The View has lately become a training ground for Joe Biden’s vice presidential shortlist picks to puff up the Democrat presidential nominee. Just last week, the hosts threw mostly softballs to Senator Kamala Harris and Stacey Abrams; on Monday, it was Florida Rep. Val Demings turn in the spotlight. After questioning the former Orlando police chief on police reform, and why she wanted to be VP, the hosts repeatedly invited her to bash President Trump for holding 2020 campaign rallies while praising Biden for "staying safe."
Co-host Meghan McCain worried to Demings about Biden needing to counter Trump’s “effective” rallies. But the congresswoman claimed Biden was listening to the scientists and being the “adult in the room” by holding virtual rallies from his home:
MEGHAN MCCAIN: Congresswoman, President Trump is bringing back his campaign rallies and he had planned one on Friday, June 19th, the anniversary known as Juneteenth. He has now moved the rally one day later amidst mounting pressure and criticism, and everyone who attends the rally must assume the risks relating to COVID. Trump says they have already had 800,000 ticket requests. Clearly these rallies were effective for him in the last election. What do you think Vice President Biden can do, and his campaign right now to counter what President Trump is doing?
DEMINGS: Well, I commend Vice President Biden for being the adult in the room. We are in the middle of a public health crisis. I am thankful that Vice President Biden is listening to the CDC, our medical experts and our scientists and continuing to practice social distancing. Look. He's getting his message out. He has held very important virtual rallies that address the nation about many things, including racism and social injustices. He's talked about CDC and -- or the COVID-19 and what he believes needs to happen. The president on the other hand, obviously is desperate and worried about the upcoming election in November, and for the individuals that he is inviting to come to a rally, you know, I dealt with evidence and clues for a long time in my career. When you have to sign a medical waiver saying that you won't hold the president responsible if you contract COVID-19 is a pretty good clue that the president should not be holding a rally. This is yet another opportunity for the President of the United States to put people first, and yet again he just can't seem to find it within himself to do that.
There was no mention of Democrats endangering lives by joining in Black Lives Matter protests. Co-host Joy Behar gave a complementary question to McCain’s, suggesting Biden was practicing a good “strategy” by hiding in his basement until election day:
BEHAR: Terry McAuliffe, a prominent Democrat and Joe Biden supporter, well, he thinks that the former vice president should remain in his Delaware home's basement for the rest of the 2020 presidential campaign. Actually he's very safe down there, and he should let Trump keep doing what he's doing. What do you think of that strategy?
Which, again let Demings praise Biden “being the adult in the room,” “listening to scientists,” and “playing it safe.” Whoopi Goldberg again prompted Demings to attack Trump for holding the RNC or a “breeding ground for COVID19,” as she put it:
WHOOPI: Well, having said that, how welcome is you-know-who [Trump] going to be in Jacksonville knowing that, you know, it's kind of going to be a breeding ground for this COVID-19 to come back, and is the city of Jacksonville really ready to handle that many people coming in from all kinds of places with all kinds of stuff?
That “breeding ground” rhetoric has been repeated on CNN and MSNBC this past week about Trump rallies, but of course, not a word of concern about the thousands gathered in cities across the country to protest for Black Lives Matter for weeks now. Whoopi didn't bring up the massive BLM march in Brooklyn over the weekend. Demings joined in the blatant double standard by bashing Trump for daring to put “tens of thousands of people” at risk:
DEMINGS: [W]hy on Earth would you push to have the convention here and bring tens of thousands of people here and expose them, risk their health, the health, safety and well-being of the American people is the President of the United States' number one responsibility, but obviously he does not know that, and does not understand that.
The Democrat congresswoman faced only two critical questions, both from Sunny Hostin and both from the left. Only one was focused on Biden. After Hostin pushed a media-driven conspiracy that Florida was not being honest with their COVID numbers, she complained Biden wasn’t radical enough on police reform: "As a potential running mate, do you think Biden's plan falls short of addressing the problem here?" she asked.
But Biden's potential VP wasn’t about to disagree with him: “No. I think the vice president is absolutely correct,” she began before arguing that we needed both more police and social services.
Read a partial transcript, below:
The View
6/15/2020
SUNNY HOSTIN: Congresswoman, I want to ask you about coronavirus. Given the shocking rise of Florida cases, the state has really come under scrutiny for the accuracy and transparency of their reporting on numbers after a scientist who created Florida's COVID-19 dashboard says she was fired after she refused to make changes to data supporting the state's plan to reopen. Do you think your state is being honest with case totals at this point?
DEMINGS: Well, Sunny, let me say this. The surgeon general here in Florida declared a public health emergency on March 1st, yet it wasn't until April 3rd that the governor issued a state-at-home order. We have had some issues with our response to COVID-19. We know the story about the analyst who was fired. She says because she was being honest about what she was reporting. We certainly see the numbers in Florida while they are better than originally predicted, I believe a lot of that is because individuals took responsibility on their own to shelter in place and practice the CDC guidelines. We have had some questions about even the numbers of coming out of our nursing homes here in Florida. There's always been this question about the numbers that have been reported. Were they accurate? And so we're still keeping an eye on that. We're still trying to make sure as we reopen Florida, and it's unbelievable, but as the numbers rise, prepare for the Republican National Convention. We're still keeping an eye on the numbers to make sure that we are doing everything that we can to give individual families and others accurate information so that they can protect themselves during this very critical time.
MEGHAN MCCAIN: Congresswoman, President Trump is bringing back his campaign rallies and he had planned one on Friday, June 19th, the anniversary known as juneteenth. He has now moved the rally one day later amidst mounting pressure and criticism, and everyone who attends the rally must assume the risks relating to COVID. Trump says they have already had 800,000 ticket requests. Clearly these rallies were effective for him in the last election. What do you think Vice President Biden can do, and his campaign right now to counter what President Trump is doing?
DEMINGS: Well, I commend Vice President Biden for being the adult in the room. We are in the middle of a public health crisis. I am thankful that Vice President Biden is listening to the CDC, our medical experts and our scientists and continuing to practice social distancing. Look. He's getting his message out. He has held very important virtual rallies that address the nation about many things, including racism and social injustices. He's talked about CDC and -- or the COVID-19 and what he believes needs to happen. The president on the other hand, obviously is desperate and worried about the upcoming election in November, and for the individuals that he is inviting to come to a rally, you know, I dealt with evidence and clues for a long time in my career. When you have to sign a medical waiver saying that you won't hold the president responsible if you contract COVID-19 is a pretty good clue that the president should not be holding a rally. This is yet another opportunity for the President of the United States to put people first, and yet again he just can't seem to find it within himself to do that.
JOY BEHAR: So Congresswoman, Terry McAuliffe, a prominent Democrat and Joe Biden supporter, well, he thinks that the former vice president should remain in his Delaware home's basement for the rest of the 2020 presidential campaign. Actually he's very safe down there, and he should let Trump keep doing what he's doing. What do you think of that strategy?
DEMINGS: Well, you know, just as we are doing this interview this morning, look. I would much rather be there with you all in the studio, talking to you, but zoom has become like my second best friend. Skype is like my second best friend. Teams is like my second best friend. We have to find a way to get it done because we all realize we have had over 2 million people contract covid-19. 112,000 plus have died as a result of this virus, and so I believe that, as I said earlier, I am thankful that vice president Biden is being the adult in the room. He's listening to medical professionals and scientists, and playing it safe, but still find a way just as we are today to get his message out and rally up everybody. I think people are excited, you know, we were disappointed in 2016, but you know what we didn't have in 2016? We didn't have four years of the current occupant of the white house. I think people are more excited and more motivated than others as we deal with some critical issues. Some have been around for centuries. Some are new, but the vice president is finding a way to get his message out, and we appreciate him doing it in a safe and responsible way.
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Well, having said that, how welcome is you know who going to be in Jacksonville knowing that, you know, it's kind of going to be a breeding ground for this COVID-19 to come back, and is the city of Jacksonville really ready to handle that many people coming in from all kinds of places with all kinds of stuff?
DEMINGS: I would say based on what medical experts and scientists say, no. Look. Jacksonville is my hometown. I was born and raised in Jacksonville. Presidents have taken the Republican national convention there. In Orlando, he had his kickoff for re-election in my district, but let me just say this. It boils down to, do you have the ability to put the people that you represent first, and as we continue to see numbers go up in Florida, why on Earth would you push to have the convention here and bring tens of thousands of people here and expose them, risk their health, the health, safety and well-being of the American people is the president of the United States' number one responsibility, but obviously he does not know that, and does not understand that.
