A Look Back At Donald Trump Jr. & Kimberly Guilfoyle's Disastrous Visit To The View
Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle have been a couple for quite a while: They met in 2007, but began seeing each other romantically in 2018, and announced their engagement in 2022 (though some sources say the proposal actually happened much earlier). But being an almost-in-law to former president Donald Trump means devoting a lot of time to supporting him. Once a host on Fox News, Guilfoyle's journalism is now limited to interviews on Newsmax and segments of her own show on Rumble, all staunchly promoting Trump, his policies, and the politicians he's endorsed.
The couple appeared on "The View" in November 2019, when then-president Trump had been in office for three years. Trump and Guilfoyle must have known it would be a lively meeting. Panelists Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, and Sunny Hostin are outspoken liberal voices, while Meghan McCain, who has since left the show, was unapologetically conservative. But even they probably didn't expect the chaos that ensued.
The View audience couldn't control their outbursts when Donald Trump Jr. spoke
No one expected a laid-back chat between Donald Trump Jr. and the ladies of "The View," but what went down during his appearance with Kimberly Guilfoyle was a total free-for-all, even for them. The segment was a heated exchange of what-about-ism. Don Jr. was taken to task for exposing the name of the anonymous "Ukraine whistleblower" who revealed a controversial conversation the president had with Ukrainian president Vlodymyr Zelenskyy. The first son said he had done so as a "private citizen," and went on to cite regrettable things the hosts had done in the past. For instance, back in the 1970s, Joy Behar dressed as an "African woman" for Halloween and used makeup to darken her skin. Don Jr. grew so passionate at one point, Whoopi Goldberg told him to "stop yelling."
But he wasn't the only one getting loud. According to a writer for The Hollywood Reporter who was there at the time, the audience seemed to be made up largely of Trump supporters who cheered for Don Jr. and booed every time one of the panelists tried to challenge him. At one point during a commercial break, Goldberg chided the attendees for interfering with the cast's microphones, saying "The booing is f***ing us up" and suggesting they "grimace" instead of reacting vocally. But the raucousness continued, and during a commercial break, the audience had to be reminded again to behave.
Meghan McCain was understandably upset with the guests
While all "The View" panelists had plenty to say about the Trumps, one in particular had a major axe to grind. Meghan McCain's father, the late Republican senator John McCain, was the frequent target of scorn from the former president. The zinger that stung the family most was Trump's refusal to call McCain, a Vietnam veteran and POW, a hero. "I like people who weren't captured," he sniffed. (via YouTube)
The Hollywood Reporter writer noted Meghan seemed to avoid looking at Don Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle at first. When she finally addressed them, she got right to the point. Accusing the administration of robbing "the soul of this country," she went on, "You and your family have hurt a lot of people, and put a lot of people through a lot of pain."(via YouTube) "Does any of that make you feel good?" Don Jr. agreed their fathers "did have differences," but argued the then-president's accomplishments overshadowed all his controversial remarks.
Guilfoyle tried easing the tension by praising the late senator as a friend. But she went on to play both sides of the table by adding she also sympathized with Don Jr. because of the way "everybody is attacking his family." Unmoved, Meghan replied, "With all due respect, his father didn't die of cancer." The discussion quickly deteriorated into more shouting and accusations between the hosts and guests. When the interview ended, an audience member said what everyone was feeling: "Praise the Lord!"