On any other day, all the hosts of ABC’s midday talk show “The View” — save for Republican host Alyssa Farah Griffin — might have trashed former Vice President Mike Pence when news broke that he had discovered classified documents in his possession.
But during Wednesday’s broadcast, the hosts seemed amused and even relieved to hear the news claiming that the reports took some of the sting out of the still-unfolding scandal surrounding President Joe Biden and the multiple classified documents found at his home, in his garage, and at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C.
WATCH:
Alyssa Farah Griffin explains the chaotic transition period in the Trump White House leading The View cast to suspect that she might have classified documents.
"So should we be concerned about you? Do you have boxes?" Whoopi asks.
Alyssa responds with a nod, a smile, and a laugh. pic.twitter.com/pjSX88alBU— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) January 25, 2023
Whoopi Goldberg opened the conversation, asking with a laugh whether every former president and vice president should be checking their offices and libraries just to be sure they hadn’t taken anything they shouldn’t have.
Sunny Hostin was the first to give Pence a pass, arguing that in all of the chaos after the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill, the vice president may have panicked and packed in a hurry.
“I feel like now every president and vice president is a suspect,” she said, adding in mocking tones, “Are the documents in the conservatory with the wrench?”
Griffin agreed, explaining that Pence had always been extremely careful when she worked for him — even to the point of doing briefings in the Situation Room just in case anything classified might come up.
She went on to say that she believed the chaos of the transition — and a possible staffer error — was likely the reason classified material had gotten into Pence’s home.
“So should we be concerned about you? Do you have boxes?” Goldberg asked Griffin then, getting a laugh.
Goldberg then went on to argue that the news took some of the heat off Biden, saying, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”
Joy Behar is excited that Pence had documents because it supposedly means AG Garland can try to put Trump in prison again."I thought, maybe Merrick Garland would think it was just politically motivated to go after Trump … Now they don't have to worry about that…" pic.twitter.com/VdZQM3HHlY
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) January 25, 2023
Joy Behar said that Pence finding documents opened the door for Attorney General Merrick Garland to move forward with anything he had wanted to pursue with regard to former President Donald Trump. “I thought, maybe Merrick Garland would think it was just politically motivated to go after Trump … Now they don’t have to worry about that,” she said.
Hostin concluded by noting that she was a bit concerned about former President Barack Obama’s legacy — especially if it were later discovered that he had anything classified in his possession.
“But I do feel like now every president and vice president is a suspect,” she repeated, adding, “They have been looking to tarnish [Obama’s] legacy forever.”