The hosts of “The View” had some advice for former vice president Mike Pence on Monday: get a joke writer, “but not a homophobic joke writer.”
Their words came during the discussion of Pence’s appearance at this year’s Gridiron Dinner, a political roast held by D.C. journalists. While there, Pence joked that Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg went on “maternity leave during the nationwide airline crisis, which makes Pete the only person in human history to have a child and everyone else gets postpartum depression.”
“Now, I will point out that this joke wasn’t funny when Tucker Carlson did it,” Whoopi interjected before even getting close to the official discussion question. “It wasn’t funny when Lauren Boebert did it. It’s just not funny. It’s just not a funny joke.”
As Whoopi continued setting up the conversation with the note that a Pence advisor called the situation “faux outrage,” the moderator once again chimed in to note that, at least for her, the outrage is real.
“I’m mad at you because you weren’t smart enough to think of a new joke,” she said. “That’s why I’m outraged. Because it was sloppy and and very lazy to use a thrice-used bad joke again.”
But the overall question was: “Was this a bad joke, or a homophobic slur, or both?” And for Joy Behar, the answer was a resounding “both.”
“Besides the fact that the joke was not funny, it’s coming from someone who has a history of homophobia,” she said. “That’s what the problem is.”
Behar then proceeded to list some of Pence’s long track record of anti-LGBTQ actions and legislation. When host Sunny Hostin went to add her thoughts, Behar cut her off, saying she wasn’t done yet, and added a blunt finish.
“This is a very, very craven attempt to appeal to the MAGA base yet again,” Behar said. “Once they decide to run for president, they’ve got to get this deplorable base on their side in order to win the primary. And that’s what they keep doing over and over again. That includes Trump, of course, the king of all of it, and also DeSantis, and now Pence because he wants to run for president. And that is a pathetic situation, in my opinion.”
You can watch the full segment from “The View” in the video above.