Fox News host Bill O'Reilly says the "pinheads" in the Republican Party should stop opposing the minimum wage.
"The Republican Party should really wise up and stop opposing raising the minimum wage. It should be 10 bucks an hour" to keep employers from exploiting workers, O'Reilly said Wednesday during his opening
"Talking Points Memo" segment of his TV show.
O'Reilly said his proposed $10 an hour minimum wage would apply only to adults. Teenagers just beginning their careers should be paid on a lower scale, he said.
Urgent: Do You Approve Or Disapprove of President Obama's Job Performance? Vote Now in Urgent Poll
"The GOP needs to stop working against working people," O'Reilly said.
President Barack Obama announced in his State of the Union address Tuesday that he was raising the
minimum wage for federal contractors to $10.10 an hour by executive order, and urged Congress to raise the federal wage level to the same amount from the current $7.25.
O'Reilly agreed, at least in concept.
"Come on, 10 bucks an hour? Babysitters get that," he said.
"This is a simple issue," he said, "Even the people at MSNBC can understand this. That's how simple it is."
Republican strategist Kate Obenshain did not agree, telling O'Reilly he's taking on the "imperialistic position."
O'Reilly countered he is taking the "working class position," having worked for minimum wage himself as a teenager.
Obenshain told him people will lose jobs and that the free market should decide wages, but O'Reilly wasn't buying it.
"It's just baloney. They're on the wrong side of it," he said of Republicans, who have fought Democratic attempts to raise the minimum wage.
"You're totally on the wrong side. You're the social engineer at this point," Obenshain said.
"If your guys keep doing this, the next election they'll win will be 80 years from now," O'Reilly said.
Urgent: Do You Approve Or Disapprove of President Obama's Job Performance? Vote Now in Urgent Poll
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.