As the nation moves toward its 250th birthday, a familiar strain of fashionable contempt for the United States is once again surfacing in elite media circles, this time in the form of a televised lament from The View co-host Sunny Hostin.
According to Western Journal, Hostin used a recent broadcast to deliver a sweeping denunciation of the country, casting America not as a flawed but noble republic, but as something closer to a failed project. Her remarks, captured in a clip shared by Media Research Center Associate Editor Nicholas Fondacaro, began with the now-standard progressive preamble about national complexity before veering into outright disdain for the nations institutions and global standing.
And so I think we have a very complicated history here, Hostin said. I think its a very complicated country. Had she stopped there, she would have been on safe and uncontroversial ground, acknowledging what every serious student of history already knows: that the American story, like that of any great nation, is marked by both triumphs and failures.
But Hostin did not stop there, instead escalating her critique into a broadside against virtually every major pillar of American governance and civic life. And at this point, I am embarrassed at our government, she said. Im embarrassed at our lack of health care. Im embarrassed on the assault on the press. Im embarrassed of our Congress. Im embarrassed by the criminal felon president that is in the Oval Office that has a UFC cage on the White House lawn.
Each of these charges reflects a familiar left-wing narrative that often substitutes talking points for context. The supposed lack of health care ignores the fact that the United States spends more per capita on health care than almost any other nation and offers some of the most advanced treatments in the world, even as the legacy of Obamacare has driven up costs and reduced options for many families. The claim of an assault on the press rings hollow in an era when major media outlets operate freely, frequently attacking conservative leaders and policies with impunity, while the Biden administrations own pressure campaigns on social media platforms over coronavirus content raised serious First Amendment concerns.
Her swipe at Congress as an embarrassment is, ironically, one of the few points that might draw bipartisan agreement, though for very different reasons. When lawmakers such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar are elevated as ideological standard-bearers, it is not surprising that many Americans see a legislative branch more interested in performative activism than in responsible governance. As for the phrase criminal felon president, it functions more as a partisan slogan than a serious legal assessment, stripped of the broader political and judicial context that surrounds the ongoing lawfare against President Donald Trump.
Hostins critique did not stop at domestic institutions; she extended her disdain to how she believes America is perceived abroad. Im embarrassed about all those things, she continued. And Im also embarrassed at how America is now seen across the globe. I dont think that many Americans understand that we are part of a wonderful global community. And when you look at our allies, our allies are now giving us a one-star rating as a country.
She then delivered her most sweeping condemnation, casting doubt on the very legitimacy of the American experiment itself. While I am conflicted about this country, because I feel that it is at this point a failed experiment, quite frankly, I am also discouraged by how this country is viewed by the rest of the world. That phrase failed experiment reveals more than a policy disagreement; it reflects a worldview that sees the United States not as a force for good that must constantly strive to improve, but as a fundamentally broken project.
No serious observer would claim that America is perfect, and conservatives have long acknowledged that the nations history includes grave injustices alongside extraordinary achievements. Yet Hostins rhetoric exemplifies a broader leftist tendency to confuse imperfection with illegitimacy, to treat every shortcoming as proof that the entire system is rotten. In doing so, she ignores the reality that the United States remains the most powerful, prosperous, innovative, and influential nation on Earth.
Millions of people across the globe still risk their lives to reach American soil, a fact that flatly contradicts the notion of a failed experiment. They do not cross deserts, oceans, and fortified borders because they believe the United States is irredeemable; they come because, despite its flaws, this country offers economic opportunity, religious liberty, and personal freedom on a scale unmatched almost anywhere else. That ongoing vote of confidence from the worlds strivers and dreamers is a more honest measure of Americas standing than any selectively cited foreign poll.
This is the nation that defeated fascism in World War II, outlasted Soviet communism in the Cold War, landed men on the moon, and helped build the modern internet that now connects billions. It is a country at the forefront of medical innovation, from vaccines to cutting-edge treatments, and the backbone of a global economy that still depends on American productivity, technology, and security guarantees. To dismiss all of that as the product of a failed experiment is to erase the sacrifices of generations and the blessings that countless people, at home and abroad, have derived from American leadership.
Crucially, it is also a country where a television personality like Hostin can freely denounce the sitting president as a criminal felon on national television without fear of imprisonment or censorship by the state. Political power in the United States changes hands through elections, not military coups, and citizens from every race, religion, and background have the opportunity to build successful lives. Those are not the hallmarks of failure; they are the defining traits of a resilient constitutional republic that continues to correct its course through democratic means.
Hostin is, of course, entitled to her opinions, and her right to air them so loudly and frequently is itself a testament to the freedoms she appears to take for granted. But when the approach to Americas 250th birthday is to dwell exclusively on grievances while refusing to acknowledge the nations unparalleled record of achievement, the issue is not patriotism but perspective. A country that has accomplished so much, overcome so many internal and external threats, and still inspires hope in millions around the world deserves better than to be caricatured as a failed experiment by media elites who benefit daily from its liberty and prosperity.
Login