The audacity required to argue in a federal legal filing that a daytime talk show qualifies as a “bona fide news interview program” is one thing. Doing it while clips of your hosts telling viewers to “vote Democrat in November” are freely available online is something else entirely.
That is exactly the position Disney finds itself in after filing a brief with the FCC this week. The company argued that a 2002 ruling granting The View an equal time exemption should stand, and that the Trump administration is simply trying to suppress speech it disagrees with. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr responded with five words and a video clip from the show. The footage did the arguing for him.
Co-host Ana Navarro telling viewers to vote Democrat. Sunny Hostin and Joy Behar delivering what amounts to a daily campaign rally for the Democratic Party, fitted between commercial breaks and celebrity interviews. This is not what a news program looks like. It is what partisan commentary television looks like.
As originally reported, the equal time rule exists for a clear reason. Broadcast stations operate on public airwaves under federally granted licenses. When those stations give political candidates access while shutting out their opponents, regulators can intervene. The bona fide news exemption protects genuine journalism, where editorial decisions are made based on newsworthiness rather than partisan benefit. When your booking decisions and topic selection are driven by which party they help, you have moved from the news business into the campaign business.
Disney’s argument that a ruling from 2002 permanently settles the matter is creative, but it strains credibility. The FCC’s own guidance makes clear that these determinations are fact-specific and tied to what a program actually is at any given time. The View in 2026 bears little resemblance to The View in 2002. The show has traveled a long distance from light entertainment with occasional political guests to something closer to a daily progressive opinion broadcast with a studio audience. A letter drafted during George W. Bush’s first term does not automatically cover everything the program has become since.
None of this is an argument for censorship. Carr himself acknowledged that the FCC should not become “America’s speech police.” Behar, Hostin, Goldberg, and Navarro are entitled to every opinion they hold and every word they say. The First Amendment covers all of it. What is not covered is the legal privilege of being classified as a neutral news operation while actively campaigning for one political party.
Carr’s stated position is straightforward: apply the laws Congress already passed. The law requires that editorial decisions be grounded in newsworthiness rather than partisan goals. Disney’s own video clips undermine Disney’s own legal brief.
Fifteen percent of Americans say they would eat gas station sushi. Only eight percent say they trust the media. The View is both a contributing factor and a convenient explanation for that second number.