The View Delivers Wall-to-Wall Insurrection Coverage on the Anniversary of the Capitol Attack

The View has spent the week previewing the anniversary of the January 6 attack on the Capitol, so it was no surprise that the co-hosts spent the bulk of Thursday's episode reflecting on the insurrection and its long-term implications. The panel opened with a Hot Topic about President Biden's speech, in which he blamed former President Trump for the violence that erupted, followed by a lengthy discussion with "Peril" co-authors Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, who were clear that "peril remains" for American democracy one year after the attack.

While the co-hosts were largely complimentary of Biden's speech condemning the insurrection, Ana Navarro dinged him for refusing to mention Trump by name. "When he says 'the former president,' which he said 15 times, he should've said, 'Donald J. Trump is responsible for what happened,' and said his name," she said. "This is not Harry Potter. Donald Trump is not Lord Voldemort. Let us call out his name and lay the blame where the blame should be placed."

Interestingly, she then changed tact and praised Biden for his "forceful" words. "I hope that this is a day which lives in infamy for the rest of American history," said Navarro. "This should be a day where this attack on democracy, this attack on elections, should never, ever be erased, no matter how many people want us to move on."

After Sunny Hostin echoed that sentiment, Joy Behar chimed in with "a somewhat positive" trend. "I noticed this morning that Fox was carrying Biden's speech. There was not a lot of vitriol against Biden in the spot that I was watching," she said. "It's interesting to me that Karl Rove is now calling it what it is: an insurrection. That Ted Cruz is now calling it what it is: an insurrection. That Stephanie Grisham, who was all-in for Trump ... has now turned around. So I think that this speech was the beginning of something that might turn positive. I'm praying and hoping."

ACCOUNTABILITY FOR CAPITOL ATTACK: One year after the assault on the Capitol, Pres. Biden repeatedly blamed former Pres. Trump, without mentioning him by name, for the violence that erupted and the serious danger his “web of lies” poses to the country – the panel reacts. pic.twitter.com/VK79Pi4vt5

— The View (@TheView) January 6, 2022

A few segments later, the co-hosts engaged in a lengthy Q&A with Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, whose recent book, "Peril," details the final days of the Trump administration. Costa described January 6 as a "coordinated pressure campaign with Trump having the intent to overturn the election, and pulling every level of power to make that happen," while Woodward added that they found "zero evidence" to support Trump's claim that the election was stolen.

However, the two weren't optimistic that the Trump officials involved in the effort to overturn the election results will be held accountable. "You know, there's political reality. I don't see, quite frankly, that [Merrick] Garland or the Justice Department would charge Trump with any crime," said Woodward. "I'm quite sure Biden, down in the White House, does not want to see that even though today he suggested it would be reasonable given the abundance of evidence."

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