The vibes got a little tense during the opening Hot Topics segment on this morning’s episode of The View as Sunny Hostin clashed with Alyssa Farah Griffin over the root cause of criticisms surrounding Vice President Kamala Harris — and whether race plays a part.
Whoopi Goldberg introduced the topic, pointing to a Washington Post report stating that the Biden administration is trying to boost Harris’ image ahead of the 2024 election. When she asked her fellow panelists why the administration believes Harris needs boosting, Griffin — who previously worked for former Vice President Mike Pence — was the first to jump in.
While the Republican co-host recalled thinking Harris was a “rockstar” when she came on the 2020 ticket and noted that she helped deliver “female voters” and “Black voters” to Biden’s campaign, she hasn’t necessarily been impressed with the politician since she’s taken office.
“It’s her time in office that I take a bit of issue with and having worked for a Vice President you kind of have two jobs: do no harm and try to keep a higher approval rating than your principal,” Griffin said. “She has not really been able to do either. And I feel like she hasn’t broken through on major policy accomplishments.”
The former White House staffer continued, “She will, fairly or unfairly, be the most scrutinized Vice President in history because she’s running with the oldest president running for president in history.”
When Hostin chimed in, “And she’s also a Black woman,” Griffin fired back, “But I think you have to fairly critique the Vice President of the United States without just saying it’s the color of their skin or the fact that she’s a woman,” before asking her co-host why she believes race is a “part of it.”
“Well, we’re in the United States of America,” Hostin shot back. “Black women — and this is not just me saying it. I mean, there have been studies. Black women are considered less articulate, they are considered uglier. They are considered all of these things by this country. It’s because of the history of misogyny and sexism.”
The duo engaged in one last bit of back-and-forth when Hostin shaded Pence for his handling of COVID. In response, Griffin named three “major accomplishments” made by the VP, including operation warp-speed which helped get the vaccine out, the U.S.-Mexico agreement and tax reform.
“I know as Democrats you don’t think those are wins,” Griffin said. “But those are things that he accomplished.”
The View airs on weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.
