On Friday's The View on ABC, as Breitbart News senior editor at large Joel Pollak appeared as a guest, co-host Sunny Hostin tried to claim that White House advisor and former Breitbart CEO Steve Bannon is someone who has made a "laundry list" of "bigoted statements," but, when pressed, failed to name a single example.
The segment began with co-host Joy Behar recalling that some liberals have called the website "white supremacist," as she asked her guest how he would describe it. After Pollak charged that her description was "fake news," Behar pressed further by bringing up charges of anti-Semitism. Behar: "Well, how do you explain this headline: 'Bill Kristol: Republican Spoiler, Renegade Jew'? You're Jewish."
Pollak recalled that the article in question was written by Jewish conservative David Horowitz and was actually accusing Bill Kristol of "not being Jewish enough," therefore making it "the opposite of" anti-Semitism.
A bit later, Hostin brought up Bannon and made her accusation of "bigoted statements" as she posed: "People have called him everything from a Nazi to a racist. He's made bigoted statements. They've called him a white supremacist sympathizer. What is your response? How do you work for someone who has that reputation?"
After the Breitbart editor declared that the charges were more examples of "fake news," and that Bannon is a "fantastic guy," Hostin again claimed that he had made "bigoted statements" as she demanded: "So we can't believe when he makes these bigoted statements? Is he just being provocative?"
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When Pollak asked for examples, Hostin insisted, "There's like a laundry list. I'm sure I can get you a card."
Then, rather than anyone quoting anything Bannon had said, Behar read a headline from a provocatively titled article by former senior editor Milo Yiannopoulos. Behar: "Here's a headline from Breitbart: 'Birth control makes women unattractive and crazy.' Do I look crazy to you?"
The Breitbart editor called out the inability to cite examples of bigotry from Bannon as he responded: "But you see how you've shifted the goal post now. So it's gone from 'Steve Bannon says things' to 'Oh, there was a headline.' Steve Bannon has not said bigoted things."
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Friday, February 24, The View on ABC:
JOY BEHAR: Breitbart, the website, has been described as a "platform for the alt-right." Some people say white supremacists. How would you describe it?
JOEL POLLAK, BREITBART NEWS: Breitbart News is a conservative website. We have a very diverse group of editors and writers. I'm the Orthodox Jewish former editor in chief, senior editor at large, so not exactly an accurate description. We call that "fake news," a fake news description.
BEHAR: What's a "fake news description"? What I said?
POLLAK: Yes, yes.
BEHAR: No, no, no, no. That's not fake news.
POLLAK: It is absolutely.
BEHAR: Well, how do you explain this headline: "Bill Kristol: Republican Spoiler, Renegade Jew"? You're Jewish.
POLLAK: It was written by David Horowitz, who is one of the most prominent Jewish conservatives, and he was criticizing Bill Kristol for not being Jewish enough, so it was the opposite of what people described.
(...)
SUNNY HOSTIN: Let me ask you about Steve Bannon because Whoopi Goldberg calls him "President Bannon," and he's the White House chief strategist, the former executive chair of Breitbart. People have called him everything from a Nazi to a racist. He's made bigoted statements. They've called him a white supremacist sympathizer. What is your response? How do you work for someone who has that reputation?
JOEL POLLAK, BREITBART NEWS: Well, none of that is true. That's more fake news. And even people who-
HOSTIN: So everyone is lying?
POLLAK: Yes. Steve is a fantastic guy. I worked with him for six years, and he can be very tough in an argument. We used to argue all the time over any kind of policy issues. Jedediah will back me up here. You bring data and facts to the table-
JEDEDIAH BILA: He's a tough guy, a very tough guy.
POLLAK: But absolutely a fair-minded person brought a lot-
HOSTIN: So we can't believe when he makes these bigoted statements? Is he just being provocative?
POLLAK: Well, which statements exactly are you referring to?
HOSTIN: There's like a laundry list. I'm sure I can get you a card.
JOY BEHAR: Here's a headline from Breitbart: "Birth control makes women unattractive and crazy." Do I look crazy to you?
BILA: That's not bigoted, though. That's not bigoted.
HOSTIN: That's a bigoted statement.
POLLAK: But you see how you've shifted the goal post now. So it's gone from "Steve Bannon says things" to "Oh, there was a headline." Steve Bannon has not said bigoted things. Steve Bannon is-
BEHAR: But he's behind these, though. What are you talking about?
BILA: No, I have often argued, I submitted content a long time ago to Breitbart, and I know Steve, and I've often argued that, you know, you can disagree with him, and it's tough to disagree with him because he's a very strong-headed guy. But I've often said I don't believe him to be an anti-Semite or racist or any of those things, just to back that up.
