What is this -- a trick question? Why not ask if Republicans should show up to Democrat presidential debates? At least there would be a chance at a rational discussion in that format.
Okay, not much of a chance. The odds would still look better than having a rational conversation with the hosts of ABC News' The View.
The issue came up yesterday, when Joy Behar declared that Republicans -- especially Republican men -- were "afraid" to show up on their set. Behar claimed that men "of all political persuasions" were afraid of strong women, but that Republican men were particularly intimidated. Why not show up and "explain to us what they're trying to do to this country"?
Gee, that seems welcoming, open, and positive ...
The View says Republicans are “scared” to come on the show. That’s a lie. I’d come on tomorrow and go toe-to-toe with the women. I think it’s time for a man on the panel. These girls are getting stale. And much like Sunny’s nose, their ratings are collapsing every day. pic.twitter.com/y7oQ9pnLzA
— Link Lauren (@itslinklauren) October 15, 2025
Our colleagues at Twitchy immediately began collating responses from various conservatives rebutting this claim. Riley Gaines had asked to come on the show to debate the issue of males competing in female sports and spaces, and got the cold shoulder. Ben Shapiro has repeatedly and publicly offered to appear. Clay Travis, Buck Sexton, Link Lauren (above), Monica Crowley, and others testified to being snubbed by The View.
And it's not as if Republicans haven't given it a try. Ted Cruz appeared on the show a couple of times to promote his books, with the most recent a 2022 appearance to discuss Justice Corrupted. When Cruz' publicist attempted to get him on the show the next year to talk about his book Unwoke: How to Defeat Cultural Marxism in America, the show refused to bring him back. And that was just after a similar lament about how Republicans weren't willing to come on The View:
NewsBusters can exclusively report Team Cruz reached out to MSNBC host and former Biden White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki to see if she would be interested in crossing the aisle. Back in April following the launch of Inside, she said she wanted “Republicans on the show” if they “agree and feel comfortable” having “a real, valid conversation.” Alas, Psaki’s talk was cheap as she too passed.
In the case of The View, NewsBusters can report that Cruz’s team reached out not once or twice, but three times. On all three occasions, they passed. During one exchange, a lemming at The View (which must be a depressing job) replied that they were “not able to make an offer at this time, but will definitely be in touch if anything changes.”
At the time, Newsbusters also recapped the spirit in which The View had received Cruz in his previous two appearances:
In the case of the former, the ladies tried berating Cruz over a New York Times story about Donald Trump’s taxes, alleged hypocrisy on Supreme Court vacancies, and all-too-predictable huffing and puffing about Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) being responsible for umpteen COVID-19 deaths.
Having had enough of this idiocy, Cruz shot back on COVID-19 by calling out the horrific record of then-Governor and liberal darling Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) as his policies are seen as responsible for scores of nursing home deaths.
Fastforward to October 2022 and, in the latter case, Cruz joined the ladies on-set and mopped the floor with them on the Biden economy and the left’s hypocrisy on election denialism.
By their fruits shall ye know them. Or more accurately in this case, by their nuts.
Should Republicans engage the media? Generally speaking, yes, but on certain terms and conditions. Even in traditional media settings, the Protection Racket Media likes to stack the deck against Republicans in ways they don't with Democrats. This past weekend's meltdown by George Stephanopoulos with J.D. Vance was a fine example of this, on the same network as The View. Stephanopoulos tried to sandbag Vance over a topic in which Vance has no involvement, gave Vance the "when did you stop beating your wife" treatment, and then cut to commercial after Vance beat him like a bongo drum for the sandbagging.
There are better media platforms to support for those who want to engage in public debate -- not many, but some. While the format is not my cup of tea, HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher provides a far more honest, intelligent, and productive environment for political dialogue. Maher's one-on-one podcast is even better. CBS News may change direction enough in the Bari Weiss era to dispense with the hackery and sandbagging of ABC and Stephanopoulos. Republicans seem to have learned not to trust Protection Racket Media outlets with taped interviews, and are bringing a much harder edge to live appearances, as Vance demonstrated this weekend.
Back to ABC News and The View. Stephanopoulos is a political activist appointed to news anchor by ABC News. The View is a group of barely informed agitators appointed to similar positions by the same network. Instead of a 1:1, head-to-head environment, however, The View pits all five of its midwits against any opponent at the same time, usually just to end up losing anyway, as Cruz can attest. Thanks to the weird epistemic bubble in which these hosts live, it's impossible to have a constructive engagement with them. That epistemic bubble is bad enough in traditional 1:1 interviews, but it's a stupid trap for stupid people on a 4:1 or 5:1 basis, except for the opportunity to tilt against barely operable windmills.
Why would anyone want to bother appearing on The View except for the potential to demonstrate what an embarrassment it is? Especially when the hosts do such a great job of demonstrating that on a constant basis? And even more so when they refuse to book people who will call them out effectively and with rhetorical strength?
The question isn't whether Republicans should appear on The View. It's why the show remains on the air at all, except as fodder for critics and evidence for why consumer confidence in the Protection Racket Media has hit bottom while media orgs appear content to keep digging. But if people really want an answer to today's deeeeep question, here's the answer.
