O'Reilly doesn't want Obama to like him before Super Bowl interview (Update)

Does Fox News's Bill O'Reilly want to get on President Obama's good side ahead of his Super Bowl interview? According to him, no.

Credit: Getty Images for TIME

On "The O'Reilly Factor" Thursday, the host's colleague Megyn Kelly asked him about a recent column in Variety by Brian Lowry that advised Obama on how to "survive" the much-anticipated interview.

"I saw that. That piece was written by an avowed far left guy who despises that I'm even getting the interview," O'Reilly said.

Update: Lowry got back to us after this post published. "O'Reilly has a habit of dismissing criticism by trying to delegitimize the critic," he told TheBlaze Blog. "And I would note that his description of me has changed through the years."

Lowry's column tells Obama to first "flatter" O'Reilly. "Like a lot of news talent, O’Reilly has a healthy ego," it says. "He’s just a bigger, more exaggerated version ... Getting an 'atta boy' from the President of the United States can’t help but turn his head a little."

Kelly asked O'Reilly if he wants Obama to like him. "No, why would I want to be liked by the president?" he said. "I want him to respect the work that we do but why like me? Nobody does, why should he be any different?"