The Stars and Stripes have once again become a target on daytime television, with “The View” co-host Sunny Hostin declaring that the sight of American flags flying in neighborhoods fills her with fear and signals white supremacy.
Hostin made the comments Monday while discussing a viral image showing masked Patriot Front marchers riding a Washington Metro train.
“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 is a section of this country that has co-opted the American flag and they equate being an American, or an American flag, with white supremacy,” Hostin told viewers.
The remarks drew swift backlash online, with commentators pointing to an inconvenient detail about Hostin’s own living situation. She resides in Purchase, New York, one of the wealthiest zip codes in the entire country. The average income in her neighborhood hovers around $800,000 per year. The population is between 80 and 85 percent white.
This isn’t the first time Hostin has expressed anxiety over Old Glory. Back in 2021, she defended an MSNBC analyst who called American and Trump flags in Long Island “disturbing.”
“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,'” Hostin said at the time. She went on to describe her own reaction to seeing flags outside of July 4th or military neighborhoods.
“When I drive into a neighborhood, and it’s not July 4th, 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,” she explained.
“Because the message is very clear,” she added. “It’s a message of white supremacy. It’s a message of racism, and it’s a message of their country, not my country. I don’t understand why that would receive backlash. People need to listen when I am saying this is how I feel. This is my experience in this country.”
Co-host Michelle Buteau joined in during the Monday segment, questioning what the nation has to celebrate at 250 years old and arguing that the viral Metro photo validated minority experiences.
Hostin has compiled quite the record of controversial statements over the years. She previously argued that President Trump’s 2025 inauguration falling on Martin Luther King Day was hypocritical. She called the assassination of a healthcare CEO a normal byproduct of a nation “built on violence.” And despite learning her own ancestors owned slaves, she has maintained that she is still owed reparations.
For millions of Americans who fly the flag to honor fallen service members, celebrate Independence Day, or simply express love of country, Hostin’s repeated attacks land as an insult. The banner that draped the coffins of soldiers from every race and background, the symbol that immigrants have sought out for generations, reduced to a sign of menace.
