Condoleeza Rice's Comments About The Capitol Riots Are Raising Eyebrows

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's October appearance on "The View" might have made headlines largely for her tribute to her longtime friend and colleague Colin Powell shortly following his death at 84, but her stint as a guest host hardly stayed within the parameters of the subject of his passing. Rice, a professor and political scientist who became the first Black woman to serve as U.S. state secretary during the second George W. Bush administration, was quick to supply a conservative-based opinion on a slew of other talking points — particularly her view on how the American public should proceed in the aftermath of the January 6 Capitol Hill insurrection.

On the October 20 "View" segment, former prosecutor and host Sunny Hostin ushered the January 6 riots into the discussion by way of a recent statement made by Senator Mitch McConnell over the actions taken by the current January 6 congressional committee, who publicly urged the American public to "move on" from the national tragedy instigated by the right-wing supporters of former President Donald Trump. Hostin first expressed her disapproval of McConnell's approach, arguing that "it's really politically expedient for Mitch McConnell to say, 'Let's move on, let's move on,' especially when the former, twice-impeached, disgraced president enjoys attacking [him]," but "the past will become prologue if we don't find out what happened." Then, Rice herself weighed in.

Condoleezza Rice argued that there are more important issues to the U.S. public

In response to Sunny Hostin, Condoleezza Rice aligned herself with McConnell on "The View", stating that "[American] institutions have to be upheld" — despite the fact that Hostin's commentary did not address or refute that sentiment. By all appearances, according to BET, Rice's consternation stemmed from Hostin's inference that Mitch McConnell's desire to let go had everything to do with his conservative voter base and their possible desire to see Donald Trump run again in 2024. 

In a rebuttal, Hostin brought up a recent poll conducted by Quinnipiac University, which found that, per Hostin, "80 percent of Republicans wanting to see Trump run in 2024[.]" Citing her training as a political scientist, Rice dismissed the poll out of hand, arguing that polls can be incorrect and she needed to see the numbers herself. (Rated highly by FiveThirtyEight as a proficient predictor of election-oriented outcomes, the Quinnipiac poll especially gained prominence in 2016 during the presidential race — one that then-GOP contender Trump won, per The Washington Post.)

However, Rice agreed with Hostin regarding January 6 as a national tragedy. "What happened on January 6th was wrong," Rice stated during the segment. "I also know that as a government and as a country, we've got to be concerned about the things that are making life hard for Americans and hard for American families."