The View’s Sara Haines Refutes Co-Hosts’ Scathing Criticism of Kyrsten Sinema: ‘More in Touch With the Pulse of the Country’

The View’s Sara Haines refuted the scathing criticism by her fellow hosts of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema leaving the Democratic Party to become an independent.

During Friday’s show, co-host Sunny Hostin called Sinema’s move “strategic.”

“I think what’s bizarre is that you have Democrats voted for a Democrat, and they didn’t vote for an independent. So for her to now say this is always who I’ve been, well, she should have said that from the beginning, you know, right?” said Hostin, who went on to cite unfavorability numbers from certain demographics.

Co-host Ana Navarro mocked Sinema.

“She says this is a reflection of what Arizona is,” she said. “This is a reflection of the fact that she was about to lose the primary.”

Haines came to Sinema’s defense.

“Sunny, you were saying, you know, it’s because nobody likes her so she’s maybe trying this group. I think voters are that one-dimensional,” she said. “I don’t think that just changing her title or party is going to make a voter say ‘oh great, you’re now like one of us.’”

“They’re still not going to like her,” replied Hostin.

Haines said:

So I think her record will speak for her, but I do think being an independent, there’s a reason that party is the biggest party out of all of them because right now, I’m an independent. Been independent for almost 20 years, and for some of the same reasons she says, whether it’s strategic or not.

She said at one point in catering to the fringes, neither party has demonstrated much tolerance for diversity of thought. Right now if you are not with us, you’re against us. It’s very, you know, it’s too simplistic for the way we all operate, and the way politics should be, but I do believe that more people — the parties, when I was just mentioning the numbers: 35 percent are moderates, 33 percent are – sorry, 35 consider themselves independent, 33 Democrat, 29 Republican. The moderates are growing and the idea of coming more to the center is actually more in touch with the pulse of the country.

Watch above via ABC.