One of the new co-hosts of ABC’s “The View” says she partially agrees with President Joe Biden’s assessment of his predecessor.
During a segment on Tuesday, the panelists discussed Biden’s claim that the “extreme MAGA philosophy” is “like semi-fascism.”
Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former Trump administration official and new co-host of the show, said, “I take a little bit of issue with [Biden] broadly applying the term semi-fascists to Republicans…to ‘MAGA Republicans.'”
“I think Donald Trump is [semi–fascist]. I think the vast majority of his supporters are not. I think they are good people who want an economy that works for them, who saw more money in their paycheck under Donald Trump,” she added.
However, co-host Sunny Hostin noted that a majority of Republicans view Trump as the leader of the party.
“If you are saying that [Trump] is a fascist. What are they? If you are saying that he is a white supremacist, what are they? If you are saying that he is a racist, what are they? Because if you are following someone that has in their heart — and I believe that he does — then you are complicit in that, and you don’t get a pass on it!” she added.
Watch the video below:
Sunny declares that “60-70%” of Republicans are the “semi-fascists” Biden is talking about.
“If you are [Trump’s] a fascist. what are they? If you are saying he’s a white supremest, what are they? … you are complicit in that and you don’t get a pass it!” pic.twitter.com/CCDBKc5dBD— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) September 6, 2022
During an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America” Monday, Griffin stated, “I worked in the Trump administration. I’ve also since criticized the former president.”
“But I still want to be a voice for the 74 million Americans who voted for him, and kind of tell them, from my experience, here’s why I won’t support him again, but here’s what a future Republican Party can and should look like,” she continued.
Finally, Griffin added, “So that’s really what I’m hoping to meet the audience with.”
"Our elected leaders oftentimes can't have the conversations we all have around our dinner tables."@Alyssafarah, former press secretary for then-Vice President Mike Pence, talks about joining @TheView as co-host. https://t.co/ieXJuzJ0a5 pic.twitter.com/6he6cyC423
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 5, 2022
In Nov. 2021, she was asked during an appearance on CNN if she was concerned the former president would impose “some sort of autocracy” if he won a second term.
“I think he absolutely would,” Griffin responded. “There were things he wanted to do while in power the first time that were well beyond the scope of what the U.S. president should be able to do, but oftentimes it was simply the motivation of simply hoping to win reelection that kept him from doing things. It’s very different in a second term, and I think that’s what scares me the most.”
She also claimed Trump would “weaponize the Justice Department against political opponents, going after the free press; he would certainly be open to using the military for political reasons as well.”
Biden has criticized so-called “MAGA Republicans” and claimed they “represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.” However, he stipulated that “not even the majority of Republicans are MAGA Republicans.”
He also clarified that he does not “consider any Trump supporters a threat to the country.”
