Honestly, walking into the studio on November 6, 2024, the air at ABC’s The View probably felt like a lead balloon. If you’ve watched the show for more than five minutes over the last decade, you know where the table stands. They aren’t exactly known for hiding their leanings. But when the dust settled on the 2024 election and Donald Trump emerged as the 47th President, the reaction wasn't just "sad." It was a chaotic, high-stakes mix of mourning, finger-pointing, and a tiny bit of "I told you so" from the lone conservative seat.
People were refreshing their feeds just to see how Whoopi and the gang would handle it. It was a cultural moment.
The Morning After: "Profoundly Disturbed"
Sunny Hostin didn't hold back. She rarely does. She described herself as "profoundly disturbed" by the results, and you could see it in her face. For Sunny, this wasn't just a political loss; it felt like a personal rejection of the progress she thought the country had made. She pointed out that as a woman of color, she was hopeful that a mixed-race woman married to a Jewish man could lead the country.
Instead, she saw a "referendum on cultural resentment."
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That’s a heavy phrase. She basically argued that the win had almost nothing to do with policy and everything to do with a backlash against identity politics and shifting demographics. She even went as far as to say that the "convicted felon" box on job applications should be tossed out now. Her logic? If a man with a felony record can be the leader of the free world, how can we bar anyone else from a 9-to-5?
Whoopi Goldberg's Silent Protest
Whoopi was... Whoopi. If you were looking for a concessions speech, you weren't getting it from her. She doubled down on her long-standing personal rule: she won't say his name. To Whoopi, he remains a figure she simply refuses to acknowledge by title or name, calling him "the president-elect" or "him."
She was visibly frustrated, especially when the conversation turned to how Kamala Harris lost. Whoopi’s take was basically that Harris did the work. She was everywhere for two months. She hit the pavement. And yet, the voters didn't show up in the way the table expected.
The Clash Over Why It Happened
This is where things got heated. Joy Behar, who has been the vocal heartbeat of the liberal wing for years, admitted she "vehemently disagrees" with the choice the American public made. She didn't mince words. She felt the country had moved in a direction she couldn't recognize.
But then you have Alyssa Farah Griffin.
As the resident conservative (and a former Trump staffer herself), Alyssa’s vibe was different. She wasn't celebrating, but she was definitely pushing for a reality check. She argued that it was a moment to actually listen to the voters instead of just labeling them. While Sunny was blaming "uneducated white women" and "misogyny" among Latino men, Alyssa was trying to point out that people were voting on their pocketbooks and the border.
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It was a classic The View showdown.
- Sunny's View: Racism and sexism were the primary drivers.
- Alyssa's View: The Democratic party lost touch with the working class.
- Ana Navarro's View: Complete heartbreak. She’d worked her tail off for Harris and felt the loss was a blow to the "soul of the country."
Did They See the "Realignment" Coming?
Not really. While some pundits elsewhere were talking about a "red shift" in blue cities, the ladies at the table seemed genuinely blindsided by the margins. Ana Navarro, who usually has a pulse on the Latino vote, was particularly stung. She’d been a vocal surrogate for Harris, and seeing a huge chunk of Latino men swing toward Trump was clearly a bitter pill to swallow.
The show essentially became a microcosm of the national divide. One side of the table saw a threat to democracy and civil rights; the other saw a country crying out for common-sense economics.
Sara Haines, often the one trying to play the middle, focused on the "how." She looked at the data—the "blue wall" crumbling, the shifts in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. It was less about the "why" for her and more about the mechanics of a campaign that she felt didn't quite land the plane with middle America.
What This Means for the Show's Future
Look, The View thrives on conflict. It always has. But the 2024 election results put them in a weird spot. If they spend the next four years just being "disturbed," they risk alienating the very voters who swung the election—voters who are part of their audience.
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They've already started clashing over the "ivory tower" criticism. There’s a lot of talk about whether the show (and legacy media in general) is actually listening to the country or just talking in an echo chamber. Joy Behar seems content in her position, but the younger hosts like Alyssa and even Sara seem more interested in figuring out what they missed.
Actionable Insights for the Political Junkie
If you're trying to make sense of the commentary following the election, don't just stick to one clip.
- Watch the full segments: Soundbites often make the hosts look more extreme than they are during the full 10-minute "Hot Topics" debate.
- Compare the demographics: Look at the Pew Research data on the 2024 vote. Compare it to what Sunny Hostin says about "uneducated" voters. The data shows significant shifts among college-educated voters too, which adds nuance to the "misogyny" argument.
- Monitor the Guest List: Pay attention to who they invite on in the coming months. If they start bringing on more "Middle America" voices, you'll know the producers are trying to bridge the gap.
The conversation on The View isn't going to get quieter anytime soon. If anything, the next four years are going to be a loud, messy, and very public attempt to reconcile their vision of America with the one that showed up at the ballot box.