The Monday morning after anti-lockdown protesters hit the streets to heed President Donald Trump’s call to “LIBERATE” Democratic-led states, The View hosts weighed in on the escalating tensions. But only one of them defended the gun-toting demonstrators who are putting people’s lives at risk.
First up, Joy Behar explained that while she “feels for” the people who have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus crisis, “they have to understand that they can infect other people.” To paraphrase Patrick Henry, she added, “Give me liberty and give me death is what they’re basically proposing, because a lot of people are going to die because of this behavior.”
“These people are being egged on by right-wing media and people like Alex Jones and Rush Limbaugh,” Behar added. “And why are you bringing guns to a rally? You want to call yourself protesters, leave your guns at home. Those are terrorists who bring guns to rallies.”
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That last point did not sit well with McCain. “I continue to be split on it, because I see those kind of protesters with guns and I understand that for a lot of people watching this show, that may seem very foreign, and it may seem violent, but it's perfectly normal to me and it's perfectly legal in the states that they did it in,” she said. “And it's a culture symbol. Anyone bringing a gun to a rally is showing which side of the gun argument they're on, which is an argument that's being brought up in these types of protests.”
McCain went on to say that she and her fellow View hosts need to “check our privilege” and acknowledge that while they can continue to do their jobs from home, not everyone is so fortunate. “There are a lot of people in our country who are in pain, who are out of work, who are losing their homes and I think when people are scared and they are in pain, they start to panic,” she said. “And it doesn't look like there's any resolution to this coming in the future.”
“When people are looking down the barrel of the inability to feed their children, to send their children to college, to possibly lose their homes, I understand the anger and the pain,” McCain said. “I certainly don't want any more people to get sick or die, obviously, I don't think anyone wants that. But I do think there has to be some kind of balance with this.”
Whoopi Goldberg, meanwhile, was just confused by the sight of protesters wearing masks and gloves. “If you don't think it's that serious, what are you doing?” she asked.
