The ladies of The View just hosted a Stephen King movie-themed Halloween special, and yet, that wasn’t the spookiest thing they’ve had to deal with in the past seven days. The co-hosts welcomed (sort of) Donald Trump Jr., 41, and girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle, 50, to the roundtable on the November 7 episode, where they ventured into somewhat hostile territory: a program where he and his family, especially his father, President Donald Trump, is routinely scrutinized. Donald Jr. was on the show, which happened to be The View‘s 5000th episode, to promote his book. He’s now the proud author of Triggered: How The Left Thrives On Hate And Wants To Silence Us, and if that title didn’t spell it out clearly enough, he explained his message to the increasingly unamused co-hosts through various lines of questioning. Though they invited him and his girlfriend of nearly two years to the set, the co-hosts didn’t hold back when it came to expressing their very valid opinions about the first son and the Trump machine. Abby Huntsman got the discussion started by asking the couple, about releasing the name of the whistle blower wrapped up in the conversation over impeachment.
Abby immediately dug into Donald Jr.’s decision to retweet The Drudge Report‘s article that released the whistle blower’s name. “To intimidate someone like that,” Abby said in her impassioned talking point, “that’s something dictators do.” Donald Jr., of course had a different perspective, feeling it was his duty “as a private citizen” to make the name known to the public. When it came to the outrage over his decision to share the name, among past indiscretions he and his father have been called out for, Donald Jr. shared, “I wish the outrage would be equal,” concerning the scrutiny he feels “the left” has placed on his father’s presidency.
What hasn’t been equal, in the eyes of Meghan McCain, has been the demonstration — or lack — of character from the current occupant of the White House. Meghan was noticeably composed, as she directed her questions to Donald Jr., whose father had previously insulted her late father, Senator John McCain. “You’ve put a lot of people through a lot of pain…does all this make you feel good?” Instead of directly answering the question, Donald Jr. pointed out how his father, “is under attack everyday.” He also directly spoke to Meghan about his father’s “counter-punching” attitude, saying, “As a conservative I would hope you [Meghan] would appreciate that conservatives haven’t been known for fighting back for a very long time.”
"You and your family have hurt a lot of people…" @MeghanMcCain says. "Does all of this make you feel good?"
Trump Jr.: "I don't think any of that makes me feel good, but I do think that we got into this because we wanted to do what's right for America." https://t.co/9coDczjMxa pic.twitter.com/hbbHQv24jV
— The View (@TheView) November 7, 2019
When it came to character and the public discourse, Whoopi Goldberg echoed Meghan’s points. But when Donald Jr. brought up Whoopi’s own past indiscretion — offering a defense of embattled Hollywood director and accused child rapist, Roman Polanski, in the past — Whoopi was anything but impressed and shifted the conversation back. “Are you questioning my character?” Whoopi posed to the business man and author. “You’re questioning my father’s character,” Donald Jr. answered. The entire interview followed with more back and forth and the hosts and guests talking over one another. The conversation ended with Abby asking who Donald Jr. hopes runs against his father in 2020, to which he replied, “It doesn’t matter that much to me.”
.@HuntsmanAbby: "Who do you hope runs against your dad?"
Donald Trump, Jr. on @TheView: "It doesn't matter that much to me … I do spend a lot of time in middle America, I spend a lot of time there and honestly, people are happy." https://t.co/gaK4yIkueb pic.twitter.com/KuTeFldtsW
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) November 7, 2019
Last week, Trump and Guilfoyle debuted their Halloween costumes on Instagram. They opted for a couple’s costume, channeling his father’s favorite cry of outrage: “witch hunt!” They took a literal route, with Trump dressing in his fatigues and carrying a rifle (he’s an avid big game hunter), while she donned a witchy dress and pointed hat. The president has long said that he’s the victim of the “greatest witch hunt” in history after being the target of the Mueller probe, and now an impeachment inquiry.