The View's Sunny Hostin expressed fear that a supporter of former President Donald Trump could secretly be amongst the jury in the former president's alleged "hush money" trial in New York City.
The panel discussed the first day of Trump's trial during a Tuesday broadcast of ABC's program.
Hostin, an attorney, said the trial was a "legal nerd's Super Bowl," though noted the court would be hard-pressed to find anyone who had not heard of the "former twice-impeached loser president." The View host then noted prospective jurors will have their social media accounts reviewed to assess their impartiality to Trump.
"I think that's really, really important because if you start liking Trump, and you follow Trump's stuff on social media ... can you be impartial?" Hostin asked. "I don't really think so, and I think what could happen in a case like this is if you have someone ... telling people to get onto that jury."
"You get one person that sneaks onto that jury with untoward feelings, that person can hang that jury," she warned.
Fellow co-host Joy Behar questioned how someone could sneak onto a jury, noting prospective jurors are called on at random.
"You lie," Hostin said. "You say, 'I hate Trump, but I can be impartial, and I this then that,' and then all of a sudden that's the person who won't vote to convict."
The panel also discussed the dismissal of 50 prospective jurors who claimed they could not be impartial when hearing Trump's case, along with reports of the former president falling asleep during his trial.
"This is not a case that keeps him up at night," said fellow co-host Alyssa Farah-Griffin, the program's resident conservative co-host. "What worries him about this case, frankly, I think how his wife may respond to things that come out in testimony."
Hostin and Behar chimed in questioning if Trump truly cared about his wife, former First Lady Melania. Farah-Griffin went on to suggest Trump was more concerned with other criminal cases, including his alleged involvement in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
"That is the primary reason he is running for president," Farah-Griffin continued, appearing to suggest Trump was seeking another term in office to avoid legal repercussions.
Upon the trial's commencement, Judge Juan M. Merchan ordered Trump to appear in court for the duration of his trial, threatening the former president with arrest if he fails to comply.
In late March, Merchan issued a gag order against Trump which prevented him from making or directing others to make statements about witnesses' roles in the case. The gag order also barred Trump from commenting on prosecutors and court staff as well as their relatives if the comments are intended to interfere with their work on the case.
Trump later commented on Merchan's demand that the former president appear in person every day of his trial.
"Looks like the judge will not let me go to the graduation of my son, who has worked very, very hard," Trump said of his son Barron.
