Ana Navarro, Alyssa Farah Griffin replace Meghan McCain as new 'The View' cohosts (original) (raw)
One year after the conservative personality Meghan McCain departed The View, the long-running ABC talk show has hired two new permanent cohosts to fill her vacant chair: Ana Navarro and Alyssa Farah Griffin.
Moderator Whoopi Goldberg made the announcement on air at the end of Thursday's broadcast, with Griffin stepping out to join the Oscar-winning actress at the table next to Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, and Sara Haines. She and Navarro will sit full-time on the panel for season 26 when it premieres in September.
"If anyone had ever told me I'd be sitting at a table with Whoopi Goldberg, I'd say they were crazy," Griffin, who previously worked with the Donald Trump administration, said. "It's going to get sporty sometimes… but I'm so excited for it. I'm ready for it."
Ana Navarro and Alyssa Farah Griffin join 'The View' as permanent cohosts. Lou Rocco/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images; Lou Rocco/ABC
"We're finally putting a ring on it!" Navarro said. "It is the relevance, the importance, and the platform that The View represents. We at this table have spent a lot of time talking about representation and saying representation matters. And that means that when a little Latina immigrant girl born in Nicaragua, who came to this country at the age of 8 as a political refugee and found her home here, gets the opportunity and the chance to have a platform, you grab it with both hands and you run with it."
After McCain departed The View back in August 2021, she told Variety that the show was "unhinged and disorganized and rowdy," and a workplace where she didn't feel like her views as a Republican were welcome. She also pointed to an on-air clash with Behar in January of that year as the final straw for her.
"That was the day I decided," McCain told the publication of the moment, which, during a discussion about both political parties, saw the conservative panelist joking that Behar must have missed fighting with her over their differing views while McCain was out caring for her new baby. Behar clapped back, "I did not miss you."
Since then, The View has welcomed a revolving door of guest hosts to fill in for McCain, including Ana Navarro, Lindsey Granger, and Tara Setmayer. Former full-time cohosts also stepped in for several episodes, including Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Star Jones.
Elisabeth Hasselbeck on 'The View'. ABC
Known for its cohosts' bold opinions on social and political topics, The View has rotated its permanent panel many times over the years. Behar, an original cohost who helped launch the show back in 1997, joked about the turnover rate in a recent interview with Time magazine.
"I was glad to be fired," she said, referring to her temporary dismissal in 2013. "I basically was sick of the show at that point for some reason, I don't even remember why."
The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC.
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