ABC’s first episode of The View following the election was marked by a somber and intense tone as the hosts discussed Donald Trump’s return to the presidency after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris by what appears to be a large margin. While none of the show’s five hosts supported a Trump victory, each had a distinct reaction to the news.
Sunny Hostin voiced her deep concerns, saying, “I’m profoundly disturbed. In 2016, we didn’t know what we would get from a Trump administration, but we know now, and we now he will have almost unfettered power. I don’t worry about myself, actually. I worry about the working class. I worry about my mother, a retired teacher. I worry about our elderly and their Social Security and their Medicare. I worry about my children’s future, especially my daughter, who now has less rights than I have. And I remember my father telling me many, many years ago that I was the first person in his family to enjoy full civil rights. Now I have less civil rights than I had when he told me that. So again, I’m profoundly disturbed that the 14th Amendment of the Constitution did not prevent someone who participated in an insurrection from becoming president of the United States. … As a woman of color, I was so hopeful that a mixed-race woman married to a Jewish guy could be elected president of this country. And I think that [the outcome] had nothing to do with policy. I think this was a referendum of cultural resentment in this country.”
Alyssa Farah Griffin, who previously served in Trump’s communications office, offered a more measured view: “Is it the outcome I wanted? No, but tens of millions of Americans — our friends, our neighbors, our family members — voted for Donald Trump. They are good, decent people who are patriots and love this country, and I can’t speak to what drove them to this, but I think it is a moment for us to listen to each other … We need to bring down the temperature, the name calling, the demonizing … and I think there are some lessons from it. I think we forget about rural America. I think the working class feels left behind. They feel like the powerful, the elite, only care about them and their power. And [Trump] spoke to them. We may not have liked his words, but they turned out for him. I mean, the map was beyond [Ronald] Reagan. We need to start listening more about the concerns of everyday Americans. … I have faith that some good, decent people are going to work for him.”
Responding to Griffin’s remarks, Whoopi Goldberg commented, “You can always say, ‘Oh, [Harris] should have done this.’ She was everywhere, she talked to everybody — and people didn’t come out. I don’t know why, and it doesn’t even matter … it’s hard for some of us to hear that rhetoric after 50 years. You know, after 70 years, to hear that rhetoric coming back, to hear things that came out of people’s mouths that we all decided as a public group that we weren’t going to talk to each other that way. I feel OK when I hear somebody talking down to somebody else, I’m all right with that. What I’m not all right with is trying to further wreck the country.” Goldberg also reiterated that she will not say Trump’s name, noting, “I’m still not going to say his name. That’s not going to change.” Previously, Goldberg was among the celebrities who said they would leave the country if Trump won in 2016.
Joy Behar shared a different perspective, stating, “My takeaway is that the system works. We live in a democracy. People spoke. This is what people wanted. I vehemently disagree with the decision that Americans made, but I feel very, very hopeful that we have a democratic system in this country. … It’s been very difficult, but we have a country — if we can keep it.”
Reactions from Hollywood were swift, with some celebrities taking to X to express anger and resignation. “Goodbye, America. It was nice knowing you,” wrote one public figure.
On CNN, commentator Van Jones delivered a grim assessment: “So it’s easy to blow this off — ‘Oh, look at the elite, they’re gonna get their comeuppance.’ It’s not the elite who are going to pay the price. It’s people who woke up this morning with a dream and are going to bed with a nightmare.”
The varied reactions underscore the division felt across the country following the election, with many commentators concerned about what lies ahead.
