Sunny Hostin has admitted to giving Kamala Harris a ‘softball’ question during her high-profile spot on The View last month.
The October 8 interview saw Hostin ask Harris how she’d ‘be different’ from Joe Biden – paving the way for a curt response.
‘There is not a thing that comes to mind,’ the then-presidential candidate replied – after an audible pause.
The moment has since lived in infamy, with some – including famed political strategist James Carville – categorizing the exchange as the turning point in the vice president’s campaign.
A point-of-no return, the moment meant to be more or less a free ad for Harris has earned a new round of scrutiny following Donald Trump’s landslide win – enough so that Hostin, who had been a supporter of the vice president, finally weighed in.
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‘Oh, wow I wish I had that much power,’ she jokingly told ‘The View’ producer Brian Teta during the show’s Behind the Table podcast after being asked if her question was to blame for the loss last week.
‘Because I would have flipped it in the other way.’
The conversation grew more serious from there, with the author and lawyer going on to explain why she ‘followed up’ after Harris’s answer – which many saw as an opportunity to distance herself from her struggling predecessor.
Instead, the Democrat doubled down – likely providing the proverbial nail in the coffin for her whirlwind campaign.
‘I followed up because I was surprised at the answer,’ Hostin explained.
‘I think it wasn’t so much about the question, but it was really more about the answer
‘The reason I followed up was because that wasn’t a gotcha question,’ she continued.
‘That was a layup, really.’
Seemingly laughing the entire thing off, Hostin set out on explaining what she thought would have occurred.
‘I thought she would then say, “I would build on the wins we’ve had,” and I had a laundry list of wins in my head,’ the 56-year-old New Yorker recalled.
‘And she didn’t answer it that way.
‘She said, “Not a thing comes to mind,”‘ Hostin continued, before remarking on the “loyal[ty]” Harris had shown to the president.
Stopping short of actually admitting Harris had given a poor answer, the View host finished by saying, ‘I will just say I was surprised at the answer
‘It was a question that really could have inured to her benefit.
‘It was a question that could have been a change maker.’
The moment did prove decisive. Just not in the manner that showrunners had intended.
The political expert who touts himself as the ‘Ragin Cajun’ was among those to take notice, with Carville addressing the subject during an appearance on ‘The Bulwark Podcast’ last week.
‘I think if this campaign is reducible to one moment, we are in a 65% wrong-track country,” he first told host Tim Miller.
‘The country wants something different,’
‘She’s asked, as is so often the case, in a friendly audience, on The View, “How would you be different than Biden?”‘ the strategist credited for Bill Clinton’s win over then-incumbent George H.W. Bush continued.
‘That’s the one question that you exist to answer, all right? That is it. That’s the money question. That’s the one you want.
‘That’s the one that everybody wants to know the answer to,’ he went on, before asking aloud in disbelief ‘And you freeze?’ – insinuating the moment proved fateful.
The Trump team seemingly saw it as a slip-up as well, pointing to the clip in a plethora of ads leading up to the big day.
News stories published since continue to reference the moment as monumental – with CNN publish a story surrounding it titled ‘Where Harris’ campaign went wrong.’
Similar pieces from publications like USA Today and BBC followed, with both painting the exchange as one of the factors that led to Harris’s undoing.
Such conjecture has become commonplace over the past week, as many on-air personalities who had been in outspoken support of Harris now set out on explaining what happened – and why it did.
Factors like inflation and policies surrounding the border thought to be the blame – both of which are indelibly linked to the Biden presidency.
Biden stepped aside for Harris following his concerning debate performance in June, and endorsed her shortly thereafter.
On Tuesday, he welcomed Trump to the White House once again. Harris did not attend. During her run, Hostin had been an outspoken supporter – as was the case with the other panelists.
