Several co-hosts on ABC's "The View" slammed Vice President Mike Pence on Friday for refusing to have a one-on-one dinner with a woman who is not his wife.
The Washington Post published a piece on Pence's wife Karen Pence on Tuesday, recalling the vice president's comments from 2002 stating that he won't have dinner alone with another woman other than his wife, or attend an event where alcohol is served without her. Some critics turned his traditional views into comedy material or political attacks, but many across the political spectrum have risen to Pence's defense, calling the decision a sign of respect for his marriage.
Jedediah Bila and Sonny Hostin both agreed that it was a sign of respect for Pence's marriage, while Sara Haines, Joy Behar and former baseball player Alex Rodriguez disagreed, calling it sexist.
"He's in politics, in one of the sleaziest towns in the country," Bila said in Pence's defense. "DC is one of the sleaziest towns. You walk into these bars, you see tons of sleazy behavior."
"He's putting his wife front and center and saying, 'this is what I'm about, this is what I stand for,'" Bila continued.
But Haines argued his decision made it harder for women who want to get ahead and meet Pence. Bila and Hostin said that Pence is not opposed to meeting with women professionally, he just wants to keep himself from being criticized by the press for being accused of having an affair.
"Walk into these bars in DC, look at a happy hour among politicians and you know the history of politicians that cheat on their wives, that cheat on their husbands. I think it's nice to see someone say, 'look, if you want to get ahead, let's do it in a professional environment, you're not going to compromise my family or my values,'" Bila said to loud applause.
Haines and Rodriguez to repeatedly claimed that Pence's respect for his marriage was discrimination against women.