Bill O’Reilly Urges Trump, 80, to Take a Month Off for His Wellbeing: ‘You Need a Breather’

“Relax a little bit,” the 76-year-old conservative commentator suggested before also sending well wishes to Jimmy Carter, who died in 2024

NEED TO KNOW

• Bill O’Reilly urged longtime friend President Donald Trump to take a month off to rest and recharge
• The 76-year-old conservative commentator faced his own undisclosed health struggles earlier this year
• After wishing well toward Trump, O’Reilly said he is also thinking of the other presidents, naming the late Jimmy Carter as an example

Conservative commentator Bill O’Reilly offered President Donald Trump advice during his podcast: take some time off.

During a Tuesday, July 22, episode of O’Reilly’s No Spin News podcast, he spoke about his friendship with Trump.

“Okay, final thought of the day,” O’Reilly, 76, said. “As you know I’ve known the president 35 years and he’s 80 years old right now.”

“So that puts him… 45 maybe early 40s when I met him in New York city. Now, I noticed that he’s hunching over a little bit. That’s normal. You get older, every malady in the world is going to visit you. I can’t even bore you with the stuff I gotta deal with. I was actually feeling sorry for myself the other day and I never do that.”

Then O’Reilly shared a suggestion for the president, saying, “Take the next month off.”

“Get into an environment where you like, golf and…relax a little bit,” he continued. “You gotta deal with Iran, I understand. Everybody understands. But you can do that on the phone.”

“You need a breather,” he added. “I need a breather and I’m gonna build it into August. But he needs a breather much more than I do.”

O’Reilly then said he wishes the best for other presidents too, specifically naming Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter, the last of whom died in 2024.

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O’Reilly made his suggestions for Trump after battling his own set of health challenges earlier this year.

In Tuesday, Jan. 20, blog post, O’Reilly said he was “dealing with” an unnamed illness.

“Hey No Spin Nation. Sorry I am dealing with a malady,” O’Reilly shared on BillOReilly.com. “We have great doctors so we’ll fight the good fight. Doesn’t affect my fingers so will update you on me, news cycle, and anything major. Hopefully, back in the saddle shortly.”

As promised, O’Reilly continued commenting on the news throughout the week, with a blog post on Thursday, Jan. 22, beginning, “No Spin Nation alert. I’m not giving in to this malady and am following news events as usual.”

O’Reilly was the host of Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor from 1996 until 2017. He was eventually fired from the network following multiple allegations of sexual harassment.

At the time, 21st Century Fox said the decision followed a “thorough and careful review of the allegations” by both the company and O’Reilly. In a statement to PEOPLE at the time, O’Reilly said the allegations were “unfounded.”

O’Reilly launched No Spin News after leaving Fox News in April 2017.