The View co-host Joy Behar said Hillary Clinton's campaign made a mistake in only allowing her to appear once on the ABC talk show during her 2016 run.
In a New York Times profile of the show's rising importance on the national political scene, Behar scolded Clinton's team for not giving her more chances to appear on the show, which consists of all women panelists.
"Her people who kept her away from this show should have been fired," Behar said.
Behar, one of the show's liberal hosts—Meghan McCain currently fills the conservative chair—said Clinton's appearance on April 5, 2016, allowed her to come off as the "lovely person I know."
"The laughing, happy, gregarious grandma that she is, in addition to being so smart. They didn't see it on other shows," Behar said.
Clinton "re-introduced" herself to American voters several times during her 2016 campaign, which was her second presidential campaign and fourth bid for office following her two U.S. Senate elections. 2016 marked her 24th year on the national stage, following her husband Bill Clinton's first White House victory in 1992.
The View is averaging 3 million viewers an episode in its highest ratings in four years; while solid, the numbers aren't why it's becoming an important stop for politicians. Rather, the Times wrote it has "become an influential political talk show because it isn't one." The show doesn't boast the policy depth of other political programs, but its opinionated hosts often ask their subjects blunter questions that elicit news-making answers.
Former vice president Joe Biden, Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.), former representative Beto O'Rourke (D., Texas), and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg are among the 12 Democrats running for the 2020 nomination who have already appeared on The View in 2019. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) will appear May 30.
Lesser-known candidate Rep. Tim Ryan (D., Ohio) said he announced his presidential bid on the show because he wants to reach "Republican women who maybe aren't enamored with Trump but are still conservative."
"I think if we're going to win this election, we've got to be able to appeal to a lot of the electorate, and you've got to be in the room, having those conversations and taking those questions from the Meghan McCains of the world," he said.