Sunny Hostin Warns Biden Could Lose Black Support Without Harris on Ticket

Vice President Kamala Harris is increasingly viewed as a drag on the 2024 Democratic presidential ticket, but “The View” co-host Sunny Hostin cautioned that President Biden drops her at his peril.

“Ninety-one percent of African Americans voted for Biden and will continue to vote for Biden if Kamala is his running mate,” said Ms. Hostin, who is Black. “I would be very careful, President Biden, about getting rid of Kamala Harris because we will not support you.”

The warning came with the should-she-stay-or-should-she-go conversation heating up on the left, fueled by Mr. Biden’s advanced age and Mrs. Harris’s shaky approval ratings and job performance.

The left-tilting media has picked up the narrative. New York Magazine’s The Intelligencer ran a Wednesday story headlined “The Case for Biden to Drop Kamala Harris,” a day after Washington Post columnist David Ignatius suggested that the Biden-Harris ticket is a loser.

“If Biden gets rid of Kamala Harris and inserts someone else, he will lose the Black vote.”

— In the wake of several pieces calling for Joe Biden to pick a new running mate, “The View“ co-host Sunny Hostin says Kamala Harris is necessary for Biden to win. pic.twitter.com/thzmzQG8jj

— The Recount (@therecount) September 14, 2023

During the Thursday show, Ms. Hostin was asked if Mr. Biden could avoid alienating the Black electorate by selecting a different Black woman as a running mate, but she nixed the idea, saying, “We’re not interchangeable.”

Co-host Joy Behar, who is White, said “I don’t want to White-‘splain, you might be underestimating the Black community voter,” to which Ms. Hostin replied, “I don’t think I am.”

Co-host Whoopi Goldberg, who is Black, called the speculation pointless.

“She is not going anywhere. Let’s start with that,” Ms. Goldberg said. “This is a lot of hypothetical BS meant to make your mind explode.”

Even so, the issue isn’t going away. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave a less-than-enthusiastic response when asked this week if she thought Mrs. Harris would be the best running mate for Mr. Biden in 2024.

“He thinks so, and that’s what matters,” Mrs. Pelosi told CNN host Anderson Cooper.

Mrs. Harris, the former U.S. senator from California, is the first woman, Black and Asian-American vice president. Her father immigrated from Jamaica and her mother from India to pursue advanced degrees at the University of California Berkeley.