‘The View’ Pulls Highest Ratings in 10 Years With Post-Election Panel of Pain

Darian Lusk November 12, 2024, 7:37 pm

The 2024 presidential election results left The View’s co-hosts with much to reflect on last week. It appears that much of America felt the same way, as people tuned in to the ABC talk show in droves, bringing the highest ratings in over a decade.

According to Nielsen data obtained by Variety on Tuesday (November 12), The View averaged 3.078 million viewers for the week of November 4. It was No. 1 among talk shows and even more stunning among news shows, overtaking juggernauts like Today and Today with Hoda & Jenna.

The Wednesday, November 6 episode in particular — the day after the election — brought in 4.470 million viewers, The View’s most-watched episode since Barbara Walters’ farewell on May 16, 2014. On that morning’s live show, the cohosts were utterly despondent in the wake of the election being called in favor of Donald Trump. Most of the panelists were dressed in black to match the funereal tone. Sunny Hostin was shell-shocked, “I’m profoundly disturbed.”

.@JoyVBehar: “My takeaway is that the system worked. We live in a democracy. People spoke. This is what people wanted. I vehemently disagree with the decision Americans made, but I feel very, very hopeful that we have a democratic system in this country. We should value it.” pic.twitter.com/BII0NDSzhB

— The View (@TheView) November 6, 2024

While other hosts tried to find silver linings as each panelist shared their candid takeaways, the morale was low, and no punches were pulled. Apparently, that’s exactly what millions of Americans needed after a stunning election night.

Hostin continued, “… I think that in 2016 we didn’t know what we would get from a Trump administration, but we know now, and we know now that he will have almost unfettered power,” she said, adding, “I don’t worry about my station in life. I worry about the working class. I worry about my mother, a retired teacher. I worry about our elderly and their Social Security and care. I worry about my children’s future, especially my daughter, who now has less rights than I had.” Hostin went on to demand that the “convicted felon box on employment applications better be taken off.”

.@ananavarro: “Today, unlike Donald Trump and his followers, I acknowledge that he won. I hope for the best for our country. And I make a commitment to our LGBTQ, to our immigrants, to our elderly, to our young girls, to the women, that we will not stop fighting.” pic.twitter.com/iiyvqCchuM

— The View (@TheView) November 6, 2024

While on the verge of tears, Joy Behar said, “My takeaway is that the system worked. We live in a democracy. People spoke. This is what people wanted. I vehemently disagreed with the decision that the people made, but I feel very, very hopeful that we have a democratic system in this country. We should value it. We should love it. We should protest if the situation arises that we need to protest, which I’m sure it will. I’ve been through this before with [Richard] Nixon. It’s been very difficult. But boy oh boy do we have a country if we can keep it.”

Sara Haines added that while she was disappointed with the outcome, she vowed, “I’m not going to stop marching.” Alyssa Farah Griffin also admitted it was not the result she voted for, but said, “We live in a democracy.”

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As for Ana Navarro, who was reporting from Kamala Harris’ election headquarters Tuesday night, she found the evening prior to be “very sad” but said, “But today, unlike Donald Trump and his followers, I acknowledge that he won. I hope for the best for our country, and I commit to our LGBTQ, our immigrants, to our elderly, to our young girls, to the women that we will not stop fighting.”

Whoopi Goldberg stood by not endorsing a candidate on-air. “I wanted to make sure people exercise that right” that “too many people that I know died trying to vote.” She also praised Harris for pulling out a campaign in the space of just two months. She also insisted, “I’m still not going to say his name.”

The View, weekdays, 11 a.m. ET, ABC