A study by conservative media watchdog Media Research Center found that ABC’s “The View” featured one conservative guest and 21 liberal guests in the weeks before Election Day.
The review covered Sept. 8, the opening of the show’s 30th season, through Nov. 3. It counted guests who expressed political views during their appearances. The study said the 21 liberal guests were critical of President Donald Trump or the Republican Party. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas was the only conservative guest.
Four of the guests categorized as liberal were politicians: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Clinton appeared the day before Election Day with podcast host Kara Swisher, whom the study also described as liberal.
Tillis, a retiring Republican senator, was included because he appeared to discuss his book criticizing Trump. He has called for Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to be fired and has differed publicly with Trump over the One Big Beautiful Bill. In the book, released in early October, Tillis said he hoped Republicans would learn from the midterm losses he expected. He argued that putting party loyalty—or loyalty to one person—ahead of conscience rarely ends well.
The study also counted several liberal celebrities, including Maisie Williams, Ethan Hawke, Chelsea Handler, Michael Douglas, Billy Crystal, Patricia “Ms. Pat” Williams-Lee, D.L. Hughley, Chandra Wilson, Busy Philipps, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Eisa Davis, Jamie Lee Curtis and Sophia Bush.
Neil deGrasse Tyson and Stephen A. Smith were among the other guests included. Smith discussed a recent meeting with Trump at the White House, which drew criticism from the show’s co-hosts. He defended attending, while also criticizing the president during the appearance.
The MRC said guests were assigned a political leaning only if they expressed liberal or conservative views on the program. Celebrities who did not discuss politics were left out, even if they had previously spoken publicly about political issues.
In all, the show hosted 56 guests during the period covered by the study.
“The View” also faced scrutiny in 2025 after hosting 128 liberal guests and two conservatives over the year, according to the MRC. In 2026, the program hosted Vice President JD Vance and Alina Habba, a former legal spokesperson for Trump. Several Republicans also filled in as co-hosts while Alyssa Farah Griffin was on maternity leave, including Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Savannah Chrisley.
In January 2026, the co-hosts interviewed former Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who had become a sharp critic of Trump.
ABC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. MRC President David Bozell said the network had learned nothing from ongoing scrutiny by the Federal Communications Commission. He accused the show of presenting Democratic messaging as a legitimate news program and said its guest lineup made ABC’s political agenda clear. Bozell also called on the FCC to hold the network accountable for what he described as partisan use of public airwaves.
The FCC has been investigating “The View” over the past year. The inquiry relates to the agency’s enforcement of equal-time rules for political candidates. An FCC source said in February that an interview with James Talarico prompted the probe.
In a May filing, ABC defended the program’s status as a bona fide news show, saying the FCC had granted it an exemption more than 20 years ago and had not acted to change or reverse that decision.
The co-hosts interviewed Texas Sen.-elect James Talarico on Wednesday, after his election victory, and Michigan Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed on Thursday. Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who won re-election, is scheduled to appear next week.
