<div id="readability-page-1">President Trump has notoriously launched a wide-ranging campaign to punish his media critics. Prominent in his sights are the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and broadcast outlets like the BBC, NBC News and CBS News — all of whom he has sued — and late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert, whom he has denounced. Now Trump is seeking to punish a new opponent — the long-running ABC daytime talk show “The View.” White House spokesman Taylor Rogers has accused its host, comedian Joy Behar, of being an “irrelevant loser suffering from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.” Rogers said Behar “should self-reflect on her own jealousy of President Trump’s historic popularity before her show is the next to be pulled off air.” According to Nielsen, “The View” draws 2.7 million viewers a day, making it a potent political force. Created by the iconic broadcast journalist Barbara Walters, the show is now in its 29th season. It features a multi-generational panel of women, who sit around a long table chewing on the “Hot Topics” of the day. The current pack is led by Behar, entertainer Whoopi Goldberg, lawyer Sunny Hostin, television host Sara Haines, television personality Ana Navarro and political strategist Alyssa Farah Griffin. Navarro and Griffin, the two Republicans on the panel, join the liberals in rubbishing Trump at almost every opportunity. Griffin, the daughter of a conservative journalist, worked in the first Trump administration and describes herself as “having been raised in the right-wing media.” The Trump Federal Communications Commission has been quietly investigating “The View” for months, looking into whether it violated rules requiring equal airtime to rival political candidates. The inquiry is likely part of the agency’s wider investigation of whether ABC should be allowed to continue to own some of the country’s most important local television stations. The clash between ABC and the Trump administration could lead to a protracted, high-stakes legal battle over free expression. The network asserts that the FCC action could have “a chilling effect on First Amendment-protected free speech on the eve of the 2026 elections.” Walters’s intention was to make the show a sanctuary for women “of different generations, backgrounds and views.” Trump, a friend of Walters, used to be a regular guest, making 18 appearances. He used it as an expedient platform for self-promotion. During a March 2006 appearance, Trump, sitting next to his daughter Ivanka Trump, mused, “If Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.” Behar zinged, “Who are you, Woody Allen?” sending Trump into gales of laughter. “The View” also was the backdrop for Trump’s catfight with former host, Rosie O’Donnell. They lobbed insults. She called him a “snake-oil salesman,” and he called her “a slob.” The final rupture came shortly after he entered politics. He declined further invitations from the show in 2015, following a spat with Goldberg about him labeling Mexicans as “rapists.” Conservatives accuse the show of interviewing mostly Democrats. This spring, the Media Research Center claimed that “The View Kicks Off Midterm Year With 27 Liberal Guests to 1 Republican.” The study included celebrities in its tally. But in its FCC filing, ABC noted the show had invited many Trump allies, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). All declined to appear. The administration has sharpened its attacks over the last year. In July, after Behar went into an anti-Trump rant, the White House called for the show’s cancellation, causing Hostin to warn that the action “could lead to the dismantling of our Constitution.” The FCC is looking into whether the show was improperly operating outside broadcast rules requiring entertainment programs to provide equal airtime to candidates for the same office. The threat of cancellation is so alarming that ABC’s lawyers indicated that they were readying the case for the Supreme Court. “The View” received a news exemption from the agency in 2002 under George W. Bush, and the exemption had not been challenged in the 24 years since. According to Nielsen, 70 percent of “The View’s” audience are women. “Women are one of the most important swing segments of the electorate,” said Daniel Suhr of the conservative Center for American Rights, which is asking the FCC to deny “The View” an equal time exemption as a bona fide news organization. Suhr said having hosts who “constantly bash the president and the party” produces “a real effect on our politics.” After she joked about Trump’s actions in Iran, the White House called Behar “an extremely unlikeable talentless hack” with a “poorly rated TV show.” Talent, my aunt! I have met Behar. It’s hard to be funny, and she is funny. Recently, the panel was discussing the war in the Middle East, including Trump’s claim that Iran had given the U.S. “a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money.” “What’s the gift, besides herpes?” Behar quipped. Despite the White House slamming the show’s ratings, “The View,” according to ABC, continues to rank number one in households and in “total viewers among all daytime network talk shows.” James D. Zirin is a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York and a published legal analyst.</div>

President Trump is intensifying his campaign against media critics, targeting ABC's 'The View' and its host Joy Behar. The White House has accused Behar of being an 'irrelevant loser' and is investigating the show for potential violations of equal airtime rules. This could lead to a significant legal battle over free speech, with ABC asserting that the FCC's actions threaten First Amendment rights. 'The View' has a substantial female audience, which is crucial for elections, and has faced accusations of bias against conservatives.

- President Trump has intensified his campaign against media critics, recently targeting ABC's "The View" and its host, Joy Behar.  
- The Federal Communications Commission is investigating whether the show violated rules on equal airtime for political candidates, which could lead to serious legal implications for ABC.  
- Despite the administration's pressure, "The View" maintains strong ratings and has been a platform for diverse viewpoints, underscoring its significance in the political landscape.

‘The View’ from the White House: Forget about the First Amendment