“The View” co-host Joy Behar slammed CNN’s town hall with former President Trump as a room of those in “his cult.”
Behar said during Thursday’s episode of the ABC show she changed her mind from previous comments she made in support of CNN holding the town hall with Trump.
She initially disagreed with fellow host Sunny Hostin, who said CNN should not go through with the event, arguing Trump is the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, and CNN should let him “show again to the American people that he is a sociopath.”
Behar said on Thursday she did not realize he would address a room full of his supporters. The town hall, which aired Wednesday, was held with Republican and Republican-leaning New Hampshire potential primary voters.
“I was wrong. She said they shouldn’t show him, and I said they should, because I’m a very big defender of the First Amendment, and I believe that everybody should show who they really are and let’s vote accordingly,” the ABC host said. “But what I didn’t know was that the audience would be filled with his cult. I would like to know if CNN was passing out Kool-Aid before the event started.”
Critics of the town hall, especially Democrats, have blasted CNN for holding the event with Trump and allowing him to have a platform to spread his false claims about election fraud.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has been among the most vocal, saying CNN “should be ashamed” and was “manipulated into platforming election disinformation, defenses of Jan 6th, and a public attack on a sexual abuse victim.”
Behar noted members of the audience were clapping as Trump was “trashing” writer E. Jean Carroll, who recently won a civil lawsuit against the former president. Trump was found liable on Tuesday for sexual abuse and defamation and charged $5 million in damages.
“Why would CNN put only Republicans and people who love him in the audience? If I do a comedy show and everybody loves me, I’m going to be funnier,” Behar said. “That’s how it works. But if you have people who don’t particularly think you’re that funny, you have to work harder.”
“That’s what I saw last night. I saw a bad stand-up comedian with a bunch of people in his cult who love him,” she continued. “And that is not American, as far as I’m concerned.”