Whoopi Goldberg perplexed her The View co-hosts when she said she was’sad’ about Donald Trump’s charge.
On Tuesday afternoon, the former US president pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in Manhattan Criminal Court, and could face up to 136 years in prison for his alleged role in a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to silence her claims of an affair with him.
Bringing up the topic, Whoopi began on Tuesday’s The View: ‘How are you feeling about a historic day? You know, it’s sad, but I’m glad something’s happening.’
Her co-stars were a little confused as she called the situation ‘sad’, with Joy Behar replying: ‘It’s not sad! What’s sad?’
Whoopi was forced to clarify: ‘Well sad that it’s an American president.’
‘Oh, that’s sad,’ Joy agreed, as Whoopi continued: ‘That’s what I’m saying!’
Joy added: ‘But the fact that he is being called in for questioning, and he’s being indicted because he’s committed certain crimes. It’s not sad, that’s American justice.’
‘Again, it’s an American president for the first time in any of our last times,’ Whoopi said.
‘I don’t think any of us could have really imagined this.’
Sunny Hostin replied: ‘I imagined it!’ causing chuckles from the audience.
‘I mean, I never… with other presidents,’ Whoopi said, while Sunny replied she could never see President Obama do something like this.
Whoopi added: ‘Or even with Bush! As angry as we got with Bush, I don’t think anybody that this was the direction we’d ever be headed.’
Trump attacked the criminal allegations against him shortly after his indictment, declaring that “our country is going to hell” in a combative address following his hearing.
‘We have to save our nation, god bless you all,’ the former US president said from the ballroom of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, hours after being fingerprinted in a Manhattan courtroom.
‘God bless you all. And I never thought anything like this could happen in America, never thought it could happen.
‘The only crime that I have ever committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it.’
The View airs on ABC in the US.
