Selecting MySQL views using $wpdb class

Can I select views using the $wpdb class?

I am unable to select Views in my (custom, non-wordpress) MySQL database using the wpdb class. Is this something that is not allowed, or is my code just wrong? Is there a way to query views the same way I can query tables using wpdb?

For context, this is the wpdb class: https://codex.www.ads-software.com/Class_Reference/wpdb. With that class, I am able to query TABLES of my database. But not Views.

I have tried using the query function, as well as treating a view the same way I treat a table, but it does not work. It returns empty.

Query method:

$test = $mydb->query(
    $mydb->prepare(
    "
             SELECT name FROM $mydb->$view_name
     WHERE id = 1"
     )
    );

    echo $test; //returns empty; should return a name

Treating-it-like-a-table method:

$test = $mydb->get_var(
    "select name from $view_name WHERE id = 1"
    );

echo $test; //returns empty; should return a name

Any suggestions?