“The View” co-host Sunny Hostin was called out on Tuesday by fellow co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin for instances where she has stood by her initial support for embattled Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner.
During a discussion of the most recent Platner allegations, co-host Sara Haines slammed liberals for backing him because he’s a Democrat.
“It is a disgusting time in politics where we decide what we’re willing to morally accept based on the jersey you’re wearing, and if you are one of those people that was willing to plug your nose, you’re the problem,” she said.
Hostin then conceded she was “the problem,” before turning to the Republican Party.
PROGRESSIVE DEMS’ FULL-THROATED PLATNER ENDORSEMENTS COME BACK TO HAUNT THEM AFTER RAPE ALLEGATIONS
“Because I was one of those people and I said it, if I lived in Maine I would have, you know, plugged my nose and would have voted for him anyway. I think we are in a time of existential crisis in this country and I think Republicans fall in line. They don’t fall in love. Democrats want to fall in love and not fall in line. The Republican Party, the bar is so very low, I can’t believe that they want to try to assume the moral high ground of the Republican Party,” she said.
Hostin cited the confirmation of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and controversies surrounding his confirmation to his Cabinet position.
“In 2017, a woman claimed he had sexually assaulted her after a conference. She reported that assault immediately. She had a sexual assault examination, and he says it was a consensual encounter, and in 2020 he paid her $50,000 to settle the claim yet, yet,” Hostin said as Griffin questioned why she wouldn’t condemn it across the board.
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Hostin said the Republican Party confirmed Hegseth.
“Well, I’m a Republican right here condemning anyone who’s been credibly accused of sexual abuse,” Griffin said.
Hostin continued to focus on the Republican Party and said the party was protecting convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“You’d be comfortable still voting for Graham Platner if you lived in Maine?” Griffin pressed.
Hostin didn’t answer the question and said the GOP didn’t get to take the moral high ground before co-host Joy Behar jumped into the conversation.
Later in the conversation, Hostin said Platner should exit the race, since the party would be able to replace him per Maine law.
The ABC talk show also had former GOP lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene on the show on Tuesday. Hostin confronted Greene on a post she deleted on X about one of Platner’s accusers.
“If you are raped or sexually assaulted, report it immediately. Don’t wait years later until the man runs for office to go to news outlets to tell your story,” Greene wrote. “And if you had consensual sex with him years ago, don’t turn it into rape for politics with conflicting stories.”
Hostin and Greene clashed over the X post, as Hostin questioned why she accused the accuser of “rape for politics.”
Greene insisted she hadn’t and said, “I posted that because I support women who have been raped or sexually assaulted and I want them to have justice. Secondly, don’t wait until they’re running for office. We need to know early on.”
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Hostin also called out Greene for the remark about having “consensual sex” in the past, and said, “The fact that someone dates people or has had consensual sex with them previously does not mean that they cannot be raped. Married women can be raped. Sex workers can be raped.”
During an episode of “The View” on June 1, Hostin called Platner a racist, homophobe and an anti-Semite, but said that the Democrats needed to take back Congress.
“So he’s a liar, a racist, an antisemite. He’s a homophobe,” she said. “So he has all the things and character does matter. But we have someone that has almost unbridled power in the White House at this point. There are no checks and balances and the only way that we can maybe bring a bit of our democracy back is by having a Congress that functions and that has these checks and balances. And I do think one of the only ways is to win that seat in Maine.”
During a June 3 episode of the show, Hostin said she would hold her nose and vote for Platner if it meant taking back Congress.
