Joy Behar wrongly assumes Democrat Jay Jones is a Republican amid violent text messages scandal

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: 'The View' co-host Joy Behar faced backlash on Thursday, October 16, after mistakenly assuming that a candidate who fantasized about killing his political rival was a Republican. The candidate, Jay Jones, is in fact a Democrat running for attorney general in Virginia.

Behar’s false claim came during a live segment discussing Jones' resurfaced text messages about former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his family.

Joy Behar claims no Republicans have denounced Jay Jones

During the show, Joy Behar commented on the disturbing 2022 text messages in which Jay Jones wrote that he would give Todd Gilbert “two bullets to the head” and that perhaps the former Virginia House speaker's wife should “hold their deceased children in her arms.”

“But only Democrats denounced [Jones]. No Republicans,” Behar said, implying that Republicans had failed to condemn the remarks.

Her co-host, Alyssa Farah Griffin, immediately corrected her: “He’s a Democrat.”

Despite the correction, Behar doubled down, claiming that “only Democrats” had condemned Jones’ words, a statement that itself drew scrutiny, as multiple Democratic figures have been hesitant to call for Jones to withdraw from the race.

Democrats divided over response to Jay Jones’ violent messages

While some Democrats have publicly condemned Jay Jones’ remarks, many have avoided taking a firm stance on whether he should end his campaign.

Virginia gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger said during a debate that she denounced Jones’ statements but refused to answer whether she would continue endorsing him.

Sen Tim Kaine told CNN’s Manu Raju that he would still support Jones, citing their 25-year relationship, while Sen Mark Warner condemned the statements but stopped short of calling on Jones to step down.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also refused to say whether Jones should withdraw, saying instead that he remains “a better person to be attorney general” during an appearance on CNN’s 'Inside Politics'.

Republicans demand Jay Jones drop out

Republican Virginia Gov Glenn Youngkin called Jay Jones’ comments “beyond disqualifying” and urged him to exit the race.

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares echoed the sentiment on Fox News’ 'America’s Newsroom', saying Jones only apologized “because he has been caught” and that his violent rhetoric proves he is “unworthy” of serving as the state’s top prosecutor.

Miyares also accused Jones of doubling down on his remarks in the text messages, arguing that it showed a lack of remorse and raised serious concerns about his fitness for office.