Checking in with SARA HAINES
Season 25 is a milestone for “The View,” and it’s been revelatory for Sara Haines, who’s been more pronounced than ever in putting forth her own views.
“I’m forever a work in progress, and I have a lot of levels to go,” says the everfriendly yet strongly opinionated personality who co-hosts the weekday ABC talk program with Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar and Sunny Hostin (and, often, Ana Navarro). Still, Haines feels a responsibility in her literal place at the table, even when it’s virtual (as the coronavirus pandemic sometimes has necessitated again in recent weeks).
“I’ve noticed in the last four or five years that there’s a hysteria in responses by the public and the media to different stories,” she reflects. “The very extreme reactions are a new phenomenon in watching mainstream news, and that has forced me to be a little more firm. I don’t have an ideological commitment to any party or narrative. I don’t decide my answer before I hear the question.”
Because of that, Haines reasons, “I think being calm and reasonable and open to facts – even when they’re not comfortable – is kind of the North Star for me. And I’m watching it fade away everywhere I look, so I feel the need to be louder. Everyone has to open their eyes and say, ‘Some of this is not OK.’ ”
With that, Haines (who also is the host of ABC’s Wednesday game show “The Chase”) believes any resulting conversation can be civil on “The View” and elsewhere “because it doesn’t have to not be. If you’re winning an argument, you don’t have to name-call or get emotional. You just win on merit.”
Birthdate: Sept. 18, 1977
Birthplace: Newton, Iowa
Current residence: New Jersey
Marital status: Married; has three children
Other television credits include: “The Chase,” “Good Morning America,” “Today”
On a returning guest co-host “The View” had earlier this season: “Abby (Huntsman) came to my seat when she left, and I came back to her seat when she left. Other than being that ‘conservative’ spot, it’s not like the seats are interchangeable, but a lot of people had told me I was really going to like Abby. We had a few moments in passing, but we texted each other afterward and said, ‘It was so nice to actually sit at the table with you.’
We would have had fun together. She was great.”