Bill O’Reilly: GOP Race ‘Is Mitt Romney’s To Lose,’ But ‘Nobody’ Is Leading The Party

This disarray in the Republican Party has reached some dizzying depth, Bill O’Reilly explained last night, as no candidate or public official has taken hold of the party. With several candidates as long shots or complete unknowns, O’Reilly concluded Mitt Romney had the best chance, but no one was going to defeat President Obama without having “a little Trump in them.”

O’Reilly began his program last night with a quick evaluation of each candidate left: “Newt Gingrich is done as a serious candidate,” he explained, why Rep. Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain and Rick Santorum were “long shots.” Sarah Palin could be a game-changer, he predicted, but “nobody knows what the heck she’s going to do.” This left Romney is the strongest position, but even he was severely vulnerable. O’Reilly also took the chance to argue that it really isn’t early in the race. “Summer’s going to fly by,” he noted, leaving not so much time for fundraising.

O’Reilly then welcomed Chris Wallace, who seemed to find O’Reilly’s scenario prematurely dire. “It’s much more competitive than that,” Wallace warned, “you’re overstating the disarray.” Wallace noted that Texas governor Rick Perry could be the frontrunner if he jumps into the race, though O’Reilly argued that there was a serious deficit of name recognition on his part. “You’ve got fiefdoms all over the place,” O’Reilly explained, such that there was no unified leader. He also finally got to the bigger unknown in the race, Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, who he said he “liked” but needed “a little Trump in him.” “The guy is invisible, you can’t even see him!” O’Reilly joked. Wallace, who is interviewing Pawlenty on Fox News Sunday this week, thanked O’Reilly for the soundbite and once again downplayed his statements, noting Pawlenty has been trying to become more vocal in his attacks on President Obama.

The segment via Fox News below: