President Trump\u2019s wide-ranging campaign to punish his perceived media critics has come for newspapers like The Wall Street Journal, The Des Moines Register and The New York Times; broadcast outlets like the BBC, NBC News and CBS News; and the late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert.<\/p>\n
But now it is bearing down on a new opponent, one that remains politically potent and has a storied place in Mr. Trump\u2019s oeuvre of media grudge matches \u2014 the long-running ABC daytime talk show, \u201cThe View.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Federal Communications Commission has been quietly investigating the program for months, looking into whether \u201cThe View\u201d violated old federal rules requiring equal airtime to rival political candidates. The inquiry<\/a> could also feed into the agency\u2019s wider review of whether ABC should be allowed to continue to own some of the country\u2019s most important local television stations.<\/p>\n The clash between ABC and the Trump administration could lead to a protracted, high-stakes legal battle over free expression. The network asserts<\/a> that the F.C.C. action could have \u201ca chilling effect on First Amendment-protected free speech on the eve of the 2026 elections\u201d and affect which political guests \u2014 if any \u2014 talk shows will book.<\/p>\n The central role of \u201cThe View\u201d is testament to the enduring influence<\/a> of an old-fashioned broadcast television program that the ABC anchor Barbara Walters started 29 years ago, describing it<\/a> \u201cas a kaffeeklatsch with more caffeine.\u201d People in both parties say the show continues to hold significant political power<\/a> \u2014 even as streaming, podcasts and social media take up more attention.<\/p>\n \u201cThe View\u201d draws 2.7 million viewers a day, more or less the audience it has had for a decade, according to Nielsen.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would be easy for our side to say, \u2018Who watches that junk?\u2019\u201d said Tim Graham, a senior leader of the Media Research Center, a conservative group that has long been critical of the show. \u201cBut the answer is: Many people.\u201d<\/p>\n Representatives for \u201cThe View\u201d declined to comment, or to set up interviews with the hosts or anyone involved in the production.<\/p>\n Ms. Walters\u2019s intention, as she said on the premiere episode<\/a> in 1997, was to make the show destination viewing for a broad swath of women \u201cof different generations, backgrounds and views.\u201d The show\u2019s panel has long included a conservative presence to balance the progressivism of its longstanding hosts Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump, who was good friends with Ms. Walters, used to be a regular guest<\/a>, once seeing the show as a great platform to promote himself, his business and his family. During a March 2006 appearance, Mr. Trump, sitting next to Ivanka Trump, notoriously mused, \u201cIf Ivanka weren\u2019t my daughter, perhaps I\u2019d be dating her.\u201d (\u201cWho are you, Woody Allen?\u201d Ms. Behar blurted, sending Mr. Trump into a fit of laughter.)<\/p>\n Weeks later, Melania Trump gave the show her first interview<\/a> after the birth of her son, Barron, revealing details about the delivery (\u201cvery, very easy\u201d) and informing viewers that Mr. Trump had elected to stay out of the delivery room. Sometimes Mr. and Mrs. Trump even appeared together: In 2010, they made a joint appearance<\/a> when Mrs. Trump promoted her QVC jewelry line.<\/p>\n But \u201cThe View\u201d also set the scene for a foundational Trump feud \u2014 with the former host Rosie O\u2019Donnell, starting in 2006. She called him a \u201csnake-oil salesman\u201d; he called her \u201ca slob\u201d and worse.<\/p>\n The final break in the relationship between the show and Mr. Trump came shortly after he entered politics. He clashed with Ms. Goldberg over his description of Mexicans as \u201crapists\u201d in 2015, and he declined invitations from \u201cThe View\u201d thereafter. He made 18 appearances in all.<\/p>\n The hosts became more critical of Mr. Trump over the past decade, and he attacked them back. The two Republicans on the panel \u2014 a first-term Trump spokeswoman, Alyssa Farah Griffin, and the longtime strategist Ana Navarro \u2014 are frequent Trump critics. And the anti-Trump critics are even tougher.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is unbelievable to me,\u201d Sunny Hostin, a host, said this week<\/a>, \u201cthat there are still people \u2014 despite the fact that they don\u2019t have health care, despite the fact that the Department of Education has been gutted, despite the fact that they can\u2019t afford to buy eggs \u2014 they are still with their guy.\u201d<\/p>\n Conservatives accuse the show of interviewing mostly Democrats. This spring, the Media Research Center released a report<\/a> titled, \u201cThe View Kicks Off Midterm Year With 27 Liberal Guests to 1 Republican.\u201d (The study included celebrities in its tally.)<\/p>\n In its filing with the F.C.C., ABC noted that guest appearances did not reflect the full range of invitations. The network said the show had invited numerous Trump allies over the past two seasons, including Vice President JD Vance, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Senator Lindsey Graham, Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio \u2014 all of whom declined.<\/p>\n ABC\u2019s lawyers said bookings were \u201cbased on newsworthiness, anticipated audience interest and their potential to \u2018make news\u2019 on the show.\u201d<\/p>\n