The View's Alyssa Farah Griffin reveals heartbreaking struggles of being an Arab American - despite being counted as 'white' on US Census: 'Culturally we're treated as brown'
- Alyssa, 34, is Lebanese and Syrian on father Joseph Farah's side of the family
- TV host confirmed she views herself as 'an American first and foremost'
- Former White House aide said she was 'really proud' of her Arab heritage
Alyssa Farah Griffin has opened up about the difficulties she faces as an Arab-American in the US where she is 'culturally treated as brown' - but has to mark herself as Caucasian on the Census form.
The View host, 34, who sees herself as 'an American first and foremost', said she was 'proud' of her heritage, which is a mix of Lebanese and Syrian from her father, Joseph Farah, and Ukrainian and Polish from her mother, Judy.
Alyssa discussed her mixed heritage on the latest episode of The View: Behind the Table podcast, with executive producer Brian Teta asking if she had 'ever struggled with her identity.'
'Somebody made a joke and said, "you really hit every conflict zone with your make up!" I'm really proud of my Arab heritage,' she said.
![Alyssa Farah Griffin, 34, has opened up about the difficulties of being an Arab American in the US](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/18/16/76710667-12644847-image-m-2_1697641953355.jpg)
Alyssa Farah Griffin, 34, has opened up about the difficulties of being an Arab American in the US
![Alyssa (right) confirmed she was Polish and Ukrainian on mother Judy's (center) side](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/18/16/76710559-12644847-image-m-12_1697642054541.jpg)
Alyssa (right) confirmed she was Polish and Ukrainian on mother Judy's (center) side
![The TV star's father is journalist Joseph Farah who is of Syrian and Lebanese descent](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/18/16/76709781-12644847-image-m-14_1697643142736.jpg)
The TV star's father is journalist Joseph Farah who is of Syrian and Lebanese descent
'But being an Arab American is kind of odd. On the US Census there's not a box for us, so I usually just check Caucasian, but culturally we're treated as brown, while like technically we're treated as white.'
She recalled how she dealt with increased scrutiny over her name in the years immediately after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, but said she has now learned to feel proud of her heritage.
'It's a dark joke that I've made within my family but we used to say, "add a Farah 15 when you go to airport," because if you had an Arab surname in the post 9/11 era, there was a long time where it was like, "you're gonna get the extra screening, you're gonna get the extra scrutiny,"' she said.
'I dealt with that a lot more - or felt it a lot more - probably 10 or 15 years ago... now it's something I'm proud of, but it does make me really engaged in the region, and caring about it a lot more. And it does give me a perspective that informs my view points of the world.'
The former White House Director of Strategic Communications also opened up about her 'heartbreak' for those living in war-torn Syria and said she wanted to use her voice to 'advocate' for those affected.
She continued: 'I'm an American first and foremost, but I want to see good for the part of the world my family came from and it's been so many years of heartbreak, particularly in Syria.
'I was at the Department of Defense when Turkey invaded Syria and countless Kurdish Syrians were killed and it was draining to see that period and know that just a handful of different life events put me somewhere totally different, safe and protected from it.
'The people who look like me, who sound like me, are living in such a different and heartbreaking world so I always want to use my voice to advocate for people in those parts of the world who have just been through so many different iterations of the heartbreak of terrorism.'
Alyssa, whose family were Christian Arabs and Muslim, said when she was working for the White House she would 'talk about the evils of terrorism,' but 'separate them from the vast majority of the Muslim population which is a peaceful... good people'.
![Referring to her heritage, the brunette revealed she didn't really 'talk about it much' on The View unless it 'folds into the conversation'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/18/17/76713805-12644847-image-m-26_1697645393564.jpg)
Referring to her heritage, the brunette revealed she didn't really 'talk about it much' on The View unless it 'folds into the conversation'
![Alyssa pictured with her mom Judy and her husband, Justin Griffin, back in 2021](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/18/16/76709865-12644847-image-m-16_1697643253738.jpg)
Alyssa pictured with her mom Judy and her husband, Justin Griffin, back in 2021
![Alyssa, pictured here as a young child, said she viewed herself as 'an American first and foremost'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/18/16/76710555-12644847-image-a-17_1697643589019.jpg)
Alyssa, pictured here as a young child, said she viewed herself as 'an American first and foremost'
Alyssa said she didn't really 'talk about [her heritage] much' on The View unless it 'folds into the conversation'.
But she opened up about her father on the show last year, revealing why he was a no-show at her wedding to Justin Griffin in 2021.
The brunette confirmed that her conservative father and her stepmother, Elizabeth Graham, 'didn't want to attend' her nuptials after she publicly criticized former President Donald Trump - who she used to work for.
Alyssa said at the time: 'I recently got married back in November, and this is such a tough topic, so keep in mind two things: COVID has made people shrink their friend groups, their family groups. People aren't being around each other if they are not open to getting vaccinated. Add to that, political polarization.'
'In my situation, personally, I had to deal with two people very close to me, my father and stepmother, who didn't want to attend my wedding,' she added.
When her co-host Joy Behar asked why they skipped the event, Alyssa blamed it on 'political differences after I spoke out against President Trump.'
Alyssa and Justin tied the knot at Windsor Properties, a private sporting club in Vero Beach, Florida. She noted that the family feud was one-sided and not something she was willing to ruin her wedding day over.
'The answer was simple. Like, I love them. They were welcome to be there on my end,' she explained. 'But if they didn't want to be there, why would I interrupt my special day by trying to have them there?'
![Alyssa married her long-term partner, Justin, in Florida in November 2021](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/18/17/54085677-12644847-Farah_and_Griffin_tied_the_know_at_Windsor_Properties_a_private_-m-31_1697645762766.jpg)
Alyssa married her long-term partner, Justin, in Florida in November 2021
![Alyssa confirmed that her father didn't attend her lavish wedding after she 'spoke out against President Trump'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/18/16/76711327-12644847-image-m-19_1697643799239.jpg)
Alyssa confirmed that her father didn't attend her lavish wedding after she 'spoke out against President Trump'
![Alyssa worked at the White House as director of strategic communications during Trump's presidency](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/18/17/75648165-12644847-Alyssa_worked_at_the_White_House_during_Donald_Trump_s_presidenc-a-27_1697645503059.jpg)
Alyssa worked at the White House as director of strategic communications during Trump's presidency
Her father, Joseph, is the founder of the conservative news and conspiracy website WorldNetDaily, which he launched in 1997, serving as both the editor-in-chief and CEO.
Alyssa served as the White House director of communications for eight months under Trump when she resigned in December 2020, a month before he vacated office.
She had also served in several other administration roles before that, including then-Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary and the Pentagon press secretary before coming back to the White House.
Upon handing in her resignation on December 3, 2020, Alyssa tweeted: 'It's been the honor of a lifetime to serve in the Trump Administration over the last 3 and a half years, first as Press Secretary to @VP Pence, then as Press Secretary for the @DeptofDefense, & most recently as White House Communications Director.'
At the time, the President - along with his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani - had launched several legal challenges over the outcome of the presidential election.
A month after Alyssa quit, Trump held his infamous rally in front of the White House on January 6, 2020 - the day Congress moved to certify the election for Joe Biden and a trove of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol to stop them from doing so.
Alyssa was quick to denounce the attack after having publicly condemned Trump supporters for harassing Mitt Romney the day before.
On January 8, 2021, she blamed Trump for inciting the insurrection and suggested that he should resign as the House moved to impeach the outgoing president for the second time of his administration.
Alyssa didn't specify what she said about Trump that angered her father and stepmother enough to skip her wedding.