In the opening theme music of ABC’s The View, the lyrics proclaim: “This is for my girls all around the world. Stand up with your head up. Own your power. Speak your truth.” But on Friday’s edition of the show, fill-in moderator Joy Behar and racist co-host Sunny Hostin toss the women empowerment mantra out the window as they lashed out at CNN town hall host Kaitlan Collins for not being imposing enough to stop former President Trump. Hostin went as far as to hint a man would have done a better job.
With Hostin being so gosh darn racist, it was particularly rich when she went after CNN and ranted: “You don’t give a bigot and a racist” like Trump a platform. She also took issue with her CNN friend Anderson Cooper and decried how he “tried to gaslight me” by saying people lived in political silos and needed to be exposed to Trump:
And I'm saddened -- I used to work for CNN for quite some time. Anderson Cooper has been my friend for over 20 years and I'm sad he tried to gaslight me yesterday by saying people are in silos. People aren’t living in a silo, they’re choosing to listen to the lies or not.
Hostin’s indignant rage was soon directed at Collins and suggested her performance would be taught in journalism school as “what not to do,” from the liberal perspective. Her vindictive swings at Collins sparked pushback from co-hosts Sara Haines and Alyssa Farah Griffin (a CNN colleague). Of course, Hostin didn’t appreciate the opposition and snapped at them (Click “expand”):
HOSTIN: It was not fact-checked appropriately. I don't think --
BEHAR: She tried.
SARA HAINES: She tried.
BEHAR: Let's give her some credit here.
HOSTIN: Tried is not good enough in that type of situation.
HAINES: You can’t keep up with nine lies in a sentence.
HOSTIN: Can I not be interrupted for a second?!
BEHAR: [Laughter]
HOSTIN: She didn't have the range. He agreed to the interview because he knew he could steamroll here.
FARAH GRIFFIN: That's not fair.
HAINES: He would have done it to anyone.
Her outrage at Collins soon boiled over and she proclaimed one of CNN’s male hosts would've done a better job. “Jack Trapper would have done a better job! … It’s time for real introspection at CNN,” she shouted.
Often quick to call those who demand term and age limits for Congress “ageist,” Hostin also attacked Collins for being younger than her. “She didn’t have the range! She’s 30 years old. Give her another 20 years!” she shouted.
But CNN has multiple experienced female journalists who fit the build she was demanding: Christiane Amanpour, Dana Bash, Erin Burnett, and Alisyn Camerota to name a few. So why did Hostin go with Tapper when there were other women she could elevate?
Perhaps Behar said the quiet part out loud when she decried Collin as not physically imposing enough to go up against Trump. “Her voice was too low for him! He yells, he steamrolls, his body is humongous!” she too shouted, suggesting it was like bringing “a fire extinguisher to a nuclear holocaust.”
Farah Griffin pushed back, arguing: “I don't think that's right. I don't think coming after a female journalist is right.” “I’m not coming after her, I'm telling the truth!” Hostin chided.
Their outrage at Collins was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships Progressive and Ensure. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s The View
May 12, 2023
11:12:55 a.m. EasternJOY BEHAR: So, we were talking before about the town hall meeting with Donald Trump and how he had this very sycophantic audience and that was my one caveat. Because I believe as most people hear, that let him go on, he’s the front runner of the Republican Party, let the American people see what he’s really like. Sunny disagreed 100 percent with all of that and she still does, I think.
SUNNY HOSTIN: I disagreed yesterday, the day before, and I disagree with all of you right now. You know, I think that you don’t give a bigot and a racist and a misogynist and a liar and a cheater and a sexual abuser and a defamer a platform of 3 million people.
And I'm saddened -- I used to work for CNN for quite some time. Anderson Cooper has been my friend for over 20 years and I'm sad he tried to gaslight me yesterday by saying people are in silos. People aren’t living in a silo, they’re choosing to listen to the lies or not.
46.9 percent of people voted for Trump in 2020. But he lost the popular vote by over 7 million people. We know who this man is. We learned who this man is and we did not need to see what we saw. I think that that town hall will be studied in journalism schools around the country as to what not to do. It was not fact-checked appropriately. I don't think --
BEHAR: She tried.
SARA HAINES: She tried.
BEHAR: Let's give her some credit here.
HOSTIN: Tried is not good enough in that type of situation.
HAINES: You can’t keep up with nine lies in a sentence.
HOSTIN: Can I not be interrupted for a second?!
BEHAR: [Laughter]
HOSTIN: She didn't have the range. He agreed to the interview because he knew he could steamroll here.
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: That's not fair.
HAINES: He would have done it to anyone.
HOSTIN: Jack Trapper would have done a better job! And I will tell you, remember, Trump walked out of a 60 Minutes interview with Lesley Stahl because she was fact-checking him in real time every single time!
It’s time for real introspection at CNN.
(…)
11:16:16 a.m. Eastern
BEHAR: Can I say about Kaitlyn, because I thought she did a very decent job. She tried very hard.
HOSTIN: Decent is not good enough!
BEHAR: But you can't bring a fire extinguisher to a nuclear holocaust.
HAINES: Yes, agreed.
HOSTIN: That’s why you don’t give him a platform!
BEHAR: Her voice was too low for him! He yells, he steamrolls, his body is humongous!
HOSTIN: She didn’t have the range! She’s 30 years old. Give her another 20 years!
FARAH GRIFFIN: I don't think that's right. I don't think coming after a female journalist is right.
HOSTIN: I’m not coming after her, I'm telling the truth!
(…)
