Friday’s edition of ABC’s The View was exactly what one expected it to be after former President Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts. Between TMI admissions that they were “leaking” with excitement in the aisle of a store and pearl-clutching exasperations of how far America had fallen and the obligatory demands he be sent to prison, the Cackling Coven’s reactions had it all.
From the get-go, things were out of the ordinary as moderator Whoopi Goldberg was on set. “Now, do not adjust your TV set. Yes, I’m here on a Friday. Because this is a very unique moment in history. That’s why we’re all at the table,” she announced, showing off all six co-hosts.
With co-host Joy Behar telling her not to “choke” when announcing the news, Goldberg had to stifle a laugh and flubbed when she proclaimed Trump was a “confected” felon before correcting herself. She also uncharacteristically used Trump’s full name (Donald John Trump) instead of her usual “you-know-who.”
According to Behar’s own admission, news of Trump’s conviction (via her smartwatch) left her so excited that her incontinence kicked in and she wet herself in the aisle of her local Costco:
BEHAR: Well, my reaction I was at Costco buying ten boxes of Keurig coffee and my watch started to buzz and I got so excited I started leaking a little bit.
[Laughter]
But wait, this is what I had to say!
GOLDBERG: So, you’re the leaker.
BEHAR: I’m the leaker.
Faux-Republican Ana Navarro self-diagnosed her reaction with schizophrenia:
I really felt and still feel like I’m in a surrealist Fellini movie. Is this really happening? And I was schizophrenic because part of me was like, “yay” and part of me was like, “you know, this is really serious,” “yay,” “this is really serious,” now this is a man – “yay” – This is a man who made my life a living Hell for four years, has made the life of our country a living Hell for six years, so he deserves to be accountable.
Pretend-independent Sara Haines lamented how she was going to explain all of this to her son. “Because to sit here as a parent or a teacher or an auntie or any leader in this and try to explain to your child that someone who could not vote in this country because they’re a convict could run and rule the country,” she bemoaned. “More questions are coming and I don’t know if I’m ready for them, but it’s scary.”
Sara Haines says it’s “scary” to think about how to explain to her kids how a felon who can’t vote (Trump) could be allowed to run for president. pic.twitter.com/UG0IAF7dOq
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) May 31, 2024
On the more serious end, staunchly racist and anti-Semitic co-host Sunny Hostin (the descendant of slave owners) proclaimed, “I felt like I won” and hinted that she had sources in the district attorney’s office that said they were going to try to get Trump sentenced to a year in prison.
“And that is because when you spend a year in prison in New York or under, you serve in Rikers Island,” Hostin boasted. She was also eager to see Trump inevitably fail his probation check-ins when he got out and be sent back:
And finally very, very quickly. When you violate parole, there’s something called a VOP, a violation of probation hearing. You have to show up to probation. A man with a temperament of a toddler cannot withstand the — all of the things that you would have to do to be on probation and that means he could be sent BACK to Rikers!
She also looks forward to Trump violating his parole and being sent back to Rikers after his prison sentence:
“a man with a temperament of a toddler cannot withstand all of the things that you would have to do to be on probation and that
means he could be sent back to Rikers!” pic.twitter.com/hx3aSnCpd2— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) May 31, 2024
Further, Goldberg chimed in with a common refrain among some in the liberal media that anything less than prison time would be Trump getting special treatment:
But I want the judge to give him six months. Can I tell you why and then you tell me everything? I want him to give him six months, because one of the things that we’re hearing from all these young men that we’ve been talking to is that they love him because he has no consequences. He’s a man — they keep talking about how manly he is. He doesn’t have to do anything — And I feel like if we’re going to treat this man who used to be president like everybody else, you’re convicted of felonies, you got to do a little bit of time and then you have to say to the judge, “You know, I did this, I’m sorry.” He has — you know, this is what you would all have to do if you were trying to get out.
She was also hoping that Merchan wouldn’t give Trump any time to prepare and send him straight to prison after sentencing. “He could say, ‘Yeah, you’re going to do this and you’re going in tomorrow,’” she declared, pretending to the judge.
Faux-conservative co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin was nervous that the conviction would give Trump an extra push to win the election and he “get away.”
The transcript is below. Click “expand” to read:
ABC’s The View
May 31, 2024
11:02:29 a.m. EasternWHOOPI GOLDBERG: Now, do not adjust your TV set. Yes, I’m here on a Friday. Because this is a very unique moment in history. That’s why we’re all at the table.
[Cheers and applause]
So, I’m going to say something you’ve never ever heard me say before, but [dramatic pause and stifled laugh] Donald John Trump [dramatic pause]
JOY BEHAR: Don’t choke.
[Cheers]
GOLDBERG: Is a confected – convicted felon.
[Cheers and applause]
(…)
11:05:09 a.m. Eastern
BEHAR: Well, can I say one thing?
GOLDBERG: Yeah, what was your reaction?
BEHAR: Well, my reaction I was at Costco buying ten boxes of Keurig coffee and my watch started to buzz and I got so excited I started leaking a little bit.
[Laughter]
But wait, this is what I had to say!
GOLDBERG: So, you’re the leaker.
BEHAR: I’m the leaker.
(…)
11:07:33 a.m. Eastern
ANA NAVARRO: I really felt and still feel like I’m in a surrealist Fellini movie. Is this really happening? And I was schizophrenic because part of me was like, “yay” and part of me was like, “you know, this is really serious,” “yay,” “this is really serious,” now this is a man – “yay” – This is a man who made my life a living Hell for four years, has made the life of our country a living Hell for six years, so he deserves to be accountable.
(…)
11:09:49 a.m. Eastern
SARA HAINES: I’m trying to be open and honest and teach him how to have his own opinions and things. And as I’m sitting there I’m thinking, “Thank God he asked me on Saturday or Sunday.” Because to sit here as a parent or a teacher or an auntie or any leader in this and try to explain to your child that someone who could not vote in this country because they’re a convict could run and rule the country.
He understands criminal, he understands jail, he understands policemen. If you say man is doing this and try to explain how it’s possible — more questions are coming and I don’t know if I’m ready for them, but it’s scary.
(…)
11:10:49 a.m. Eastern
SUNNY HOSTIN: I didn’t feel somber! I felt like the Knicks won the tournament! I felt like America won!
BEHAR: Yep.
HOSTIN: I felt like New York won! I felt like the Manhattan DA’s office won! I felt like I won!
(…)
11:17:40 a.m. Eastern
GOLDBERG: So, welcome back. These are the things that I wanted to ask y’all about because I want — because this is great to see that our justice system can work. It does work because we haven’t seen this for a while, and particularly with him.
But, you know, the judge is going to have to sentence him and one of the things that’s been bothering me is, I keep hearing all these pundits saying, “You know, he’s a first-time offender. You know, it’s not going—” And I’m thinking to myself, “Wait a minute, you got 175,000 cases where people are coming for you, so you’re not a first-offender and wouldn’t this go to the kind of habits that you have in terms of your rhetoric?”
But I want the judge to give him six months. Can I tell you why and then you tell me everything? I want him to give him six months, because one of the things that we’re hearing from all these young men that we’ve been talking to is that they love him because he has no consequences. He’s a man — they keep talking about how manly he is. He doesn’t have to do anything — And I feel like if we’re going to treat this man who used to be president like everybody else, you’re convicted of felonies, you got to do a little bit of time and then you have to say to the judge, “You know, I did this, I’m sorry.” He has — you know, this is what you would all have to do if you were trying to get out.
NAVARRO: Show remorse.
GOLDBERG: Show remorse.
HOSTIN: Can I answer that question because –
BEHAR: So, lock him up basically at least.
HOSTIN: — I think it’s a very important point.
Judge Merchan has — I think he has really done a good job in terms of keeping that courtroom together. I spent the morning speaking to someone in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. They’re called street fighters. He believes they will recommend a one-year term in prison. And that is because when you spend a year in prison in New York or under, you serve in Rikers Island. Okay?
[Applause]
Also, I did some research. The other thing I’d like to say is the other reason that they will do this is because he has shown an utter disregard for our institutions. And prosecutors, when you are recommending a sentence, you are not just recommending a sentence so that they can be rehabilitated or so that they can be punished, you are sending a message to the community.
GOLDBERG: Yes.
HOSTIN: That this is not going to happen again. This is not okay. The other thing I want to say is that there’s another thing that they will likely recommend is a six-month split. Six months at Rikers and then the rest, five years, 4 1/2 years of probation. That is under New York law.
BEHAR: And six months at this table!
[Laughter]
HOSTIN: And finally very, very quickly. When you violate parole, there’s something called a VOP, a violation of probation hearing. You have to show up to probation. A man with a temperament of a toddler cannot withstand the — all of the things that you would have to do to be on probation and that means he could be sent BACK to Rikers!
(…)
11:21:33 a.m. Eastern
GOLDBERG: You know, one of the things that we always have to remember is the judge, this is at his discretion. He will make this decision.
HOSTIN: Yes, it is. Yes, it is.
GOLDBERG: He could say, yeah, you’re going to do this and you’re going in tomorrow.
HOSTIN: And sentencing is July 11th. And I think that he has the chutzpa to do that.
(…)