‘The View’ co-host Joy Behar blames Trump’s rhetoric for Atlanta shootings, dismisses sex addiction as motive
'There are people in his corner who do whatever he tells them to do,' Behar said
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}ABC News’ "The View" co-host Joy Behar essentially blamed former-President Trump for the string of shootings at Atlanta-area massage parlors that left eight people dead, dismissing the notion that a sex addiction was the motive for the killings.
Two of the victims were White, while the other six victims were Asian-Americans. Police have said that racism is not currently believed to be a motive and suspect Robert Aaron Long may have opened fire because he saw the locations as "an outlet for him" to succumb to purported sex-addiction temptations.
LIBERALS BLAME TRUMP, REPUBLICANS AND RACISM FOR ATLANTA SHOOTINGS, BEFORE POLICE DETERMINE MOTIVE
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Behar didn’t buy it, following several other prominent members of the mainstream media who have blamed Trump and racism for the murders despite a lack of evidence.
"The View" played footage of White House press secretary Jen Psaki saying "damaging rhetoric" from the Trump administration resulted in increased bias against the Asian American community, and Behar made it clear she’s on the same page as the Biden administration.
"We all remember Trump calling [coronavirus] the Asian virus, the Wuhan virus, we know that there are people in his corner who do whatever he tells them to do, or they get dog whistles from him and they go out and do things," Behar said, calling the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot a key example.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Behar then asked producers to play footage of Trump referring to the coronavirus by a variety of nicknames, including "Kung Flu."
"It’s important to remind people… we have to keep reminding people of what happened before, OK? As far as the sex addiction defense, many celebrities have admitted to a sex addiction and as far as I can see, sex addiction doesn’t lead to violence, it leads to sex," Behar said. "So let’s not pretend."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Behar then blasted Atlanta authorities who said Long was having a bad day when he opened fire.
"I mean, how stupid are these people at this point? How stupid are they? It’s pathetic what’s going on," Behar said.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Officials said Long has claimed he committed the shootings because he has a "sex addiction" and wanted to eliminate his temptation. However, authorities are also considering if the crimes may have been racially motivated – despite the suspect's denials – because six of the victims were Asian women.
Long is facing several charges, including malice murder and aggravated assault with intent to murder.
Fox News’ Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.