Bill O’Reilly Calls Trump the “Hardest-Working President” — Then Urges Him to Slow Down

The veteran political commentator praised Donald Trump’s work ethic during a Newsmax interview but also offered an unusual warning: at 80, the president needs more rest.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17, 2026 — Bill O’Reilly is drawing attention after describing President Donald Trump as the hardest-working president while simultaneously urging the 80-year-old commander in chief to slow down.

O’Reilly made the remarks during a Tuesday appearance on Newsmax, where host Rob Finnerty asked why the longtime commentator had previously encouraged Trump to take time away from work.

O’Reilly responded that he did not personally know anyone who worked harder than Trump and characterized the president as a “work machine” whose demanding schedule could eventually wear him down.

He went further by calling Trump the “hardest-working president,” although he jokingly acknowledged Abraham Lincoln as a possible competitor because Lincoln governed the country during the Civil War.

 

 

 

The comments closely match the Newsmax graphic circulating online, although O’Reilly’s full remarks contained an important qualification largely absent from the social-media version: he believes Trump should rest more.

O’Reilly said Trump’s age matters when evaluating such a demanding schedule and argued that even someone accustomed to working constantly needs opportunities to recover physically from the pressures of the presidency.

His comments followed an earlier recommendation that Trump take much of August away from Washington, preferably somewhere he could play golf and temporarily reduce the intensity of his presidential schedule.

O’Reilly explained that he was pleased Trump recently traveled to Doonbeg, Ireland, saying the president needed occasional opportunities to step away while confronting numerous complicated domestic and international problems.

The commentator even said he gives Trump a metaphorical standing ovation whenever the president plays golf, because he views recreational time as necessary rather than evidence Trump is avoiding work.

O’Reilly’s praise should nevertheless be understood as opinion. There is no standardized historical measurement capable of objectively determining which American president worked hardest or maintained the most demanding presidential schedule.

The exchange also turned to a recent public appearance in which O’Reilly said Trump briefly appeared to doze during a Pentagon ceremony commemorating the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Rather than treating that moment as evidence about Trump’s overall capacity, O’Reilly cited it while making the narrower argument that any person can push their body only so far without adequate rest.

O’Reilly suggested Trump places particular importance on projecting energy and authority, adding that the president appears reluctant to display anything that could potentially be interpreted publicly as weakness.

 

 

 

The discussion comes during an unusually busy political period. Trump has placed himself at the center of Republican efforts to maintain congressional control in November’s closely watched midterm elections.

At last week’s Republican convention in Dallas, Trump delivered lengthy speeches promoting his second-term record and urging voters to approach the congressional elections as though he personally appeared on the ballot.

Trump is also campaigning on major domestic policies, including Republican tax legislation, immigration enforcement and his proposal to provide a $5,000 payment to American adults if Republicans retain congressional control.

O’Reilly himself has recently emphasized affordability as a defining midterm issue, arguing that voters are particularly focused on everyday expenses, government spending and broader economic conditions heading into November.

His relationship with Trump stretches back decades and includes numerous interviews before and during Trump’s political career, giving O’Reilly unusually extensive firsthand experience interacting with the president.

That history does not make O’Reilly’s assessment an objective measurement, but it provides context for why his personal description of Trump’s work habits has attracted attention following the Newsmax appearance.

The two men have not always agreed politically. O’Reilly has criticized individual Trump decisions while also defending or praising the president on other issues throughout Trump’s years in national politics.

More recently, O’Reilly acknowledged that Trump’s military involvement in Iran differed from promises associated with his earlier campaign rhetoric, while arguing that changing circumstances can force presidents to reconsider previous positions.

His latest comments similarly combined praise with criticism: Trump works extraordinarily hard in O’Reilly’s view, but precisely because of that workload, the commentator believes the president should deliberately schedule more downtime.

O’Reilly ultimately offered remarkably ordinary advice for someone occupying the nation’s most powerful office: play some golf, take a nap and occasionally give the presidential schedule a break.

The viral Newsmax graphic therefore accurately captures O’Reilly’s compliment but only part of the story. His broader message was not simply that Trump works hard — it was that he may work too much.

Whether Trump qualifies as America’s “hardest-working president” remains O’Reilly’s personal judgment. What can be verified is that he made the remark publicly while simultaneously encouraging Trump to get more rest.