After nearly two weeks of completely ignoring the Democratic scandal, ABC News’s The View finally mentioned Virginia Democrat Jay Jones’s text message scandal exposing his fantasies about killing Republicans and their kids, during Thursday’s episode. In her usual ghoulish and insane fashion, co-host Joy Behar attempted to insist that Jones was a Republican and touted that “only Democrats denounced him, no Republicans!”
This all occurred because The View pounced on a GOP scandal where several young adult leaders and political operatives were found to have used disgusting language in a leaked group chat. Despite having nearly two weeks to bring up Jones, faux conservative co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin suggested his messaged were only coming up now as a distraction, when it was the other way around:
But can I mention, because what's come up in this conversation is this individual, Jay Jones, who’s running for attorney general in Virginia. He’s about a 36-year-old man running for attorney general, who had some leaked text messages come out where he aspired to violence against Republicans.
Of course, Farah Griffin omitted the heinous details of Jones’s sick fantasies, such as wanting to see GOP children die in their parents’ arms.
This was when Behar interjected to erroneously link Jones to Republicans while trying to play up the Democratic Party’s reaction, but received push back from Farah Griffin and moderator Whoopi Goldberg:
BEHAR: I saw that. But only Democrats denounced him, no Republicans!
FARAH GRIFFIN: He's a Democrat.
GOLDBERG: Yeah, he’s a Democrat.
BEHAR: And the Democrats denounced him.
It was a boldfaced lie from the ABC News program that Republicans didn’t denounce Jones. It made no sense that they wouldn’t denounce an opponent who wanted them dead.
Of course, Farah Griffin failed to add the important context that Democrats writ-large had fallen short of demanding Jones drop out of the race, and how many had refused to pull their endorsements.
And while The View had highlighted and snickered at local coverage of Republicans having a hard time in debates and town halls, they never showed the now infamous video of Virginia gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger’s (D) stunning silence in a debate when pressed by Republican candidate Winsome Sears to pull her endorsement of Jones.
Meanwhile, Behar was huffing about how Republicans needed to be better. “The only thing I want to say about this topic is that the Republican Party needs to deal with this. They need to find their better selves, find their better angels,” she said about the chat.
Staunchly racist co-host Sunny Hostin flaunted her usual racial grievances by ignoring how those in the group chat had been widely denounced by the Republican Party and claimed it represented the entire party. “[W]hen I say the future of the Republican Party embraces white supremacy, please believe me the first time. And only look at this chat as your proof that it is alive and well in the Republican Party,” she declared.
“I'm not surprised that that chat exists. I wasn't surprised that men, adults ages 25 to 34 -- white men,” she chided. “Well, my lived experience as an afro-Latina in this country helps me tell the uncomfortable truths about this country with real clarity, and that's why I wasn't surprised. And I think many people would like to deny that lived experience.”
She also whined about those who called out her racism: “And that is the truth. And those of us who said that, when I said that, and those of my friends that said that were accused of hyperbole and racism ourselves. I wish that wasn't true. But it is true.”
Co-host Sara Haines, in addition to denouncing those in the group chat, confronted Hostin. “And one clarification, though, Sunny on what you said about the right. There are some extreme problems with anti-Semitism on the left, which is a uniting force of that cause,” she pointed out.
Behar also admitted to getting “a note” to counter Hostin’s racism. “I got to note. They were not all – They were not all guys. And we don't know that they were all white people. I just got a note,” she said.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
ABC’s The View
October 16, 2025
11:02:12 a.m. EasternWHOOPI GOLDBERG: We're going to tell you what's been going on. So, a group chat featuring young Republicans from around the country was leaked that was full of racist, anti-Semitic, hateful rants, and many Democrats and Republicans are strongly condemning this. But not the Vice President. He sees things differently.
(…)
11:04:45 a.m. Eastern
JOY BEHAR: They also say – we’ve said this on the show that the frontal lobe does not get developed until you're 25. What's Trump's excuse? No. Anyway.
[Applause]
Anyway. Anyway. But I want -- the only thing I want to say about this topic is that the Republican Party needs to deal with this. They need to find their better selves, find their better angels, the way -- I come from the Eisenhower era. I mean, that's how old I am. And Eisenhower was a decent Republican, a good Republican. And Ronald Reagan too. And why not go back, find those young people who espouse that type of behavior instead of this crap, as he calls it?
SUNNY HOSTIN: You know, I hate to say it, but I'm not surprised that that chat exists. I wasn't surprised that men, adults ages 25 to 34 -- white men.
BEHAR: They're all white guys, by the way. Just point that out.
HOSTIN: White men were speaking like that. You know, they checked every white supremacist bigot box. They were anti-Semitic. They were misogynistic. They were homophobic. They were racist.
BEHAR: They were stupid.
HOSTIN: And they were dumb. But my lifed [sic] -- Well, my lived experience as an afro-Latina in this country helps me tell the uncomfortable truths about this country with real clarity, and that's why I wasn't surprised. And I think many people would like to deny that lived experience.
I'll say it again, because I've said it on the show many times. Trump's rise, in part, was based in racism and white supremacy.
[Applause]
And that is the truth. And those of us who said that, when I said that, and those of my friends that said that were accused of hyperbole and racism ourselves. I wish that wasn't true. But it is true. And when I say things like that, when I say that white supremacy is thriving on the right, when I say the future of the Republican Party embraces white supremacy, please believe me the first time. And only look at this chat as your proof that it is alive and well in the Republican Party.
BEHAR: Well, it should be denounced.
GOLDBERG: And they are doing it. I have to say, both sides have been –
SARA HAINES: Denouncing it.
GOLDBERG: Denouncing it.
HAINES: And some of these people have lost their jobs, their positions, as they should, because these weren't just a dozen young Republicans. They were young Republican leaders within their states.
(…)
11:08:11 a.m. Eastern
HAINES: There were over 251 of the most -- I have never heard some of these things in my lifetime. About every group under the sun.
And one clarification, though, Sunny on what you said about the right. There are some extreme problems with anti-Semitism on the left, which is a uniting force of that cause.
But in this instance, I think it's dangerous that JD Vance would conflate sophomoric, immature behavior with pernicious, vile, unacceptable, unaccounted for --
BEHAR: I got to note. They were not all – They were not all guys.
HAINES: There were a couple women.
[Crosstalk]
BEHAR: And we don't know that they were all white people. I just got a note.
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: But can I mention, because what's come up in this conversation is this individual, Jay Jones, who’s running for attorney general in Virginia. He’s about a 36-year-old man running for attorney general, who had some leaked text messages come out where he aspired to violence against Republicans. I don't know why it's hard for people --
BEHAR: But only – I saw that. But only Democrats denounced him, no Republicans!
FARAH GRIFFIN: He's a Democrat.
GOLDBERG: Yeah, he’s a Democrat.
FARAH GRIFFIN: But that’s my point –
BEHAR: And the Democrats denounced him.
FARAH GRIFFIN: If I can finish my point, denounce both. We don't need to equivocate. We don't need to say, ‘well, he did this, so -- both are terrible. Both are equally awful.
(…)
