A debate over the devastating Texas floods sparked tension on The View this week, as co-host Sunny Hostin argued that the tragedy might have been preventable — a comment that drew emotional pushback from her colleagues Sara Haines and Alyssa Farah Griffin.
The segment opened with Whoopi Goldberg acknowledging the grief across Texas but questioning whether it was finally time to confront the systemic failures behind the disaster.
“The floods don’t care who you voted for,” Goldberg said. “But people in power have had the opportunity to make changes — to the grid, to infrastructure — and I’m just wondering, when is the right time to ask these questions?”
Hostin didn’t hesitate.
“I think now is the right time to ask that question,” she said. “I know people are grieving. I just sent my own kids off to summer camp in Maine and New Hampshire — the thought of not having them come back is unimaginable. But I can’t ignore that this could have been mitigated, or even avoided.”
She pointed to warning systems — like sirens used in other counties that saw zero fatalities — as a possible solution.
Haines agreed with the need for sirens but grew visibly emotional as she questioned the timing of the criticism.
“If I had just lost my children and someone said, ‘This could have been avoided,’ I don’t know how I’d take my next step,” Haines said, her voice breaking.
Griffin echoed the sentiment, saying the focus right now should be on supporting victims and emergency workers.
“Yes, action matters, and yes, reports matter,” she said, “but politicizing this in the middle of recovery isn’t helpful.”
Hostin pushed back: “This isn’t about pointing fingers. It’s about accountability. We say the same thing after every school shooting — thoughts and prayers, then silence. Nothing changes. Are we really going to do that here too?”
Goldberg sided with Hostin, noting Texas has long been warned about its disaster preparedness gaps.
“This isn’t about blaming the president,” she clarified. “It’s about a state that’s clearly vulnerable — and hasn’t done what it needs to do to protect its people. Maybe it’s time we stop brushing that aside.”
