Barbara Walters acted as a beard for Trump's mentor: Roy Cohen. Roy Cohen was (like Peter Thiel) a fascist criminal by way of being a self hating gay man.

Barbara Walters acted as his beard, on Roys arm at big events to look like they were dating, and saving him the shame of coming out and being who he was.

At the same time Roy was picking up men in nightclubs and telling the Regans to demonize gay people and refuse them help during the AIDs epidemic (like I said, a self hating gay, Roy eventually died of AIDs).

Roy Cohen earlier in his life wanted to keep the Red Scare McCarthy trials going, so started similar against gays in the millitary (it was called the Lavender Scare).

This is much the same psychology as Thiel destroying Gawker for outting him, or Thiel aligning himself with the anti-gay, anti-trans rightwing.

So yeah, Barbara Walters chooses to be a certain way with certain people. She also asked Dolly Parton if Dolly was a joke, a hillbilly.