‘The View’ Cohosts React to TMZ’s Decision to Go After Politicians

The cohosts of The View had mixed reactions to TMZ’s decision to open a Washington, D.C. bureau and start chasing down politicians on Capitol Hill to give them the paparazzi treatment.

“The clown show in politics keeps on expanding the tent,” Whoopi Goldberg wryly said, to open the discussion. “It was only a matter of time before this happened.”

“So TMZ was tracking down Lindsey Graham like they do celebrities. Is this the right approach to media coverage of politics right now? Because I think better handled by some of the Real Housewives who were in DC recently for HIV fundraising event, and they said there’s more drama in politics than there is on the Bronx right now,” Goldberg continued.

“I mean, it’s honestly true. I welcome it, personally,” Alyssa Farah Griffin responded. “I think that until members of Congress hold themselves to a higher standard, they’re not entitled to some of the decorum that they might be treated with by these people covering them. I think members of Congress should have more scrutiny on their lives than, say, Kim Kardashian does.” She then pointed to some of the biggest scandals that have come out of politics, like “mistresses, affairs, abuse, misconduct, all sorts of things.” Griffin then continued, “I think TMZ is actually an outlet that often breaks stories first. They’re intrepid. They’re relentless. Our taxpayer-funded members of Congress should be covered that way.”

“Two days in a row, I agree with you,” Joy Behar then said (referring to the fact that she agreed with Griffin’s stance on welcoming former MAGA folks like Marjorie Taylor Greene into the anti-Trump fold on the previous show). “I do because I think that they will ask questions, and they’ll be on television. You’ll see them running away from the question. For instance, they asked Ted Cruz if he was on Pope Leo’s or Trump’s side, and he didn’t answer, of course, because he doesn’t want to commit to either one. Either way, he’s in bad shape. So I like it as a matter of fact, it’s true. What you say is right too, that they don’t deserve to have the decorum that a journalism student from Columbia would use.”

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“Well, Trump has attacked the journalism from the get-go,” Sunny Hostin then said. “I mean, he calls everything ‘fake news,’ and he introduced these sort of podcasters and influencers into the White House Correspondents Association. So he lowered the bar for this type of coverage, in my opinion. So I’m agreeing with both of you, look at us! Because it’s a circus.”

Sara Haines also agreed, saying, “These secrets we spoke of that were not secrets in D.C., if you have TMZ, there aren’t going to be secrets for long. So whether it’s Eric Swalwell, who denies any of the allegations, or Matt Gaetz, who also denies any allegations… I agree with you that you look at this in celebrity media world for so long, these guys are public servants. No matter how many times you have to call them to pass, do it. Have them all be chased around. Because they’re going to show us who they really are, and they’ve already kind of essentially cracked on all media, and they’re blocking people out. Let the people that are willing to chase them down the street go with them.”

Griffin then jumped back in to point out, “By the way, we do need serious hard news reporters that are covering legislation, government shutdowns, things that impact all of us, that absolutely has to continue. But I also want to know about the character of my elected officials, and I feel like these elected officials. I feel like TMZ is uniquely good at that kind of stuff.”

The cohosts then asked Goldberg for her thoughts on the matter, and she was the lone voice of dissent, saying, “If you’ve ever been chased down, you think, ‘Come on, man,'” she said. However she added, “But if, in fact, they’re public servants, put the sneakers on.”

The View, weekdays, 11a/10c, ABC