NEWS'The View' Criticizes Donald Trump's Meeting With South African President Despite Execs Asking Hosts to Tone Down Political Content
'The View' hosts continue to talk politics despite being asked to tone down their coverage.
May 22 2025, Published 5:51 p.m. ET
Hosts of The View, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin, devote the first 10 minutes of their talk show to covering the latest in politics, often digging into Donald Trump during their liberal conversations.
In their latest segment, The View’s panelists tore into Trump’s meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa after the U.S. leader claimed White genocide is prevalent in South Africa.
Whoopi Goldberg Says There's 'No Genocide' in South Africa
Whoopi Goldberg claimed their is 'no genocide' in South Africa.
“There’s no white genocide, OK?” Goldberg emphasized. “There’s not a genocide happening. There is crime, as there is all over the world, but it’s not about killing off white people.”
Their political discussion continued, as it usually does, on Thursday, May 22, despite executives of the show previously asking the hosts to shift the focus of the show away from politics.
In recent weeks, Disney CEO Bob Iger and ABC News President Almin Karamehmedovic have reportedly sat down with panelists of The View to discuss how they’ve leaned too far left with their commentary.
'The View' might shift its focus to lifestyle and celebrity coverage.
Karamehmedovic also spoke with executive producer Brian Teta, suggesting the show broaden its focus and cover topics on culture, including celebrity interviews and lifestyle segments.
According to a news outlet, a source familiar with their meeting narrated how the hosts reacted to their boss.
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'The View' Hosts React to Request From Execs
The panelists reportedly didn't like being asked to tone down political coverage.
“This is what our audience wants. Isn’t it gonna look kind of bad if we’re all of a sudden not talking about politics?” the insider claimed The View’s panelists said, adding how they found the request “silly” and that “they were just going to keep doing their thing.”
Another source who is privy to the matter said ABC will “constantly have conversations with talent based on viewer feedback, and this instance was no different,” suggesting the show’s viewers indicated that they wanted less political coverage.
'The View' has hosted many Democrat guests.
Though the prominent talk show has hosted many Democrats, including Joe and Jill Biden, Barack Obama and Kamala Harris, it has yet to host Trump, who called the panelists “degenerates” one month before he was elected as president for his second administration.
Despite the blowback about controversial political coverage from top execs, The View was ranked No. 1 among daytime network talk shows and news programs during the first quarter of 2025, surpassing TODAY Third Hour and TODAY with Jenna & Friends well into the first week of May.
