ABC's The View dropped the last pretense of being a talk show on Sunday and went full DNC infomercial, with co-host Ana Navarro issuing what can only be described as a political hostage demand: "if Americans want this to end, want the abuses of power checked, they have got to vote Democrats in in November, period."
That's not a campaign pitch. That's a ransom note with better lighting.
Navarro was reacting to the Louisiana primaries, where incumbent Republican Senator Bill Cassidy lost his seat. According to Navarro, Cassidy didn't lose because voters in Louisiana made a choice — no, "Cassidy lost because he did the right thing and stood up against a man who was trying to destroy democracy." President Trump endorsed Julia Letlow in that race, but Navarro wasn't interested in the actual politics. She was too busy delivering her ultimatum.
And she wasn't done. Navarro helpfully explained that "practically every other Republican is so far up Trump's ass all you can see is the sole of their feet." Classy. Real daytime-television energy there.
Not to be outdone, co-host Sunny Hostin jumped in with her own campaign speech disguised as commentary. "I see this as a great opportunity for the Democrats to show the American people that they are here for affordability, they are here for healthcare, they are here for education, they are here for making people's lives better," Hostin declared, apparently reading from a DNC pamphlet someone left in the green room.
Here for affordability? These are the same people whose party spent the last four years making everything more expensive. But sure, Sunny, tell us more about how Democrats are going to save us from the mess they made.
Hostin then pivoted to the real playbook, claiming "this is a huge opportunity, despite the fact that they are trying to gerrymander the heck out of this country and take away the black vote." No evidence offered, naturally. Just the usual accusation lobbed like a grenade and left for the audience to absorb.
Let's be honest about what happened on that May 18 episode. Two television hosts, on a network owned by a major corporation, looked into a camera and told millions of Americans that the only acceptable political outcome is a Democratic victory. Not "here's why our ideas are better." Not "here's our plan." Just: vote for us, or else.
As NewsBusters Associate Editor Nicholas Fondacaro noted in his coverage, The View has essentially abandoned any pretense of balanced discussion. It's become a weekly campaign rally that somehow still qualifies for FCC broadcast licensing.
The thing is, threats don't win elections. "Vote for us if you want this to end" isn't a message of hope — it's an admission that they've got nothing else to run on. No policy wins to brag about. No record to defend. Just fear and finger-wagging from a couch in Manhattan.
We've seen this movie before. They told us to vote their way in 2024 "or else," and 70 million Americans said "or else what?" Keep talking, ladies. You're the best recruitment tool the Republican Party has.