Alyssa Farah Griffin Says Ted Cruz ‘Semi-Admitted’ GOP Is in Midterm Trouble on ‘The View’

Texas Senator Ted Cruz knew he wasn’t exactly walking into friendly territory when he joined The View on Wednesday, September 9. Before he even took his seat at the Hot Topics table, some audience members booed at the mention of his name, prompting Whoopi Goldberg to remind the crowd that the show welcomes guests with differing viewpoints and expects them to be treated respectfully.

But what happened behind the scenes was considerably friendlier. After Cruz’s appearance, The View executive producer Brian Teta and Alyssa Farah Griffin pulled back the curtain on his visit during the show’s Behind the Table podcast, revealing what happened before he walked onto the set and the answer Griffin said left her particularly surprised.

Cruz’s appearance made for what Griffin called an “iconic View” episode: a contentious political guest sandwiched between Hot Topics and a hard pivot to Lizzo, who performed live on flute. “It was crazy,” Teta said.

Griffin and Teta also revealed what viewers didn’t see, including what happened backstage before Cruz took his seat at the table.

“This is someone who… we have different views at our table. He has different views from most of you on most things,” Teta said, before asking about Griffin and Joy Behar going backstage to greet him.

“Joy and I did. Joy almost always makes a point when we have Republicans on to go introduce herself beforehand and kind of disarm them,” Griffin explained, joking that Behar had done the same with Vice President JD Vance. “I’ve known Senator Cruz for some time, so I went back with her, but she was sweet and — I don’t even know what the Joy joke was — but kind of ribbed him.”

Despite their political differences, Griffin had plenty of praise for Cruz as a guest.

“Here’s the thing I’ll say: What I like about Ted Cruz, he’s one of my favorite Republican guests because while there’s plenty to disagree with him on, he’s an intellectual. He knows his facts. He knows what he’s talking about,” she said. “You may disagree with his opinions or conclusions, but you’re going to have a substantive conversation.”

Griffin pointed specifically to Cruz’s back-and-forth with Sunny Hostin over legal issues. But she said the moment that really caught her attention came much earlier in the interview, when Cruz addressed the upcoming midterms.

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“The headline for me was actually the answer to the first question, which was basically about the midterm convention and what’s going to happen with the midterms,” Griffin said. “He’s basically semi-admitting that Republicans are not going to perform well in the midterms.”

“That was kind of striking to hear because you do tend to still toe the party line and be like, ‘We’ve got a great agenda to run on. We’re feeling good about our chances,’” she continued. Instead, Griffin noted that Cruz acknowledged the election would come down to turnout and that there was significant energy among voters opposed to the administration. “I was just surprised that he kind of so blatantly said it.”

Republicans are gathering in Dallas this week for an unusual midterm convention intended to energize voters ahead of the November elections.

“Is that a tactical move?” Teta asked of Cruz’s warning. “To scare people into coming out?”

“That’s a good point,” Griffin replied. “He’s from the before times, before Trump. So he’s a lot more of a skilled politician, where an answer like that, there’s actually rhyme or reason or thought behind it.” She suggested the warning could have been intended, at least in part, to motivate Republican voters to turn out.

Teta also praised Cruz’s willingness to appear on the show despite knowing he would face tough questions from the panel.

“This is his third time on the show, and I’m always appreciative of the fact that he does want to come here when we invite him, and he’s always happy to be here,” Teta said, later describing Cruz as a “very smart, skilled debater.”

There was one answer, however, that Griffin wasn’t entirely convinced Cruz believed himself.

During his appearance, Hostin repeatedly pushed Cruz to give the Trump administration a letter grade on the economy and prices. After initially resisting, Cruz finally gave it an “A,” which was immediately met with groans from the hosts and audience.

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“I didn’t feel like his heart was in that A,” Griffin said afterward. She suggested Cruz may have been thinking about how the moment could resurface if he makes another run for president in 2028: “I didn’t feel like his heart was in that ‘A,’ and I think he was probably thinking, ‘Oh, if I’m running in 2028, people are going to clip that and be like, ‘You said this economy was great.'”

“The big takeaway, and I’ll be watching for it with this midterm convention, is: What are you selling? How are you convincing a public that right now feels like their money is not going far enough, their bills are too high, gas prices, food prices, so on. What do you tell them? ‘Hey, this is the success and what we delivered for you?’ And I think it’s a tough sell right now,” explained Griffin.

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