“The View” stars slam J.D. Vance for questioning what Kamala Harris has accomplished as VP: She's 'not the president'

Sunny Hostin wants to know if Vance has ever "taken a civics class," while Whoopi Goldberg reminded Vance that Harris' power is limited as VP.

Professor Sunny Hostin has clocked in for The View's post-VP debate breakdown, and she's not letting J.D. Vance get by unscathed.

The ladies of the long-running talk show gathered Wednesday morning to discuss the Hillbilly Elegy author and Donald Trump running mate's debate performance Tuesday night against Democratic VP pick Tim Walz, with legal expert Hostin declaring Walz the "clear winner" of the debate — citing, in particular, Vance's refusal to admit that Trump lost the 2020 election against Joe Biden.

"That was the craziest part, because no answer is an answer," Hostin said. "[Walz] was willing to admit he made a mistake [on the Tiananmen Square protests answer.] On the other hand, J.D. Vance refused to admit that Trump lost the 2020 election. He is an election denier. That, in my view, now only makes him unfit, but disqualifies him from the very office he's running for."

Sara Haines observed that "we didn't see the J.D. Vance of the 'childless cat ladies'" quote, and that "he was able to do something Donald Trump is not able to do: He was able to appear normal and even likable for about two hours."

Haines added that the thing that bothered her most during the debate was that Vance "kept repeating, 'Why hasn't Kamala Harris done that yet?'" with regard to multiple policy proposals that make up her 2024 presidential platform.

She's "not the president" Whoopi Goldberg interjected. "Has he taken a civics class?" Hostin asked, before Haines continued.

"For the very job you're running for, you are the Vice President, the second in charge," she said. "This was Biden's administration. He did say, like, three times, 'Why hasn't she done it yet?' And I'm like, if we have to stop this for a second to explain what a vice president does, we are really in trouble here."

Alyssa Farah Griffin, the show's conservative panelist who previously worked under Vice President Mike Pence and Trump, said she felt Walz "had the rocker night" and pointed out that Vance's chameleon-like charm in his delivery nearly convinced her that he was an endearing candidate.

Related: Whoopi Goldberg censored on The View over reaction to Donald Trump’s 'unhinged' speech advocating for police violence

"I think that J.D. Vance strategically went in to do midwestern nice to disarm Tim Walz, and Tim Walz kind of took the bait, so he wasn't in fighting mode. There were some fact-checks that he could've done that he dropped the ball on," she said, later noting that "glowing reviews" for Vance from the right will likely "irk" her former boss on the campaign trail, as Vance's own ambitions come into question.

Goldberg summed up Vance's debate performance by urging her audience to "keep in mind that what you saw last night was a lot of good acting choices," and to be wary of shape-shifting personalities in politics.

Walz and Vance's debate drew comparisons online to how debates often unfolded in American politics prior to Trump's rise in 2016, with many citing it as a far more civil face-off than Trump and Harris' debate earlier this year.

Griffin, who resigned from Trump's White House staff before regularly publicly speaking out against him, appeared Tuesday night on CNN to break down both candidates' performances. She admitted that Walz had an off night, after he was criticized in the media for coming off as nervous and later dodging a question about whether or not he was actually present in Hong Kong during the deadly Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. But, she also criticized Vance for delivering lies, albeit in charming fashion.

"Vance’s greatest political talent is that he’s a chameleon. He can play the role of eloquent, empathetic debate opponent & just as easily pivot to Far-Right Internet Troll who spreads baseless lies about immigrants," Griffin later added on X. "I find myself wanting to believe Vance’s moments expressing empathy. Then I remember the entire persona he spent the last 5 years building as an internet bully who derides women, doesn’t care about war-torn Ukraine, & didn’t care about how his lies impacted Springfield."

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Her words referenced Vance's ongoing controversies surrounding past comments, including a widely derided 2021 interview with Tucker Carlson in which he claimed that "childless cat ladies" ran liberal politics. Over the summer, the comment drew criticism from Harris-endorsing pop star Taylor Swift, the ladies of The View, Oprah Winfrey, and actress Jennifer Aniston, who, up to that point, had rarely made political statements.

Related: The View's Joy Behar slams Fox's Melania Trump interview, says Barbara Walters would've asked about 'sex with a porn star'

"I truly can't believe this is coming from a potential VP of the United States. All I can say is… Mr. Vance, I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children of her own one day. I hope she will not need to turn to IVF as a second option. Because you are trying to take that away from her, too," Aniston wrote on Instagram, prompting Vance to respond himself in an interview with conservative broadcaster Megyn Kelly.

"You've got Hollywood celebrities saying, 'Oh, well, J.D. Vance, what if your daughter suffered fertility problems?'" he told Kelly. "Well, first of all, that's disgusting because my daughter is 2 years old. And second of all, if she had fertility problems, as I said in that speech, I would try everything I could to try to help her because I believe families and babies are a good thing."

The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET/PT on ABC.

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