During a recent Senate hearing, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was in the spotlight on The View for struggling to define the term habeas corpus.
Alyssa Farah Griffin and Sunny Hostin criticized Noem for her mistake, questioning her level of intelligence. They debated whether Noem truly understood what habeas corpus meant, especially after she mistakenly described it as the “constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country.”
Despite Griffin’s own criticisms of Noem, she did defend her by saying, “Kristi Noem may be a puppy killer, she’s not dumb. She’s served in congress before.” Griffin referred to an incident where Noem wrote about having to shoot and kill her dog Cricket in her memoir. She explained her decision by stating, “We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm.”
Joy Behar wondered if Noem was possibly pandering to President Donald Trump with her controversial answer.
“Is it possible that she actually knows what habeas corpus is but she’s appealing to an audience of one? And we know who he is,” she asked.
While Griffin agreed, adding, “Yes, she gave the answer Trump wanted, I don’t think she’s dumb,” Hostin didn’t seem to have much faith in Noem’s abilities.
“I think the puppy killer is not that smart and I also think she is not a lawyer, she does not know,” Hostin claimed.
When Griffin fired back, “You don’t have to be a lawyer to know what habeas corpus is,” Hostin maintained, “The average person doesn’t know it and I don’t think Kristi Noem knows it.”
Though Noem and Griffin were ruthlessly going after Noem, the debate was rather lighthearted for The View.
Griffin even recommended more people would know what habeas corpus is if they watched Legally Blond. “She explains it excellently,” she said with a laugh.
The View airs on weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.
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