‘The View’ Cohosts Share ‘Emotional’ Reactions to Kamala Harris’ Ellipse Speech

The cohosts of The View had a lot to say in response to Kamala Harris‘ big speech in front of a crowd of 75,000 in Washington, D.C. The “Hot Topic” segment started with the group playing a clip of Harris noting that the location of the speech was the exact spot where the January 6 insurrection began before adding, “We have to stop pointing fingers and start locking arms. It’s time to turn the page on the drama and the conflict. I will work with everyone—Democrats, Republicans, and independents. I don’t believe people who disagree with me are the enemy. He wants to put them in jail; I’ll give them a seat at the table.” 

“It’s kind of what you want to hear,” Whoopi Goldberg said in response to the clip. “It’s all right, you’re willing to work with both sides. Okay! Anything to stop this insanity.” Goldberg then stood up to demonstrate how “punch drunk” she feels, comparing her disorientation to a scene from Valley of the Dolls.  

Joy Behar and Sunny Hostin then discussed the real-life ramifications of some of Trump’s recent rhetoric — including calling his political rivals the “enemy within” — pointing to how Richard Nixon’s administration sent armed guards to gun down American students at Kent State University in 1970. “When he says ‘the enemy from within,’ that is what it evokes in my mind — that they will be shooting kids who are protesting on campuses,” Behar added.

Alyssa Farah Griffin steered the conversation to a somewhat more positive take, saying that Harris’ speech made her “a little emotional” because of the contrast between the visual of Harris “reclaiming that space” from January 6 infamy. After remembering how worried she was that Trump’s words about her former boss, Mike Pence, were putting him “in so much danger,” she decried the violent mob that stormed the Capitol. “Also, showing a woman in front of the White House looking presidential, I think that was incredibly powerful,” she added. “The message is what resonated with me. Donald Trump has not asked for my vote…. But she’s saying she wants to be a president for all Americans.”

Sara Haines, who identifies as an independent voter, agreed that the message of unity “should land for everyone,” adding, “the number one message that hits me with her campaign is that she’s going to make room at the table for everyone.”

Hostin then labeled Harris a “joyful warrior” and said she looked presidential in the moment. “More importantly, we saw someone that was ready, that was competent, that outlined her to-do list, that outlined what she would do for the country.”

She then went on to echo some of her cohosts’ sentiments of exhaustion with the current state of politics, saying, “I think, Whoopi, everybody feels like you. We’re punch drunk. Everybody feels like you, Sara. We’re tired of the division. Everyone feels like you feel [Joy], everyone wants this to be over with.”

Elsewhere in the episode, Goldberg slammed people who are “pearl-clutching” over Joe Biden’s controversial response to the Trump rally comments, and they discussed the major disparity between the expectations of Biden and Harris, and Trump. Hostin also made this bold prediction: “We already know, as Alyssa said, that he will likely claim victory that night, win or lose, and he’s setting us up for January 6.”

The View, weekdays, 11 a.m. ET, ABC