The hosts of ABC’s “The View” are often at odds, but Thursday saw them in complete agreement on one hotly-contested political issue: they’re all “over” independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The highly-publicized tiff between Sanders and Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren began with a report from her camp alleging that Sanders, during a private meeting in 2018, had told Warren that he did not believe a woman could win. Both sides have since dug in, with Sanders flatly denying he said it and Warren insisting that he did.
New audio emerged Wednesday, captured just after Tuesday’s Democratic primary debate ended, showing a heated exchange between Sanders and Warren. Warren accused Sanders of calling her a liar on television, and Sanders began to respond in kind before thinking better of it and saying instead, “We can discuss this later.” (RELATED: Progressives Worried Warren-Sanders ‘Nonaggression Pact’ Could Become A ‘Suicide Pact’)
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Sunny Hostin was first to take direct aim at Sanders, arguing that he shouldn’t even be a contender for the Democratic nomination if he was an independent.
“For me he’s sort of a Democrat by default,” Hostin explained. “He is very much an independent and he is very much a socialist. He has called himself a Democratic Socialist, but I think if you deserve to be the Democratic nominee for the presidency of the United States — you should be a Democrat.”
“That’s a very common criticism of him with true blue Democrats,” Meghan McCain agreed.
Abby Huntsman weighed in then, saying that Warren had taken some heat for appearing to struggle with the truth in the past.
“Warren has been criticized for some of the things that she’s said, her credibility and changing her mind or changing the story slightly and people are trying to figure out what is the truth here, whether it’s where her kids went to school or if she was fired for being pregnant or her nationality or health care,” Huntsman said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bernie team tries to nail her.”
“There before the grace of God goes everybody,” Whoopi Goldberg cut in, appearing to defend Warren. “I don’t know anybody who can walk on water.”
“Compared to Trump, it’s like comparing a venial sin to a mortal sin,” Joy Behar laughed. “A mortal sin — I was raised Catholic. A mortal sin you go to hell. A venial, not so fast. You go to purgatory. Maybe you just go to New Jersey, we don’t know.”
McCain went on to argue that the overall result of the confrontation was that voters saw Warren get angry and confront a man who she felt was bullying her.
“The take away is she can go up strong and tough and hard against a bullying man candidate that’s been bullying her for her gender,” McCain explained. “I think it’s actually a brilliant move. Whether it was calculated or not I have no idea.”
“I think the takeaway is that we’re all over Bernie,” McCain concluded.
No one at the table appeared to consider the possibility that Warren might not have been telling the truth.