Tensions spiked a bit on Tuesday’s episode of “The View” as host Alyssa Farah Griffin questioned Sunny Hostin on why race is a factor in critiques of Vice President Kamala Harris, and attempted to argue that it shouldn’t be.
The moment came during the first Hot Topics segment of the day, which centered on a report from The Washington Post saying that the Biden team “is trying to boost Vice President Harris’s image.” When moderator Whoopi Goldberg wondered why that would even be necessary, Farah Griffin kicked things off with her thoughts.
“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. She’s not really been able to do either,” Farah Griffin argued. “And I feel like she hasn’t broken through on major policy accomplishments. And she will, fairly or unfairly, be the most scrutinized vice president in history because she’s running with the oldest president running for president.”
At that, Hostin noted that Harris will also be the most scrutinized VP because she is a Black woman, which gave Farah Griffin some pause.
“I think you have to be able to fairly critique the vice president of the United States without just saying it’s the color of their skin or the fact she’s a woman,” Farah Griffin said.
When that prompted a clipped response from Hostin of “But it is part of it,” Farah Griffin pressed further, asking why race would be part of it, plus asking Hostin “with like someone like me saying it, do you think I could have a legitimate policy objection?”
“It’s not you,” Hostin shot back. “It’s just, we’re in the United States of America, and Black women — and this is just not 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, you know, this country. And it’s because of the history, of course, of misogyny and sexism.”
You can watch the full moment from “The View” in the video above.