Following President-elect Donald Trump’s sweeping win over Kamala Harris, the hosts of ABC’s “The View” are once again facing heat, this time for expressing shocking support for regulating media they disagree with. As millions of Americans celebrate a Republican victory, Joy Behar and her co-hosts are lamenting the outcome with talk of media “censorship,” prompting outrage from conservatives who see this as a thinly veiled attack on free speech.
During a recent segment, Behar launched into a tirade against Fox News, suggesting the network was responsible for spreading “fake news.” Instead of addressing what went wrong for Democrats or acknowledging the issues that matter to millions of conservative voters, Behar singled out Fox, saying, “Can we not let Fox News off the hook, please? All the fake news that’s been going out there.” In her view, this supposed “fake news” is the reason for Trump’s success.
Behar then held up Finland as a model, referencing how young Finnish children are taught to discern “fake news” from “real news” in schools. Her solution? Indoctrinate young Americans in the same way. “They should be teaching that in this country,” Behar declared, suggesting that children here undergo similar programming to weed out so-called “fake news.” For many conservatives, her comments came across as nothing short of a demand to shape the next generation’s opinions from an early age.
Co-host Sarah Haines took things a step further by suggesting that the federal government should step in to regulate social media platforms and “rogue corporations.” While she didn’t mention specific platforms, Haines’ criticism likely targeted platforms like X (formerly Twitter), which has become a hub for free speech since Elon Musk’s acquisition. Under Musk’s leadership, X stopped its practice of targeting conservative voices, giving users across the political spectrum a more open platform for discussion. In light of Trump’s election victory, it’s clear that Behar and Haines see this as a problem.
Predictably, this rhetoric didn’t sit well with conservatives. On X, reactions poured in, with one user pointing out the irony of “The View” accusing others of “fake news.” They wrote, “The View is the epicenter for fake news, and the fact they called OTHER media fake news and want to ‘regulate’ (aka censor) free speech on social media is unconscionable! They should be off the air, those liars. They know they’re obsolete and ineffective, so now they want their competition ‘regulated.’” This perspective captured a common conservative sentiment: that “The View” is fighting for relevance by attempting to silence the competition.
Another prominent X account, The Vigilant Fox, reacted to the clip with a scathing critique. “After lacking the self-awareness to reflect on why the Democratic Party got crushed at the ballot box, the show reached a fitting end when panelists Joy Behar and Sara Haines openly admitted their disdain for the First Amendment.” Their post concluded, “Thank God people like this lost in a landslide. What a disaster that would have been.”
To many, “The View” has veered far from the vision Barbara Walters originally had for the show. A user summed it up: “This show was meant to elevate women’s voices and cover issues that matter. Now it’s a distorted caricature of its intended purpose—a grotesque shadow of what it once was, as are its hosts. It’s an insult to all women.”
As the calls for censorship ring out louder from left-leaning figures, many Americans are feeling justified in their decision to vote conservative in record numbers. For them, the reaction from “The View” is simply further confirmation of a mainstream media deeply out of touch with the heart of America.
