Nicolle Wallace and October Gonzalez are among 10 finalists vying for the last two spots on ABC’s talk show “The View.” Although they have been dubbed the favorites to land the coveted seats on the panel program, bosses at the network are denying the reports.
Wallace, 42, is a conservative political commentator and author, who worked as George W. Bush’s communications chief and adviser to the McCain–Palin campaign in 2008. She is supposed to replace Elisabeth Hasselbeck who left “The View” in 2013.
Wallace’s main task if selected will be to voice right leaning positions on the topics being discussed. The only problem since she famously clashed with Sarah Palin, people on the right view her with a lot of suspicions.
She is also a contributor on the left leaning network MSNBC, which shows that her views are moderate especially on social issues like gay marriage that she supports. Wallace is the perfect right winger for a show like “The View,” she is not too aggressive, her statements are often fact-based.
Additionally, she is not very vocal on hot buttons issues like religion and guns. While there is a wealth of information out there about Wallace’s views, the same can not be said of Gonzalez.
Gonzalez is a blogger who has been married to former NFL player Tony Gonzalez since 2007. They have two children together. The couple posed naked for PETA in 2009. The husband supported Obama in 2008. All these elements would put her more on the left side of the political spectrum.
Since she is not well known outside of the sports world, her background is slightly reminiscent of Hasselbeck’s when she joined the program in 2003.
According to reports Wallace and Gonzalez performed very well on a mock show this week with current co-hosts Rosie O’Donnell and Whoopi Goldberg. This pushed some to speculate that it was a done deal and that they will be joining the talk show later this year.
A spokesperson for The View, rushed to squash the reports via a statement released to several media outlets. It read:
“Chemistry tests were conducted yesterday with Whoopi and Rosie. No decisions have been made and there is nothing to announce at this time.”
Sunny Hostin, who works at CNN is still being considered. Entertainment reporter Lauren Sanchez, is also in the running.
CNN’s Ana Navarro and S.E. Cupp (who clashed with Goldberg on abortion), ESPN’s Jemele Hill and Sage Steele, Bloomberg’s Stephanie Ruhle, and Conservative commentator Kayleigh McEnany also tried out for the coveted jobs.
McEnany was very happy with the experience, she tweeted:
Loved meeting @Rosie at The View’s chemistry test. Was so impressed with her. She’s an awesome person. Good move for @theviewtv
McEnany guest-hosted “The View” on Monday, where she had an intense debate with Goldberg on gun control.
