As Disney and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) bicker over whether "The View" is a bona fide news program, ABC is celebrating the significant audience bump the reliably liberal show received for booking a high-powered Republican. 

ABC News announced on Tuesday that last week’s edition of "The View" featuring Vice President JD Vance was the show’s most-watched episode in more than 18 months. Vance’s appearance attracted 3.3 million viewers to the daytime gabfest and the only episode of "The View" since January 2021 to outdraw the VP sit-down came on November 6, 2024, during post-Election Day coverage. 

ABC News’ press release touting the viewership success didn’t mention the FCC but came on the heels of the Disney-owned station launching an ad campaign urging viewers to support "The View." 

ABC LAUNCHES ON-AIR CAMPAIGN ENCOURAGING VIEWERS TO SUPPORT ‘THE VIEW’ IN BATTLE WITH TRUMP’S FCC

Earlier this year, the FCC launched an investigation into ABC's "The View" amid the agency's crackdown on equal time for political candidates after Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico appeared on the show. Disney’s ABC believes "The View" is bona fide news and, therefore, exempt from the equal time rule.  

ABC’s new campaign features a petition to declare that "The View" indeed qualifies as a bona fide news interview program. A commercial debuted Monday during the program that declared, "’The View has welcomed your favorite guests for nearly 30 years. Now the FCC wants to control who is allowed to appear on the show. Tell the FCC to let the viewers decide. You have until July 6th." 

ABC’s campaign will also run online and across ABC social media platforms. When reached for comment, the FCC accused Disney of "misleading" viewers. 

Also on Monday, Media Research Center (MRC) penned a letter to the FCC insisting that the show fails to meet the "bona fide news" standards that would make it exempt from the equal time rule. The MRC provided the FCC with "2,473 separate pieces of evidence documenting The View’s pervasive bias," according to the letter. 

FCC LAUNCHING PROBE INTO ABC'S 'THE VIEW' AMID CRACKDOWN ON EQUAL TIME FOR CANDIDATES

"Anyone who watches the show knows it’s political advocacy masquerading as news. Our filing demonstrates that ‘The View’ is a one-sided platform that promotes one political viewpoint while shutting out the other. ABC should not receive special regulatory treatment intended for bona fide news programs," MRC President David Bozell told Fox News Digital. 

In January, the FCC announced it would require the broadcast networks to adhere to the "statutory equal opportunities requirement," citing the Communications Act of 1934, "including their airing of late-night and daytime talk shows."

There has been a longstanding "bona fide" exception for news programming that wouldn't require equal time for an opposing candidate, but the FCC now says it "has not been presented with any evidence that the interview portion of any late-night or daytime television talk show program on the air presently would qualify for the 'bona fide' news exemption."

ABC FIRES BACK AT FCC PROBE OF 'THE VIEW,' CALLS OUT AGENCY'S 'CHILLING EFFECT ON FIRST AMENDMENT'

"The View" has been famously anti-Trump for years, frequently criticizing the president and members of his administration. The show had a total of 341 guests in 2025, but only two of them were conservative, while 128 were liberal, according to a study conducted by the Media Research Center's NewsBusters.  

Vance joined the show alongside all six co-hosts, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, Alyssa Farah Griffin and Ana Navarro. It’s unclear if the success of Vance’s appearance will lead to more Republicans joining the show. 

Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.