On "The View" producer Brian Teta's "Behind the Table" podcast on Tuesday, co-host Joy Behar was challenged over her long-standing frustration with voters who backed President Donald Trump, in the context of embattled Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner. Behar defended the idea of voting for flawed Democratic candidates by invoking the late Senator Ted Kennedy, arguing that voters kept him in office despite the Chappaquiddick incident "because he voted correctly." The exchange matters because it highlights an apparent tension in how Behar and other liberal commentators judge voters' willingness to overlook a candidate's personal failings.

Teta pushed back, noting that for years Behar and her colleagues had criticised people who "turned a blind eye" to things they believed Trump had done wrong, even as those voters backed him for reasons such as Supreme Court appointments or tax cuts. Behar acknowledged her feelings and called it a "difficult situation." The discussion came amid the collapse of Platner's Senate campaign, which is facing calls from Maine and national Democrats for him to quit following an explosive rape allegation that emerged the previous Monday. The article notes Behar made a similar Kennedy comparison on "The View" back in 2016 during a discussion about Bill Clinton.