Following yet another mass shooting where the shooter showed warning signs of struggling with his mental health, on Monday, the ladies of ABC’s The View denied that there was a mental health crisis in America as they turned their nose up at efforts in Texas to address it. They even went so far as to suggest mass shooters weren’t mentally ill and wildly assert that “war weapons” and murders only exist in America.
After playing a soundbite of Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott vowing that his state was “working to address that anger and violence by going to its root cause, which is addressing the mental health problems behind it,” the cast sat silently in disgust.
First to speak up was faux conservative co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin, who chided that “[t]here's a disconnect between what the American public wants to see on gun safety and what elected officials in Washington and states want to see.”
Co-host Sara Haines wanted to know more about what Abbott was spending that money on specifically, and admitted her “belief on mental health” being a cause of mass shootings “has evolved on the heels of [U.S. Surgeon General] Dr. Murthy saying there's a loneliness epidemic.” She blamed the crisis on “technology, the numbing of Americans everywhere, young boys, video games, porn” and warned: “We’re taking [humanity] away, and it makes it so easy to handle this.”
This triggered Farah Griffin’s fellow faux conservative, Ana Navarro who falsely claimed America was the only country in the world that experienced gun violence. “There's mental health issues all over the world. And there's young boys watching porn all over the world. There's loneliness all over the world. The only place where we have an epidemic of war-style weapons is in America!” she shrieked.
The unhinged commentary continued with mentally unstable and racist co-host Sunny Hostin insisting mass shooters were not mentally ill and that the mentally ill were somehow incapable of carrying out mass shootings. “I mention this over and over again. People that have mental health issues are much more likely to be the victims of crime than commit crime,” she huffed.
The obvious annoyance in Hostin’s voice grew as she denounced everyone who would mention mental health as a key factor in mass shootings. This built into an explosive exchange with Haines in which Hostin howled and insanely suggested murders only happen in America:
HOSTIN: I don't know what Governor Abbott was talking about people are angry and that's why this is happening. They're pissed off in the world
[Crosstalk, shouting]
HAINES: But we are seeing people shooting people pulling up at their door, pulling away from their house.
HOSTIN: They’re pissed off all over the world but they're only killing people here!
Last month, Hostin asserted that a major problem with gun owners in America was their white skin. And back in March, she denied that the transgender terrorist who shot up a Christian shoot was mentally ill.
Citing an outlier poll from Fox News, Farah Griffin opined that “87 percent of Americans support background checks for guns.” Background checks already existed and are required in all states, they're federally mandated. She also boasted that “81 percent support raising the minimum age to get a buy a firearm to 21,” which would effectively make many adults second-class citizens who can’t exercise their constitutional rights.
Meanwhile, a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll lost month showed growing opposition to so-called “assault weapon” bans. Interesting how they ignored that one.
Farah Griffin then did the whole: “I’m a legal gun owner” and I demand “more hoops” to jump through shtick. “Republicans in D.C. are disconnected from it and they've got to act,” she declared to the delight of Navarro. Navarro called gun violence “a Republican issue” and proclaimed “Democrats want what I want, which is a ban on assault rifles. And I want it right now!”
The View’s denial of the mental health crisis in America was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Colonial Penn and Mars. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s The View
May 8, 2023
11:15:33 a.m. Eastern(…)
GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): And what Texas is doing, in a big-time way, we are working to address that anger and violence by going to its root cause, which is addressing the mental health problems behind it.
[Cuts to live]
[Silence with Whoopi Goldberg making faces]
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: So, I want to make something unequivocally clear. There's a disconnect between what the American public wants to see on gun safety and what elected officials in Washington and states want to see.
So, this is a Fox News poll. Not a liberal outlet. A Fox News poll. 87 percent of Americans support background checks for guns. 81 percent support raising the minimum age to get a buy a firearm to 21. 80 percent support red flag laws, mental health checks to buy a gun. 70 percent, a 30-day waiting period. The list goes on.
I'm a legal gun owners, or my husband is. Most of my friends are legal gun owners and all of us are horrified when we see guns get into the hands of people wishing to commit crimes and we want to do more. And I would be willing to jump through more hoops to be able to legally own a gun to stop having kids and innocent be people be massacred.
D.C. is disconnected from it. Republicans in D.C. are disconnected from it and they've got to act.
ANA NAVARRO: That’s right and I’m glad you qualified it at the end because it's a Republican issue. It's frankly not elected officials because most Democrats want what I want, which is a ban on assault rifles. And I want it right now!
(…)
11:18:15 a.m. Eastern
SARA HAINES: When the Governor says, “I donated this much money.” What I need to hear next is what does that look like? Is that therapy, hospitals, crisis centers, school, education? Because my belief on mental health has evolved on the heels of Dr. Murthy saying there's a loneliness epidemic, which will become endemic in this country. This is not something going away. It's due to technology, the numbing of Americans everywhere, young boys, video games, porn. You talk about it. We're releasing the humanity, we’re taking it away, and it makes it so easy to handle this.
So the stats you had, I also had on my card. Whereas we could see, there's a mental health component, there’s something not right or a loneness. Something is happening to people. But it's hard to say there's a solution as easy as what does that look like on the ground? What could be done simultaneously are some of these things that the majority of this country agrees to do. Because until that point, I just don't think if we keep going to mental health that's an umbrella term, that if I ask them to define it, they would say, you know, the mental health things. What does that look like.
[Crosstalk]
NAVARRO: But Sara, there's mental health issues all over the world.
HAINES: I know. I have mental health issue and I’m not –
NAVARRO: And there's young boys watching porn all over the world. There's loneliness all over the world. The only place where we have an epidemic of war-style weapons is in America. The it's where we have an epidemic of mass shootings.
[Crosstalk]
HAINES: But that doesn’t solve anything. It just bring us right to the middle.
SUNNY HOSTIN: And I think we need to mention this over and over again. And I mention this over and over again. People that have mental health issues are much more likely to be the victims of crime than commit crime.
I hear Republicans want to talk about everything else other than easy access to guns! They want to talk about undocumented people! They want to talk about immigration! They want to talk about mental health! They want to talk about everything under the sun, but they don't want to talk about the guns! The guns are the problem! Because as you just said, Ana, I don't know what Governor Abbott was talking about people are angry and that's why this is happening. They're pissed off in the world
[Crosstalk, shouting]
HAINES: But we are seeing people shooting people pulling up at their door, pulling away from their house.
HOSTIN: They’re pissed off all over the world but they're only killing people here!
HAINES: Something else is going on here.
HOSTIN: You know what’s going on? Guns!
(…)
