The cohosts of The View started the hour on Wednesday’s (May 20) show with a “Hot Topic” discussion of the recent election results in multiple primaries, wherein Trump-endorsed candidates defeated incumbent Republicans who had been critical of him on key issues (namely, Thomas Massie, who supported the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, and Bill Cassidy, who voted to impeach Trump for the January 6th insurrection).
Alyssa Farah Griffin, however, wanted to talk about another Trump decision that could have major implications for the 2026 general election in November.
“Listen, the interesting thing with Massie is the number one reason he was targeted by the White House was because he was pushing for Epstein accountability. I don’t agree with Thomas Massie on a lot, but I think he showed tremendous courage, and he’s got some time left in Congress. I hope that he continues to advocate for accountability,” she said before getting to her real point.
“Something else pretty seismic happened yesterday. Donald Trump decided to endorse against the sitting U.S. senator from Texas, John Cornyn, and he’s endorsed Ken Paxton in the Senate race,” she said. “This is a seismic disaster for Republicans.”
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Griffin then explained, “As of this morning, James Talerico is polling above Ken Paxton in Texas, deep red Texas. Donald Trump is incredibly good at primarying other Republicans in primaries. He has a much bleaker record when it comes to those candidates than winning general elections.” She then pointed to some examples of Trump-endorsed candidates losing wider elections after primary wins, such as Kari Lake, Blake Masters, Herschel Walker, and Tudor Dixon.
“This may prove to be another example of him choosing somebody who has ethics issues, who has personal issues, who could end up actually allowing Texas to turn blue,” she said. “So, disaster for the party, but claim your little victory that you beat Thomas Massie.”
Meanwhile, Sara Haines reacted to the situation of Massie’s ouster by saying, “I will always stand behind principled people that vote with the integrity of self, and he was one of those people.” However, she also criticized Cassidy for vowing to vote against the ballroom after his defeat by saying, “I just wish he did it sooner, because right now everyone decides they have a backbone on their way out, and rarely do they have it while they’re there.”
Joy Behar said of the matter, “That’s the point. They’re feckless politicians, and so they don’t have a job anymore. They’re governing. They’re voting on behalf of their constituents.” However, she ultimately concluded that having him turn on Trump afterwards is a positive thing. “I’ll take the win,” she said.
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