'The View' Is Right: The First Female President Will Likely Be Republican

Former First Lady Michelle Obama claimed this week that America is "not ready" for a female president during the latest stop on her ongoing misery tour. She also argued that the United States is a racist and sexist nation that doesn’t cater to black women with curly hair. Her remarks sparked a wider discussion about when — or if — a woman will win the presidency, including a debate on "The View."

According to Sunny Hostin, it’s unlikely to happen in her lifetime. Her co-host Joy Behar, however, disagrees. Behar believes the first female president will likely be conservative.

"It’s possible that somebody like a Liz Cheney could win if she wasn’t in the doghouse with her own party right now," Behar said. "She could be somebody who could run. I think maybe a conservative woman would win faster than a liberal. It’s possible."

"A lot of people think that," producer Brian Teta responded. "A lot of people think a conservative woman might win first."

"A white conservative woman," Hostin interjected, adding that there’s still "a lot of misogyny in this country."

There’s a lot to unpack here. Let’s take it step by step:

First, Michelle Obama uses the losses of Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris as proof that America is "not ready" for a female president. That’s nonsense. As OutKick editor Patricia Babcock McGraw argued last November, "It’s crucial to get it right with the first woman president, and Kamala isn’t right." 

Neither was Hillary.

Clinton and Harris were among the least impressive, most unlikable women in American politics. Their losses were a referendum on them, not on the country’s willingness to elect a woman. Moreover, the most recent Democratic candidates, including Joe Biden, were essentially installed by party elites. Sorry, Bernie. Twice.

Second, Sunny Hostin is 57. To say a woman won’t win in her lifetime seems like a stretch.

Third, Liz Cheney wouldn’t win under any circumstances. She’s a ghoulish neocon who appeals to a sliver of voters and has no real constituency.

Fourth, and most importantly, Behar might actually be onto something in suggesting that the first female president will be a Republican. But it’s not because, as Hostin claimed, America is racist or misogynistic. It’s because conservative women are, on balance, normal. Liberal women are often preachy, miserable, entitled — or not actually women at all.

Look at the popularity of conservative women in media: Megyn Kelly, Tomi Lahren, Laura Ingraham, Kayleigh McEnany. If the Republican Party can find a female candidate with similar values and presence, she’d have a legitimate chance to win a general election. She'd certainly a better shot than Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or Jasmine Crockett, the two women Democrats have positioned as their future.

"Because of my lived experience, as an Afro-Latina, I’m able to look at this world with a different prism, and I’m able to tell this country and tell this audience and tell my fellow co-hosts some uncomfortable truths. This is a country based on racism and slavery, and founded in it, there is systemic racism and misogyny," Hostin concluded.

What a loser statement from someone in a tight race with Michelle Obama in the Victim Olympics.