Sunny Hostin Plays Defense After Criticizing Liz Cheney: 'She's Not the Savior of Democracy'

Sunny Hostin found herself in an uncomfortable position Tuesday morning when she was the lone co-host to question liberals' newfound love of Rep. Liz Cheney. In a rare three-on-one attack, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, and Alyssa Farah Griffin teamed up to dismantle her argument, but Hostin wouldn't be deterred as she pointed out Cheney's pro-Trump voting record and her privileged background. "She only took a stance when this insurrection happened," said the former prosecutor. "She is not the savior of democracy!"

In a not-so-surprising move, Griffin, a former Trump official who has since disavowed him, praised Cheney for taking a "principled stance" against the MAGA wing of the Republican Party. "We don't need more sycophants in office," said Griffin. "We need Liz Cheneys in office."

"I don't think we need more Liz Cheneys in office," replied Hostin, noting that the Wyoming congresswoman voted with Trump 92.9% of the time. She added that Cheney "only took a stance" against Trump after the insurrection, which is "a pretty low bar when democracy is at stake."

Whoopi immediately pushed back, saying Cheney's January 6 heel turn was "a pretty big stance," and Behar soon joined her in defending the congresswoman. "She's not the savior, but look, we were talking about a brave woman in Moscow. This is obviously on a smaller level because her life is not at stake, but what she's doing is brave," said Behar. "Because what she's doing is going against her own people. That doesn't mean that I would vote for her or that you would, but give her that at least."

"She's a wealthy woman. She comes from a wealthy family," said Hostin. "How brave is it to go against democracy if you're going to lose your job?"

REPUBLICANS DIVIDED OVER CHENEY PRIMARY: Since some Wyoming Republicans have turned against GOP Congresswoman Liz Cheney, #TheView panel discusses if Democrats could help her in the primary. https://t.co/cVclFZQmjA pic.twitter.com/z9A7mLslJq

— The View (@TheView) March 15, 2022

"I'm sorry, that's two different things!" replied Whoopi. When Hostin said that Cheney's background "matters" in the context of this debate, Whoopi waved it away. "Not to me! It doesn't matter to me!" said the longtime moderator. "What matters to me is that someone from that end of the rope said, 'This is not okay. This is not okay.' I can fight about our ideals back and forth, but when you poop on the country and say that a lie is the truth, that what we're talking about isn't important, and somebody stands up and says, 'Listen, I know you don't like what I'm saying, but I have to stand up and say it,' I have to give — you know, I would never vote for her. I'm not going to change direction, but I can appreciate somebody who stands up and says, 'You know what, this isn't right and I do see that the emperor's not wearing clothes.'"

But Hostin wasn't done quite yet. "She voted against giving Americans $2,000 during COVID!" she said. "I understand your point, but she is not the savior of democracy!"

The back-and-forth continued, but Hostin didn't move from her position. Talk about taking a "principled stance" for what you believe in.

Claire Spellberg Lustig is the Senior Editor at Primetimer and a scholar of The View. Follow her on Twitter at @c_spellberg.