The View had a double dose of Donald Trump-related “Hot Topics” on Tuesday’s (January 14) edition, and both of them brought on some disagreements between the cohosts.
First, the panelists — Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, and Alyssa Farah Griffin (since Sara Haines was out for reasons unexplained) — reacted to the release of Jack Smith’s report on his investigation into Trump’s election interference attempts in 2020 with some very scattered takes.
Behar, for one, thought it meant “adios to democracy” that Trump wasn’t held criminally liable for the actions described in the report and predicted “trouble” for the country in his next term in the White House. Goldberg argued that statutes of limitations shouldn’t apply to situations like this, and Hostin agreed with that, maintaining that for the sake of American history, Trump should be re-tried (after finding out from producers that his original charges were dismissed without prejudice) when he leaves office. Griffin vehemently disagreed with that possibility, saying that when Trump leaves office, she doesn’t want to have to talk about him anymore, but Goldberg reminded her that people are “addicted” to Trump news for some reason, no matter whether they want to discuss him or not.
In the second segment, the cohosts reacted to the backlash country singer Carrie Underwood has been receiving for accepting an invitation to perform at Monday’s inauguration of Trump and incoming VP JD Vance.
“I personally hope we’re moving beyond the era of politics where we want to cancel people’s livelihoods because we don’t like their politics. Whether it was the Dixie Chicks for criticizing George Bush — didn’t agree with it then — and Carrie Underwood, if you have a problem, you register your complaint by not downloading your songs and not going to her shows,” Griffin said to start. “But I also think from a business standpoint, it’s not a bad decision for Carrie Underwood. 75 million people voted for Trump. Artists tend to skew left-leaning, so she’s overnight going to become an icon of MAGA and the American right. She’s probably going to make a lot of money off of it. So I get why she did it.”
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Behar then argued that if the invitation were sent her way, she’d firmly decline. “I would not normalize him. And she says, ‘I love our country.’ How do you love your country and support and normalize somebody who was a convicted felon who really wants to destroy the country? In my opinion, I don’t understand how you say you love your country at the same time as you normalize this convicted felon, which I can say now every day,” she said.
Griffin took a slight bit of offense at Behar’s assessment and responded with, “A lot of my family voted for Trump. They love the country and voted for him.” After a beat, she suggested perhaps Behar would be better suited to host a roast of Trump instead.
The conversation then turned to other country icons who notoriously decline to wade into the world of politics, Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton, before turning back to Underwood’s choice.
“I think art is art, and you have a right to perform where you want to perform. I agree with you. Joy. I can’t sing a lick, but I certainly, and I have not been asked, but if I were asked, it would be a hard, ‘No,’” Hostin said.
Goldberg then offered her reasons for not joining the chorus of backlash against Carrie Underwood by evoking the controversy against Morning Joe cohosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski: “People do what they do for whatever reasons. It’s like, Joe and Mika do what they do. They felt that’s what they needed to do. And I got to stand behind them. And I stand behind her,” Goldberg said. “Because if I believe I have the right to make up my mind to go perform someplace, I believe they have the same right… Doesn’t mean I’m particularly interested. I won’t be watching, but that’s me.”
The View, Weekdays, 11 a.m. ET, ABC
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