The View co-host Joy Behar called Darline Graham Nordone’s appointment in South Carolina the “definition of a DEI” hire for the state.
Graham Nordone’s appointment comes after her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), died on Saturday after a “brief and sudden illness.”
Gov. Henry McMaster (R-SC) called for her appointment to the Senate, as did President Donald Trump.
“I recommended, to Governor Henry McMaster, Lindsey Graham’s wonderful sister, Darline, to serve as interim Senator from the Great State of South Carolina,” the president wrote on Truth Social on Monday morning. “This would be a fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly!”
Co-host Sunny Hostin criticized the process by which Darline Graham Nordone became South Carolina’s first woman senator.
“I think that that’s just fundamentally wrong that South Carolina just couldn’t elect a woman, and this is the only way that it was done,” Hostin said.
Hostin said Graham Nordone’s experience in other fields is noteworthy but suggested that her background in politics isn’t sufficient enough to represent the state.
“I think that experience does matter, and while she is a certified optician and while she has done great work in that field, I don’t think that she should be representing the people of South Carolina in the U.S. Senate,” Hostin said.
“Isn’t this the very definition of a DEI?” Behar chimed in.
“Correct. It’s everything that the Republican Party stands against,” Hostin replied.
Hostin said Graham Nordone’s appointment is a combination of “DEI, nepotism, all these things thrown in together.”
Hostin compared the situation to War Secretary Pete Hegseth blocking the promotion of women of color to admiral positions.
The New York Times published a report Tuesday that said Hegseth “recently blocked the promotions of seven senior Navy officers, five of whom are women or people of color, to two-star admiral rank,” citing current and former defense officials.
“The highly unusual move means that for the first time in more than a decade, no female active-duty naval officers are likely to be promoted to admiral this year,” the New York Times reported.
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Behar drew a contrast between Graham Nordone taking her brother’s Senate seat and other, non-government jobs.
“It’s not like taking over your mother’s job at the McDonald’s,” Behar said.
“You’re in government, you have to know what you’re doing,” she said.