Yahoo News The View star Alyssa Farah Griffin reveals 'sitting governors, senators' watch the show: 'I'm always stunned'
Alyssa Farah Griffin has revealed that more than just audiences at home are taking time to enjoy The View.
The conservative cohost and former Donald Trump White House staffer — who, alongside Ana Navarro, filled Meghan McCain's vacant seat on the ABC talk show in 2022 — says in EW's exclusive preview of the new Behind the Table podcast that she's well aware that Washington, D.C. insiders tune in for Hot Topics each week.
"I've felt a lot of support since I've been in," Griffin tells executive producer Brian Teta in the clip (below). "I talk to a number of sitting governors, senators, congressmen pretty regularly. I'm always stunned by who watches The View."
She also discusses the roller coaster of reactions from the right when she auditioned for the show. "When the seat became available and it was announced there was going to be a search, I heard from everyone, like, 'I hope you go put your name in for it. I hope you try for it.' Everyone was super supportive," she recalls. "Then, when I said I was going to take it, everyone was like, 'We're really proud of you, but be careful, good luck!' There was again this trepidation."
ABC/Jeff Lipsky 'The View' season 27 cast
Still, she says the Whoopi Goldberg–moderated, traditionally left-leaning show "might look scarier from the outside, if that makes sense," and that she got plenty of advice about how to navigate that dynamic from friends and former colleagues.
"Don't shy away from sharing the truth as you know it," she continues, sharing the tips she received. "Just remember that, even if you're not getting applause or changing the hearts and minds of the table — because I've never set out to do that, like, Joy Behar's been a left-wing liberal my entire life, no one's trying to change her mind, she's not trying to change mine — is just to be the voice of half of America that may not share those viewpoints but do it in a way that's respectful."
Lou Rocco/ABC/Getty Alyssa Farah Griffin on 'The View'
Griffin's tenure on season 26 featured her taking a different approach to delivering conservative talking points than that of McCain or past panelist Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Still, Griffin held firm on several Republican views, and faced several on-air references to her ties to Trump from her cohosts. She also famously clashed with legal expert Sunny Hostin in June, when the pair engaged in perhaps the season's most intense argument at the table — which Griffin ultimately dubbed "a disgrace."
The View season 27 premieres Tuesday, Sept. 5, at 11 a.m. ET/PT on ABC. Watch EW's exclusive clip of Griffin from the Behind the Table podcast above.
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