Nicolle Wallace, who was a Republican co-host of ‘The View’ for one season, called her 2015 firing from the show ‘personal.’ Here are five things you should know about her.
MSNBC reporter Nicolle Wallace, who currently hosts the political program Deadline: White House, was once a co-host of the popular talk show The View, but after her 2015 firing, she had a lot to say about the experience, in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times. “Being fired from a TV show where you think you’re kind of baring your soul feels personal because it is,” she told the outlet. “I think what I didn’t understand is: It really was a casting, and it was a casting they didn’t like.”
Nicolle, who considers herself a Republican, was known for speaking about her political views with her fellow co-hosts, who included Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie Perez and Rosie O’Donnell, during her one season stint on the show. Although she said she “loved” having the opportunity to be at the table with the other women, she admitted there was some tension between them. “I sought to make peace with Rosie O’Donnell and Rosie Perez,” she explained. “I had such a special friendship with Whoopi Goldberg.”
Here are five things you should know about Nicolle and her impressive career since being let go from The View.
1. She was called a “3rd rate lap dog” by President Donald Trump. The cable news anchor defended former Vice President Joe Biden in a segment on Deadline: White House on May 1, and in response, Trump directed a string of insults at her, MSNBC and its parent company, Comcast, which he misspelled as Concast. “She was thrown off The View like a dog, Zero T.V. Personas. Now Wallace is a 3rd rate lapdog for Fake News MSDNC (Concast). Doesn’t have what it takes!” the POTUS tweeted on May 2.
2. Her commentary about the assault allegation leveled against Joe Biden led to Trump’s Twitter attack. During a May 1 panel discussion on MSNBC about Joe’s interview on the network earlier that morning, Nicolle said, “Having once been a member of the Republican party, the right isn’t running an intellectually honest operation to get to the bottom of whether Tara Reade was victimized. The right is running a smear campaign against Joe Biden.” Conservative author and Fox News host Mark Levin criticized Nicolle for accusing the right of trying to “smear” Joe Biden. Trump then responded to Mark’s tweet with his own attack on the cable news anchor.
3. Nicolle has worked in The White House. She previously served as the White House Communications Director for George W. Bush and was a senior advisor for John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. She served as “a voice for more openness with reporters” according to reports in The Washington Post, and former colleagues described her as having been “very persuasive in the halls of the West Wing.”
4. She is a staunch critic of the Trump administration. Despite her political affiliations with the Republican Party in the past, Nicolle has been one of the Trump administration’s strongest critics since he took office in 2016.
5. Nicolle is a frequent contributor on many MSNBC programs. Along with her position as the anchor of Deadline: White House, which she has held since 2017, Nicolle also contributes to, and guest hosts programs like The 11th Hour With Brian Williams, Morning Joe, and The Today Show.