Bill O'Reilly: Nancy Reagan Was an American Hero

During an interview on the FOX Business Network’s The Intelligence Report, Bill O’Reilly, host of Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor” and the co-author of “Killing Reagan,” discussed the legacy of former First Lady Nancy Reagan and how important she was to her husband.

“She guarded him [Ronald Reagan] ferociously and alienated a lot of people in the process,” O’Reilly said. “Betty Ford didn’t like her, Rosalynn Carter didn’t like her. She was very protective of who she called ‘Ronnie.’”

He added: “At the end of the President’s life, when he left the White House, he was gravely ill… much, much worse than anybody knew, and Nancy Reagan really stepped up.”

O’Reilly explained how Nancy Reagan influenced the dedication of “Killing Reagan,” which topped the hardcover non-fiction section on The New York Times Best Seller List.

“She devoted all of her maybe close to two decades to protecting and nourishing her husband who was gravely ill, in a very quiet, dignified way,” O’Reilly said. "So she became a hero. In the beginning she was kind of vain and maybe a little shallow, and then she evolved into being a hero. And this is a great, great American story that I don’t think many people know about.”

“She was the power behind the throne. There’s no doubt about it.”