ABC touts JD Vance interview amid FCC’s war with ‘The View’
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While Disney and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) argue over whether “The View” is a genuine news program, ABC is celebrating a significant viewership boost for the reliably liberal program achieved by booking a strong Republican.
ABC News announced Tuesday that last week’s episode of “The View” featuring Vice President J.D. Vance was the show’s most-watched episode in more than 18 months. Vance’s appearance attracted 3.3 million viewers to the daytime chat, and the only “The View” episode since January 2021 to surpass the Vice President session came during the post-Election Day broadcast on Nov. 6, 2024.
The FCC was not mentioned in ABC News’ press release touting its audience success, but it came on the heels of the Disney-owned station launching an ad campaign urging viewers to support “The View.”
ABC LAUNCHES BROADCAST CAMPAIGN ENCOURAGING VIEWERS TO SUPPORT ‘THE VIEW’ IN BATTLE WITH TRUMP’S FCC
Vice President JD Vance appeared on ABC’s “The View” on Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (ABC/Lou Rocco)
Earlier this year, the FCC launched an investigation into ABC’s “The View” amid the agency’s pressure to give political candidates equal time after Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico appeared on the show. Disney’s ABC believes “The View” is real news and therefore exempt from the equal time rule.
ABC’s new campaign includes a petition declaring that “The View” does indeed qualify as a genuine news interview show. “‘The View’ has been hosting your favorite guests for nearly 30 years. Now the FCC wants to control who is allowed to be on the show. Tell the FCC and let the viewers decide. You have until July 6,” said an ad that debuted during the show Monday.
ABC’s campaign will also run online and across ABC social media platforms. When reached for comment, the FCC accused Disney of “misleading” viewers.
Also on Monday, the Media Research Center (MRC) wrote a letter to the FCC insisting that the show failed to meet “bona fide reporting” standards that would exempt it from the equal-time rule. MRC provided the FCC with “2,473 separate pieces of evidence documenting The View’s pervasive bias,” according to the letter.
FCC START PROBLEMS IN ABC’S ‘THE VIEW’ IF CANDIDATES GIVE EQUAL TIME
ABC News announced Tuesday that last week’s episode of “The View” featuring Vice President J.D. Vance was the show’s most-watched episode in more than 18 months. (ABC/Lou Rocco)
MRC President David Bozell told Fox News Digital: “Anyone who watches the show knows this is political advocacy disguised as news. Our filing demonstrates that ‘The View’ is a one-sided platform that promotes one political viewpoint while excluding another. ABC should not receive special regulatory treatment for actual news programming.”
In January, the FCC announced that broadcast networks would be required to comply with the “statutory equal opportunity requirement,” citing the Communications Act of 1934, “including the broadcast of late-night and daytime talk shows.”
There was a long-standing “good faith” exception for news programming that did not require equal time for an opposing candidate, but the FCC now says it means “no evidence has been presented that the interview segment of any currently on the air nightly or daytime television talk show program would qualify for the ‘good faith’ news exemption.”
ABC REPLIES TO FCC’S ‘OPINION’ QUESTION, SAYS THE AGENCY’S ‘COOLING EFFECT ON THE FIRST AMENDMENT’
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has launched an investigation into ABC’s “The View” over its policy regarding networks providing equal time to political candidates. (Lou Rocco/Getty Images)
“The View” has been known to be anti-Trump for years, frequently criticizing the president and members of his administration. The show had a total of 341 guests in 2025, but only two of them were conservatives and 128 were liberals. Media Research Center’s NewsBusters.
Vance joined the show alongside six co-hosts (Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, Alyssa Farah Griffin and Ana Navarro). It’s unclear whether the success of Vance’s appearance will lead to more Republicans joining the show.
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Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
