The View's Sunny Hostin defends comments from NYT’s Mara Gay, calls sight of American flags 'threatening'

On Wednesday, The View host defended New York Times editorial board member Mara Gay for her comments saying that seeing "dozens of American flags" flying in a suburb was "disturbing."

"I'm so surprised, actually, that she is receiving this kind of backlash," said Hostin.

Hostin said that people need to listen to the experiences of people of color, and slammed Trump for politicizing the flag.

"When someone of color, a black woman, is telling you her feelings, people need to listen and not, you know, repudiate it, and not say 'well that can’t be true,' because you have, in many respects, the former disgraced, twice-impeached, one term president to thank for politicizing the American flag," said Hostin.

"Remember that on January 6, just a few months ago, you had the Capitol rioters tearing down the flag and replacing it with the Trump flag," Hostin continued. "You had them waving the American flag and then beating police officers with that flag. That’s what was going on just on January 6. It is their country, not our country."

Hostin recalled her own experience, similar to Gay’s, of traveling to a neighborhood that had American flags as well as confederate flags flying everywhere.

"I remember very well that there was a confederate flag being tossed around, flown around in the United States Capitol. I also remember very well recently when I was with my children in North Carolina, in the Outer Banks, with people in pickup trucks with confederate flags flying alongside the US flag, and that scared me, and the same message was there, 'you don’t belong here, we belong here,'" said Hostin. "And I was afraid of that."

Hostin said that she feel threatened in neighborhoods that display the American flag year round.

"And so yes, when I drive into a neighborhood and it’s not July 4, and I’m not in a predominantly military household neighborhood, and there are flags, American flags, everywhere, alongside Trump flags, alongside flags with stars in a circle, I feel threatened because the message is very clear. It’s a message of white supremacy, it’s a message of racism, and it’s a message of their country not my country," she stated.

"And I don’t understand why that would receive backlash, Hostin questioned. "People need to listen when I am saying 'this is how I feel, this is my experience in this country.'"

Hostin's comments come after Gay received widespread backlash for saying she was "disturbed" by the amount of flags flying in a Long Island suburb over the weekend.

"I was on Long Island this weekend visiting a really dear friend," Gay said, "and I was really disturbed, I saw dozens and dozens of pick-up trucks with y'know expletives against Joe Biden, Trump flags, and in some cases just dozens of American flags, which is also just disturbing, because essentially the message was clear, it was 'this is my country, this is not your country, I own this.'"

The New York Times defended Gay’s comment, stating that her words had been "taken out of context."