Why Would ‘The View’ Want Karoline Leavitt To Co-Host?

Earlier this week, the Daily Mail reported or possibly sensationalized accounts from sources close to former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who claimed not only was she invited to be a guest on ABC’s “The View,” but she was also under consideration to be a permanent co-host.

But why would the far-left “View,” which carefully curates who they bring on and which opinions they allow to be shared, want someone so pro-Trump? It could be just a ploy to get the Federal Communications Commission off their backs.

According to the Daily Mail, the idea of Leavitt being a guest and a possible co-host received positive support from inside the White House, including from President Trump:

But ABC’s The View wants outgoing White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt to join the panel show, two sources tell the Daily Mail.

Leavitt is said to be considering the idea, which has been met with enthusiastic support from President Donald Trump and other White House officials.

But why?

If the reporting was accurate, ABC and “The View” might eye this as a way to curry favor with the Trump administration.

For weeks, “The View”’s status as a “bona fide news program” has been under scrutiny by the FCC, an effort cheered on by the Media Research Center and its over 2,400 “separate pieces of evidence documenting “The View”’s pervasive bias and, at times, willful electioneering as exhibits to this comment.”

Key to the arguments against “The View” is their obvious aversion to inviting actual conservatives and Republicans, especially ones that are pro-Trump. A Media Research Center study found that, in their most recent season, they only had five conservative guests to their 87 liberal ones. Additionally, both of the show’s purported “conservatives,” Ana Navarro and Alyssa Farah Griffin, were anti-Trump voices.

A reversal of “The View”’s “bona fide news program” status could be the first domino to fall that could lead to eight ABC-owned-and-operated affiliates losing their broadcast licenses.

As I noted for NewsBusters earlier this week, the FCC’s review seems to be affecting the show’s upcoming season, particularly their guest bookings. After two consecutive years of kicking off their seasons with prominent liberal figures (liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson), they seemed to be staying away from booking such overtly political figures.

If only booked as a guest, Leavitt would be their first booking of a political/government figure so far for Season 30. One they’ve attacked on their show for her looks and age.

However, this hinged on reporting from a British tabloid, likely for sensational headlines.

CNN’s Brian Stelter countered The Daily Mail with his own ABC source; and while it was “technically” she was invited, “the implication of the Mail’s headline is false. She would not be a guest host on the talk show or join in a more official capacity.”

“The View” may not be trying to hire Leavitt, but it’s obvious that the FCC’s pressure is influencing who they invite to join them at the table. More importantly, however, it’s expanding the views allowed on “The View.”

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Nicholas C. Fondacaro is the associate editor for the Media Research Center and NewsBusters.