Sunny Hostin Calls for an End to the GOP: 'Just Throw Out the Entire Republican Party'

Sunny Hostin's big week on The View continued Thursday morning during a tense discussion about George W. Bush "saving" the GOP from Trumpism by backing Liz Cheney's reelection campaign. As she's done in the past, Hostin noted that apart from voting for impeachment, Cheney's politics are almost identical to Trump's, and she asked whether the Republican Party is "really worth saving" given this reality. "Let's just throw out the entire Republican Party," said Hostin, earning a round of applause from the audience.

In a moment guaranteed to make Meghan McCain scream, The View opened with a Hot Topic about George W. Bush throwing his support behind Liz Cheney in her upcoming Wyoming Republican primary. When fill-in moderator Joy Behar (Whoopi Goldberg is out with sciatica) asked the panel if Bush has now become "the man to save the Republican Party from itself, and the man to save the country from the Republican Party," Ana Navarro ran with it, saying that Cheney's primary offers some insight into whether Trump is "beatable" in the future. "It's up to Republicans who don't want the Republican Party to be the Trump cult to speak up and fight for our place in this party," she said. "If all the Republicans who don't follow Trumpism, who are not cult members, quit, withdraw, stay silent, then it becomes the Trump party."

"I hate to throw cold water on you, Ana, as our Republican on the panel," replied Hostin, "But everyone is talking about Liz Cheney like she's the savior of the Republican Party. And my question is really: is the Republican Party worth saving, especially for people of color? Liz Cheney, in my view, is no savior, especially for people who look like me." Hostin reminded her co-hosts that Cheney voted with Trump 92% of the time, including voting against increasing COVID stimulus payments and against providing disaster aid for Puerto Rico in February 2020.

BUSH VS. TRUMP IN FACE OFF OVER LIZ CHENEY’S SEAT: As Trump supporters in the GOP vie for Republican Rep. Liz Cheney’s congressional seat, former Pres. George W. Bush will headline a fundraiser next month for her – the co-hosts weigh in. https://t.co/1sjMBXLgZ1 pic.twitter.com/wWuhDikEoU

— The View (@TheView) September 23, 2021

When Behar reminded her that "the alternative is even worse" than Cheney, Hostin advocated for ditching the GOP altogether, a suggestion that didn't sit well with Sara Haines. As Haines argued for the importance of having "two robust, vital parties," Hostin peppered her with questions about whether the GOP is "redeemable" in the first place, and whether "Liz Cheney is a sane Republican" for voting against policies that would help Americans.

"You may not agree with her on ideology, and I think that's the point of this government," said Navarro, making her distaste for Hostin's argument clear. When Hostin once again brought up Cheney's Puerto Rico vote, Navarro accused her of "trying to make this about policy" rather than politics and ideology. "Politics is policy!" interrupted Hostin.

"It's about conviction, principles, and values," replied Navarro. "You're not going to agree with her ideology, nor should you. And people in Wyoming probably don't agree with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, nor should we expect them to. This is a huge country — what we have to learn to respect is diversity of thought. And fight against it, if you don't agree with it. Fight against it vigorously."

Claire Spellberg Lustig is the Senior Editor at Primetimer and a scholar of The View. Follow her on Twitter at @c_spellberg.