While offering some mild criticism of President Joe Biden for calling Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy a “stupid son of a bitch,” the hosts of ABC’s The View applauded the president on Tuesday for later calling the reporter to apologize.
Liberal co-host Joy Behar at one point joked that Fox News might not be happy with how Doocy accepted Biden’s apology and was “not clutching his pearls” as much as the rest of the network had been.
As the press was being ushered out of a White House event on Monday afternoon, Doocy—who has relished his role as foil to the administration—asked Biden if rising inflation was a political liability. After sarcastically saying “more inflation” is a “great asset,” microphones picked up Biden muttering: “What a stupid son of a bitch!”
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The moment kicked off around-the-clock coverage, especially on Fox News, with critics arguing that Biden had reneged on his promise of civility towards the press. Doocy, meanwhile, took the moment in stride, noting on Monday night that the president “cleared the air” and even urged him to keep pressing the White House with tough questions.
Noting that former President Donald Trump “set the bar low” with his treatment of the press, ex-View host Lisa Ling—returning this week as a guest panelist—lamented that Biden was similarly setting a poor standard with his recent behavior.
“He didn’t just dismiss it as a dumb question. He name-called,” Ling sighed. “I just think, as a mom to young kids, these are the people who should be setting examples for our kids. yet more examples of men behaving badly and mothers having to clean it up because it’s giving license to kids.”
Agreeing with Ling that it was “beneath the dignity of the presidency,” co-host Sunny Hostin said she appreciated that Biden “called and apologized” to Doocy—something she said “the former twice-impeached disgraced president” would never have done.
As Ling insisted that Biden “should apologize to everyone,” Behar quickly jumped in to take a shot at Fox News.
“I think he’s going to lose his job at Fox now that [Biden’s] apologized,” the veteran comedian quipped. “Doocy says it’s good, ‘I'm thankful that Biden apologized.’ He’s not clutching his pearls and yelling about it,” she continued. “He’ll be fired!”
Asked by Ling whether Biden should also issue a public mea culpa, Whoopi Goldberg remarked that “I don’t think he should apologize to the American people,” and Behar and Hostin began listing off times Trump personally attacked reporters.
“Did Trump apologize?” Behar added.
After Ling reiterated her belief that Biden should deliver a broad public apology, Goldberg slapped it down yet again.
“No, I’m sorry. He should acknowledge he’s human,” she declared. “That happens sometimes when people ask you endless stupid questions from one particular place and sometimes you just lose it for a second. The difference is he said, ‘OK, let me call him and apologize because that happens.’ I think that, for me, is the representation of what a human being, as president, should be.”
Behar, naturally, continued to contrast the president’s actions with those of his predecessor, declaring that Biden calling Doocy a “stupid S.O.B.” is “nothing” compared to what the twice-impeached ex-president did.
“I agree, but you can’t keep comparing him to Trump,” an exasperated Ling responded.
“Yes, you can,” Behar snapped back. “I will.”
