‘The View’ Conservative Guest Host Slams Excessive Election Fraud Claims: ‘It’s Bad for Democracy’
As California’s gubernatorial recall election inches closer to an end, the hosts of “The View” are lamenting that yet another election is facing voter fraud claims. In fact, Republican guest host Mary Katharine Ham is worried about the long-term fallout.
On Monday, Larry Elder, the GOP hopeful striving to unseat Gov. Gavin Newsom, refused to commit to accepting the results of the election when asked by MSNBC’s Jacob Soboroff. Soboroff stated the question explicitly and repeatedly, saying “Whether or not you win or lose, will you accept the results of the election?”
“I think we all ought to be looking at election integrity. No matter whether you’re a Democrat, independent or a Republican,” Elder replied, also repeatedly. “Let’s all make sure that the election is a fair election. So let’s all work together, no matter what the results are, to make sure that the results are valid and legitimate.”
Discussing Elder’s refusal to commit to accepting the results on “The View” on Tuesday, Ham noted that his remarks and other continued efforts to sow distrust in the voting process are inevitably going to hurt the country as a whole.
“It’s bad for democracy” Ham said. She then called out past instances, such as the 2020 presidential election, which was marred by similar unproven claims of voter fraud, and slammed both sides of the aisle.
“We would all be better off if presidents didn’t pretend that they won, if failed governor candidates in Georgia didn’t not concede, and if the press didn’t pretend that Russians elected Trump, when he didn’t,” Ham said. “He was the duly elected president of the United States.”
That said, Ham also argued that Republicans are essentially shooting themselves in the foot with these claims. Ham cited the flipping of Georgia as a “testing ground for this” earlier this year.
“If you send out a statement saying that the election doesn’t matter and that people shouldn’t vote, they might not come out and vote,” Ham said. “Because you need to be encouraging them to do so.”
Meanwhile, host Joy Behar likened Elder to the most recent former president, saying “He thinks he’s Trump, but thankfully, there’s only one Trump. And he’s gone.”