When Palin’s schedule did not allow for her to guest host, Palin’s advisers left the invitation as an open question. This backstory makes Walters’s refusal to defend Palin’s special needs son, Trig, from Bill Maher’s “retarded” attacks even more interesting.

Walters, who grew up with a special needs sister, said on June 17 on The View that she did not think Maher was “mean-spirited” when he referred to Palin’s son as “retarded.” Walters speculated that Maher did not know the word could be hurtful. Maher, it should be noted, has had a history of making degrading and malicious comments toward women and kids with special needs. And as Breitbart News’ John Nolte pointed out, even Walters’s in-studio audience was not buying this defense and was left silent.

Palin adviser Doug McMarlin told Breitbart News, “A few weeks ago, Barbara Walters invited Governor Palin to guest host The View, schedules didn’t work, and now she and Whoopi are defending this despicable behavior attacking Governor Palin’s young special needs son.”