‘The View’ Hosts Clash with Sunny Hostin Over Talking to Anti-Vaxxers: “Have a Respectful Discourse”

On today’s episode of The View, the hosts clashed with Sunny Hostin over outreach to anti-vaxxers. During the ABC talk show, the panel discussed CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s decision to appear on vaccine skeptic Joe Rogan‘s popular podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. Will going on Rogan’s podcast to discuss vaccine science actually appeal to his listeners?

“[Rogan has] 200 million listeners per month, he has the No. 1 podcast on Spotify,” guest host Ana Navarro pointed out. “Even if it’s 0.001 [percent of listeners] that Sanjay was able to change the minds of, that’s a significant number.”

Navarro gave both Rogan and Gupta kudos for having a civil, three-hour discussion rather than going to outlets they often disagree with “to pick fights and get clickbait.”

Fellow guest host Sherri Shepherd, who knows Rogan through stand-up comedy, agreed. “If you don’t… talk to somebody you disagree with, then we would never have any kind of discourse,” she said.

But Hostin felt differently. “Sanjay’s a brilliant man, but I’m not so interested in understanding the Trump mind, I’m not so interested in understanding the anti-vax mind, because I’m not interested in understanding crazy,” she argued.

“We need to have more conversations, not less. Right now, we run to our own echo chambers,” Sara Haines replied. “We would rather have applause from preaching to our own choirs than actually moving the needle at all. I think this was so important to go on there, not to convince Joe Rogan, and not to have the intention to convince anyone else. Provide the facts. Answer with science. Let people make up their own minds.”

She added: “That’s the problem in this day and age. We’re telling people what to feel. They will feel what they want. Give them enough information that they make that decision, and win on merit.”

Haines pointed out that Dr. Gupta challenge Rogan’s messaging in subtle ways, such as pointing out that Rogan sells masks despite not being a huge masking proponent, or revealing that he was tested for antibodies and Covid-19 immediately before appearing on the podcast.

Still, Hostin wasn’t convinced. “[Rogan is] transphobic, he’s Islamaphobic, he has said racist things — I mean, another one with the trifecta of bigotry,” she said. “And these people continue to listen to him… If you are listening to him knowing his history, I’m not interested in reaching out to you.”

Shepherd argued that calling people idiots doesn’t help anyone. “You are going to change my mind when you have a respectful discourse, because I want to make my own decisions,” she responded. “There are people that still listen to Joe who [are] wavering. And because Sanjay went on there and said things about the mask and the pricking of the finger, they might go, ‘Oh, if I can change one heart, another heart can change another heart.'”

The View airs weekdays at 11/10c.

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