Political commentator and The View co-host Ana Navarro is pushing back on ABC’s direction to tone down the show’s political rhetoric, but not every host is with her according to a new report from Fox News Digital on Friday.
The Daily Beast first reported that ABC News President Almin Karamehmedovic urged the show’s executive producer and six co-hosts to shift focus from their politics-heavy segments to more celebrity-focused fare during a meeting sometime over the last several weeks.
The hosts came away from that meeting determined to “keep doing their thing,” calling the feedback “silly.” But Navarro, one of Trump’s fiercest detractors, took her disagreement with the note all the way to Disney CEO Bob Iger, only to find that ABC bosses were in lock step. He, too, would like for the show to cool it, sources said.
The day after the report, the View hosts slammed Donald Trump for his meeting with South Africa’s president, indicating they would not be backing down—at least not yet. But “ignoring” the direction, particularly after confirming it came from the very top, would be a “terrible decision,” a View insider told Fox.
“Most hosts agree with the ABC top brass,” that the show could stand to be less political. “The View is a daytime network talk show and needs to do more than just politics and Trump bashing,” the source added. “This was a welcome direction for many of us.”
Whether or not the show will actually follow through on Iger and Karamehmedovic’s feedback is “hard to say,” the source added. It remains unclear which hosts agree with the insider, but the internal tension seems unlikely to be good news for Navarro.
Another source close to the show pushed back on the Fox News narrative, telling the Daily Beast that disagreement among the co-hosts is all part what makes The View compelling in the first place.
According to the Daily Beast’s sources, the hosts who were critical of the suggestion to back off of politics argued that viewers want their political commentary. Recent ratings increases suggest they have a point.
The View continues to see year-to-year increases in its target demos and the show has seen gains in total viewers since Trump took office for the second time this year. In January, just as Trump was returning to the White House, the show reported its highest viewership in four years.
The ratings success could bolster the argument that ABC is messing with a good thing, but a source familiar with the matter implied to The Daily Beast that the suggestion to tone things down may have been “based on viewer feedback.”
A representative for The View and Navarro declined a request for comment.
Navarro hasn’t commented on the difference of opinion. She last appeared on the show this past Monday, May 19 and generally is only at the table Monday and Fridays. Sources told the Daily Beast she had a vacation planned through Memorial Day before the report on the hosts’ tension with ABC and Disney bosses went public.
Navarro is expected to appear at The View table on Tuesday when the show returns after the holiday, and remain through Friday, filling in for Sunny Hostin, who is scheduled to be off next week.
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