'The View' has always stirred up political controversy, with Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar representing the political left. Even going so far as allegedly pushing co-host Megan McCain to quit the show entirely. Unsurprisingly, the show has frequently commented on the controversial former President Donald Trump, with Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar often representing his opposition.
'The View' is typically set up with the intention to balance political debate by casting co-hosts that represent the greater political spectrum. Although this can contribute to well-rounded discussions, it often leads to clashes between the large personalities on the panel.
'The View' and Donald Trump
As part of the popular segment, "Hot Topics", the panel recapped Donald Trump's various appearances on the show, going back far before his presidential campaign even began. What may surprise new viewers, was footage of both Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar being cordial and even friendly with the business mogul.
At the end of the clip package, the discussion naturally turned towards Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar's history with Donald Trump. Co-host Sunny Hostin asked the pair about how they seemed close with the celebrity, but now consistently speak out against him and his politics.
Donald Trump has visited the show several times, often before his presidential run. One of the visits included his daughter Ivanka Trump. This visit produced the infamous soundbite of the former president commenting on his daughter's appearance, announcing that if Ivanka were not his daughter "Perhaps I'd be dating her." Fans of the show speculate that it is Trump's outrageous and controversial manner that contributes to his frequent visits to the show. While this can boost ratings, it also lends its fair share of regretful moments, here shared by both Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg.
Goldberg's History With Trump
Whoopi Goldberg responded swiftly to Hostin's claims that seemed to suggest that she and Trump had a friendly history. "The person that began running is not the person that I knew," Whoopi Goldberg said. Fans note that there was a clear shift in Whoopi Goldberg's feelings toward Donald Trump when he began running for office.
The co-host has been vocal in her opposition to the former president, especially when it comes to his social policies. In the past, she criticized his stance on the Black Lives Matter movement. Donald Trump has been criticized for his disparaging remarks about multiple minority groups. And when the BLM protests and overall movement was at its peak in 2020, Donald Trump denounced the protesters and took the angle that they were violent agitators. Proponents of the movement noted that his comments on the police violence that sparked the movement were very limited, while his distaste for the protesters was not.
From Acquaintances To Critics
Fans of the show notice that Joy Behar often joins Whoopi Goldberg when debating political topics, especially those surrounding the controversial former president. In 2019, Goldberg and Behar were censored multiple times discussing the former president's comments on, then-presidential nominee, Joe Biden.
When co-host Sunny Hostin asked Joy Behar about her relationship with Donald Trump, Behar responded, "I wasn't friends with him, don't get carried away." Despite this, Sunny Hostin noted that Joy Behar had attended his wedding in the past, this seemed to negate her previous comment.
"I went to his wedding because my manager was working with him," Behar insisted.
While the world of celebrities can be quite a small one, the clip package showed several instances where Joy Behar and Donald Trump seemed quite friendly. Joy Behar at one point defended the legitimacy of the former president's hair and even called him an "Upstanding American." While these events happened long before his run for president, some fans are skeptical over Joy Behar's insistence that she and Donald Trump were never friends.
Behar's Final Comments?
The co-host recently spoke out with the intention to leave the popular show sometime in the near future. In 2020, Behar said that she would only stick with the show for a few more years, leaving fans wondering if 2022 would be her final year on the program. Since then, Joy Behar has not announced when she would be leaving the show.
Towards the end of the segment, when Sunny Hostin asked Joy Behar if she would be friends with President Trump now (in 2019), the co-host responded, "I don't want to make Putin jealous." This comment clearly intended to criticize the former president's close relationship with Russia's Vladimir Putin, despite the country's documented attempts to interfere with the 2016 presidential election. Donald Trump has been a staunch defender of Putin in the past.
Fans of 'The View' know that the inclusion of controversial figures is part of what makes the show what it is. Despite this fact, it surprised many new viewers to see just how close Goldberg and Behar were with Donald Trump, a man they have bravely spoken out about in the past.