The White House threatened to make The View “the next show to be pulled off air” because co-host Joy Behar said Donald Trump is “jealous” of Barack Obama.
A White House spokesperson told Entertainment Weekly Wednesday after the show aired, “Joy Behar is an irrelevant loser suffering from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome” who “should self-reflect on her own jealousy of President Trump’s historic popularity before her show is the next to be pulled off air.”
The statement to the site also claimed the popular daytime show has “hit the lowest ratings” recently. The show would not comment to EW about the insults to Behar, but it defended its ratings, telling the site, “season to date, The View is ranking No. 1 in households and total viewers among all network daytime talk shows and news programs for the fifth straight season.”
Behar made the comments that attracted the White House response during a “Hot Topics” table discussion about Trump’s surprise claim that Obama “was trying to lead a coup” while he was in office. The president floated that conspiracy theory as he tries to divert attention away from unearthed writings and photographs released this week that showed close ties with deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Behar said that Trump is “so jealous of Obama, because Obama is everything that he is not: Trim, smart, handsome, happily married, and can sing Al Green’s song ‘Let’s Stay Together’ better than Al Green. And Trump cannot stand it. It’s driving him crazy.”
Trump’s claim prompted a rare statement from the former president, who called the allegations “bizarre,” “ridiculous,” and a “weak attempt at distraction.” The statement added, “Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response. But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one.”
All of the View hosts, including Trump’s former Communications Director Alyssa Farah Griffin, cast doubt on Trump’s “coup” claim, but Behar’s comments likely hit his ego the hardest. Trump’s threat that the View could be “next to be pulled off air” comes after he gloated about the cancellation of Colbert’s Late Show, which many saw as a way for Paramount to appease the president ahead of its FCC approval-required merger with Skydance.
The White House statement about The View is the latest confirmation that the president is relishing opportunities to remove his critics from the airwaves, as he’s already taken pre-credit if detractors Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon lose their shows as well.
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