In a segment that will almost assuredly draw howls from conservative media and politicians, The View co-host Joy Behar declared Monday that Democrats need to stop giving American voters advance notice that they’d take away their guns. Instead, she said, just wait until you’re elected to do it.
While discussing Beto O’Rourke’s decision to drop out of the Democratic presidential primary, the View panel debated why the former Texas congressman was unable to break through despite early hype.
“Well, not everybody is born to be president, I guess,” co-host Abby Huntsman said, referencing O’Rourke’s highly mocked claim to Vanity Fair when he first announced his candidacy.
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After the table wondered aloud whether this should be a signal to other also-rans and low-polling candidates to drop out, conservative co-host Meghan McCain—who has engaged in a very public feud with O’Rourke over his anti-gun stance—weighed in.
“Beto, when my husband told me he got out of the race, I think he’s actually like a beta test for why going so national and being beloved by the media is so dangerous,” she declared.
The ex-Fox News personality said that O’Rourke’s gun buyback proposals hurt him, noting that other Democrats have said clips of the ex-congressman saying he’d take away AR-15s and other such weapons would be used by the National Rifle Association and other conservative organizations for years.
This prompted Behar, a regular sparring partner of McCain’s, to jump in with her own advice for Democrats.
“They should not tell everything they’re going to do,” Behar exclaimed. “Like, if you are going to take people’s guns away, wait until you get elected and then take the guns away. Don’t tell them ahead of time!”
While many in the audience laughed and clapped, McCain sounded off.
“By the way, that’s what people like me think they’re gonna do,” she responded. “That’s what people like me think is gonna happen, so I appreciate his honesty.”
