Whoopi Goldberg made a joke on air about the hypothetical assassination of President-elect Donald Trump by the incoming Vice President and the richest man in the world.
Her off-color comment on The View Thursday cast Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk as the conniving, potential culprits during a conversation about Musk’s growing influence.
Late last month, Goldberg, 69, insinuated that Musk was Trump’s “real” vice president, claiming to her fellow hosts that his new position within the looming administration and his decision-making power effectively make him second-in-command.
‘Who’s in charge? Because I’ve been saying it for a while. I’ll say it already: I think Elon Musk believes he is president. That’s what I do,” Goldberg said on the talk show.
“Hey, you know who (Trump) – stay away from the stairs,” she continued
‘Cause you know, people stick out their leg to trip you up when you’re coming down the stairs. Look after.’
The statement immediately drew a mix of laughter and applause from the live studio audience, and saw Goldberg again avoid saying the president-elect’s name.
The conversation lasted until the commercial break, with Musk remaining the main topic.
Whoopi Goldberg made a joke on air about the hypothetical assassination of newly elected President Donald Trump by the incoming Vice President and the richest man in the world
The off-color comment cast Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk as the conspiring potential culprits during a conversation about Musk’s growing influence.
After returning from the break, Goldberg quickly tried to limit the damage.
“I have to clear something up,” Goldberg, who has long been critical of Trump, said when the show returned.
‘My cat is waiting for me on the stairs all the time.
“That’s what I meant,” she continued.
‘I was thinking about that. “I wasn’t trying to convey that they were actually standing there with their legs out hoping he would stumble.”
After a brief break, co-host Sunny Hostin stepped in to further clarify her co-host’s comments.
“Nobody wants to see anything done to the president,” she said, as the panel of five women seemed eager to ignore the comments.
Goldberg then enigmatically exclaimed, “It was light-hearted and it’s the holidays, come on!” My goodness.’
‘Who’s in charge? Because I’ve been saying it for a while. I’ll say it already: I think Elon Musk believes he is president. I do,” Goldberg said. ‘Hey, you know who (Trump) – stay away from the stairs’
‘Cause you know, people stick out their leg to trip you up when you’re coming down the stairs. Take care,” Goldberg said, setting the stage for frantic damage control by the panelists
After a brief break, co-host Sunny Hostin stepped in to further clarify her co-host’s comments
A more serious Hostin added, “You didn’t mean for anyone to hurt the president.”
“No,” Goldberg said, before going on to explain her controversial comments — raising her cat for the second time.
“The thing about this show is you can’t step in shit,” the 17-year View veteran said. ‘There’s no way to do it. There’s no way not to do it. I have a cat that does it to me every day, and that was the reason.”
While this was happening, lawmakers in the House of Representatives were reportedly left fuming over Musk exerting his burgeoning influence, after the crisis over the bipartisan spending bill was escalated by Trump himself the day before.
Trump voiced his own criticism of the deal, calling it “a betrayal of our country.”
Musk, meanwhile, falsely claimed that the deal Trump said favored Democrats included new aid for Ukraine and $3 billion in funds for a new stadium in Washington.
Meanwhile, the likelihood of a government shutdown that the spending bill sought to prevent has increased, leading to Goldberg’s comments.
It also prompted some comments from Senator Bernie Sanders, with the Vermont politician sarcastically referring to Musk as the president.
Late last month, Goldberg, 69, insinuated that Musk was Trump’s “real” vice president, claiming to her fellow panelists that his new position within the looming administration and decision-making power actually makes him the real second-in-command.
These comments came up during a discussion about the stream of liberals leaving Musk’s
House Speaker Mike Johnson has drafted the spending bill that remains in limbo — and Trump’s lack of support could signal a conservative severing of ties as the congressman faces re-election in a few weeks
“Democrats and Republicans have spent months negotiating a bipartisan deal to fund our government,” Sanders wrote on X.
“The richest man on earth, President Elon Musk, doesn’t like it. Will Republicans kiss the ring? Billionaires should not be allowed to run our government.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, meanwhile, is the author of the bill — and Trump’s lack of support could indicate conservatives are cutting ties as the congressman faces re-election in a few weeks.
He and other Republicans in the House of Representatives are now trying to revise the 1,547-page plan to extend government funding through March before Friday’s deadline after provisions in the measure were pushed back.
The bill includes additional disaster spending for communities affected by Hurricane Helene, but also includes pay increases for members of Congress and other unrelated spending priorities.