ABC’s The View co-host Ana Navarro would not let Sen. Rand Paul finish answering a question she asked about Venezuela because he was trying to “mansplain.”
“Let me ask you this because I live in Miami, and there are tens of thousands of Venezuelan exiles living there. You talk a lot about Venezuela in your new book. I get a lot of political ads from the Republican Party. Donald Trump has tweeted this. Many have tweeted this: ‘If you vote for Democrats, they will turn the United States into Venezuela.’ Do you think that’s a fair statement to make?” Navarro asked the Kentucky Republican on Friday’s show.
“Well, if you vote for a socialist, you might get socialism,” Paul responded.
“Come on. Don’t do that. Maduro is not a socialist,” Navarro said. “He’s a corrupt, murderous thug who is starving his people.”
“That’s not true,” Paul shot back.
“That’s not true? Maduro is not a thug and murderer who is starving his people?” Navarro asked.
“Let’s have a conversation here,” Paul replied before Navarro cut in when he tried to explain how Venezuelan leaders have been socialists. “Let me finish,” Paul said as Navarro continued to interrupt him.
“No, I can’t let you finish if you are going to say Maduro is not a murderous thug. That’s a damn lie,” she said. “I have got a bunch of neighbors and friends who know this. Don’t do this to me. Don’t mansplain.”
Co-host Whoopi Goldberg then cut in, ended the segment, and sent the show to a commercial break.
Paul, 56, was brought on the show to promote his book “The Case Against Socialism” and to talk about his support for President Trump’s decision to pull troops from northern Syria. The View‘s hosts have been critical of Paul’s foreign policy views, pressing him on why he wants to abandon the U.S. military presence in the Middle East.
UPDATE: Paul responded to Navarro’s cutting him of on air, saying later on Friday that the show should let guests answer without getting shouted down by the hosts.
“@ananavaro was shouting over my answer – which was Maduro’s violence and thuggery is made possible by the centralized power of his socialist government. @TheView should let guests answer!” he tweeted.
.@ananavaro was shouting over my answer – which was Maduro’s violence and thuggery is made possible by the centralized power of his socialist government. @TheView should let guests answer!
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) October 11, 2019
