For many, the Fourth of July is an opportunity to celebrate freedom, watch festive fireworks, and enjoy some frankfurters. That was especially true this year as America celebrated the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, but you wouldn’t know it from watching The View.
Hostin Feels ‘Unsafe’
A slimmed down panel of Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Alyssa Farah Griffin, and guest host Michelle Buteau were talking about how the country celebrated Independence Day earlier this week when Hostin decided to double down on a claim she made back in 2021 about feeling “unsafe” in areas where there are too many American flags on display.
“I said this on this show many, many years ago, because this is my tenth year on the show,” Hostin recalled. “I said there are times when I walk into a community and I see American flags all over the community and I suddenly feel unsafe because there’s a section of this country that has co-opted the American flag, and they equate being an American or an American flag with white supremacy and that should never be the symbol of white supremacy, but they have weaponized.”
Her comment amid a discussion about the viral image of masked members of the white nationalist group riding the metro in Washington, D.C., as a black woman sat among them.
“That, for me, was a defining image of modern America for black Americans,” Hostin claimed as she condemned the American-flag-style insignias on their hats.
That is when Buteau, who celebrated the patriotic holiday by posting a picture of herself on Instagram in a front of a cake that read “America Do Better, Bitch,” argued the photo was reflective of racism in America today.
“When you say it’s the best nation. The best nation for who? Because if we are celebrating 250 years, what are we exactly celebrating, is what I want to know,” Buteau railed. “So I’m really glad that picture was taken, because that picture is how we feel walking into many rooms, down the street. That picture is how we feel and nobody will believe us. So look at that picture and understand how it feels.”
Doubling Down
Back in 2021, Hostin attempted to defend MSNBC commentator Mara Gay, who is black, after she came under fire for saying she was “disturbed” to see “dozens of American flags” flown by Trump supporters during a trip to Long Island.
“When someone of color, a black woman, is telling you her feelings, people need to listen and not, you know, repudiate it and not say, ‘Well, that can’t be true,’” Hostin said on The View at the time. “When I drive into a neighborhood, and it’s not July Fourth, and I’m not in a predominantly military household neighborhood and there are flags, American flags, everywhere, alongside Trump flags, alongside flags with stars in a circle, I feel threatened.”
“Because the message is very clear,” she continued. “It’s a message of white supremacy. It’s a message of racism, and it’s a message of their country, not my country. I don’t understand why that would receive backlash. People need to listen when I am saying this is how I feel. This is my experience in this country.”
Megyn Reacts
On Wednesday’s edition of The Megyn Kelly Show, Megyn was not buying Hostin’s racism claims. “She lives in a palace. This woman is one of the richest women in America, and yet she still… [says she is] going to be targeted just because of the color of her skin… You can see how unfair America has been to her,” she quipped.
Megyn’s guest, The Federalist CEO Sean Davis, was not particularly moved either.
“Yeah, we actually have a rule in our HOA that every house has to have a flag to make sure Sunny Hosin doesn’t show up. We do it for our protection,” he joked. “You have to have at least three. You got to have one in the backyard, on the mailbox, and in the front of the house, because you can’t be too sure these days. She might just show up.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Davis by tuning in to episode 1,355 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.