On Monday, the co-hosts of ABC’s The View continued the media obsession with trying to discredit Dr. Ben Carson’s personal narrative with liberal co-host Michelle Collins going so far as to suggest his books should no longer be considered non-fiction.
The anti-Carson segment began with Whoopi Goldberg lecturing Carson over his criticism of the media and insisted “[t]his is part of the deal. Listen, you think it's a left wing conspiracy or a right wing conspiracy, it is what it is, man. If you're in the public life, people are going to look into your stuff, which is why we always say do your best to say the truth.”
After the co-hosts went back and forth trashing Carson over his story about receiving an offer to attend West Point, reporter Paula Faris defended the questionable reporting into the neurosurgeon’s past:
The thing is if you're going to write a book and you’re going to have explicit details, that's the job of a reporter. We have to do our job, we have to do the digging. The higher the call, the hotter the heat. That's just how it is.
Far-left co-host Joy Behar went to far as to question whether or not Carson actually separated a set of conjoined twins before comedian Michelle Collins wrapped up the show’s criticism of the Republican by calling for his book to be removed from the non-fiction section and placed next to the "Cat in the Hat" in the fiction section of bookstores:
I do think they should put his book in the fiction section. If you remember when James Frey wrote "A Million Little Pieces" and Oprah had him on and it was his story...[A]nd guess what, his book was moved from nonfiction next to the “Cat in the Hat.” And I think we should do the same with Ben Carson’s book, right next to it.
See relevant transcript below.
ABC’s The View
November 9, 2015
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: This is part of the deal. Listen, you think it's a left wing conspiracy or a right wing conspiracy, it is what it is, man. If you're in the public life, people are going to look into your stuff, which is why we always say do your best to say the truth.
JOY BEHAR: The interesting thing about the West Point thing because he says that he was offered a scholarship to West Point and then we know -- now we know that nobody gets a scholarship to West Point because everybody gets into West Point free.
PAULA FARIS: It’s a free ride basically.
BEHAR: The thing about it is that recently, recently, he's been saying that that happened. Now, he should know by now -- maybe he didn't know then that nobody gets a scholarship to West Point but this is 30, 40 years ago. Now he knows and he still keeps saying that particular story.
RAVEN SYMONE: You know what Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee and Trump all say you're out of line, dude. Everyone gets talked about.
FARIS: The thing is if you're going to write a book and you’re going to have explicit details, that's the job of a reporter. We have to do our job, we have to do the digging. The higher the call, the hotter the heat. That's just how it is.
BEHAR: But where has he been all this time? Hillary Clinton's Benghazi thing and her e-mails-
GOLDBERG: How about Brian Williams?
BEHAR: President Clinton -- Well, he wasn’t running for president.
GOLDBERG: Everybody -- but if you're in the public eye and you have any embellishment, people are going to be looking for it.
FARIS: That's their job.
GOLDBERG: That’s what they do. Well, sometimes it's not their job. Sometimes it's their pleasure.
FARIS: Sometimes it's both.
MICHELLE COLLINS: It seems to be a trend with him. My favorite thing is how in his book he said he was very violent when he was in school and he took the bible to the toilet, that's my favorite part, and walked out religious. We've all been there.
BEHAR: What?
COLLINS: Now they're interviewing these people from his childhood and they’re saying, no, he was exactly the same way when he was little like he is now, which is boring.
BEHAR: He’d rather be known as violent than a liar. That's even more fascinating.
SYMONE: Last month the Baltimore police couldn't verify that he was held at gunpoint. He said he spoke to General Westmoreland on Memorial Day, but the general wasn't in Baltimore at that time. There’s too many things against him. He needs to keep his mouth shut.
FARIS: I mean here’s the thing, he's a retired neurosurgeon. He performed the first surgery on conjoined twins.
BEHAR: Are you sure he did that?
FARIS: Does he really strike you guys as a pathological liar? I think most people will say no and maybe he embellished this..
COLLINS: I do think they should put his book in the fiction section. If you remember when James Frey wrote "A Million Little Pieces" and Oprah had him on and it was his story
BEHAR: She ripped him a new one.
COLLINS: She sure did and guess what, his book was moved from nonfiction next to the “Cat in the Hat.” And I think we should do the same with Ben Carson’s book, right next to it.
