JOY BEHAR’S SURPRISING OFF-CAMERA MESSAGE TO JD VANCE LEAVES FANS STUNNED CQ

Joy Behar and JD Vance on ‘The View’.Credit: 

ABC

Whether it was JD Vance’s words on the page or Glenn Close’s performance as Mamaw in the movie adaptation, Hillbilly Elegy had quite an impact on Joy Behar — enough that she admitted to telling the vice president that he should seek higher office.

Speaking about her behind-the-scenes interactions with Vance during Tuesday’s interview with the conservative politician on The View, Behar said she was moved by Vance’s life story in his Hillbilly Elegy memoir and saw the portrayal as an indicator of the kind of struggle he endured in life before he became a polarizing figure in Donald Trump’s administration.

“I think if he were president, he’d go back to being a kinder person. Trump is the one who’s not kind,” Behar told View producer Brian Teta on the show’s companion podcast Behind the Table, during which she said she didn’t feel overwhelmingly bad about Vance’s demeanor and character during commercial breaks on the show.

When Teta jokingly asked if she’d endorse him after harshly criticizing him and Trump in the past, Behar disputed the categorization of her words.

“I’m not voting for him anyway, especially if he’s running against one of the good Democrats we have out there,” she said.

Still, she “expected him to not have a sense of humor, and he did have one,” the comedian observed, while Teta noted that, though he was able to smile and joke around with the cohosts on the air to an extent, “he definitely deflected plenty” of hard-hitting questions that came at him at the Hot Topics table on issues like ICE raids, Jeffrey Epstein, and more.

“He wants to run for president. Believe me, he’ll be back,” Behar estimated.

Teta noted that “during the break,” Behar told Vance “that he should run for president because he has a good vibe.”

Behar confirmed: “I think [he should]… for a Republican, I do. I’m not a Republican. 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, and those are more in the Democratic party in my opinion. They care about the poor, they help people. The Republican party is more about saving taxes for the rich people.”

She continued, “Truthfully, as I said to you in the beginning of this conversation, I don’t think that [Vance is] a bad guy, so if he runs against, say, Gavin Newsom, that’ll be an interesting debate to see those two, because they’re both intelligent.”

The 83-year-old still took issue with part of Vance’s answer to a question about why he referred to Trump as “America’s Hitler” in the past, in which he invoked biased media for misrepresenting certain information.

“Don’t give me that. That’s where I draw the line on the guy,” Behar said, while Teta observed that Vance is “definitely good with spinning” facts.

Vance’s team has not replied to Entertainment Weekly‘s multiple requests for comment on his View appearance, both before and after it aired.

The vice president’s conversation on The View began with several audience members refusing to clap for Vance as he made his way out to greet the cohosts. He also addressed his divisive “childless cat ladies” remark about Democratic women that resurfaced during the 2024 election cycle — and even drew a public response from Taylor Swift upon her endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Moderator Whoopi Goldberg also snapped at fellow cohost Ana Navarro during the interview, after Navarro attempted to press Vance on a topic related to race in America while Goldberg tried to throw the show to commercial.

“Ana, God, please!” Goldberg shouted at Navarro from across the table, telling her, “Don’t do that!” before the show went to an ad break.

The View airs weekdays on ABC. Watch Behar and Teta discuss Vance’s interview on the show in the Behind the Table episode above.