For the second time in five years, The View co-host Sunny Hostin has declared that neighborhoods filled with American flags make her feel “unsafe” because, in her view, the flag has been “co-opted” by white supremacists.
The comments came during a discussion marking America’s 250th anniversary, as the panel debated patriotism and the nation’s legacy.
“I said this on this show many, many years ago,” Hostin recalled. “There are times when I walk into a community and I see American flags all over the community and I suddenly feel unsafe because there’s a section of this country that has co-opted the American flag.”
Hostin argued that some Americans have “weaponized” the Stars and Stripes by associating it with white supremacy rather than shared national identity.
For some, it may beg the question of if she feels the same about neighborhoods full of Mexican or Somali flags.
Her remarks followed a discussion of a viral image showing a group of uniformed white nationalists riding a Washington, D.C., Metro train while wearing American flag patches on their caps.
Hostin called the image “a defining image of modern America for black Americans.”
Guest host Michelle Buteau echoed that sentiment, questioning whether America deserves celebration at all.
“When you say it’s the best nation. The best nation for who?” Buteau asked. “If we are celebrating 250 years, what are we exactly celebrating?”
Many Americans are celebrating a country that abolished slavery less than a century into its existence, that reached levels of prosperity and innovation that changed the trajectory of the world, drawing in nonwhite immigrants by the millions.
There is also a remarkable irony in arguing that extremists have “co-opted” the American flag while simultaneously treating anyone who displays it with suspicion.
Hostin made nearly identical comments back in 2021 while defending MSNBC analyst Mara Gay, who sparked controversy after saying she found it “disturbing” to see numerous American flags while driving through Long Island.
At the time, Hostin said that when she encounters neighborhoods filled with American flags—particularly alongside Trump flags—she interprets them as conveying “a message of white supremacy.”
In an era when Americans already struggle to find common symbols that transcend politics, treating the national flag itself as a warning sign only deepens those divisions.
As Griffin put it, “The flag belongs to all of us.”
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