VP Kamala Harris’ Office Reportedly Irritated With ABC After False Positive Covid Debacle on The View

Staffers in Kamala Harris’ office are reportedly annoyed with The View after last week’s coronavirus false alarm nearly derailed the vice president’s appearance on the show.

A new report from CNN’s Oliver Darcy says Harris’ staff are “deeply concerned” about the debacle and do not feel like ABC News was forthcoming with them last Friday. Harris was supposed to come on the show last week for an interview, but things took an abrupt turn when Sunny Hostin and Ana Navarro were pulled off the show, leaving Joy Behar to announce that they tested positive for Covid.

While The View rearranged itself to interview Harris remotely that day, it was overshadowed by the media debacle surrounding the incident. It later turned out that Hostin and Navarro’s test results were both false positives, but with the way the fiasco was handled, Harris’ office is wondering whether ABC followed the Covid security protocols that were laid out for them before the vice president’s planned appearance.

CNN says that The View’s hosts get tested for Covid at least twice a week. Before Harris joined them though, her office asked that the hosts take a PCR test 24 hours ahead of time.

“To satisfy the requirement put in place by Harris’ office, each of The View hosts underwent an expedited PCR test in the afternoon following Thursday’s show,” CNN said citing a source. “That person said that a representative of the ABC talk show suggested the night before Harris’ appearance that the tests had come back negative.”

Darcy’s report continues:

That night, a representative for The View gave the “all clear” to Harris’ office, suggesting that the show had satisfied the requirements to proceed with the taping, one of the people familiar with the matter said. After it was suddenly revealed Friday morning that was not the case, Harris’ team was left puzzled and seeking answers about what happened…People familiar with the matter also said that ABC News President Kim Godwin, who was in attendance for the taping, was irked and embarrassed by the whole fiasco.

Watch the moment that Hostin and Navarro were pulled from the show — LIVE on air — here.