A lot changed after Donald Trump became president in 2016 – including “The View.” According to host Joy Behar, it’s because of him that the talk show turned into something “completely different.”
As “The View” celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, the hosts have been reflecting on what has happened at the table – where Behar herself is the only original member. On Monday’s episode, she introduced another clip from her reunion with her first-season co-hosts.
In it, Behar reminds them that they didn’t have to deal with social media and the comments that come with it during their tenure on the show -– something the women were definitely grateful for. But, when Whoopi posed the question of just how much social media has impacted the show in recent years, Behar argued that it pales in comparison to Trump.
“I think that this show really took a change when Trump got in,” Behar said. “‘Cause we used to have more laughs before he got into office.”
At that, host Sara Haines joked that he was and is good material for comedians like Behar, to which she conceded. But that doesn’t outweigh the bad.
“Yes, he’s good material for comedians, but I mean, he became so scary as a leader – or whatever he is – as somebody who is such a threat to democracy, that it became very important that we convey what we felt, and thought, and read about to the audience,” Behar added. “And so, it became a completely different show. That’s what happened.”
For host Sunny Hostin, it was a combination of Trump and social media that started making things hard for her. She noticed that his presidency “unleashed a certain acrimony and some meanness” from right-wingers.
“All of a sudden, I started getting – along with death threats – just really nasty, like, just venomous, definitely racist comments,” Hostin said. “And I started taking Whoopi’s advice, which was I had to stop reading it. Because it started making my heart beat fast and it was really an uncomfortable space.”
Guest host Ana Navarro agreed, making it clear that she’s also gotten a slew of hateful messages over the years. That said though, Navarro added that she does have some love for social media, because it helps the show maintain accountability.
“‘The View’ has incredibly loyal viewers, who remember!” she said. “Who keep you honest. They remember the stuff you said last month, they remember the stuff you said last year, so try to be a hypocrite and try to change, and you better give them an explanation!”