Whoopi Goldberg got into a heated exchange with radio host Charlamagne tha God during his appearance on “The View,” when the topic turned to Hunter Biden’s sweeping pardon.
Charlamagne, a prominent liberal radio personality from “The Breakfast Club,” criticized Democrats for what he saw as a tendency to present themselves as morally superior, leaving them vulnerable to backlash.
“Democrats stand on this moral high ground all the time, and, you know, they act so self-righteous,” he began.
“The reality is [President Biden] didn’t have to say anything in regards to whether or not his son wanted to be pardoned.”
When he accused Biden of going against his own declaration that “no one is above the law,” he was cut off mid-sentence by Goldberg.
“I’m going to stop you for a second,” she said, as Charlamagne looked visibly stunned. “Only because you don’t know that it was a lie. We don’t know why he changed his mind.”
“I think he changed his mind because he got sick of watching everybody else get over,” she claimed.
“And this is just my feeling because at some point you get to a place where you just go, ‘So I’m just going to follow the straight and narrow always,’ because that is what is expected of Democrats,” Goldberg defended.
Charlamagne stood his ground, suggesting that Democrats bring criticism upon themselves by fostering an image of self-righteousness, and Goldberg essentially taunted him, asking if he was “mad” about Biden’s actions.
Naturally, she then turned the conversation toward Donald Trump, questioning why media reactions to Trump’s frequent policy reversals seemed muted in comparison.
Charlamagne pushed back against her point, suggesting that today’s political landscape is more about tribal allegiance than genuine critique.
“We’ve turned political parties into teams,” he said. “If you pick a side, you refuse to be objective about anything.”
He added that Democrats and Republicans alike rarely admit wrongdoing, and when Goldberg pushed back, he asked why she “can’t say when Democrats are wrong.”
Goldberg got heated when she shot back, “I’ll tell you when Democrats are wrong.” Charlamagne asked, “So you don’t think Joe Biden is wrong?”
“I don’t,” she hissed back.
“Well, that’s ridiculous,” Charlamagne countered, to which Goldberg replied, “You’re ridiculous.”
“I didn’t say, ‘You’re ridiculous,’ Miss Goldberg,” he retorted. “I just think that’s ridiculous.”
Sunny Hostin stepped in reign in the argument before Goldberg melted down further. According to her, Biden’s move to pardon Hunter wasn’t a contradiction but a “pragmatic” decision.
Sara Haines then diverted the discussion to another angle, asking Charlamagne if he thought the media could ever cover Trump without bias.
He bluntly responded, “The didn’t do it before, why would they do it now?”
At that point, the women of the view collectively lost their minds at once, arguing that their show had always prided itself on honest coverage.
Charlamagne wasn’t convinced, referencing the numerous legal disclaimers Hostin was sometimes required to read on-air after discussions about Trump.
He pointed out, “I saw you had to apologize a couple times last week. So somebody is coming with some notes from downstairs.”
Hostin defended herself, asserting, “I’m not apologizing, I’m making a legal note as an attorney at law.”
The conversation later veered into a contentious discussion on gender roles in the military, focusing on Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Defense Department.
While lying about Pete Hegseth’s position about women in the military (falsely claim he doesn’t women there at all, when he was was talking about frontline infantry), Whoopi Goldberg suggests he and people like him want to eliminate women from the American population. pic.twitter.com/P0VYrfJB1W
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) December 4, 2024
Goldberg accused Hegseth of wanting to exclude women from military service entirely.
Her statement drew laughs and applause from the audience when she sarcastically added, “That does not seem to be a good way to keep people in a VOLUNTEER ARMY.”
Alyssa Farah Griffin backed Goldberg, considering it a ridiculous position given the military’s ongoing recruitment crisis.
“The U.S. military has a recruitment crisis, we need more people to volunteer, including women,” she remarked.
Sunny Hostin chimed in, noting that recruitment difficulties largely affect men. “Don’t worry, we got you. The women got you,” Goldberg jumped in.
“You know, when you get rid of us — if you get rid of the women, you getting rid of half the population. That’s not a smart move to make,” she added.
Hegseth, however, had previously clarified that he wasn’t opposed to women serving in the military but argued that combat roles should remain reserved for men.
On “The Shawn Ryan Show,” Hegseth remarked, “I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles.”
“It hasn’t made us more effective, hasn’t made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated,” he continued.
“We’ve all served with women and they’re great, just — our institution don’t have to incentivize that in places where traditionally — not traditionally, over human history — men in those positions are more capable.”