The View‘s Whoopi Goldberg was handed a note live on air Monday asking her to clarify a statement she made about President Donald Trump – leading Goldberg to angrily tear the message up in protest.
The note – which the Daily Mail has learned came from producers on the show – was handed to Goldberg by co-host Sunny Hostin during an exchange about presidents using an autopen to sign documents.
While discussing Trump’s appearance on 60 Minutes the previous night, Hostin zeroed in on Trump’s recent pardoning of convicted Binance fraudster Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, after the president admitted he had ‘no idea’ who Zhao was during the interview.
‘How come you don’t know who this guy is?’ she asked about Zhao, who pleaded guilty to failing to sufficiently combat money laundering on his cryptocurrency exchange in late 2023.
‘Because he used an autopen,’ Goldberg cut in, suggesting Trump may not have known about the pardon.
As the conversation moved on, Hostin subtly passed a note to Goldberg across the table.
‘What the hell? What? “We don’t know if Trump used an autopen to pardon,” Goldberg said as she read it. ‘It was a joke!’
‘Yes, we don’t know whether Trump used an autopen to pardon-‘ replied Hostin, a legal expert, as Goldberg continued to complain.
‘Oh, come on!’ Goldberg said, before ripping the note to shreds.
‘Well, I’m sorry. The hardest thing about this job now is no one understands nuance.
‘You know when you hear a joke, when somebody’s fooling around, when they’re not saying something specific. Especially on this show, I’m very specific when I’m…pointing stuff out. When I’m making jokes, you know when I’m making jokes!
‘This is ridiculous,’ Goldberg concluded.
Trump pardoned Zhao on October 23, four months into his 87-month sentence, with a statement from the White House blaming the conviction on the Biden administration’s ‘desire to punish the cryptocurrency industry.’
The View has been known for regularly criticizing the Trump adminstration and the president’s policies while offering mostly kind words for Democrats.
In May, top brass at ABC News and parent company Disney asked the show’s panelists to dial back their constant complaining about Trump.
The White House suggested that The View ‘is the next to be pulled off air,’ after Behar remarked that Trump was ‘jealous’ of former President Barack Obama.
Hellbound and Down 