“The View” co-host Joy Behar offered a rare praise for Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley during Thursday’s panel.
Behar surprised her fellow co-host Sunny Hostin by saying she likes Haley because she’s “serving a purpose” by running against former President Donald Trump in the 2024 primary.
“Look, I like her,” Behar said.
“What?” Hostin asked.
“I like Nikki. I like what Nikki’s doing. I don’t have to approve of everything in her policies. At least she won’t be governing from Cell Block 11. But, the woman is like serving a purpose the way Chris Christie was serving a purpose, by basically kick him, punching him … needling him [Trump],” Behar said. “And you know, he’s so insecure like she says and so transparent. Remember, I bring it back years when he attacked Rosie O’Donnell on this show. He was so vicious to her, you can’t even imagine, on every station. He cannot stand any kind of attack. So the more you needle him and punch him a little bit, you know, the more insecure he gets, the more senile he sounds.”
Besides Alyssa Farah Griffin, the co-hosts have been largely critical of Haley throughout her presidential run. Hostin has particularly been a staunch opponent of Haley. (RELATED: ‘Please Continue Interrupting Me’: ‘The View’ Co-Hosts Repeatedly Talk Over Each Other While Debating Nikki Haley)
Griffin and Hostin recently sparred over supporting Haley, with Hostin accusing Haley of being a “hypocrite.” Hostin claimed Haley took down the Confederate flag in South Carolina because she “was forced to” and said Haley refused to name slavery as a cause of the civil war because “85% of Republicans are white.”
Alyssa Farah Griffin Defends Nikki Haley
Back in September, Hostin accused Haley of hiding her real name, Nimrata, to keep her Indian heritage disclosed from her Republican base. Since childhood, Haley has been identified by her middle name, Nikki, which translates to “little one” in the Indian language and is a common name in the Punjab region of India.
‘What Is Her Real Name?’: Sunny Hostin Calls Nikki Haley A ‘Chameleon’
During a Feb. 14 segment, Behar said Haley was “part of the invasion of the bodysnatchers” related to the alleged “right-wing” craziness and falsely accused her of promoting Trump’s 2020 election fraud claims. Hostin called her a “political grifter” and “chameleon,” and co-host Whoopi Goldberg lashed out at her for criticizing Americans who believe the nation’s founding principles are “racist” and “evil.”