Other ‘View’ co-hosts rejected sexism as primary factor in Clinton, Harris defeats
Sunny Hostin Calls U.S. “Misogynistic” Over Failure to Elect a Female President; Co-Hosts Disagree
On Thursday’s episode of The View, co-host Sunny Hostin argued that the United States is a “misogynistic country” due to its failure to elect a female president, pointing to the defeats of Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. Her comments came during a discussion about concerns raised by Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), who recently said on a podcast that Democrats may avoid nominating another woman in 2028 because of those losses.
Co-host Sara Haines pushed back, cautioning against assuming the public isn’t ready for female leadership. “We’ve got to stop telling the American public what they’re ready for,” she said. Fellow co-host Joy Behar responded bluntly: “We lost twice when women ran.”
Haines challenged that view, asking, “Is there no distinguishing factor between the women and why they lost? Is there no nuance?”
Hostin then stepped in, asserting, “This country is a misogynistic country. Out of all the first-world countries, we haven’t been able to elect a female president. That’s just factual.” She added that Hillary Clinton’s campaign was hurt by attacks related to her husband’s past and emphasized that Clinton was “one of the most qualified” candidates ever to run.
Haines responded that there were additional reasons for Clinton’s loss. Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin also disagreed with the idea that sexism was the primary reason for Harris’ 2024 defeat.
“Sexism and racism absolutely exist and are factors in elections,” Griffin said. “But they weren’t the determinative factor in 2024. I strongly disagreed with President Biden when he blamed sexism for Kamala Harris’ loss.”
Griffin argued that Harris actually outperformed Biden during her campaign, citing improved polling and fundraising. “The data shows she lost battleground states for other reasons. It wasn’t because racist Democrats didn’t show up,” she said.
The discussion followed President Joe Biden’s appearance on The View last week, where he suggested that sexism played a major role in Harris’ defeat. “She’s qualified to be president,” Biden said. “They went the sexist route… I’ve never seen such a consistent campaign to undercut the idea that a woman — especially a woman of mixed race — could lead the country.”
Co-host Whoopi Goldberg added her perspective on the broader issue of bias in American politics. “It’s important to understand why we talk from a color place — because that’s how we’re seen,” she said. “If someone is running to protect equal rights for everyone, that can’t be weaponized as ‘woke.’”
Behar concluded the segment by bluntly stating, “Women can’t get elected in this country.”
