Sunny Hostin, co-host of The View, expressed her lack of surprise at the revelation of a group chat filled with racist, antisemitic, misogynistic, and homophobic messages, primarily involving Republican “white men.”

This week, members of the Young Republicans group were exposed for exchanging offensive texts in a group chat. According to Politico, these messages included derogatory terms for Black people, referred to rape as “epic,” and disturbingly suggested putting political adversaries in gas chambers. The shocking nature of these revelations drew condemnation from both Democrats and Republicans. However, Vice President J.D. Vance dismissed the behavior as “kids [doing] stupid things,” despite the participants being aged between 24 and 35.

During a recent episode of The View, Hostin elaborated on her reaction, expressing why she was hardly taken aback by such appalling dialogue among Republican men.

“Unfortunately, I’m not surprised that this kind of chat exists,” Hostin stated. “It doesn’t shock me that men, particularly adults aged 25 to 35, and predominantly white, would talk in such a manner. They ticked every box of white supremacist bigotry: antisemitic, misogynistic, homophobic, and racist. Frankly, their behavior was just plain ignorant.”

Initially, co-host Joy Behar agreed with Hostin’s views. However, she later clarified that the group chat included some women and that the ethnic composition of all participants remains uncertain.

According to Hostin, her “lived experience as an afro-Latina” in the United States helps her “tell the uncomfortable truths about this country with real clarity.”

“Trump’s rise, in part, was based in racism and white supremacy,” she said. “When I said that, and those of my friends that said that, we were accused of hyperbole and racism ourselves. I wish that wasn’t true. But it is true.”

She continued, “When I say that white supremacy is thriving on the right, when I say the future of the Republican Party embraces white supremacy, please believe me the first time and only look at this chat as your proof that it is alive and well in the Republican Party.”

The View airs on weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.