This week, things got heated on “The View,” as the show’s host panel debated whether or not President Donald Trump can be labeled a “racist.”
As the show’s co-hosts discussed current events, including the White House’s Black History Month reception, the reinstallment of the previously removed slavery exhibit, and more, Whoopi Goldberg called out President Trump’s mixed messages toward the Black community.
After playing a clip of Trump calling the late Rev. Jesse Jackson a “piece of work,” before expressing his love for Nicki Minaj and her “beautiful skin” during his BHM speech, Savannah Chrisley, who has been serving as a guest co-host, began the conversation saying:
“What’s so hard for me to witness is people stating that the president is a racist because I’ve seen him firsthand.”
Chrisley, daughter of Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were pardoned by Trump last year, tried to note the president’s longstanding relationship with an unnamed Black woman who has worked with him for 18 years and whose life he reportedly “saved.” However, “The View” stars quickly shut down the claim.
“He is a racist,” Sunny Hostin interjected. “So he has a Black friend. He’s a racist.”
Goldberg, who noted the differing opinions at the table, chimed in explaining, “Here’s the problem, Savannah, and why we have a different take on it. When you target DEI programs with executive orders in your first week in office, arguing that the policies undermine national unity. When you share racist posts about the Obamas. When you pursue the death penalty for the Exonerated Five, after you knew they had been exonerated. These are the reasons that his behavior is so hard.”
In addition to his 2025 executive orders, Goldberg called out the 1973 discrimination lawsuit brought against Trump and his company for racial discrimination at Trump housing developments. The lawsuit was ultimately settled with the Department of Justice, forcing the firm to implement safeguards to ensure the properties were being rented to diverse tenants.
“There seems to be no ability in his mind to distinguish between Black people and his idea of what DEI is, and when you really look up and see who this was for, who benefited from DEI, it was not Black folks,” Goldberg continued, reminding everyone that Americans only earned the right to vote in the 1960s.
Adding to her point about the country’s history, Sara Haines noted the removal of certain Black historical facts from government websites and the message it sends.
“When you look at the Pentagon [it] removed web pages honoring Black military figures, people that [fought] for this country, but couldn’t even sit in certain places or drink from certain water fountains and put their lives on the line,” she shared. “He temporarily removed the Tuskegee Airmen, the information on that. Those steps make it very hard not to see what he is saying.”
Ultimately, Hostin shut down the discourse, plainly stating, “Donald Trump is a racist.”
“Let’s call a thing a thing. Donald Trump is a racist. There’s no question in my mind,” she said. “The most recent thing that he did by posting on Truth Social, the Obamas depicted as apes in ‘The Lion King,’ [when] there are no apes in ‘The Lion King.’ That was a racist act. He tried to blame a staffer.”
Though Chrisley tried to affirm claims that a staffer was behind the highly controversial Truth Social post and credited Trump for HBCUs receiving permanent funding for the first time, the panel of co-hosts ultimately agreed to disagree.
“This is the good thing about this show: Everybody has an opinion,” Goldberg said, concluding the tense debate. “We say, ‘I don’t agree, I don’t think this is cool,’ and we can have these conversations. Then we go away and talk about our bra size!”
