Why Alyssa Farah Griffin is not on The View today

Alyssa Farah Griffin was not at the The View's Hot Topics table on Thursday due to illness.

"Alyssa is not here today, she's out," Whoopi Goldberg explained at the top of the broadcast. "She'll be back probably tomorrow. She's not feeling well."

Griffin, who previously missed shows in March due to COVID, confirmed Goldberg's diagnosis on her Instagram Story. "Out sick with a cold but don't feel bad for me: this is my view," the Republican panelist wrote, sharing a photo of her dog, Herbie, cuddled up with her in a fuzzy blue blanket.

While Griffin wasn't physically present on Thursday, she still made an appearance on the episode during a pre-recorded interview with John Legend. Her absence, however, meant that the former Donald Trump communications team member was unable to weigh in on the day's Hot Topics, including last night's Republican presidential debate.

And, suffice to say, her co-hosts weren't exactly impressed by the nominees' performances.

"They're all there for a different reason it seems rather than running for president," Joy Behar said. "Vivek Ramaswamy wants a job on ABC News, some kind of job on television. Chris Christie seems to be trying to repair his image as a Trump supporter by going in the other direction because Trump made a fool out of him. Who else is there again? Nikki Haley is doing pretty well, but she's young and she's setting herself for 2028 or maybe beyond that."

She then quoted MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell, who reportedly said that "the debates are only in case Trump chokes on a cheeseburger" and the Republican party suddenly needs a new candidate.

Echoing Behar, Sunny Hostin added that she believes Trump is the "presumptive nominee unless, I think, he gets convicted of criminal charges or chokes on a cheeseburger."

Griffin spoke up for the other Republican candidates during a Hot Topics discussion about an earlier debate in September, praising Haley's stances on energy and Ukraine before getting annoyed when the show's music cut off the point she was trying to make.

"Nevermind," she said as Behar encouraged her to continue. "It's fine, I had a lot more to say."

"Unfortunately," Goldberg replied, "it's only an hour show, so we can't do that."

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