US talk show The View accused of 'race-baiting' as host 'blames Trump shooting on white men': 'A woke joke!'
The View: Donald Trump shooting discussion sparks fury after hosts' comments
ABC/GETTY
US talk show The View has faced called to be "permanently cancelled" for its discussion about the Pennsylvania shooting at a Donald Trump rally.
The former US President, who's since returned to duties and received a standing ovation at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, was left bloodied after a shooter opened fire at Saturday's event.
Trump was clipped on the ear by one of the shooter's bullets while one attendee was killed and two others rushed to hospital soon after.
The former President was bundled to the ground by his security detail at the event before being rushed off stage to safety, but not before raising his fist in a show of defiance to his supporters.
President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and public figures across the globe have since condemned the act of violence and The View stars Sara Haines, Joy Behar, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Ana Navarro, and Sunny Hostin echoed that on Monday's show.
However, during a discussion about the shooting, presenters Navarro and Behar, in particular, sparked outrage when they contemplated the wider conversation needed in the USA.
The View panel discussed the assassination attempt on Donald Trump during Monday's show
ABC
Navarro told her co-stars she was "very happy that Donald Trump is safe" but was "simply heartbroken for the family of Corey Comperatore", the attendee who lost his life at the rally.
She continued: "I was watching it live because I thought he was going to announce his VP that day... and I immediately thought it was a shooting. And I was shocked and I was heartbroken because I fled political violence in Nicaragua and to me, this is something that is not supposed to happen in America.
"I felt the same way when I was watching January 6, these attacks on democracy and on America don't happen in this country, they happen in other places."
Navarro then praised President Biden for "taking the opportunity (to ask) us to unite" before taking the discussion down a different route: "I also need to say, I hope that at some point in this country, we do have a conversation about what is happening, we can't just react when it's our side.
BIDEN & TRUMP CALL FOR UNITY AFTER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: #TheView co-hosts react to the attempted assassination of former Pres. Trump during a Pennsylvania campaign rally. pic.twitter.com/FikP666Y3t
— The View (@TheView) July 15, 2024
"What was this? It was a 20-year-old, lone wolf, white, whack-job with easy access to a gun. We have to have a conversation about that.
"It wasn't a drag queen, it wasn't an immigrant, it wasn't a p**sed off liberal woman - and this keeps happening. We need to react not as Left or Right, not as Republicans or Democrats... we need to react as Americans and we need to ask for better."
Behar appeared to echo the sentiment as she chipped in: "I need to add the shooter was a 20-year-old kitchen worker from nearby Bethel Park in Pennsylvania, according to a CNN report, a senior law enforcement official said that he bought 50 rounds of ammunition from a local gun store hours before the rally.
"Shouldn't that have been reported? A 20-year-old white guy? We've seen that many times now, young white men with guns, and nobody reported that he bought 50 rounds of ammunition?"
The point made by Navarro and Behar quickly came under scrutiny from viewers on home, with many outraged that they appeared to be "blaming the attempted assassination of Trump on white men".
After a clip of the conversation went viral on X, formerly Twitter, one social media user fumed: "The View is dumb and unhinged... Race baiting trash."
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Donald Trump was escorted to safety following the shooting at his rally
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"They should change the name of 'The View' to 'The Vile'," added a second before a third raged: "The View should be permanently cancelled."
"The View is a woke joke," another hit out before a fifth weighed in: "The View spews more hate than any other show on TV. I hold them responsible for instilling fear and hate to their viewers." (sic)
Navarro hasn't reacted publicly to the backlash to her comments.
The TV presenter is a vocal opponent of Trump ahead of this year's US elections, frequently sharing posts endorsing Biden on her X page.