overthrow them.”
He admitted, “So my words haunt me, because it’s exactly how it came down.”
O’Reilly said he urged Trump to put Iran in a diplomatic and economic position that would “handcuff them so that they're impotent” rather than launch conventional military strikes.
Bill O’Reilly told Donald Trump a bloody conflict in Iran could fuel anti-American sentiment worldwide.
O'Reilly warned Trump that a war resulting in 10,000 to 20,000 Muslim deaths could ignite overwhelming and irreversible anti-American sentiment around the world.
He told Trump that he believed the president could ultimately achieve his goals through a negotiated deal rather than military force.
O’Reilly also used a blunt, sarcastic analogy referencing their previous conversation about Greenland, telling Trump that if he wanted to pursue military action, he should “enlist in the Greenland army” himself.
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'I Was Wrong'
'There’s a reason I was wrong, but that still haunts me,' Bill O'Reilly noted.
“I made a mistake with the Iraq situation, and that haunts me to this day,” O’Reilly said. “And the reason I made that mistake is that I didn’t fully understand the facts of the matter. I was taking reporting from The New York Times and others that said [former Iraqi dictator] Saddam Hussein was harboring deadly weapons. OK?”
“Turned out to be wrong,” he continued. “Didn’t have any weapons of mass destruction, and the chaos that ensued brought a lot of pain on America. I was wrong. I was wrong. OK, there’s a reason I was wrong, but that still haunts me.”
Despite O'Reilly's private warnings, the Trump administration moved forward with joint U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran in late February 2026.
'Shrinking Options'
Bill O'Reilly said Donald Trump now has 'shrinking options' when it comes to Iran.
The trajectory of the conflict has since placed significant pressure on the Trump administration.
By March, Trump began declaring victory, citing intelligence reports that claimed an 80 percent reduction in Iran's offensive capabilities.
However, subsequent intelligence indicated that Iran had moved enriched uranium to alternative locations, allowing its nuclear program to continue despite damage to its initial facilities.
O'Reilly argued that Trump now has "shrinking options" and is "almost trapped," claiming that the American public is unwilling to accept significant U.S. service member casualties as Iranian retaliation continues.
