For the second time in a week, the liberal ladies of The View were told to go pound sand by a guest after they tried to pressure them into becoming a shill for President Biden’s reelection effort like they were. On Wednesday’s show, they spoke with radio host Charlamagne the God and wanted him to do more for Biden than say former President Trump was a danger to democracy and unfit for office.
Proclaiming she wanted the conversation to “get real,” staunchly racist and anti-Semitic co-host Sunny Hostin (the descendant of slave owners) decried Charlamagne for not endorsing Biden this time around:
Now, you have a massive platform reaching millions of listeners – and you and I have talked about it before – you endorsed Joe Biden back in 2020, but this time around you say you're not going to endorse anybody. Charlamagne, now is not the time in my opinion to sit this one out!
“I didn’t say that. I never said I was sitting it out,” Charlamagne shot back. “I'm definitely voting on November, but what I like to focus on issues not individuals…”
Hostin interrupted and continued to harangue their guest about not endorsing their candidate (Click “expand”):
HOSTIN: But why not endorse?
CHARLAMAGNE: Huh?
HOSITN: Why not endorse Biden?
CHARLAMAGNE: Because if I'm sitting here telling my listeners that you have somebody out there who is a threat to democracy, you have somebody out is there who said they want to, you know, suspend the Constitution to overthrow the results of an election; and you saw this person try to lead an attempted coup of this country and I'm telling people this guy is a threat to democracy, have you ever read "Project 25." There's only two candidates out there. So, if I'm saying that about this individual, the choice is clear, right?
And I –
[Applause]
And I've seen you do this on The View before. I saw y’all do this to Killer Mike when he was on The View…
“Why do y'all need us to say this if we don't feel comfortable saying it?” he wanted to know. Moderator Whoopi Goldberg interjected to explain “It's not that we need you to say it but other folks need to hear…”
Without evidence, Goldberg whined that the media was somehow not helping Biden out enough. She asserted that “getting facts out through the media has been very -- seems to be very difficult…” “I feel like I've just spewed some facts,” Charlamagne scoffed; drawing swift rebuke from Goldberg and Hostin:
GOLDBERG: Yes, but we need you to do it on your show.
HOSTIN: Yes, but an endorsement from you will matter.
“Well, the reality is I think both candidates are trash,” Charlamagne announced. “I am going to vote in November and I'm going to vote my best interest and I'm going to vote who I think can preserve democracy. So, if I think both are trash and don't feel like endorsing one, would you rather me endorse the individual or endorse the fact that we need to go out here and protect democracy?”
At one point, he noted that “it feels like [Biden’s] base is pretty pissed off at him for a number of reasons” and that it could hurt his chances of getting reelected. “Help him out! Help him out!” Hostin shouted at him.
Charlamagne laughed and asked: “Help him out by doing what?”
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
ABC’s The View
May 22, 2024
11:36:58 a.m. Eastern(…)
SUNNY HOSTIN: Let’s get real. Now, you have a massive platform reaching millions of listeners – and you and I have talked about it before – you endorsed Joe Biden back in 2020, but this time around you say you're not going to endorse anybody. Charlamagne, now is not the time in my opinion to sit this one out!
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: I didn’t say that. I never said I was sitting it out.
HOSTIN: What you going to do?
CHARLAMAGNE: I'm definitely voting on November, but what I like to focus on issues not individuals, like, you know, when you have –
HOSTIN: But why not endorse?
CHARLAMAGNE: Huh?
HOSITN: Why not endorse Biden?
CHARLAMAGNE: Because if I'm sitting here telling my listeners that you have somebody out there who is a threat to democracy, you have somebody out is there who said they want to, you know, suspend the Constitution to overthrow the results of an election; and you saw this person try to lead an attempted coup of this country and I'm telling people this guy is a threat to democracy, have you ever read "Project 25." There's only two candidates out there. So, if I'm saying that about this individual, the choice is clear, right?
And I –
[Applause]
And I've seen you do this on The View before. I saw y’all do this to Killer Mike when he was on The View and Killer Mike literally sat here and said, “Hey, you know, I supported Keisha Lance Bottoms, I supported Ralph Warnock, I supported Jon Ossoff in Georgia.” He said, “you should support the people that I've supported -- You should support the person who the people I supported are supporting.”
That's y'all opportunity to say, “Well, clearly, he's talking about President Biden.” Why do y'all need us to say this if we don't feel comfortable saying it?
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: No. No. It's not that we need you to say it but other folks need to hear because, you know, one of the things -- I'm sorry, I just jumped you. I’m sorry.
But one of the things that we've been talking about is the fact that getting facts out through the media has been very -- seems to be very difficult, because --
CHARLAMAGNE: I feel like I've just spewed some facts.
GOLDBERG: Yes, but we need you to do it on your show.
HOSTIN: Yes, but an endorsement from you will matter.
CHARLAMAGNE: Well, the reality is I think both candidates are trash. So, because I'm -- but I am going to vote in November and I'm going to vote my best interest and I'm going to vote who I think can preserve democracy. So, if I think both are trash and don't feel like endorsing one, would you rather me endorse the individual or endorse the fact that we need to go out here and protect democracy?
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: By the way, I think it's incredibly powerful to use your platform just to draw the contrast. I actually tend to agree that I don't think an endorsement is somehow more powerful than reminding folks the other person tried to overturn our democracy. That breaks through.
But I got to ask you, because you're kind of one of these, we call them double haters. I don't like to – use the phrase.
CHARLAMAGNE: Double haters?
FARAH GRIFFIN: Double haters. Like not thrilled with Biden or Trump.
HOSTIN: I’ve never heard of that!
[Crosstalk]
CHARLAMAGNE: I thought that was just being called an American nowadays if you look at the polls. People don't seem to be too pleased with either one of them.
FARAH GRIFFIN: I’m right there with you. You've called this a race between crooks, cowards, and the couch.
CHARLAMAGNE: That’s right.
FARAH GRIFFIN: And Democrats are losing the messaging game.
CHARLAMAGNE: Well, let’s be clear about who I say are the crooks. I say Republicans are the crooks, I say Democrats are the cowards, and I say the couch is voter apathy. And I feel like, you know, right now it looks like voter apathy may win. But who’s fault is that? It that our fault or is it the candidates?
FARAH GRIFFIN: Well, I'm curious at this juncture, six months out, who do you think wins?
CHARLAMAGNE: Oh, I have no idea. I mean, that's like -- it's a toss-up at this point. I really don't know. I think the person who goes out there and probably energizes their base the best at this point. And, you know, when you look at somebody like President Biden, it feels like his base is pretty pissed off at him for a number of reasons.
HOSTIN: Help him out! Help him out!
CHARLAMAGNE: [Laughter] Help him out by doing what?
(…)
