“The View” co-host Sara Haines said it was “not a good look” for White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre to joke about President Joe Biden’s first 2024 Democratic challenger, Marianne Williamson.
Jean-Pierre cracked a joke about Williamson at Monday’s White House briefing, leading Williamson to accuse the press secretary of speaking “derisively” and of mocking her past as a self-help author and spiritual adviser. She also said Jean-Pierre was wrong to address such comments to “someone who is running for president of the United States and is a woman.”
“I’m not tracking that. I mean, if I had a – what is it called? A little globe here – a crystal ball, then I could tell you. A magic eight-ball or whatever. If I could feel her aura,” Jean-Pierre said in response to a question about Williamson’s campaign.
Haines said Jean-Pierre should not be speaking about presidential candidates due to a potential violation of the Hatch Act, a federal law prohibiting members of the executive branch from participating in political activity.
“That will play out in an election cycle, but in the name of active civic participation, jumping in there, you’ve got one candidate jumping in. Whatever she stands for will come out loud and clear,” Haines said, offering a qualified defense of Williamson after co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Joy Behar said Jean-Pierre was right to joke about the former guru.
Haines then switched gears and criticized Jean-Pierre for going after the would-be president.
“When the White House speaks to it — and I love Karine Jean-Pierre, and that’s the funniest I’ve seen her, so I get … the joke — but I don’t think it’s a great look,” she said. “Because there is the Hatch Act, which she normally claims … [which] prohibits civil service employees in the executive branch, except the president and vice president, from engaging in forms of political activity and campaigning.”
“It’s not a great look for the White House to do that because you want people jumping in, and this feels like you’re hitting the way the right sometimes does,” Haines added.
Williamson publicly confirmed her candidacy in February and made the official announcement at a March 4 campaign event. She is the first Democrat to challenge Biden, who is expected to announce his re-election bid soon. (RELATED: ‘Trying To Save The Party’: ‘The View’ Co-Host Sara Haines Commends Republicans Speaking At CPAC Alternatives)
Co-host Sunny Hostin condemned Williamson’s past remarks on AIDS and cancer, which she referred to as “physical manifestations” of spiritual problems, while Behar claimed that Williamson was no worse than Republican Reps. George Santos of New York and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. Santos has admitted to fabricating aspects of his employment and educational history, while Greene alleged in 2018 that a powerful Jewish family used a space laser to start a forest fire.