The women of ABC’s The View on Tuesday hit far-left Democratic presidential candidate Eric Swalwell from the even farther left, quizzing the Congressman about taking the issue of gun control “out the hands” of politicians and into those who “are not beholden to the NRA.” They also demanded to know why Swalwell hasn’t, yet, come out for impeachment.
Guest co-host Anna Navarro wondered if it’s “realistic to think that we can pass legislation” to impose gun control. She then wondered if something other than a democratic process could be the solution: “Part of me thinks we should take it out of the legislators's hands and give it to a broader group of people who are not beholden to the NRA.”
Swalwell, who supports gun confiscation, embraced this idea: “I would love that too.” Co-host Joy Behar hit Swalwell from the left, demanding to know why the Democrat hasn’t yet come out for impeachment:
On another subject before we run out of time here, 13 of your colleagues on the Judiciary Committee are calling to impeach Trump. You're not one of them. They just — I just heard that Hope Hicks, they just told her don't honor the subpoena. The White House has told her I mean, they're just lawless. They're like -- they're just lawless. It's like the wild west again in the White House. Why are you against impeachment now? Are you going to change your mind very soon?
A partial transcript is below. Click “expand” to read more.
The View
6/4/19
11:25 AM ET
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: California Congressman Eric Swalwell is taking some bold stances in some big issues in the country right now. But will it be enough to stand him out in a field of 5,000 other people running for president? We don’t know. That’s why he’s here to talk to us. Welcome Congressman Eric Swalwell.
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SUNN HOSTIN: Well, Democrats are going to have to win back some of Trump's voters in order to beat him, and you might know that better than anyone because your own parents and brother are Republicans from the midwest who voted for trump actually. What's your plan to win?
JOY BEHAR: And what's Thanksgiving like?
HOSTIN: What's your plan to win folks like your parents and your brother over in....
GOLDBERG: Yesterday we were talking about — of course we had another mass shooting in Virginia Beach that took 12 lives. We discuss this every other day it feels like, and it seems like Republicans and Democrats cannot figure out what to do, what's the common ground, how do we go for this? Gun control is one of your signature issues, so what's your suggestion?
REP. ERIC SWALWELL: First, ban and buy back every single assault weapon in America. I'm the only candidate calling for that. That will go a long way. Kids are sitting paralyzed with fear in their classrooms today and you can't measure that. We can measure the deaths and the loss and we mourn the dead but the fear that a kid has in their classroom today, you can't measure that.
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GOLDBERG: So this guy that did this was a regular old guy. He didn't have an assault weapon. He had just two regular guns.
HOSTIN: And a high capacity magazine.
GOLDBERG: High capacity magazine. No, no history of -- and so what is the plan to get people to recognize that we have a huge issue, that it's not just inner city, it's in the middle of the city, outer city. It's all around us. How -- what's -- how are you going to get people to hear you?
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ANNA NAVARRO: Is it realistic to think that we can pass legislation -- look, if after Sandy Hook, after we saw 20 -- a lot of them small children get killed, if that didn't happen then, what makes you think that it is realistic? Part of me thinks we should take it out of the legislators's hands and give it to a broader group of people who are not beholden to the NRA.
SWALWELL: I would love that too.
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BEHAR: On another subject before we run out of time here, 13 of your colleagues on the Judiciary Committee are calling to impeach Trump. You're not one of them. They just — I just heard that Hope Hicks, they just told her don't honor the subpoena. The White House has told her I mean, they're just lawless. They're like -- they're just lawless. It's like the wild west again in the White House. Why are you against impeachment now? Are you going to change your mind very soon?
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