"The View" co-host Joy Behar claimed during the show Tuesday that Republicans are guilty of participating in cancel culture by attempting to silence beliefs in the name of preventing "wokeness."
The segment began with a video from the Conservative Political Action Conference that took place last week, showing clips of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem slamming President Joe Biden and the left for their "wokeness," their response to parents at school board meetings and accusations that the U.S. is "racist."
Responding to the video footage, Behar asserted that Republicans are "the ones who are canceling."
"What gets me is they talk about the cancel culture as if they're not involved in the canceling," Behar said. "They’re the ones who want to cancel LGBT rights, abortion rights, 'Don't Say Gay" in Florida, they're burning the books, Liz Cheney — they're the ones who are canceling and they're the ones who seem to be worried about wokeness. Because if you listen and you read about critical race theory, you might become more woke."
DeSANTIS SLAMS LEFT’S “WOKENESS”: Some of the biggest GOP names gave a Republican rallying cry at CPAC about education, COVID-19 mandates and more – #TheView co-hosts and Michele Tafoya discuss the key issues for voters ahead of midterm elections. https://t.co/QZzE7tpYXm pic.twitter.com/sfWwD8rORm
— The View (@TheView) March 1, 2022
Fellow co-host Sunny Hostin then said the term "woke" comes from the African American community and is defined by an "awareness" of social and racial justice issues.
"I would think in this country, these United States, that people want to be aware of social justice issues, or racial justice issues," Hostin said. "I don’t know why that’s a bad thing."
Guest host Michele Tafoya, a former NFL sideline reporter, was pressed by Hostin on why she attended CPAC despite proclaiming herself as a libertarian.
"My message is, I'll talk to anyone," Tafoya said. "And I'll listen to anyone. I'm for more voices, not fewer voices, that's number one. So, I wanted to go say 'listen, let's take hate out of all of this right now.' The cancel culture, true, it goes both directions. Let's be honest about it. All the evils of politics go in both directions, comes from both sides, it's true."
"And I feel like there's a huge group in the middle, of which I am a part, that is being ignored," she continued. "That our voices are getting drowned out by this end and this end and the in-between folks are being told to 'shut up and listen.'"
Tafoya explained that individuals in the middle politically prioritize issues like the economy, safety and whether or not their children have to wear masks. She added that these Americans want to feel "safe and secure" while also supporting social justice issues.
Behar then claimed the "extreme right" has become the Republican Party while the far left has not become the Democratic Party.
"I don't agree," Tafoya replied. "I think you've got your extreme left and you've got your extreme right. The largest 'party' in America are the Independents … I think there is a spectrum. I don't just think you can say ‘'his side good, that side bad.' I think there is a lot of in-between and I think that's what’s getting lost in America."