ABC brass scramble to bring in pro-Trump voices to ‘The View’ and other shows: ‘Panic mode’
ABC News brass are in “panic mode” as they hunt for conservative voices to balance the rabid anti-Trump rhetoric spewed by the hosts on “The View,” as well as those on other shows, The Post has learned.
The Disney-owned network — which came under fire over how ABC News moderators grilled Donald Trump during the presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris — has been holding high-level meetings since last week’s rout by the former president, sources close to the situation told The Post.
ABC News Group President Debra OConnell and her recently elevated boss of ABC News Almin Karamehmedovic held the intense sit-downs with executive producers of the network’s various shows and other senior editorial leaders, sources said.
First on the agenda, according to one insider, is finding a pro-Trump panelist for its top-ranked daytime talk show, co-hosted by ultra-liberals Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin and Sara Haines, as well as Republican Trump-bashers Ana Navarro and Alyssa Farah Griffin.
“The View is facing pressure from higher-ups,” the source said. “Viewers can expect some major changes including bringing in new panelists that can bring in a pro-Trump perspective.”
The source did not signal whether one of the current panelists would be bounced or if the already crowded desk would add a seventh seat.
“Everyone on ‘The View’ endorsed Kamala Harris. They lost. They are out of touch with America,” the source said.
“For a show about different perspectives, ‘The View’ doesn’t seem to have any when it comes to Trump. ABC bosses don’t want to alienate the pro-Trump demographic.”
A second source with knowledge said the expected network-wide reshuffle comes after execs were caught “flat-footed” about the pro-Trump sentiment of the country.
“We are trying to sort out how we cover the next 4 years when everyone inside ABC News is on one side,” the person said, speaking broadly about the network, which is also home to “Good Morning America” and “World News Tonight.”
“The View is an opinion-based show featuring a diverse panel of women with different points of view – the current panel is clearly resonating with audiences given that the series just had its highest rated episode in more than a decade and hit a 4-year high in total viewers,” an ABC spokesperson told The Post in a statement.
The first source said ABC’s pivot could ruffle feathers with “The View’s” top talent.
In the days following the election, the hosts have been outspoken about their disdain for the country’s decision to re-elect Trump.
“The question is what will happen to the Whoopis and the Joys if they bring on a Trumpster?” the source said.
Goldberg – the show’s longest-running permanent co-host, joining the program in 2007 – said a day after the election that her policy against uttering Trump’s name isn’t changing.
“He’s now the president,” she said. “I’m still not going to say his name. That’s not going to change.”
The “Sister Act” star has refused to say Trump’s name on “The View” since he first took office in 2016, explaining that she “can’t” bring herself to put the word “President” before the name Trump.
Meanwhile, the other co-hosts have also expressed their disappointment, with Hostin saying she was “profoundly disturbed” by the results.
Hostin also blamed “uneducated white women” for Kamala Harris’ election loss” in a widely-shared video.
“I think [Trump’s victory] had nothing to do with policy, I think this was a referendum on cultural resentment in this country,” she said.
“Black women tried to save this country again, last night… what we do not have is white women, who voted about 52% for Donald Trump — uneducated white women is my understanding. You have Latino men actually, voting more for him,” Hostin added.
Former co-host Meghan McCain, whose father John McCain lost to Barack Obama in 2008, ripped her old colleagues for their reaction to Trump’s win.
“Respectfully, please stop sending me clips from ‘The View,’” McCain wrote on X last week. “It’s a radical progressive insane asylum and that is why I left years ago.”
She also called out the show for not having a “single conservative woman” on the panel during the elction cycle.
“It is actual malfeasance on the part of ABC news that there isn’t one single conservative woman on ‘The View’ this morning who voted for Trump or simply isn’t repulsed by his supporters to explain to America why he is still so popular,” she wrote.
Media watchers expect rival networks to follow suit and bring in more Trump-friendly voices to not only appear on-air but also to help produce TV shows.
One media expert cited the increasingly anemic ratings of left-leaning networks like MSNBC and CNN, while conservative Fox News continues to outperform them both.
When it comes to “The View,” however, the stark anti-Trump sentiment is undeniable to execs, who are focused on maintaining the show’s ratings and advertising revenue.
“At the end of the day, these changes aren’t about politics. They are about economics,” the person told The Post. “Trump got more than half of the vote. TV networks need to find pro-Trump voices and diversify viewpoints to reflect the various perspectives of Americans.”
