The View has a unique place in culture as a point of convergence for people with differing political views. Perhaps now more than ever, that function matters, especially as online platforms — for better or worse — quickly become echo chambers. Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin took to X to warn Democrats against taking Trump’s bait in his legally questionable military deployment in LA.
To understand Alyssa, you first need to understand her lore. Politically, she’s been all over the place. She worked her way up from writing articles to serving in the Strategic Communications department in the White House during Trump’s first term. Her falling out with Trump ultimately came after she found the evergreen Jan. 6 insurrection attempt abhorrent. Since then, she’s moved to television — and seemingly shifted her allegiance from MAGA.
Alyssa was commenting on a post that stated how Democrats are often goaded into overreacting to Trump’s behavior. The LA protest handling hasn’t been great — that we can all agree on — but perhaps the histrionics on other issues, such as harping on Wall Street TACO nicknames, have made the Democratic Party seem easily distracted.
The CNN political commentator suggests another path instead. She’s urging that if Democrats want a winning formula going into the midterms, they should focus on Trump’s use of the U.S. military. She wrote, “The U.S. military should be serving America’s interests abroad, not policing American streets.”
Winning messages:
— Alyssa Farah Griffin (@Alyssafarah) June 11, 2025
Due process matters in America
The US military should be serving America’s interests abroad, not policing American streets.
People who’ve lived in America their whole life & know no other home deserve their day in court.
Losing messages:
I stand with Abrego…
Alyssa also added that Democrats should highlight how Trump has bypassed due process and is attempting to deny people their day in court. She went on to share what she termed as “losing” messages, which included calls for abolishing deportations entirely and defunding ICE.
She worked in communications, so she knows a thing or two about reading the mood of the nation and gaining public empathy. But the heart of her post — the part that landed most heavily — was about Trump using the military to turn on the nation’s own people. There’s always a sense of pride in every country when people see army personnel. The idea is that they sacrifice so much — time away from their families, sometimes limbs, sometimes even more — for citizens to enjoy a semblance of freedom. And it’s that very freedom that now feels increasingly threatened.
In that respect, many people feel a sense of duty to honor troops in whatever small ways they can. It’s a universally relatable message: ensuring that military personnel retain public respect. When that symbolism is flipped — when the military starts looking more like an extension of authoritarian will — it hits a nerve.
There’s another layer to this conversation, though. Most centrists have been telling Democrats that the path to election glory is moving closer to the center, whereas the voting base seems more energized by progressive and leftist candidates. That tension isn’t new, but it’s gaining urgency.
The midterm elections get closer with each passing day, and it’s clear the Republicans have eroded nearly every ounce of goodwill they had. Now it’s just up to the Democrats to figure out how to speak to their base — and give them what they actually yearn for. Because without leverage over Trump, the things he might continue doing seem increasingly nightmarish.
