Things got heated on “The View” on Monday as co-host Meghan McCain grilled Women’s March co-president Tamika D. Mallory over her spirited support for controversial Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and her refusal to condemn some of his rhetoric.
Mallory, who’s taken heat for her association with Farrakhan in the past, and three other co-chairs were asked to resign from their posts late last year for allowing “anti-Semitic … and hateful, racist rhetoric” to tarnish the organization’s platform.
Co-host Sunny Hostin pointed specifically to Farrakhan’s reputation for making disparaging remarks about Jewish people and asked Mallory, who’s called the minister “the greatest of all time,” if she understood why the association was so problematic.
“Just because you go into a space with someone does not mean you agree with everything they say,” Mallory said before adding, “I didn’t call him the greatest of all time because of his rhetoric — I called him the greatest of all time because of what he has done in Black communities.”
The feminist organizer explained that her activism sometimes puts her in “difficult” spaces, including the Women’s March, where she said some activists didn’t understand why issues of race were important when discussing women’s rights. McCain wasn’t satisfied by the answer, however, and continued to press Mallory on the issue.
“I would never be comfortable supporting someone who [said] ‘I am not anti-Semite, I am an anti-termite. It is the wicked Jews, the false Jews promoting lesbianism, homosexuality …’ ” said McCain, citing an investigative report by Jewish publication Tablet Magazine. The report included several allegations of anti-Semitism involving Mallory, who McCain accused of using her feminist activism to mask her own bias against Jews.
Women’s March co-president Bob Bland denied the allegations, but McCain refused to let up on her interrogation of Mallory.
“I don’t speak for Jewish people but I think I’m just confused,” she continued, rattling off quotes from Farrakhan. “These remarks are — I mean, it goes on, ‘death to Israel’ over and over again.”
“We didn’t make those remarks,” Mallory explained.
“But you’re associating with a man that does,” McCain said, cutting her off.
“What I will say to you is that I don’t agree with many of Minister Farrakhan’s statements,” Mallory responded.
McCain remained persistent, asking the feminist organizer if she’d condemn Farrakhan’s statements against Jewish people specifically. Mallory wouldn’t budge.
“You won’t condemn it,” McCain said, smirking in disbelief.
Mallory finally responded: “To be clear, it’s not the way that I speak, it is not how I organize. I think it’s very clear over the 20 years of my own personal activism, my own personal track record who I am and that I should never be judged through the lens of a man.”
Watch more in the clip below.
Women's March co-president @TamikaDMallory on her association with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has routinely spoken disparagingly about Jews, and if she condemns his statements: "I don't agree with many of Minister Farrakhan's statements." https://t.co/f8u2wc159S pic.twitter.com/I4py6l3bN7
— The View (@TheView) January 14, 2019
