ABC's mid-morning talk show The View has repeatedly featured anchors and guests who promote the debunked [1] 9/11 truther movement. That tradition continued on Tuesday as conspiracy theorist Jesse Ventura appeared as a co-host. Although Whoopi Goldberg, Sherri Shepherd and Jenny McCarthy avoided Ventura's September 11th beliefs, the former Minnesota governor expounded on his other favorite conspiracy theory: the assassination of John Kennedy.
Asked by Shepherd who killed JFK, Ventura demurred: "That's a difficult thing to say because he made so many enemies and I don't even have the time to go into that but I can tell you this: I can't tell you who killed him, but I can tell you who didn't kill him, Lee Harvey Oswald." This thrilled Shepherd, who kissed Ventura and praised, "Because you know if you decided to run for president, Jesse, I would vote for you." [MP3 audio here [2].]
(Ventura has a new book out called They Killed Our President [3]. On the subject of 9/11, he has previously asserted that Dick Cheney "allowed [4]" the terrorist attack to happen. )
Conspiracy theories surround The View. Current co-host Jenny McCarthy [5]has promoted the false claim that autism rates are connected to childhood vaccinations.
Former View co-host Rosie O'Donnell is a 9/11 truther [6], insisting on-air that she had "no idea" who attacked America on September 11, 2001. On March 29, 2007, she had this exchange [7] with then-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck:
ELISABETH HASSELBECK: Do you believe that the government had anything to do with the attack of 9/11? Do you believe in a conspiracy in terms of the attack of 9/11?
ROSIE O’DONNELL: No. But I do believe the first time in history that fire has ever melted steel. I do believe that it defies physics for the World Trade Center Tower Seven, building seven, which collapsed in on itself, it is impossible for a building to fall the way it fell without explosives being involved, World Trade Center Seven. World Trade Center one and Two got hit by planes. Seven, miraculously, for the first time in history, steel was melted by fire. It is physically impossible.
On February 28, 2011 [8], the View women brought on conspiracist Alex Jones. Jones ranted, "[Charlie Sheen] didn't kill a million people in Iraq. He wasn't involved with the takedown of Building Seven here in New York."
A partial transcript of the October 8 segment is below:
The View
10/8/13
11:56
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: So, we are back with our guest co-host Jesse Ventura who has just written his seventh book called They Killed Our President: 63 Facts That Prove a Conspiracy to Kill JFK. So, Jesse, as quick a time as you can, tell us about the latest book.
JESSE VENTURA: Well, my book, I wrote this for selfish reasons. I wrote it because I've been studying the Kennedy assassination since 1985 when I used to have to fly around in airplanes in my wrestling career. It's very boring you if you live that way sitting in airports, so I would read everything I could get my hands on. And I finally felt, you know what, in order for whatever it's worth, 100 years from now, I want the public to know that the 38th governor of Minnesota does not buy the Warren Commission and does not believe Lee Harvey Oswald killed our president John Kennedy and the only way I felt I could do that was to write my own book about it. Now it's on the record.
SHERRI SHEPHERD: Well, Who do you think is responsible for JFK's murder?
VENTURA: Well, that's a difficult thing to say because he made so many enemies and I don't even have the time to go into that but I can tell you this: I can't tell you who killed him, but I can tell you who didn't kill him, Lee Harvey Oswald. And he has daughters who are –
SHEPHERD [Imitates Ventura's speaking style]: But, Jesse, what we want to know is are you running for president in 2016? Because you know if you decided to run for president, Jesse, I would vote for you. [Kisses Jesse.]
VENTURA: Well, you know – Thank you. [Kisses Sherri.] I'll tell you what, they're setting up for me because I would run for president on this one issue: I would give you the American people if I do it the opportunity to elect our first president since George Washington who does not belong to a political party or gang as I call them.
— Scott Whitlock is Senior News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Scott Whitlock on Twitter. [9]