‘The View’ Hosts Shred Ted Cruz For Calling Big Bird’s Vaccination Message “Government Propaganda”

On today’s episode of The View, the panel shredded Senator Ted Cruz for calling Sesame Street and Big Bird’s vaccination message for children “government propaganda” on Twitter.

“Why are you picking on Big Bird?” moderator Whoopi Goldberg exclaimed. “He’s trying to keep kids safe!”

As Sara Haines put it, “The fact that he didn’t watch Sesame Street is apparent.”

Haines noted that Sesame Street episodes have touched on child vaccinations since the 1970s, and that shows like Sesame Street can play an important role in helping children process their emotions surrounding current events.

“Giving them a world that speaks to them is so important, especially during a pandemic where even the adults don’t know what’s going on,” she said. “We need to give them that kind of information and access to resources to help make them feel better and educate them.”

Guest host and former State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus argued that parents may be hesitant to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 because similar vaccines have many more years of data behind them (although Sunny Hostin pointed out that the science behind the COVID vaccine has been around for 20 years).

Ortagus went on to call the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed “one of the most amazing public/private sector accomplishments since the Manhattan Project” (which notably led to the creation of nuclear weapons).

“If the goal is to get more parents to trust the vaccine, we need to empower pediatricians and empower primary care doctors, and be understanding that as a young mom, there’s so much coming toward [us],” she said. “Let’s have a conversation. Not make people feel like an idiot for not getting it, but help them get educated.”

The View airs weekdays at 11/10c on ABC. Scroll up to watch a clip from today’s episode.

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