The View Goes to War with Trump’s FCC

ABC is turning to The View’s loyal viewers as the network pushes back against what critics are calling a chilling effort by Trump’s FCC to police one of daytime TV’s most outspoken shows.

The network began running ads Monday urging viewers to speak directly to the Federal Communications Commission, which is investigating The View over whether the program violated the “equal time” rule. That rule generally requires broadcasters to give comparable airtime to opposing political candidates, but ABC is arguing the probe goes far beyond the FCC’s authority and threatens open political debate on television.

The investigation was launched under FCC Chairman Brendan Carr after Texas Democrat James Talarico appeared on the show earlier this year. The View, which has been a frequent target of Donald Trump and his allies, is co-hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, and former Trump White House aide Alyssa Farah Griffin.

Now ABC is fighting back in a very public way.

The ad opens with the voice of the late Barbara Walters, the legendary journalist who created The View. “I had this idea for a show: Different women, different points of view,” Walters says.

A narrator then tells viewers that The View has welcomed major guests and covered the issues Americans care about for nearly 30 years. Then comes the warning: “Now, the FCC wants to control who is allowed to appear on the show.”

The ad asks viewers to scan a QR code and submit comments directly to the FCC before July 6. Those comments will be filed into the official FCC proceeding and made publicly available on the agency’s website.

The move marks a striking escalation from ABC, which has already blasted the investigation in a formal filing. Last month, the network called the FCC probe “unprecedented, beyond the Commission’s authority, and counterproductive to the Commission’s stated goal of encouraging free speech and open political discussion.”

Carr defended the investigation earlier this year during an appearance on Fox News, saying that if a program qualifies as “bona fide news,” it does not have to give candidates equal time. But he claimed Disney and The View had not established that the show qualifies as bona fide news.

“We’ve started enforcement proceedings, taking a look at that,” Carr said. “And, again, we’re going to hold broadcasters accountable.”

The View’s hosts have not addressed the new ad or the investigation on-air since the probe began in February. But the show has continued doing what has made it both popular and controversial for decades: taking on the biggest political fights of the day during its “Hot Topics” segments.

Trump has repeatedly lashed out at the women of The View over the years, once calling them “degenerates” and “dumb women” after the program interviewed his 2024 opponent, Kamala Harris.

The hosts have continued to criticize Trump on everything from Iran to the cost of living, while also pressing top Republicans who appear on the show.

Vice President JD Vance appeared on The View on June 16 to promote his book, despite previously calling the program “propaganda.” During the interview, he faced tough questions about his past criticism of Trump and the president’s relationship with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

For ABC, the fight is now bigger than one guest appearance. The network is framing the investigation as a direct threat to political discussion, press freedom, and the ability of TV programs to book guests without government interference.

And by asking viewers to flood the FCC with comments, The View is making one thing clear: it does not plan to quietly back down.