Alyssa Farah Griffin challenges Sunny Hostin’s ‘moderate’ label for Kamala Harris with 2020 rhetoric evidence

Sunny Hostin Kamala Harris as a moderate, citing her background as a prosecutor and arguing that criticisms of her as a 'leftist' are misplaced
PUBLISHED JUL 27, 2024
Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin debated Kamala Harris’s political stance, contrasting her 2020 rhetoric with current position (The View/Getty images)
Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin debated Kamala Harris’s political stance, contrasting her 2020 rhetoric with current position (The View/Getty images)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: In a recent debate on 'The View', Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin engaged in a heated discussion about Vice President Kamala Harris’s political stance, particularly focusing on her rhetoric from the 2020 campaign versus her current positioning.

Sunny Hostin, a co-host on 'The View' and a veteran attorney, argued that criticisms labeling Harris as a “leftist” are misplaced.

Sunny Hostin defends Kamala Harris as a moderate

Hostin stated, “I think the Republicans are trying to frame her as this deep leftist…she’s a former prosecutor. She’s not only a former prosecutor, she was the [attorney general] of the largest Department of Justice in the country, other than the real Department of Justice. Prosecutors are not really leftist.” She further added, “They put people in jail for a living, okay? They’re pretty moderate… I know the vice president personally. She’s moderate.”

In contrast, Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former communications official in Donald Trump’s administration, acknowledged that Harris is currently campaigning with a “centrist” message.

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 16: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an infrastructure anno
Sunny Hostin defends Kamala Harris as a moderate, highlighting her background as a prosecutor, while Alyssa Farah Griffin notes Harris's current centrist campaign stance (Getty Images)

However, Griffin highlighted concerns about Harris’ 2020 rhetoric. Griffin recalled, “One example was this is the moment of George Floyd, the country’s torn apart, and she put out a statement saying she wanted to bail out people who were protesting in the streets. So people took that a aaàb , they felt like she was running to resonate in that primary unlike someone like Biden would.”

Alyssa Farah Griffin criticizes Kamala Harris’ 2020 support for activist causes

Griffin was referring to Harris’ support for the Minnesota Freedom Fund, which was working to bail out individuals arrested during Black Lives Matter protests after George Floyd’s death.

Griffin also pointed to Harris’s earlier praise of the Defund the Police movement. She observed, “I think the point is that in 2020 she ran, in a moment, where she ran to the left.”



 

Hostin dismissed the significance of Harris’ 2020 rhetoric, attributing it to political strategy rather than a genuine shift in her stance. Hostin argued, “She’s leaning into who she really is. If you really want to talk about it, after George Floyd people were angry about law enforcement. People were upset with prosecutors. They were upset with police officers. They were upset with policing in this country. So to run as a law and order candidate in 2020 would have been a bad move.”

Hostin concluded by asserting that Harris’s current campaign is more reflective of her true political identity. She remarked, “What she’s doing now is who she really is and I think that’s why it’s resonating.”

Social media reacts to Sunny Hostin’s defense of Kamala Harris 

Social media reactions to the debate over Kamala Harris’s political identity reveal a spectrum of opinions.

One user wrote, "In this country anyone slightly left of extreme right-wing is a moderate."

Another user wrote, "This is stupid. Republicans are desperate to conflate how Kamala Harris ran in a Democratic primary with how she's governed ever since. 🙄

She's not a leftist, and she's never governed as one."

One user replied, "Here's the thing. Yes, the right will try to define who Harris is. However, as soon as next week, the left will get back to defining who Trump really is.

Remember. Kamala is hope.Trump, on the other hand, has already had a failed Presidency. Advantage Harris."

Another person replied, "So Sunny.....because she was a prosecutor she cannot be Leftist? What a crock!!! Yeah, and George Gascon is a Right Winger!! Stop smoking crack Sunny!!"

One added, "So, Hostin says Harris was lying in 2020, but not now. Lol. So, Hostin thinks Harris is a proven liar."

Another said, "Exactly my take on her. No core ideology. She just does what she thinks will give her advantage at that moment. DC is full of that type."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.

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