Sunny Hostin, co-host of The View, ignited a firestorm on social media after likening the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot to the Holocaust and slavery. Her controversial remarks came during the Monday episode of the show, which marked the fourth anniversary of the event when MAGA supporters disrupted Congress’s certification of then-President-elect Joe Biden’s election.
“You don’t move on, because January 6th was an atrocity. It was one of the worst moments in American history,” Hostin declared. “And when you think about the worst moments in American history, you know, like World War II, things that happened, you know, like the Holocaust, chattel slavery. We need to never forget because the past becomes prologue if you forget and erase.”
Hostin’s comments drew sharp criticism on social media, with users on the platform X calling for The View to be taken off the air. Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former aide to Donald Trump turned critic, offered a different perspective, placing some blame on Democrats for Trump’s return to the White House.
“Yes, democracy matters, but if you can’t pay your bills, it’s hard to care about something as nebulous as democracy,” Griffin argued. She criticized Biden’s delayed re-election campaign, saying, “People were saying we have a concern about your age. He waited until August and then gave Kamala Harris this runway to run for president. All the warning signs were there.”
Griffin added, “This was Democrats, they had the chance to stop Donald Trump from being inaugurated, and here we are. But I hope the whitewashing of January 6th ends. It wasn’t right, and it never will be, no matter how much people lie about it. This was avoidable in my book.”
Co-host Sara Haines called for January 6 to be commemorated annually, likening its significance to that of 9/11. “Not to compare it to 9/11 because, again, it’s not an equivalent, but there are people alive today, including my niece, who didn’t know 9/11. So when you talk to anyone that was alive during that time, you have a visceral fear response that takes you back there,” Haines explained.
While The View’s hosts emphasized the importance of remembering January 6, Hostin’s comments dominated the backlash online. Critics accused her of exaggerating and diminishing the gravity of the historical atrocities she referenced. The controversy has added fuel to ongoing debates over how January 6 should be framed in American history.