When I saw the news that Vice President JD Vance would be appearing on “The View,” my concern as someone who works every day with right-of-center political voices was not about how he would perform. It was genuine confusion over why conservatives continue handing ratings, relevance, and credibility to the very institutions that have spent years demonizing them.

Nobody seriously doubts that JD Vance can handle “The View.” There may not be a Republican politician in America today better equipped for exactly that environment. Vance is quick, disciplined, and uniquely skilled at walking into hostile interviews without allowing himself to be defined by the hostility.

That ability is a large part of why many conservatives came to understand what Donald Trump saw in Vance. Plenty of Republicans questioned whether it was the right choice. The issue was not that Vance lacked intelligence or talent. The concern was that Trump had chosen someone who immediately found himself at the center of a damaging political controversy: the “childless cat lady” comments.

These comments became exactly the kind of media storm campaigns dread. Democrats saw an opening, critics argued they would alienate women voters, and many wondered whether Trump had created an unnecessary vulnerability for himself.

It was not until Vance sat across from Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press” in August 2024 that Trump’s confidence in Vance started to make sense. Vance did not dodge questions about his “cat lady” comments, nor did he retreat into meaningless consultant language. He pushed back where he disagreed and explained his broader argument, shifting the conversation toward families, affordability, and the pressures Americans face in building their lives.

Whether you support him or not, it has become impossible to ignore: JD Vance is an exceptionally gifted communicator. He can debate, think on his feet, and challenge people without appearing rattled. He has the rare political skill of walking directly into difficult conversations and coming out stronger.

That is why my concern with his appearance on “The View” has nothing to do with whether he will succeed. He almost certainly will. The issue is what happens when he does.

A strong performance from Vance means viral clips, massive attention, and renewed relevance for the very platform conservatives argue has spent years treating them with contempt.

This is not a random Republican commentator looking for exposure. This is the vice president of the United States and one of the most important figures in the future of the Republican Party. Whether or not he eventually runs for president, Vance is clearly positioned as one of the leading figures who could carry Trump’s political movement into its next chapter.

Access to someone like that has value, and “The View” is about to receive all the benefits that come with it.

The ratings will come. Clips will spread across every social media platform. Conservatives will celebrate Vance pushing back. Liberals will celebrate the hosts challenging him. Everyone will argue for days, and “The View” will have gotten exactly what it wanted: attention and relevance.

The question is why conservatives keep handing it to them.

For years, Republicans have argued that the problem with much of legacy media is not simply disagreement. Debate is necessary. Conservatives should sit down with people who see the world differently.

The problem is the contempt.

Shows like “The View” do not merely criticize Republican policies. They routinely portray Trump and his supporters as something darker than political opponents. Conservatives are labeled hateful, racist, dangerous, and morally defective. The disagreement is no longer simply about competing visions for the country. It has become a judgment about the character of the people who hold those views.

That rhetoric has consequences. America is living through an era of extraordinary political hostility. There have been multiple attempts on President Trump’s life. Political violence and dehumanization are no longer abstract concerns; they are realities.

Yet the institutions that contribute to this culture rarely have any incentive to change. They get to continue the same behavior and still receive access to the most important figures in the movement they spend their days attacking.

Joy Behar reinforced this disconnect last year when she suggested Republicans were not appearing on “The View” because they were afraid to face tough questions. The response from conservatives was immediate. Clay Travis, Buck Sexton, Riley Gaines, Matt Walsh, Jennifer Sey, and others pushed back with receipts showing a very different reality: they were not avoiding the show. They had been trying to get on it.

As a publicist who works primarily with right-of-center personalities, I can attest to the falsehood of Behar’s excuses firsthand. Conservatives are not afraid of “The View.” In fact, many actively seek opportunities to sit across from people who disagree with them and make their case to audiences outside the conservative bubble.

Conservatives are eager to enter those hostile rooms. But they are continually blocked from entering them at all.

But now, “The View” gets JD Vance. Not because the show has changed. Not because the conversation has improved. And not because there has been some meaningful effort to understand the voters the hosts have spent years mocking.

They get him because everyone knows it will make great television.

But what happens after the cameras turn off?

The hosts of “The View” are unlikely to walk away reconsidering how they talk about conservatives. The next day, the same conversations will continue. The same voters will be reduced to the same stereotypes. The same political divide everyone claims to worry about will remain exactly where it was.

And “The View” will have gotten everything it wanted.

It will have received the ratings, attention, and cultural relevance that come with hosting one of the most important figures in the Republican Party. And it will have received all of that without changing anything about how it covers conservatives.

That is the broken incentive structure.

If institutions can spend years demonizing conservatives and still receive access to the movement’s most influential voices whenever they want a viral moment, why would they ever change?

JD Vance has already proven he can walk into hostile rooms and win. The question now is whether conservatives should keep rewarding those rooms simply because they know how to win inside them.

***

Vanessa Santos is a political communications specialist and the president and CEO of Renegade DC.

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