As the world reels from Donald Trump’s shocking election win, one of his most vocal critics, Whoopi Goldberg, has vowed to not utter his name while hosting The View.
The Hollywood star joined her co-hosts in reacting to Trump’s stunning victory on the most recent episode of the talk show. All six hosts — including Goldberg and outspoken Republican and former Trump aide Alyssa Farah Griffin — had been vocal in their opposition to Trump throughout the presidential race, and it seems his victory has done little to alleviate Goldberg’s concerns.
Barring one slip-up earlier this year, Goldberg has long avoided calling Trump by name on The View, often referring to the 45th and — I can’t believe I’m typing this — now 47th president as “you know who” or the “orange man.” That vow to keep Trump nameless has continued, as Goldberg’s recent comments on the post-election episode prove.
Praising Trump’s opponent, Kamala Harris, for her achievements despite a historically short presidential run, Goldberg said the vice president “was everywhere” and “talked to everybody.” Regardless, the actress lamented the fact that “people didn’t come out” in support of the Democratic candidate, resulting in a country where “he is the president.”
“I’m still not going to say his name,” Goldberg said to much audience applause, “that’s not going to change.” The co-host might be compensating for breaking her own vow to not name Trump on an episode of The View in June. When vaguely discussing Trump during one segment, co-host Joy Behar prompted Goldberg to clarify that she was talking about “Trump,” and she broke the vow by repeating his surname. “Ugh,” Goldberg said following the slip-up, “it was a trick and [Behar] made me do it.”
Goldberg’s more recent comments on The View were part of the panel’s broader discussion of the election, which saw them touch on everything from their sadness and disappointment at a second Trump term, to their concerns for the future, and their hope that the country will undo the division caused by the presidential race.
Perhaps the most resounding sentiment came courtesy of co-host and tireless Harris campaigner Ana Navarro, who lamented how “history slipped through our fingers again.” While the mood was understandably grim — you know, since a convicted felon was elected president for the first time in the nation’s history — Navarro still had a message of hope. “I hope for the best for our country,” the vocal Trump detractor said.
“We can be sad today. Today we can be sad. Tomorrow we stand up and continue.” It marks the conclusion of The View’s heavy involvement in the 2024 presidential race, which at one point prompted a response from the president-elect himself (ugh). Last month, during one of his rallies, Trump recalled working with Goldberg and attacked her for having a “filthy mouth,” claiming he would “never hire her again.”
At the risk of sounding too dire, we should expect four more years of this kind of name-calling from the former, now imminent, president, but at least there’ll be notable figures like Goldberg who will consistently call him out along the way. And she’ll do it without so much as uttering his name. Keep it classy, Whoopi.