On Wednesday’s show, the hosts of The View predictably were angry at President Trump’s address Tuesday night about the border, and opened the show by ranting about it. Co-hosts Joy Behar and Sunny Hostin also combatted Meghan McCain over the policy separating illegal alien children at the border, calling that the real humanitarian crisis.
Sunny Hostin began by taking issue with President Trump saying blacks and hispanics were the most affected by the influx of illegal aliens, because they took a toll on public resources and jobs. Hostin called that a racist “dog whistle” because black women were “the most educated” in society and didn’t need low-paying jobs that illegal aliens took anyhow. Hostin also took umbrage at the public resources comment, saying that was a clear reference to welfare:
As an African-American and a Hispanic American, that for me was really a dog whistle...For the 100th time, there are more white Americans on welfare than there are black Americans and Hispanic Americans. So that racial trope thrown in there right at the beginning was very offensive to me...for the 100th time, African-American women are the most educated in the United States of America and so we aren't taking those jobs. We're taking much higher earning jobs. So I think when he started out this speech with these dog whistle politics, I just thought, so here you go again as the divider-in-chief.
Later on, Meghan McCain argued that border security was important to Americans and was “one of the reasons why Trump got elected.” Her liberal co-hosts jumped in to claim that Democrats cared about border security too.
“I don't think anyone has any problem with the border security. I don't think that's the issue. It is the wall that I think the Democrats,” Whoopi Goldberg began. As McCain named several Democrats including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who wanted to abolish I.C.E., Hostin jumped in to claim that the real problem was Trump’s “policy of separating families:”
“I believe most Democrats believe in border security. I think this crisis is perhaps a humanitarian crisis but it's a crisis start by this president because this president is the one that separated families,” she stated.
“There are still children who are kept in cages at the border. Two children have died. To me that is a humanitarian crisis!” Behar gushed. “That he started!” Hostin insisted, as the audience clapped. “He started that,” Behar agreed. McCain jumped in to correct her co-hosts.
“That actually, that policy was started under Obama which we said that numerous times," she stated.
But Behar was adamant in her denials, despite being factually wrong. “Obama did not separate children from their parents. Don’t you say that!” she scolded.
McCain continued to push back, to no avail. “He started the policy that was put in place...It was a policy put in place under President Obama that President Trump decided to enact. That policy was put in place,” she said as the other hosts railroaded her.
“Separating children was not under Obama!” Behar gushed. “He didn't separate families!” Hostin argued.
McCain backed off, adding that Democrats like Ocasio-Cortez wanted to “demonize” Americans who wanted better border security. At that, Whoopi Goldberg, who went on a rant on yesterday’s show defending establishment Democrats, stopped her.
“She's not a huge -- please stop there. She's not a huge voice in the party and we have to go, I'm sorry. We got to go,” she said cutting to commercial.
