On Wednesday’s edition of ABC’s The View a majority of the liberal cast voiced outright disgust or some form of frustration with CNN’s planned town hall with former President Trump next week. Racist co-host Sunny Hostin condemned the network for giving Trump a platform, while Joy Behar lashed out at the woman CNN announced would host the event: chief correspondent Kaitlan Collins, who had been a White House correspondent and covered the Trump administration all four years and the 2016 campaign.
Moderator Whoopi Goldberg was clearly not pleased with the town hall as she presented the rest of the cast with these questions: “So, what is the point of this new town hall that he's doing?! And did we learn nothing from Les Moonves saying bad for the country but great for the network?!”
Hostin spoke up first and declared that a town hall wasn’t needed because she already knew who Trump was (Click “expand”):
HOSTIN: Well, that's what I'm so disgusted by, because – Again, when someone shows you who they are, you believe them. When you show that you are an insurrectionist, that you're a liar, that you're a bigot, that you're a racist –
JOY BEHAR: Sexist.
HOSTIN: -- that you’re sexist, that you're twice impeached, that you're currently a criminal defendant, and likely to be a criminal defendant in two other jurisdictions –
BEHAR: And you grab women –
HOSTIN: -- and you grab women by their genitals. I know everything I need to know about you!
“I don’t think that you give that type of person a platform. You don’t do that. And I’m actually dismayed that CNN on May 10th, at eight o’clock is going to be giving – I just did a commercial for them,” she damaged her own ranting. “I can't believe that they are giving him this platform. He's one of the most destructive people.”
Behar vehemently disagreed and argued that it was a good opportunity for American to see how much of a “sociopath” Trump was and how he’s “incapable of empathy” (Click “expand”):
Let them do it. This is a free country. This is America. Let him go out there and let him show again to the American people that he is a sociopath.
First of all, this forum requires a man or a person who has a certain amount of empathy. If you’ve watched them in the past, you've seen Joe Biden at his best talking to upset mothers, whose children are immunocompromised, whose kids who stutter. Whatever. His heart breaks for these people. A sociopath is incapable of empathy. That will come through.
But Behar did have a knock against the event, in that Collins would be the host. “This is on the other side of it, I think Kaitlan is going to have a hard time because it's hard to fact-check this in real-time,” she proclaimed.
“Remember when Candy Crowley in 2012 fact-checked [Mitt] Romney in a debate? We never saw her again after that,” she whined. Of course, this ignored the fact that even Crowley later admitted that her fact-check of Romney was a falsehood. This was a complaint Behar floated back in 2016 too.
Behar also argued that Collins wouldn’t make for a good host because Trump would simply talk over her and drown her out. She said this while talking over co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin and drowning her out:
FARAH GRIFFIN: It's the first major interview he’s done with an unfriendly outlet since the insurrection.
BEHAR (talking over Farah Griffin): Yeah but he will talk over her!
[Crosstalk]
FARAH GRIFFIN: I’ve worked with Kaitlan Collins in the White House.
Co-host Sara Haines took on both Hostin and Behar’s criticisms and tore them up.
“Sunny, the reasons you just listed are the reasons I'm disgusted by him and would never vote for him, but I would never silence him. I believe our job as the media is to provide information, to push back,” she insisted. She also pointed out that “Kaitlan was at the White House since 2017 … She’s the chief White House correspondent. We’ll see. I would never want to put into the universe, as someone faces this huge opportunity, that she’s not going to be good enough.”
The View's displeasure with the CNN town hall with former President Trump was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Claritin and AARP. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s The View
May 3, 2023
11:14:02 a.m. Eastern(…)
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: So, what is the point of this new town hall that he's doing?! And did we learn nothing from Les Moonves saying bad for the country but great for the network?!
SUNNY HOSTIN: Well, that's what I'm so disgusted by, because – Again, when someone shows you who they are, you believe them. When you show that you are an insurrectionist, that you're a liar, that you're a bigot, that you're a racist –
JOY BEHAR: Sexist.
HOSTIN: -- that you’re sexist, that you're twice impeached, that you're currently a criminal defendant, and likely to be a criminal defendant in two other jurisdictions –
BEHAR: And you grab women –
HOSTIN: -- and you grab women by their genitals. I know everything I need to know about you! Right?
[Applause]
So, I don’t think you should – To put a button on it. I don’t think that you give that type of person a platform. You don’t do that. And I’m actually dismayed that CNN on May 10th, at 8:00 is going to be giving – I just did a commercial for them
GOLDBERG: Yeah, she did.
HOSTIN: I can't believe that they are giving him this platform. He's one of the most destructive people.
BEHAR: I have to disagree with you! I have to disagree with you, Sunny.
HOSTIN: What?!
BEHAR: I have to disagree with you. I can't stand him, as you know. But he is the frontrunner for the Republican Party.
HOSITN: Cause that is the best they can come up with.
BEHAR: Let them do it. This is a free country. This is America. Let him go out there and let him show again to the American people that he is a sociopath.
First of all, this forum requires a man or a person who has a certain amount of empathy. If you’ve watched them in the past, you've seen Joe Biden at his best talking to upset mothers, whose children are immunocompromised, whose kids who stutter. Whatever. His heart breaks for these people. A sociopath is incapable of empathy. That will come through.
[Crosstalk]
BEHAR: Plus! Plus! This is on the other side of it, I think Kaitlan is going to have a hard time because it's hard to fact-check this in real-time. Remember when Candy Crowley in 2012 fact-checked Romney in a debate? We never saw her again after that.
[Crosstalk]
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: Counterpoint though. Yeah. I actually agree. I think there's a vital public interest. It breaks my heart that he's the GOP frontrunner, but he is, and it's not a zero chance that he can be the president of the United States again.
BEHAR: Don’t say that! Don't let those words come out of your mouth!
FARAH GRIFFIN: 74 million people voted for him. This is a chance for them to have him answer direct questions about his beliefs. It's the first major interview he’s done with an unfriendly outlet since the insurrection.
BEHAR (talking over Farah Griffin): Yeah but he will talk over her!
[Crosstalk]
FARAH GRIFFIN: I’ve worked with Kaitlan Collins in the White House.
SARA HAINES: Let me jump in you guys. The media's job is to ask questions, to push back, to challenge. It is not our decision as to who people vote for. Sunny, the reasons you just listed are the reasons I'm disgusted by him and would never vote for him, but I would never silence him. I believe our job as the media is to provide information, to push back.
Kaitlan was at the White House since 2017
FARAH GRIFFIN: The entire presidency.
HAINES: She’s the chief White House correspondent. We’ll see. I would never want to put into the universe, as someone faces this huge opportunity, that she’s not going to be good enough.
(…)
