JD Vance walked into enemy territory on Tuesday, and while everyone is talking about how he crushed it, with an endorsement nobody saw coming, least of all him.
The vice president appeared on ABC's The View to promote his new book, and he spent the better part of an hour fielding hostile questions from a panel that was never gonna give him a fair chance. But surprisingly, he impressed at least one of his harshest potential critics, who told him so directly during a commercial break.
That critic was Joy Behar, the show's longtime co-host and a woman who has openly admitted that she's "never voted for a Republican in my life." According to a report by the New York Post, Behar told him off-air that he should run for president.
The compliment came with a major caveat, though, which Behar made sure everyone heard the next day. She revealed the exchange on The View's companion podcast, Behind the Table, after executive producer Brian Teta put her on the spot. "I'm getting a note here. You told him during the break that he should run for president because he had a good vibe," Teta said. Behar's response: "For a Republican."
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That qualifier became the theme of her entire defense of the moment. Behar insisted she doesn't think Vance is "a bad guy," calling him "very genial" and crediting him for coming on the show "in good faith."
The comedian and television personality, who stressed that she is not a Republican, said she has no intention of backing Vance politically, arguing that Democrats are more compassionate than Republicans on national issues.
"I don't mind a Republican on the city level because it needs a little discipline, but on the national level, I want somebody with a good heart," Behar said, adding that she voted for former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Bloomberg ran for mayor as a Republican but later registered an independent. He then switched to the Democrats in order to mount what would be an unsuccessful bid for the party's presidential nomination.
Behar insisted that her personal impression of Vance differed from her view of the administration he serves.
"Truthfully, as I said to you at the beginning of this conversation, I don't think that he's a bad guy," she said.
Vance also let slip just how much the appearance rattled him beforehand, telling Behar backstage more than once that he was more nervous walking onto that set than he was heading into last year's vice presidential debate. Well, I guess I can understand that. I mean, Tim Walz, am I right? We all knew how that was going to go. But the women on The View aren’t much smarter than Walz; there are just more of them.
He recounted the compliment again later that night on Gutfeld!, still amused by it. "Joy Behar even said during the break, not joking, she said, 'You know what? You're, like, pretty good for a Republican.' And I was like, 'Whoa.' That is a way better compliment than I expected from Joy Behar."
If you missed his appearance on The View, here it is:
Here is the entirety of JD Vance's appearance on The View, which did not go well for him
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 16, 2026
(and kudos to the hosts for actually asking him hard-hitting questions and followups) pic.twitter.com/oDnFYqyZeU
In fairness, I don’t think he needs validation from Joy Behar.
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