In a [not so] shocking twist of events, co-host of ABC’s The View Joy Behar declared that she is a fan of former U.N. ambassador and presidential candidate Nikki Haley. This comes as a surprise to many viewers, as Behar is known for being staunchly liberal and often uses her platform to attack conservative figures. However, her fellow co-hosts expressed shock and disapproval of Behar’s newfound admiration for Haley.
Despite the disagreement from her co-hosts, Behar stood by her statement: “Look, I like her. I mean, I like her. I like Nikki.” She also defended her opinion by stating, “I like what Nikki’s doing. I don’t have to approve of everything in her policies.” However, she did use the opportunity to take a jab at former President Trump by saying, “At least she won’t be governing from cell block 11.”
Behar also commended Haley’s campaign for “serving a purpose” of “kicking” and “punching” Trump. She even went as far as comparing her to Chris Christie, who famously clashed with Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign. Goldberg quipped that Haley was like a “gnat” in Trump’s soup, to which Behar responded, “He cannot stand any kind of attack. So, the more you needle him and punch him a little bit, the more insecure he gets, the more senile he sounds.” This comment, as expected, did not sit well with the rest of the panel.
However, Behar’s praise for Haley was not shared by her co-host Sunny Hostin, who called Haley a hypocrite. This came after Haley got upset with former CNN host Don Lemon for making a joke about her age. Hostin accused Haley of being an ageist, citing her comment about her own aging parents. But co-host Sara Haines came to Haley’s defense, pointing out that there is a difference between commenting on a man’s age at 80 and a woman’s age at 50.
Hostin vehemently disagreed, even though she herself is known to use a fake name, “Sunny,” instead of her real name, Asunción.