The View Hosts Praise Herschel Walker for 'Graciously' Conceding in Georgia Senate Race

In a case of the bar being lower than the floor, the women of The View opened Wednesday's show by praising Herschel Walker for conceding to Raphael Warnock in the Georgia Senate runoff.

Though Joy Behar began the discussion with a joke — "I was impressed with Herschel Walker's concession speech. There was no mention of werewolves or vampires" — her co-hosts latched onto the concession speech itself, holding it up as evidence of Walker's moral superiority over his Republican counterparts. "He made a concession speech," said Whoopi Goldberg. "That's the beauty!"

"I appreciated when he said, 'I've just gotta say, you've gotta still believe in our elected officials. You've gotta still believe in the Constitution,'" said Sara Haines. "You could lean in and do what other people have done that we've watched and just stoke that crowd, and he did the right thing in that moment. And I appreciated that."

"And his mention of the Constitution was a direct diss against Trump!" replied Behar. "Which is an interesting point."

Sunny Hostin attempted to curb the panel's praise of Walker by reminding them that he was "the worst, most unqualified, undignified" candidate to run against Warnock, but the ladies weren't done quite yet. "I appreciated that he recognized how to graciously say, 'I lost,'" said Whoopi. "Maybe the next time he decides to do this, he'll come more prepared for himself, you know? So that he can't be held as a laughing stock. That he understands that the truth does matter, 'cause people will root you out! The truth will root out."

WHAT DOES WARNOCK WIN MEAN FOR SENATE? #TheView panel weighs in after Sen. Raphael Warnock won reelection and defeated Herschel Walker in the Georgia Senate runoff, strengthening the Democrats' power in the Senate. https://t.co/cVclFZyKV0 pic.twitter.com/aKtMBfaEJK

— The View (@TheView) December 7, 2022

The "you've gotta hand it to him" chorus continued with Alyssa Farah Griffin. "We've all been very critical of Herschel Walker in some of his personal dealings, and lying about different allegations that he's pushed back against," she said. "But even he showed more dignity and integrity by conceding than Donald Trump did."

"That just kind of underscores what a bad man the former president is," added Griffin. "Even Herschel Walker, who there's a lot of things you can criticize, was like, 'This was a moment to say our politics work, the Constitution matters, and I lost fair and square.'"

With that, Behar attempted to argue that Walker is "not a bad guy," but luckily, Hostin quickly stepped in to shut it down. "Well, five women have accused him of beating them," said Hostin, prompting Behar to respond, "That wasn't good. I forgot about that."

All told, it was a bizarre conversation, especially for a group that has been discussing the allegations against Walker for months. Now that he's lost, let's hope The View declines to give him more airtime – and if they must, maybe avoid the effusive praise?

Claire Spellberg Lustig is the Senior Editor at Primetimer and a scholar of The View. Follow her on Twitter at @c_spellberg.