Co-hosts of “The View” grilled Joy Behar on Friday about being a courteous host to Vice President JD Vance when he appeared on the liberal daytime talk show on Tuesday, and she argued she was simply following the example of the late Barbara Walters.
“It’s like with JD. He was here the other day,” Behar said as the panel looked back on the interview with Vance. “I respect the office. I believe in reaching across the aisle. I do.”
Moments later, co-host Sunny Hostin asked, “But I want to know, why were you so in love with JD Vance?”
“I wasn’t in love. I’m not in love with him, and I’m not in love with this administration,” Behar replied.
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During a press conference on Wednesday, Vance addressed skepticism about his skills in “hostile, high-stakes negotiations” with Iran by joking that his appearance on “The View” was all the proof anyone needed.
“I would point those progressive critics to the fact that just two days ago, I spent over an hour on ‘The View,’ so I actually have great experience in very hostile negotiations,” he quipped. “Look, Joy Behar is way tougher than the Iranians, and she and I are best friends now.”
A clip of that moment was played on “The View” on Friday, getting laughter from the audience and co-hosts alike, as co-host Sunny Hostin asked, “What!? We were more difficult to deal with than the Iranian government?”
“He’s being funny, I think,” Behar replied, as co-host Ana Navarro replied and wished that Behar could be the one negotiating with the Iranian government.
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“He came in strategically prepared to disarm us with niceness. He came in being affable and laughing easily and being very nice,” Navarro said in reference to Vance. “It worked on you. Didn’t work on me,” she then said to Behar.
“It didn’t work on me either,” Hostin added.
“It did not ‘work’ on me,” Behar said, appearing visibly annoyed that she was being accused of being swayed. “It did not. I respect the office. I’m a civilized human being, and when someone comes on my show, then you treat them like a human being.”
“Barbara Walters did say that,” Hostin admitted.
“I learned under Barbara Walters,” Behar said, as she and Hostin both spoke about the late creator and founder of “The View.”
Hostin remembered that when she first came on the show as a guest co-host years ago, Walters had advised, “When someone comes to your house, you treat them well. She did tell me that.”
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While some of the co-hosts were skeptical about Vance’s political changes over the years, Behar defended him, “You know what? I believe people are redeemable. I remember when he wrote the ‘Hillbilly Elegy.’ He grew up poor. It was a really good book. He was not the person he is now. I agree with that, maybe he’ll go back to that. Who knows? I can only hope!”
Behar confirmed that she told Vance during a commerical break on Tuesday that he had a good vibe “for a Republican” and suggested he should run for president.
