Former Fox News host Geraldo Rivera appeared with the Cackling Coven of ABC’s The View on Thursday and subjected himself to their incessant pecking and prodding on his ouster from the conservative network. And while he spread some gossip about the hostility he felt from one of his male co-hosts of The Five, he did tout how he felt working with most everyone else and proclaimed that “conservatives deserve their own [cable news] outlet.”
Of course, the first thing the cast wanted to pry into was his exit from The Five and the network. According to Rivera, he “had a very toxic relationship with another of the cast members” but refused to give a name. Instead, he disclosed it was one of his male co-hosts.
He also broke down how they informed him he was off the show:
So, I got a call from two of the female executives and they said, “You're off The Five but there are plenty of other things you could do.” I had a year and a half left on my contract and I said, “Well, stop it. If you fired me from the number one show, then I'm going to quit.” And that's basically what happened.
But beyond the salacious gossip, and the negativity The View cast wanted him to wallow in, Rivera seemed to still appreciate what many at Fox News did for him. He recalled that “in the days that led up to my last day of work, they were so kind to me, Joy [Behar]. They really were so nice. We were remembering all the things we did together over the 20-odd years.”
Apparently looking to drive wedges between the Fox News divisions, faux conservative co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin wanted to know, “How do the journalists like yourself at Fox feel about the descent into lies, misinformation, and disinformation that's taken over the airwaves by many of the political commentator type folks?”
Rivera responded by vowing to “dedicate whatever energy I have left in the profession to ensure that [former President Trump] is not re-elected president ever.”
Yet, when it came to Farah Griffin’s itch to hear any internal discontent, Rivera didn’t scratch but praised the journalists at Fox News:
RIVERA: The journalists at Fox, and you talk about these, you know, these guys who helped form it and how they feel about it, you know, there's a lot of great journalists at Fox. I mean, the Pentagon, the White House.
FARAH GRIFFIN: Jennifer Griffin is the best.
RIVERA: Jennifer Griffin is one of the best ever! And you put their reporting up against anybody. Bret Baier is a wonderful, wonderful anchor.
BEHAR: Yeah, he's good.
He also criticized Fox News for allowing some hosts to push the election conspiracy theories but also seemed to suggest Fox News had already atoned. He described that chapter as “a sin for which they paid” and the $787 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems as “a big ‘I'm sorry.’” “I think that Fox News is ‘I'm sorry’ right now,” he added.
“And I think you got to give them another chance. Conservatives deserve to have their own outlet,” he insisted.
After a commercial break, Rivera had more kind words for his former colleagues:
RIVERA: I'm saying things and I understand that, you know, I am an insider. I really do appreciate the many people who worked with me over those 22 years. I took their money for 22 years, I had that wonderful send-off by the guys, you know, Steve and Brian and –
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Everybody.
RIVERA: Everybody. Sean and Ainsley. I mean, they really are wonderful people.
The View’s incessant pecking and prodding for Fox News dirt was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from CarShield and Angi. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s The View
July 13, 2023
11:18:03 a.m. Eastern(…)
GERALDO RIVERA: I was fired from The Five. I had a very toxic relationship with another of the cast members.
JOY BEHAR: Which one?
[Laughter]
[Crosstalk]
RIVERA: I may get there. I may get there.
[Crosstalk]
RIVERA: Check the internet.
So, I got a call from two of the female executives and they said, “You're off The Five but there are plenty of other things you could do.” I had a year and a half left on my contract and I said, “Well, stop it. If you fired me from the number one show, then I'm going to quit.” And that's basically what happened.
But in the interim as -- in the days that led up to my last day of work, they were so kind to me, Joy. They really were so nice. We were remembering all the things we did together over the 20 odd years. Remember, I went there to be a war correspondent after the 9/11 attacks.
(…)
11:22:47 a.m. Eastern
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: I have to ask, how do the journalists like yourself at Fox feel about the dissent into lies, misinformation, and disinformation that's taken over the airwaves by many of the political commentator type folks?
RIVERA: Well, let me just say first of all that I am vowed to dedicate whatever energy I have left in the profession to ensure that he is not re-elected president ever.
[Applause]
I think what he did on -- in the days and weeks leading up to January 6th and on January 6th was so unforgivable, he stabbed the Constitution of the United States in the back. And I really -- even though I still have affection for him and remember the good times, because of that, he is disqualified, I believe, from ever being president of the United States again.
The journalists at Fox, and you talk about these, you know, these guys who helped form it and how they feel about it, you know, there's a lot of great journalists at Fox. I mean, the Pentagon, the White House.
FARAH GRIFFIN: Jennifer Griffin is the best.
RIVERA: Jennifer Griffin is one of the best ever! And you put their reporting up against anybody. Bret Baier is a wonderful, wonderful anchor.
JOY BEHAR: Yeah, he's good.
RIVERA: But to imagine the situation where there is a lie, the lie being that January 6th particularly was a setup, was a federal undercover job, and then to -- without necessarily endorsing the position, but putting it on the air and giving it credibility, I think, is really a sin for which they paid and, Whoopi, you made the point, $787 million is a big “I'm sorry” and I think that Fox News is “I'm sorry” right now.
SUNNY HOSTIN: No.
RIVERA: And I think you got to give them another chance. Conservatives deserve to have their own outlet.
(…)
11:26:34 a.m. Eastern
RIVERA: I'm saying things and I understand that, you know, I am an insider. I really do appreciate the many people who worked with me over those 22 years. I took their money for 22 years, I had that wonderful send-off by the guys, you know, Steve and Brian and –
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Everybody.
RIVERA: Everybody.
HOSTIN: Except the guy you didn’t get along with.
RIVERA: Sean and Ainsley. I mean, they really are wonderful people.
(…)
