'The View' co-hosts panicked over possible third-party spoiler for Biden: 'There's no room'
"The View" co-hosts appeared panicked on Monday over the possibility of a third-party spoiler for President Biden, and argued that there was "no room" in the race.
"The View" co-hosts seemed panicked on Monday over a possible third-party spoiler for President Biden in the 2024 election and argued there was "no room" in the race.
Co-host Sunny Hostin said she was "very concerned" about a possible spoiler, citing Jill Stein's run in 2020.
"I just learned today that when Jill Stein ran and it was Trump versus Hillary, there were three states, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin where Stein’s vote total exceeded Trump’s margin of victory. So had she perhaps not been part of it, Hillary Clinton would have been president," Hostin said.
Co-host Ana Navarro said she remembered when Ross Perot was a spoiler for George H.W. Bush.
MANCHIN HINTS AT POTENTIAL THIRD-PARTY RUN AFTER SUPER TUESDAY: ‘PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR OPTIONS’
She argued that both Bush and his Democratic opponent at the time, Bill Clinton, were both good, "normal" human beings, but that this election was much different.
"In this case, you have got Joe Biden, a sane, decent, normal human, running against a man who is an existential threat to democracy and to the foreign world, to the international world, to the universe. So this is not a normal, ‘oh, you know what? We can afford to have a spoiler. We can afford to have Manchin running around,'" Navarro continued.
Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin said there were concerns about the spoiler effect, but said they were sort of acknowledging Biden is a weaker candidate than Trump.
"Whenever this conversation comes up, its almost like we’re all tacitly acknowledging that Biden is weaker than Trump. That's what it sounds like to me, because if Trump is actually weaker in a general than Biden, wouldn’t that mean that we shouldn’t be worried he’s going to lose more votes?" she asked.
Navarro responded and said Trump supporters were "cult members," but Biden supporters were "normal human beings."
Griffin said she didn't believe 40 million Americans were cult members and suggested there were some who believe the economy was better under the former president. Co-host Sara Haines argued that there was "no room" for a third party candidate in the 2024 election.
"This is not the time for a third party. Change comes very slowly in this country, as we know. Watching the history that has unfolded here, good and bad, takes time. We are a bipartisan situation right now. There is not a runway to bring in a third, although Alyssa, I do concede, the polls show people are not super psyched about the candidates in general right now. There’s no room to swap it out, although I’m on board for a split ticket third party going forward after this election. I would love that," Haines said.
Whoopi Goldberg asked Liz Cheney if she would ever consider a third-party run for president during a recent interview on "The View," and even pleaded with the former GOP congresswoman to run, "I’m begging you. Look, I’m on one knee."
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is privately making the case that a "health scare" for President Biden or a "conviction" for former President Trump could give him the opportunity he needs to win a run for president this year, CNN reported on Monday.
"Privately, the West Virginia Democrat has told people that a Joe Biden health scare or a Donald Trump conviction could give him an opening to run as an independent this year," the media outlet reported.
Manchin said that he can "absolutely" see himself as president of the United States and is telling potential voters that he exercised a key influence on "everything" in Biden's legislative agenda.
Fox News' Jeffrey Clark and Alexander Hall contributed to this report.