From Ivanka Trump and her husband-turned-father’s-advisor Jared Kushner to the largely absent Tiffany, the children of President Donald Trump are often as rife with controversy (not to mention nepotism) as he is. Whenever they do or say something questionable in public, everyone notices. Hence Thursday’s edition of The View — ABC’s daytime talk show co-hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Abby Huntsman, Sunny Hostin, and Meghan McCain — where Donald Trump Jr. and girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle appeared as guests. And hoo boy, it was a mess from the start.
As The Daily Beast and many others noted based on their viewings of the broadcast, Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle’s presence at the table was immediately incendiary for the hosts and the audience. Yet it was The Hollywood Reporter‘s account from inside the studio itself that caught everyone’s attention — not only for the guests’ demeanor but for the more pro-Trump members of the audience. During several commercial breaks, pretty much everyone in the room — from Goldberg and McCain to Trump Jr. and his apparent supporters — was at each others’ throats.
Per THR, “The crowd… alternatively booed and cheered as Trump and Guilfoyle clashed with members of the show’s cast” on multiple occasions, despite warnings from producers, stagehands, and Goldberg herself. “The booing is f*cking us up,” said the latter at one point. “It’s messing with everyone’s mic. You can grimace and all that. All we hear is booing.” Meanwhile, “a man wearing a Trump hat” in one of the front rows invoked a days-old meme concerning the late Jeffrey Epstein when he asked, “Who killed [Jeffrey] Epstein?”
Of course, this was just the behind-the-scenes stuff that viewers at home didn’t get to see. Though it’s not like anyone missed out, as the segments that were broadcast out included all kinds of horrendously awkward encounters and arguments. Like when McCain, whose father remained a target of the president following his death last year, spoke up after staying silent for most of the segment’s beginning. “If you could let me speak, I would appreciate it,” she told an audience member before turning her attention to the guests.
“You and your family have hurt a lot of people and put a lot of people through a lot of pain,” she said. “Including the Khan family, who is a Gold Star family that I think should be respected for the loss of their son. Does all of this make you feel good?” Trump Jr. responded by saying he didn’t “think any of that makes me feel good,” but added his family “got into this because we wanted to do what’s right for America.” They sparred back and forth for a bit, along with many others at the table, but when Hostin mentioned the fact that his father had denigrated McCain’s father, Trump Jr. actually apologized… to Hostin. He later apologized to McCain’s face, though not without another bout.
At the very end of it all, Goldberg decided to cut through Huntsman’s attempt to end the interview on a lighter note about Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle’s potential nuptials and end it altogether. “It’s the end of this show,” she said while pointing at the pair. The declaration was initially met with silence before some at the table expressed their relief. Including Behar, who exclaimed, “Praise the lord.”
(Via Hollywood Reporter & The Daily Beast)