A Brief Review of Bill O'Reilly's "Confronting America: What Has to Change" by Chuck Trunks (Trunks Art)

Nampa, Idaho - November 12, 2026 - Bill O’Reilly is proud of his country and himself. He’s written or cowritten twenty #1 bestsellers and is considered the most successful historical author in the world. He’s the creator of the “No Spin” concept on his Fox News show, The O’Reilly Factor, which aired for over twenty years from 1996 to 2017. I’ve read eleven of his books, the last one being his most recent, Confronting America: What Has to Change. Mr. O’Reilly is 77 years old—still lucid and rational enough, in my opinion, to have realized years ago that our country is on an unavoidable collision course with the same deplorable atrocities that destroyed every one of the empires that came before us. While the internet, quantum computers, and artificial intelligence may have initially captivated us with their potential, the reality of these innovations has instead hastened America’s inevitable decline, plunging it into a dystopian hellscape characterized by manufactured scarcity, deceit, and exploitation.

18 years ago, when I still believed I could make a living as an artist, I created a pen and ink piece titled “Stars and Stripes.” Like all my art projects, it came with an abstract explaining the intention behind the work. In it, I likened America’s then-problems to having cancer—detected early enough, the malaise could be surgically isolated and removed; otherwise, one would later find themselves fighting for their life through months of devastating radiation and chemotherapy treatments. To me, our country’s problems moved from being localized abominations to a systemic malignancy decades ago, where, at this point, nothing short of a series of miracles could possibly save us. Whereas the author of Confronting America believes there’s still a chance to turn things around, I say, “Nothing is coming to save us.”

I admire Mr. O’Reilly’s journalistic and engaging writing style; I’ve learned so much from him over the years and only regret that he wasn’t my high school history teacher—but his latest book read more like an improbable dream sequence in a romantic comedy than a viable approach to reset America’s present course. He suggests things like raising academic and behavioral standards in elementary, middle, and high schools to better prepare young people for careers and civic life rather than dependency or the justice system; supporting and honoring two-parent households, emphasizing the critical role of present fathers; and implementing laws and systems requiring drug addicts to get clean and re-engage as productive members of society. As coherent and logical as his recommendations are on paper, they quickly unravel as fantasy given that America’s Constitution has regressed from “We the People” to “I the Person,” leaving me with an unsettling image of Mr. O’Reilly attempting to herd cats.

Despite what I’ve written here, I still recommend reading Confronting America—not as a comedy, but as a “what our leadership should’ve done when they had the chance.” I may not be aligned with Mr. O’Reilly’s political and religious affiliations—or anyone else’s for that matter—but I can relate to his steadfast belief in owning one’s mistakes, his adherence to living by the Golden Rule, and, of course, his Irish feistiness.

-Chuck Trunks

“This work was written independently by the author without the use of generative AI.”

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All my books can be found on Amazon. 💓💓💓

Trunks Art moved from Columbia, South Carolina, to Nampa, Idaho, in 2025 and has made this city his home and writing inspiration.

To see more of my work, please have a look at more posts or email me at chucktrunks@gmail.com. Or, visit my website at www.trunksart.com.  Also, you can find me on Instagram (chucktrunks) and Facebook (Chuck Trunks).