Sunny Hostin and Sara Haines Spar Over the Filibuster: 'Democrats Are Not Playing Hardball'

With Meghan McCain gone, The View's Sara Haines has established herself as Sunny Hostin's ideological opposite, and the two made their difference of opinion known on Tuesday morning. The co-hosts threw down during a heated discussion about the filibuster that culminated in Hostin throwing shade at the naïveté of Haines' moderate position. "Do you really think that with the Republicans in the majority, that they would not get rid of the filibuster so they could do what they needed to do?" asked Hostin. "The Democrats are not playing hardball."

The View's discussion about President Biden's flagging approval rating started off calm enough, but things intensified when Hostin and guest co-host Sherri Shepherd dinged Biden for leaving African-Americans that voted for him by the wayside. "Biden's got this PR problem and an action problem. Obama used social media, Trump exploited social media. Biden is this old traditionalist — he's a typewriter president," said Shepherd. "If you've done stuff for us, for the Black community, you've got to tell us about it! Get on social media — your response is too slow!"

Hostin agreed, saying that "the Democrats have to, have to get rid of the filibuster immediately" in order for Biden to fulfill the promises he made to the Black community. "Biden, I think, is catering to the independents. He thinks this infrastructure bill is going to get the independents all riled up," she said. "But he is forgetting about the Voting Rights Act. He is forgetting about the George Floyd Policing Act. Those are the things that are very important to the African-American community. If you don't do that, 2022 is going to be the death [of him]."

Haines then chimed in to defend the filibuster, which she argued could be used against Democrats if the GOP assumes the majority in the Senate. "The one thing that scares me is we're watching a Republican Party that's no longer the Republican Party it once was," she said, citing Texas' recent abortion ban and GOP leaders' commitment to Trump's election lie. "Now give them the power again — now that Voting Rights Act that we got through because we gave away the filibuster — now we're the minority. What version are they going to give us now?"

TEXAS GOVERNOR BANS COVID VACCINE MANDATES: The co-hosts and guest co-hosts @sherrieshepherd and @secupp react to Gov. Greg Abbott issuing a statewide ban on vaccine mandates and accusing Pres. Biden of federal overreach. https://t.co/ZQapiSNYHX pic.twitter.com/4lYl0loklX

— The View (@TheView) October 12, 2021

"Are you really hopeful that they wouldn't do it anyway?" asked Hostin. When Haines insisted that "the filibuster would protect the minority party," should the Democrats find themselves in that position, her co-host asked if she really believes Republicans wouldn't end the filibuster to "do what they needed to do" as the majority.

Hostin added that "the Democrats are not playing hardball," and it has potentially disastrous consequences. "In 2022, it's going to be the death of the majority of the Democrats in the House," she said. "Now is the time to act because what the Republicans are really doing that no one's talking about is they are suppressing the minority vote in each and every single state, successfully. And that is the game plan. We've got to pass that Voting Rights Act. That is the No. 1 concern."

Elsewhere on The View... Sherri Shepherd said that she bought a gun during the pandemic — "It just makes me feel like, at least if something happens, I can protect my child" — and revealed that she keeps it in the Sherri Shepherd-est of all places. When Joy Behar joked that she's "such a klutz" she'd accidentally shoot herself in the foot if she owned a gun, Shepherd offered a helpful suggestion about where to store it.

"I keep my gun in the drawer next to my special toys," said Shepherd. "So if you come in my house, you're going to get a happy ending or an ending. I'm just saying."

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