Abby Huntsman has confirmed the widespread reports that she’s ditching Fox News for “The View.”
Huntsman bid farewell to the weekend edition of “Fox & Friends” on Sunday; she’ll be joining joining Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Meghan McCain and Sunny Hostin on ABC’s weekday morning show (10 a.m., KTVX-Channel 4).
And I think it’s a great move, for Huntsman and for “The View.” Huntsman is smart and articulate, and she’s got a sense of humor. She’s a conservative, but she’s not a zealot. She can get her point across without getting angry, which will be a nice contrast to the only current conservative member of the “View” panel, Meghan McCain.
I know, I know. It sounds like I’m sucking up to the boss. Abby’s uncle Paul Huntsman owns The Salt Lake Tribune. He signs my paychecks.
But Paul Huntsman announced he would buy the paper in April 2016. I interviewed Abby Huntsman in late 2014 — and came away impressed. Our scheduled 20 minutes turned into something closer to an hour, and I was genuinely struck by her honesty, her intelligence and her willingness to answer questions about herself and her politics.
At the time, Huntsman was one of the hosts of “The Cycle” on MSNBC — and the only conservative on that panel. Not only did she disagree with the more liberal panelists without being disagreeable, she managed to find common ground.
(Photo courtesy of MSNBC) Krystal Ball, Touré, Abby Huntsman and Ari Melber on the set of "The Cycle."
Certainly, the fighting won't disappear from “The View. It's what makes it the show that it is. It drives ratings. Huntsman will be expected to argue with McCain against Goldberg and Behar.
But she is definitely not an apologist for Donald Trump. She doesn’t share his politics. She told me during our interview that she is “more like Republicans of probably 20 years ago. Socially, we aren’t where the tea party is at all. We are a lot more compassionate when it comes to gay rights and immigration, because we’ve grown up in a different world.”
After Trump’s infamous news conference alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin, Huntsman tweeted, “No negotiation is worth throwing your own people and country under the bus.”
And her father, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, is the U.S. ambassador to Russia.
Republican presidential candidate and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman announces his withdrawal from the race, Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, in Myrtle Beach, S.C., as his wife, Mary Kaye, left, and daughter Abby listen. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Abby Huntsman also differs from Trump in that she can admit a mistake. C’mon, it was kind of funny when Huntsman misspoke on air a couple of months ago, before Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“This is history,” she said. “Regardless of what happens in that meeting between the two dictators, what we are seeing right now, this is history.”
She apologized on the air and on Twitter. And anybody who took offense is not worth worrying about.
ABC has yet to announce exactly when Huntsman will join “The View”; look for sometime in September.
At 32, Huntsman is a rising TV star. This is a great career move. It will be fascinating to see how this works out.
I expect it will turn out well for her and for viewers.
