ABC’s legal team took swift action on Tuesday after co-hosts on “The View” made a series of potentially slanderous statements about Matt Gaetz and the sexual misconduct allegations against him. Sunny Hostin, considered the most left-leaning among the liberal co-hosts, read a “legal note” handed to her by producers during the broadcast. The note clarified that Matt Gaetz had been cleared of wrongdoing by the Biden Justice Department. Hostin, appearing stone-faced, looked directly into the camera and read from a teleprompter—a precaution likely implemented by ABC’s legal team to ensure the disclaimer was delivered without any personal commentary.
“Matt Gaetz has long denied all allegations, calling the claims ‘invented’ and saying in a statement to ABC News that ‘this false smear following a three-year criminal investigation should be viewed with great skepticism.’ The DOJ investigation was closed with no charges being brought.” Whoopi Goldberg then quickly took the show to commercial break.
The awkward moment highlighted the broader struggles of “The View” to maintain its audience, which has seen a significant decline since the election. ABC executives have reportedly directed the show’s producers to conduct a nationwide search for more “pro-Trump voices” to integrate into the predominantly left-leaning program, recognizing that the current panel is largely disconnected from the American mainstream. President-elect Donald Trump has long been a central figure used to provoke reactions from the audience, particularly in recent weeks. Whoopi Goldberg recently vowed never to mention his name again, while Hostin blamed white women for not showing stronger support for Vice President Kamala Harris.
The show’s most recent effort to add a conservative voice was Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former Trump administration communications staffer. However, Griffin has largely positioned herself as a centrist, offering mild rebuttals to her four co-hosts while distancing herself from the president she publicly broke with after the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots. During Monday’s show, Griffin remained noticeably quiet as Sunny Hostin criticized the hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” for meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend.
“Look, the bottom line is that America needs a free press that is willing to speak truth to power, right now, more than ever,” Hostin claimed. “I think that we have to be very clear-eyed when we think about the President-elect and cover the President-elect. And I don’t think you need to sit down for 90 minutes at Mar-a-Lago and kiss his ring to be able to speak truth and to be able to cover a story.”
The meeting, which Brzezinski described as a way to discuss divisive issues and find “common ground,” came as a surprise to many, especially given the couple’s history of criticizing Trump. Hostin, however, questioned their motives. “Maybe they’re not journalists in the true sense,” Hostin speculated. “Maybe they’re saying that they’re opinion journalists, but we have to remember that Trump is the guy who ushered in the era of fake news. He is the guy who ushered in alternative facts.” But in reality, Trump is “the guy” who called out the media for being “fake news” and for publishing straight-up lies and misinformation.
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