The co-hosts of “The View” sparred on Friday over whether former Vice President Kamala Harris should seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028.
Sunny Hostin kicked off the discussion by pointing to a new report.
“The Wall Street Journal reports Harris has taken steps that would enable her to run, and that her husband Doug [Emhoff] has privately said he doesn’t want her to,” Hostin said.
Ana Navarro, a longtime friend of Harris, said she had recently spoken with the former vice president and quickly came to her defense.
“Let me say this — number one, if Kamala Harris wants to run, I sure as hell am not telling her she can’t or she shouldn’t. She is the highest ranking woman ever elected in U.S. history,” Navarro said.
Navarro argued that Harris “came damn close to winning” in what she described as a very difficult campaign run in 107 days.
She also pushed back on the reporting about Emhoff, saying she does not believe he is opposed to another run. Navarro noted that the couple met and married when they were almost 50, both already established and successful professionals, and said the two respect and support one another.
“If Kamala Harris says, ‘I’m going to run,’ Doug Emhoff will do everything in his power to help her get elected,” Navarro said.
In 2024, Trump won 49.8% of the popular vote to Harris’ 48.3%, along with 312 Electoral College votes to Harris’ 226.
Navarro did offer a note of caution, saying she has shared it with Harris directly.
“Let’s be real — and I’ve told Kamala this. I hear a lot of women who are scarred from the fact that two very qualified women, Hillary and Kamala, lost against the most unqualified human being that has ever been in the Oval Office,” she said.
Hostin then turned to substitute host Raven-Symoné with a pointed question.
“Do you think a Black woman can be president in 2028?” Hostin asked.
“Not in America!” Raven-Symoné exclaimed.
She went on to claim that in the days after Joe Biden dropped out in 2024, online platforms saw racist content directed at Harris rise 525% and misogynistic content climb 2,328%.
Sara Haines, however, made the case that Harris is not the right choice if Democrats want to win.
Haines said Democrats have been “screaming for new energy” and calling for something new. She noted that this would be Harris’ third time on the ballot, pointing to her early exit from her first presidential bid and her run alongside Biden.
“People are clamoring for fresh energy, and there is a lot of candidates, Pete Buttigieg, Mark Kelly, [Josh] Shapiro, Wes Moore. They’re moderate Democrats and I think they could sweep,” Haines said.
“And they’re men!” Raven-Symoné quipped.
“They are men,” Haines acknowledged.
Haines then named one woman she said she would support.
“But if there was someone of that caliber — Elissa Slotkin. She’s someone I’ll have my eye on down the road when she comes around, but that’s a female I would vote for,” she said.
