‘The View’ star Sunny Hostin wants felon checks removed from work applications

The view co-host and legal expert Sunny Hostin has already begun mapping out a reform plan in the wake of Donald Trump winning a second term as president.

In the hours after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, the 56-year-old said she was “deeply disturbed” by Trump’s victory, citing former Apprentice the host’s criminal track record as a platform to advocate for easier access to employment for formerly incarcerated citizens.

“I think in 2016 we didn’t know what we were going to get from a Trump administration, but we know now. We know now that he wants almost unlimited power,” Hostin said from the Hot Topics table on Wednesday morning. “I don’t care about myself, in fact I don’t care about my station in life. I care about the working class, I care about my mother, a retired teacher. I care about our seniors and their Social Security and Medicare. I worry about my children’s future. I worry about my daughter, who now has fewer rights than I do.

She added that she is also appalled that “the 14th Amendment to the Constitution did not prevent someone who participated in a rebellion from becoming president of the United States” overnight.

“I think going forward it’s better to take away the convicted felon box on employment applications. Because if you can be the president of the United States, you shouldn’t be prevented from working in this country,” Hostin stressed. “Because I remember applying for my jobs as a federal prosecutor and there was a box for convicted felons. That box better be taken off.”

Trump made history in the election not only by becoming the first president in the modern era to be elected to a non-consecutive term, but also as the first president-elect with a prior felony conviction.

In May, Trump was found guilty of 34 felony charges in a hush-money lawsuit linked to porn actress Stormy Daniels – a development View moderator Whoopi Goldberg then celebrated by repeating the word “guilty” several times in a row while looking into the talk show’s camera.

Sign up Weekly entertainment‘s free daily newsletter for breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars and more.

Elsewhere on The viewHostin’s co-host, Joy Behar, pledged to support the country’s democratic process, even though she didn’t like the results.

“My takeaway is that the system works. We live in a democracy. The people spoke. It was what the people wanted. I strongly disagree with the decision that the Americans made. But I feel very, very hopeful that we have a democratic system in this We should appreciate it, we should love it, we should protest if that situation arises that we have to protest – which I’m sure it will, said the 82-year-old. “It has been very difficult, but boy oh boy, we have a country if we can keep it.”

The view sent weekdays at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. PT on ABC.