Joy Behar scolded former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders during Tuesday’s season premiere of ABC’s “The View.”
Behar argued that Sanders was wrong to take offense at personal attacks when she had worked for President Donald Trump — who has never shied away from personally attacking his critics. (RELATED: ‘I Swear To God, If You Don’t Stop’: Whoopi Scolds Meghan McCain And Joy Behar During Heated Exchange)
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Sanders began by explaining some of the personal attacks that she and her children had been subjected to while she worked in the White House — including a woman who spit on her car while her three-year-old watched.
“I’m fine with people disagreeing on our politics, but when you make it about personal attacks, nothing was off limits,” Sanders said. “Whether it was my weight, my hair, my fitness to be a mother at all, nothing was off limits to the liberal mob and to some of the nastiest, most aggressive haters out there.”
“I’m fine defending my politics and policy,” Sanders repeated, adding that as women, it was important to build each other up rather than tear each other down.
Sara Haines agreed, saying that teaching children to disagree while still being respectful of others was important to everyone.
“You work for somebody who attacks women on a regular basis, Sarah,” Behar jumped in, saying, “You worked for someone who throws personal attacks on people on a regular basis. How can you sit there and say you resent it when it happens to you? He calls women — on a sliding scale of 0 to 10 depending on how you look according to him. He’s ridiculous about personal attacks. You sit there and you don’t like it when it happens to you.”
“Why don’t you tell him to stop it?” Behar crossed her arms and waited for a response.
“The president empowered me more than anybody else. He defended me,” Sanders pushed back.
“That’s a different topic. That’s a different conversation,” Behar protested. “We’re talking about words. We’re not talking about deeds. Just words. Defend that.”
Sanders replied that she was talking about words, saying that President Trump had given her a platform and a voice to speak out for other women, adding, “I’m the first mom to ever serve as the White House press secretary. Why didn’t any of his Democrat predecessors put a mother in that role?”
Behar and Sanders continued to talk over each other for a moment, prompting Whoopi Goldberg to interrupt. “Can I get my question in please?” she asked.