President Obama had reportedly intended to announce his support for gay marriage in an upcoming appearance on "The View" on May 15, according to a source for CNN.
On Wednesday, the president endorsed same-sex marriage in an exclusive ABC News interview with Robin Roberts. Obama made the landmark move days after Vice President Biden appeared to voice his support for gay marriage on "Meet the Press."
One source told CNN that he had actually planned to make the big announcement on "The View."
His appearance had been booked for weeks, according to a senior administration official, and his campaign believed that he could address Biden's comments then. It was decided, however, that Obama would deliver the endorsement in an exclusive ABC News with Robin Roberts on Wednesday.
Walters opened Thursday's show with news of Obama's upcoming appearance, which she said would be his first interview since the major announcement.
She suggested that gay marriage will be a prominent topic in their discussion. "It will be his very first interview since coming out in support of same-sex marriage," she said. "I think we wanna know what the reaction is, that he's had, especially since 30 states have bans on same-sex marriage."
The appearance will be Obama's second on the show since he became president. He will be taping the segment on Monday.
On Thursday, Joy Behar said that the endorsement was what Obama "needed to do" to rally his base, and showed that he had "core values."
Co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who has been adamant in her support of gay marriage, questioned the accolades he has received since Wednesday.
"Do you feel the same way about Dick Cheney?" she asked Behar. "Cause he's had this stance for a long time yet you didn't throw him a party when he came out in support of gay marriage."
She said that some gay Republicans have criticized Obama, calling the endorsement "no moment of courage" because he has "long held both positions" on the issue.
For their part, Sherri Shepherd and Whoopi Goldberg said that they did not think Obama's announcement would hurt him in the election.