Conservative watchdog tells FCC that 'The View' is a Democratic Party operation, not a news program

FIRST ON FOX – The Media Research Center (MRC) is out to prove ABC’s "The View" is a "political operation, not a bona fide news interview program" as the network battles the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over equal time for political candidates. 

Earlier this year, the FCC launched an investigation into ABC's "The View" amid the agency's crackdown on equal time for political candidates after Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico appeared on the show. Disney on Monday launched an on-air campaign urging viewers to support "The View," but the conservative MRC feels the show fails to meet the "bona fide news" standards that would make it exempt from the equal time rule.

"For nearly four decades, the Media Research Center (MRC) has been an unrelenting media watchdog and a counterforce to activism in America’s newsrooms, broadcast networks, and Big Tech platforms. As such, the MRC is uniquely qualified to respond to the Commission’s request for comment on Disney/ABC’s petition to declare that the daytime television program The View qualifies as a bona fide news interview program," MRC President David Bozell wrote to FCC division chief Maria Mullarkey. 

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"ABC claims that its daytime television program The View is a ‘bona fide news interview program’ and thus should be exempt from Congress’s equal opportunity rules. This claim is belied by the facts," Bozell continued in the letter that has been obtained by Fox News Digital. "While The View may once have qualified for an exemption, the evidence shows that it has for years operated for political purposes and is therefore not entitled to an exemption to the law." 

Bozell said the MRC "has the documentation to demonstrate that The View is a partisan political operation that advocates for Democrats and their party, against President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans, and for the political priorities of the left," and can prove that ABC "misrepresented its program in its petition to the FCC" by improperly citing First Amendment case law, and trivializing the actual harms of censorship through false outrage at the Commission’s legitimate questions.

"In support of its petition, MRC will be submitting 2,473 separate pieces of evidence documenting The View’s pervasive bias and, at times, willful electioneering as exhibits to this comment," Bozell wrote. 

The 18-page letter argues the ABC News program is not based on newsworthiness but rather for "partisan purposes" such as advancing a preferred candidate. The letter listed multiple examples, including co-host Whoopi Goldberg telling the audience "you know what to do on Election Day." 

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"MRC has published eight studies documenting how The View engages in partisan programming to promote Democrat candidates and Democrat-aligned policies, while refusing to interview those who would imperil Democrat electoral chances with few exceptions (like the recent interview of Vice President JD Vance)," Bozell wrote. 

"The View is a political operation of the Democratic Party, not a bona fide news interview program," he added. "ABC’s petition in defense of The View is a terrible misstatement of First Amendment law that obfuscates how ABC’s use of U.S. public spectrum is a privilege, not a right."

Bozell ended the letter by stating "The View" has "every right to exist" but "should not be subsidized with public spectrum."

ABC News did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

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ABC’s new campaign declared, "’The View has welcomed your favorite guests for nearly 30 years. Now the FCC wants to control who is allowed to appear on the show. Tell the FCC to let the viewers decide. You have until July 6th." 

There has been a longstanding "bona fide" exception for news programming that wouldn't require equal time for an opposing candidate, but the FCC previously said it "has not been presented with any evidence that the interview portion of any late-night or daytime television talk show program on the air presently would qualify for the 'bona fide' news exemption."

None of the show's six hosts supported Donald Trump in the 2024 election, including its token conservative, Alyssa Farah Griffin, who worked in the first Trump administration.

While the show's political guests skew heavily to the left, it welcomed Vice President JD Vance last week for a lengthy interview.

Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.