Sunny Hostin set off a firestorm on The View’s Veterans Day broadcast, telling viewers that Abraham Lincoln is often given credit he does not deserve for ending slavery. “People often say that Abraham Lincoln emancipated the slaves,” Hostin said during the Nov. 11 segment. “The slaves basically emancipated themselves because they wanted freedom and they fought for their freedom.” The studio audience applauded the remark. Co-host Whoopi Goldberg pushed back, defending Lincoln’s role, and later countered Hostin’s claim that Lincoln had wanted freed slaves sent back to Africa. The moment quickly drew criticism online. Conservative outlets accused Hostin of minimizing the roughly 360,000 Union soldiers who d*ed fighting the Confederacy, arguing the Emancipation Proclamation, issued by Lincoln on January 1, 1863, was central to ending slavery in the rebellious states. Others noted that enslaved Americans did play a direct role in their own liberation, including by escaping to Union lines and serving in the Union Army and Navy once permitted. The exchange briefly veered into confusion as co-host Joy Behar appeared to ask “Abe?” during the discussion, prompting Goldberg to clarify she meant Abraham Lincoln. The segment has since circulated widely, reigniting an old argument over how much credit belongs to Lincoln versus the enslaved people who resisted, fled and fought during the Civil War.