‘The View’: Watch Abby Huntsman’s Full Exit Announcement

The View co-host Abby Huntsman announced on Monday she is leaving the show to join her father Jon Huntsman’s campaign for Utah governor. The 33-year-old previously worked as a Fox News Channel reporter before joining The View in September 2018. Huntsman said it was a difficult decision, but she wanted to support her family.

“This is always such a hard thing to do… but today I’m saying goodbye,” Huntsman said at the beginning of the show. “My number one priority has always been my family.”

Huntsman’s final day on the show will be Friday.

“I couldn’t be more excited to help someone I love,” Huntsman said.

The View executive producers also broke the news in a memo to staff, confirming she made the decision during the holiday break.

“From the moment Abby joined us a year and a half ago, we knew how important her big family is to her,” the memo reads. “When your father asks you to help run your campaign, it’s a hard one to say no to. We thank Abby for her unique, intelligent, insightful and relatable voice that she brought to the show both in front of and behind the camera. We will truly miss her and her great spirit professionally and personally.”

“After much deliberation over the holidays, I have decided to leave the show to dedicate myself full-time in support of my dad and his campaign for Governor of Utah,” Huntsman wrote in her own memo. “You know I think the world of all of you… ABC will always hold a special place in my heart, and so will all of you.”

With Huntsman out, Meghan McCain will be the only conservative voice at the table. The other remaining co-hosts are Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar and Sunny Hostin.

Huntsman’s father is now serving as President Donald Trump’s Ambassador to Russia. He previously served as the Ambassador to China under President Barack Obama and was Utah Governor from 2005 to 2009. He was in the middle of his second term when Obama appointed him Ambassador to China. During Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton’s administrations, Jon Hunstman served as the Ambassador to Singapore.

Huntsman will serve as a senior advisor to her father’s campaign. A source told Fox News her father asked her if she would be interested in joining the campaign in November, when he announced he was running for the office again.

Over the weekend, Huntsman hinted that she was joining her father’s campaign when she shared a photo with him on Instagram. “Back to my Utah roots campaigning with this guy,” she wrote. “Democracy in action.”

Photo credit: ABC/Paula Lobo