ABC White House Correspondent and head of the White House Correspondents’ Association Jonathan Karl joined the hosts of The View on Tuesday’s show to answer complaints the ladies had about how President Trump treats the press. While the hosts lavished praise on the reporter whom Trump battled with yesterday, one host even demanded Karl lead a rebellion in the briefing room when the press corps did not get the answers they wanted.
Co-host Whoopi Goldberg began by playing a clip from Monday’s briefing where Trump called Karl a “third rate reporter.” She sighed, “Good Lord,” as the clip finished. Trying to heal Karl’s wounds with a bit of flattery, she praised him as a “first rate reporter.” But co-host Meghan McCain was even more effusive in her praise for Karl.
“Yesterday when I saw the press conference, I was horrified,” she began, touting her conservative bona fides before claiming Karl was “trusted by both sides.”
“You're the last journalist on planet Earth I would consider a hack,” she gushed. McCain went on to question if Trump was attacking reporters to avoid “taking responsibility for the horrible response to this virus.” Karl didn’t answer this directly, but touted his new book about experiences in the briefing room and how the President was “obsessed” with his own media coverage.
However it was Joy Behar’s question that really was over the top. She demanded Karl lead the press corps in a rebellion against Trump in the briefing room when they didn’t get the answers they wanted:
You know, I watched -- I watched the debacle yesterday and I was furious when he called you a third rate reporter. I wanted you to say, ‘No, darling, you are a third rate President.’ I want the reporters to call him out on his lying. I want the reporters to follow up on questions, and if you can't get a real good answer, the correct answer, I want you all to get up and walk out. That's what I want. Can you do that? For me and fellow Americans who are watching this in horror?
To his credit, Karl shot down Behar’s suggestion and claimed he wasn’t bothered by the insults because he wasn’t the story.
I understand what you're saying, but that's something that I would never do. I think it is my job to report on what is happening there, to ask the questions...It may be frustrating, it may be tempting to walk out. Look, he can insult me all he wants. I don't care. It doesn't matter. It really doesn't matter. What matters is getting to the bottom of what is happening with the federal response and how people should be responding to this crisis. That's the story.
But Behar was adamant. She demanded he start calling Trump a liar for her and all the other members of the #Resistance:
“You should get up and say something, ‘You're lying! That's not true.’ Just say it for us!” she begged, before giving up her desperate plea.
