"The View" co-host Joy Behar appeared upset during Thursday's episode and pushed back on fellow co-host Sara Haines' claim that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is too progressive to win a presidential election in the U.S.
The exchange began with co-host Sunny Hostin defending Ocasio-Cortez from critics. "I think in particular when you see women of color being strong, and being firm and being honest, we are called aggressive. We are called brash. We are called disrespectful. We are called angry, and a man would never be treated that way," she declared.
Hostin then praised AOC's left-wing agenda: "And if you think about her policies, I would tell you most of the things that she has been criticized for have come to pass in terms of the necessity. The Green New Deal, Medicare for all, fully funded public schools, paid family and sick leave, housing as a human right, justice system reform. Who doesn’t need that here in this country? Yet she has been vilified."
The hosts were discussing Ocasio-Cortez's recent interview with GQ magazine, during which the congresswoman said that she would face obstacles in any potential bid for the presidency because so many people in the country "hate women."
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ MOCKED FOR GQ MAGAZINE FEATURE: ‘WAIT WHAT?’
"You can’t eliminate the sexism in this country. You can’t eliminate the racism in the country from that, but I could also say there are other reasons why I think it would be tough for a candidate like her. I think she’s very progressive. Her ideas are amazing. I love the idea if we could do all those things. I don’t think she has an execute executable plan which is what so many people differ on. Which is yeah, it sounds lovely, but how do we pay for that?" Haines observed, adding that some would call President Biden "progressive."
She then asked, if people call the president progressive, "what is AOC next to Biden?"
"A little more progressive, that's all," Behar said.
Haines continued to argue that the country defines itself as predominately "independent" and an extreme candidate on either side would "not win the masses."
"How come it wins in every other civilized country?" Behar asked. "I'm going to give you a list of women. New Zealand, Tunisia, Serbia, Denmark, Moldova, Bangladesh."
Haines reiterated that it was not the "women part" people have a problem with.
Behar added Liz Truss, the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel to her list and said "only in this country."
"Having said that, I'm only for a qualified woman. I'm not voting for Marjorie Taylor Green just because she's got the right parts," she said.
During the interview, GQ asked Ocasio-Cortez about the possibility of her leading the country. She said that she has "contradictory thoughts."
"One is just the relentless belief that anything is possible," the congresswoman told GQ. "But at the same time, my experience here has given me a front-row seat to how deeply and unconsciously, as well as consciously, so many people in this country hate women. And they hate women of color. People ask me questions about the future. And realistically, I can’t even tell you if I’m going to be alive in September. And that weighs very heavily on me."
The New York congresswoman recently dodged a question from CNN host Dana Bash about supporting Biden in 2024.
"You know, if the president chooses to run again in 2024, I mean, first of all, I'm focused on winning this majority right now and preserving a majority this year in 2022," Ocasio-Cortez said. "So, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it … I think if the president has a vision and that's something certainly we're all willing to entertain and examine when the time comes."
