The White House has criticised Joy Behar after the co-host of The View made a joke about President Donald Trump and his military operations in Iran. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle issued a statement calling Behar a “talentless hack” suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
During Wednesday’s episode of the ABC show, Behar, 83, made remarks about Trump’s statement that Iran had gifted the US “a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money.” Ingle defended the president, describing “Operation Epic Fury” as a “resounding success” that has reduced Iranian retaliatory attacks by 90 percent.
Behar later defended her comments, saying she was not against the military but questioned the objectives of the “excursion into Iran.” She also quipped that “the word intelligence and him in the same sentence should not go together,” referring to Trump. Conservative guest co-host Abby Huntsman countered that the intelligence behind the operation had not been communicated to the public.
The View has featured several debates on Trump’s Iran policy since the conflict began on February 28. Despite Ingle’s claim that the show is “poorly rated,” ABC’s March 20 press release stated that The View ranks first among daytime network talk shows in households and total viewers.
Representatives for The View did not respond to requests for comment.
