'View' co-hosts feud over Ilhan Omar removal: 'Should not be on the committee'

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The co-hosts of ABC's "The View" on Friday argued over whether Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., should have been voted off the House Foreign Affairs Committee for her history of antisemitic comments.

Co-host Joy Behar sparked a verbal battle during the Friday episode of the daytime talk show by claiming she doesn’t believe Omar’s excuses for some of her antisemitic remarks, suggesting the Democratic congresswoman isn’t as innocent as she claims. 

Co-host Sunny Hostin responded by giving Omar the benefit of the doubt, claiming that Omar is an immigrant who didn’t understand that some of her comments were actually offensive Jewish tropes. Co-hosts Alyssa Farah Griffin and Sara Haines both stated they believed Omar shouldn't be on the committee for her statements.

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The co-hosts of "The View" discuss the ouster of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., from the House Foreign Affairs Committee during Friday's episode. (Screenshot/ABC)

Broaching the topic for the first time after Omar was kicked off the committee on Thursday, co-host Ana Navarro claimed that all Americans should be "disgusted" that a Republican-led Congress — populated with members that she views have made antisemitic comments before — could vote out Omar.

Behar seemed to agree with Navarro on GOP hypocrisy, but noted she doesn’t believe Omar is as much of a victim as she’s claiming to be.

Behar said, "I get what you’re saying. Believe me I understand that, because the right-wing [is] very hypocritical. But she said that she did not know that what she said that was construed as anti-Semitic, she didn’t know that was what they call a 'Jewish trope.'"

The co-host continued, "And that she didn’t know that, that people equate money with Jews, for instance. I don’t believe her."

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., departs from the House Chamber following a vote to oust her from the House Committee on Foreign Affairs at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Hostin immediately disagreed, replying, "I do. I think she’s an immigrant, I think she’s had a different experience." Behar countered, "She’s been here a long time."

Hostin insisted, "I think that’s a trope that’s largely — you hear it in this country. So I’m not surprised that she didn’t know."

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Frustrated, Behar replied sternly, "That is not a trope. Excuse me — that is not a trope that’s just here in this country. That is a worldwide trope."

Fighting to get into the increasingly tense dialogue between the two, co-host and former Trump staffer Alyssa Farah Griffin took a shot at Omar, too, saying, "And also, we’re talking about the Foreign Affairs Committee. She should know better then."

Still, Hostin remained focused on rebutting Behar, saying, "The other piece of it, Joy, is that I take her at her word that she didn’t know, and she’s nevertheless apologized and met with Jewish members of her caucus."

Hostin then claimed that the conversation should not be about Republican hypocrisy, but Republican "racism." She continued, "I don’t think this is hypocrisy. I think it’s pure racism. And I think we should call that out when we see it, and we hear it, and we look at it."

Hostin bolstered her claim, mentioning how Omar has been the target of Republican racism ever since she was elected, citing former President Donald Trump’s rhetoric against her.

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Co-host Sara Haines acknowledged Hostin’s point, but was tough on Omar as well, claiming that the lawmaker "has said things and apologized, but she keeps stepping into the same puddle. And so eventually you have to say your actions speak louder than your words, because she does it, a couple years later she does it again."

Haines concluded, "So I think it’s a fair decision to be made that she’s not on this specific committee."

Griffin agreed with Haines’ last point, adding, "I don’t think she should be on the Foreign Affairs Committee. This is a committee tasked with dealing with U.S.-Israeli relations. She has shown a lack of understanding of antisemitism at a time when it’s on the rise in the U.S. and around the globe."

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