Whoopi Goldberg, the principal co-host of the ABC News program “The View,” lavished praise on Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani — the front runner in New York City’s upcoming mayoral election — on Wednesday. She did so all while repeatedly mispronouncing his last name in the very way Mr. Mamdani himself once criticized Andrew Cuomo for doing.

Ms. Goldberg, referring to the virulently anti-Israel politician as “Zohran Mamdami,” introduced the 33-year-old assemblymember as a “political lightning rod” and effusively praised “his grassroots campaign and social progressive message,” which she claimed, in language that sounded pre-scripted, “is resonating beyond the borders of New York and even has the White House calling him out.”

The studio audience erupted in thunderous applause as Mr. Mamdani took the stage. The cheering grew so prolonged that Ms. Goldberg felt compelled to intervene: “Hold on now, we’ve got an hour on the show, so y’all gonna have to calm down so we can talk to him.” Turning to Mr. Mamdani, she added, “You’re very popular.”

The fawning continued with co-host and ABC News “legal correspondent” Sunny Hostin calling Mr. Mamdani a “rising star in the Democratic Party” and asking him about his “meteoric rise” in politics. 

The hosts and guest then bonded over their shared disdain for President Trump. When Ms. Goldberg suggested Mr. Trump’s threat to cut federal funding to New York City if Mr. Mamdani wins might constitute “voter tampering,” both Mr. Mamdani and co-host Joy Behar eagerly nodded in agreement. Mr. Mamdani seized the moment to add his own quip: “I know fraud.” 

The lovefest reached its peak when Ms. Goldberg opined that corporations like Amazon and Google should “pay the same kinds of taxes everyone else pays.” To which Mr. Mamdani responded:  “If you were running for mayor I would be voting for you.”

Mr. Mamdani did receive legitimate pushback from co-hosts Sara Haines and Alyssa Farah Griffin, the panel’s lone conservative voice. Ms. Haines, wearing a pin expressing solidarity with Israeli hostages held by Hamas, challenged Mr. Mamdani on his vocal criticism of Israel and asked how he would lead New Yorkers who disagree with his positions.

Ms. Griffin, who occupies the panel’s customary single conservative role (the ex-Trump Administration official voted for Kamala Harris), confronted Mr. Mamdani about inflammatory anti-police statements he made in 2020 — calling the New York Police Department “wicked,” “corrupt,” “racist,” and “anti-queer” — which he has since attempted to walk back. She questioned whether voters could trust his current promise not to defund the police.

Still, the moments of scrutiny were fleeting. Mr. Mamdani emerged from the hour-long segment grinning broadly.

“The View” has long featured an all-liberal panel with a single conservative host who regularly clashes with her colleagues — a formula that produced legendary on-air feuds between Rosie O’Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselbeck in the mid-2000s. Former conservative co-host Meghan McCain departed the show alleging she was bullied by her liberal colleagues. Ms. Griffin, despect her past, is now largely in the liberal column and firmly anti-Trump.  

In recent years, the program has faced mounting criticism for its New York-centric hosts’ hard-left positions, which frequently clash with mainstream American sentiment, and their visceral hostility toward Mr. Trump. According to a media watchdog group, during the first seven months of 2025, “The View” failed to feature even a single guest “promoting conservative or pro-Trump policies.”

The Daily Beast reported in May that ABC News executives met with “The View” stars and suggested they tone down their anti-Trump rhetoric, and were rebuffed — laying bare the harsh reality that the once-vaunted ABC News has little control over its own program.