In less than two hours, “The View” co-host Sara Haines completely flipped her position on another round of nationwide lockdowns.
This morning, Haines pushed back against the suggestion from former Vice President Joe Biden’s coronavirus adviser Michael Osterholm that we institute a strict, nationwide lockdown for 4-6 weeks. Such a measure, she said, is not “necessarily the most prudent answer to the problem,” referencing experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci, who said last month he is opposed to another national lockdown.
“We could pay for a package right now to cover all the wages, lost wages for individual workers, for losses to small companies, to medium-sized companies or city, state, county governments,” Osterholm said this week. “If we did that, then we could lock down for four to six weeks.”
Haines said it’s unrealistic to think such a financial package could get through Congress.
The ABC co-host was immediately criticized by progressive Twitter users, so she entirely switched her position, now agreeing with co-hosts Sunny Hostin, Whoopi Goldberg, and Joy Behar.
“I stand corrected,” Haines tweeted. “Maybe a shutdown is the only way. Dr. Fauci seemed to think it wouldn’t take a shutdown. In NYC, all I see is people doing our part. If that is NOT the case everywhere else — shut ’er down!”
“I thought threat of shutdown (and all that means) would change people’s minds,” she added.
Anything else?
During the segment, Behar pushed back against Haines, saying Americans “are not gonna” wear masks (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, said in late October the “vast majority of Americans of all ages have been wearing face coverings since April”). She also argued, quite angrily, that President Donald Trump is “so evil.”
“I think he absolutely relishes the idea that things are getting worse and it’s going to be in Biden’s lap,” Behar said. “I really think he likes that. That’s how sick he is.”
The other co-hosts seemed to agree with Behar.
Goldberg said during her remarks she’s supportive of more nationwide lockdowns because no one had “a plan” under the Trump administration. She went on to say Americans should face a tax penalty if they are caught without a mask on, “because every time you don’t wear a mask, you’re sending someone to the hospital that has no room for them.”
Hostin, for her part, said she favors very strict federal lockdowns on all citizens, “because that type of thing has worked.”