The View Suggested NFL QB Jaxson Dart Should Be Targeted on the Field for Supporting Trump. ABC Has Said Nothing.
On May 22, 2026, Jaxson Dart— the New York Giants’ rookie quarterback, Round 1 Pick 25 of the 2025 NFL Draft — appeared at a congressional rally for Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) in New York and introduced President Donald Trump. The appearance lasted approximately 30 seconds. Dart made no policy statement. He did not endorse legislation. He introduced a sitting president at a political event, as many athletes before him have done.
Four days later, on May 26, 2026, the co-hosts of ABC’s The View— averaging 2.638 million viewers in early 2026 and ranked #1 in daytime talk — discussed Dart’s appearance. What Joy Behar and Sara Haines said drew immediate national attention: not for partisan criticism, but for what critics widely interpreted as an implicit suggestion that opposing players should physically target Dart during NFL games as political punishment.
ABC issued no statement. Advertisers have not pulled back. No disciplinary action has been reported. The segment ran on a nationally broadcast program on the network’s flagship daytime schedule.
- Pick 252025 DraftRound 1, 2025 NFL Draft · 15 TDs, 91.7 passer rating in rookie season
- 2.638Mdaily viewersThe View · #1 daytime talk · early 2026 Nielsen average
- ~30 secappearanceDart's Trump rally appearance at a May 22 congressional rally for Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) — no policy statement made
- 0ABC statementsNo network response, no advertiser pullback, no disciplinary action reported as of publication
Jaxson Dart was born May 13, 2003, in Cedar City, Utah. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Before the NFL, he played college football at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), where he surpassed Eli Manning to become the all-time leading passer in program history — 10,302 career passing yards, a record for the Ole Miss program. The New York Giants selected him with the 25th overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
In his 2025 rookie season, Dart threw for 15 touchdowns and posted a 91.7 passer rating — numbers that positioned him as a legitimate franchise starting quarterback for the Giants going into 2026. He has not made public policy statements. He has not made campaign donations. His May 22 Trump rally appearance was, by all accounts, a 30-second introduction at a congressional event for Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY). The White House characterized it as routine political speech by a private citizen exercising First Amendment rights.
The May 26, 2026 segment on The Viewfeatured four co-hosts commenting on Dart’s rally appearance. The remarks span a spectrum — from outright condemnation to grudging free-speech acknowledgment — but two quotes in particular attracted the most attention.
“Maybe he needs a little extra padding.”
Joy Behar — The View co-host · May 26, 2026 · ABC
Joy Beharalso called Dart’s decision to support Trump “the definition of stupidity and racist.” The “extra padding” comment — delivered as Behar discussed the locker-room and on-field implications of Dart’s political association — was widely interpreted by conservative media and NFL commentators as suggesting opposing players might (or should) target Dart physically as political retribution.
“There would be consequences. You're the quarterback, which is a central player on that field.”
Sara Haines — The View co-host · May 26, 2026 · ABC
Sara Hainesframed her comment in explicitly on-field terms: consequences, and the specific physical vulnerability of the quarterback position. In the NFL, the quarterback is the most heavily targeted offensive player — already at risk of injury on every snap, and further exposed by gratuitous hits. The NFL has specific rules against unnecessary roughness targeting quarterbacks. Haines’ framing linked political association to physical on-field jeopardy.
“You are complicit in my view.”
Sunny Hostin — The View co-host · May 26, 2026 · ABC
Sunny Hostinused the word “complicit” — a legal and moral term connoting shared guilt in wrongdoing — to describe Dart’s 30-second political introduction. Hostin did not identify what crime or harm Dart was complicit in.
Whoopi Goldbergwas the only co-host to push back. Goldberg defended Dart’s right to participate in the political process: “It’s America.” She did not fully exonerate him of the “racist” framing her co-hosts used, but she declined to endorse the injury and consequences comments. Goldberg’s dissent was the exception, not the frame of the segment.
Alyssa Farah Griffin (R)— the show’s Republican co-host — agreed with Goldberg and went further: “It’s America.” Griffin argued that political expression by athletes is routine and that the reaction to Dart was disproportionate. She did not appear to endorse the Behar or Haines framing.
Before The View segment aired, the controversy had already entered the Giants locker room via social media. Giants linebacker Abdul Carter posted on Instagram after seeing a photograph of Dart at the rally, writing — according to ESPN reporting on the since-deleted post — something to the effect of “Thought this [expletive] was AI, what we doing man.” The post was quickly deleted. Carter subsequently clarified: “Me & JD6 are good.”
CBS Sports and ESPN both reported that Dart addressed his teammates directly following the controversy. Sources described the locker-room dynamic as stable. Multiple Giants players indicated publicly that the team was not divided. Giants offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor weighed in on X:
Locker Room is fine
Jaxson Dart introduced the President of the United States at a political event. That's his right as an American. Athletes have always had political opinions. The suggestion that he should face physical consequences for it is genuinely alarming. It's America.
Eluemunor’s post directly contradicted the narrative that Dart had fractured team cohesion. Farah Griffin — on the show itself and on X — was the lone co-host to forcefully defend Dart’s constitutional right to appear at a political event. What The Viewframed as a locker-room crisis was, by the account of the Giants’ own players, resolved within days.
Jaxson Dart is a great young man who exercised his First Amendment rights. The people on The View, who are terrible, should be ashamed of themselves for suggesting that players should hurt him because of his political beliefs. That is not what America is about. Go Jaxson!
Jaxson told me something at the rally that would upset his teammates even more — but I won't say what it is. He's a good man. He has every right to be there.
At the May 22 rally itself, Trump had reportedly told the crowd that Dart had shared something with him privately that would “upset his teammates even more” — according to Yardbarker reporting. Trump did not disclose what the private remark was. The White House, in subsequent statements, characterized the entire controversy as a straightforward exercise of free political speech by a private citizen and criticized The View for what officials described as an attempt to punish political dissent with physical intimidation.
This was not the first time The View attracted regulatory attention under the Trump administration. In July 2025, the FCC had opened an inquiry into prior remarks by Joy Behar and other co-hosts touching on then-President Trump, examining whether the remarks rose to the level of actionable broadcast content. That inquiry did not result in a formal FCC action against ABC. ABC did not issue a statement at the time.
As of publication of this story, ABC had issued no statement on the May 26 segment. No advertiser had publicly pulled back. No disciplinary action against Behar or Haines had been reported. The View continues to air on ABC with its full 2.638 million average daily viewership. The National Football League also issued no statement.
The editorial question the segment raised is not subtle. The View’s co-hosts have celebrated athletes who kneel during the national anthem, who speak at Democratic fundraisers, who endorse progressive candidates, and who publicly criticize Republican elected officials — all as constitutionally protected expression. That frame did not survive contact with Dart.
A 22-year-old quarterback from Utah who introduced a sitting president at a 30-second appearance was called “stupid,” “racist,” and “complicit” — and two hosts used explicit language framing consequences in terms of his physical vulnerability on the football field. Not one of those hosts was removed from the program. Not one was suspended. ABC’s editorial response was silence.
Joy Behar— The View co-host; “extra padding” comment; “definition of stupidity and racist” characterization.
Sara Haines— The View co-host; “consequences” framing with explicit reference to Dart’s quarterback position.
Sunny Hostin— The View co-host; “complicit” characterization.
Whoopi Goldberg— The View co-host; partial defense of Dart’s free-speech rights.
Alyssa Farah Griffin (R)— The View co-host; full defense: “It’s America.”
ABC (Disney subsidiary) — network broadcaster; no statement issued as of publication.
A 22-year-old Mormon quarterback from Utah spent 30 seconds introducing a sitting president. The co-hosts of a nationally broadcast ABC program called that “stupid,” “racist,” and “complicit” — and framed his physical exposure on the football field as a natural consequence of his political opinion. No ABC statement. No advertiser pullback. No suspension. No consequence for the hosts. The quarterback addressed his team directly, his teammates said the locker room was fine, and Jaxson Dart will line up under center in September. The View will air tomorrow, uninterrupted, on ABC.