Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley has labeled Sunny Hostin of The View a “racist” after the Liberal co-host scolded her for not using her Indian first name.
Sunny Hostin attacked Haley on Tuesday’s episode of the talk show, calling her a “chameleon” while insinuating that the former ambassador isn’t using her first name, Nimrata, in an effort to appeal to Republican voters.
She was soon branded a “racist” on Twitter, with many commenting that Nikki is Haley’s middle name — and Hostin doesn’t use her first name either.
By noon, Haley decided to discuss the matter herself.
“Thank you for your concern @Sunny,” the former South Carolina governor tweeted, claiming, “It’s racist of you to judge my name.
“Nikki is an Indian name and it’s on my birth certificate – and I’m proud of it,” she wrote. “What’s sad is the hypocrisy of the left towards conservative minorities.”
“By the way, the last time I checked Sunny isn’t your birth name…,” Haley added in her tweet to Hostin, whose birth name is Asunción Cummings Hostin.
The View co-host has not yet apologized for her comments, despite the rampant response on Twitter.
Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley hit back at The View’s Sunny Hostin after the Liberal co-host scolded her for not using her Indian first name. Haley is pictured here at a campaign event for Republican Senate candidate for Georgia Herschel Walker
Hostin (pictured) suggested Haley not use her first name, Nimrata, in an effort to appeal to Republican voters
In a tweet after the episode, Haley told Hostin ‘it’s racist of you to judge my name’
Her comments came in response to co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin discussing who she thought would be a good Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election.
“I think we’ve got some if they’re willing to challenge Trump,” she said of who she believes are qualified candidates.
“I’d like to see Nikki Haley, I’d like to see Liz Cheney…”
At that point, Hostin interrupted her co-host and said, “And Nikki Haley the chameleon and Liz Cheney who is now the savior of…”
Farah Griffin then tried to turn the call back as the audience gasped audibly, saying, “I think Nikki Haley was an incredibly effective governor.”
But Hostin remained fixated on her name and asked her co-host, “What’s her real name again?”
Farah Griffin then fired back and tried to defend the American diplomat by saying, “A lot of people don’t use their real real names.”
She added that she didn’t want to mispronounce Haley’s first name, but noted that it is an Indian first name.
Still, Hostin continued to pick up on the matter, saying, “You know, I think if she wanted to be someone of color —” before being interrupted by her co-hosts who claimed a lot of people don’t use their first names.
Hostin’s comments came in response to co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin discussing who she thought would be a good Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election.
She later defended her own use of a nickname, saying that Americans can’t pronounce her real name, Asunción
Later in the conversation, Farah Griffin decided to stick up for Haley again, stating, “So Nikki Haley has been with Nikki since she was a kid. It is documented in high school.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if someone, an Indian woman who grew up in South Carolina at the time, actually did it to avoid prejudice,” she added.
“So I just want to be careful about criticizing her for carrying a name she’s always used.”
But Hostin wouldn’t back down, claiming, ‘Yes, there are some of us who can be chameleons and decide not to embrace our ethnicity so we can pass.’
At that point, co-host Sara Haines seems to be getting frustrated with the conversation and exclaims, “Sonny, you go by a different name.”
Hostin then defended her use of the nickname, claiming that “most Americans can’t pronounce Asunción because of the undereducation in our country.”
“But sometimes I said, what Alyssa says, people are attracted to different names for different reasons.”
Whoopi Goldberg, whose real name is Caryn Johnson, then decided it was time to break off the conversation.
“I’m going to break off this conversation,” she told the audience, claiming, “I’m authentically me, I’m Whoopi Goldberg, and we’ll be right back.”
The response to Hostin’s attack on Haley was swift, with many calling the cohost a “racist” for her comments in Tuesday’s episode
The response to Hostin’s attack on the former South Carolina governor was swift, with many calling the cohost a “racist” for her comments.
Curtis Houck, the editor-in-chief of News Busters, tweeted: “ABC’s Sunny Hostin could – arguably – be a racist for this disgusting slander of Nikki Haley, calling her a ‘chameleon’ and implying that she has ‘Nikki’ as a false name adopted, so Republicans are not deterred by her Indian heritage.”
Jeff Blehar, a podcaster for the National Review, added, “Apart from the consequence-free bigotry and her comedic excuse for her own hypocrisy (“MY name is hard to pronounce!”), has anyone pointed out that it’s not a nickname? SHE REALLY HAS NIKKI, IT’S HER SECOND NAME.’
Nicholas Fondacaro, an associate editor for the Media Research Center, also called Hostin a “vile race-baiter” who “essentially calls Haley a race traitor,” and Seattle radio host Jason Rantz wrote, “TV’s dumbest lawyer @sunny Hostin effectively calls @ NikkiHaley a sale.
“Sunny is a despicable human being,” he tweeted.
But Ben Domenech, editor-in-chief of The Spectator, didn’t seem surprised by Hostin’s outburst.
Racing Sunny Hostin? So it’s a day that ends in Y,” he wrote.