Bill O'Reilly told Newsmax TV Friday that removing controversial historical statues is a "case-by-case" issue.
"I believe the vast majority of Americans do not want their statues and monuments defaced, destroyed or anything like that," the former Fox News host told John Bachman in an interview. "But it's a case-by-case."
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O'Reilly's latest book, "Killing England: The Brutal Struggle for American Independence," debuts Sept. 19.
"In New Orleans, there's a statue of Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, a confederate," he explained. "The Confederate general started the Ku Klux Klan after the war — and the Klan did a lot of damage and does a lot of damage to this country.
"Should that statue be up there? I say no.
"If you're African American and you're walking by that statue, you're going to say, 'Why is there a statue that founded the KKK?'
"That's a legitimate, absolutely a strong argument that that guy should not be honored with anything," O'Reilly said.
"You want that statue, you put it in a museum — and then you tell a story about Nathan Bedford Forrest.
"But Robert E. Lee is a whole different story," he told Bachman.
"Yes, Lee fought for a system that wanted slavery. No question.
"Yes, Lee committed treason against his own country because he put his state, Virginia, over the union.
"Lee was a West Pointer. He went to West Point.
"So, Lee is not a hero per-se in my opinion," O'Reilly concluded.
"However, he was involved after the war in healing the nation, bringing the nation together as Lincoln wanted.
"He was deeply involved with that and on the battlefield he was an honorable man.
"So are we going to wipe out Robert E. Lee's message?" he asked. "That's just stupid."
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