Whoopi Goldberg made a joke on air about the hypothetical assassination of President-elect Donald Trump at the hands of the Vice President-elect and the richest man on the planet.
Her off-color commentary on The View Thursday framed Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk as the conspiring, would-be culprits during a conversation about Musk’s growing influence.
Late last month, Goldberg, 69, insinuated that Musk was Trump’s “real” vice president, arguing to his fellow hosts that his new position within the looming administration and decision-making power effectively makes him second in command.
‘Who is responsible? Because I’ve been saying it for a while. I’ve said it – I think Elon Musk thinks he’s president. I do, Goldberg said on the talk show.
“Hey, you know who (Trump) — stay off the stairs,” she continued
‘Cause, you know, people stick their leg out to trip you down the stairs. Look out.’
The statement immediately drew a mixture of laughter and applause from the live studio audience, and saw Goldberg once again avoid saying the president-elect’s name.
The conversation continued until the commercial break, with Musk remaining the main topic.
Whoopi Goldberg made an on-air joke about the hypothetical assassination of President-elect Donald Trump at the hands of the Vice President-elect and the richest man on the planet
The off-color commentary framed Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk as the conspiring, would-be culprits, during a conversation surrounding Musk’s growing influence
After returning from break, Goldberg quickly attempted damage control.
“I have to clean something up,” Goldberg, who has long been critical of Trump, said when the show returned.
‘My cat is waiting for me on my stairs all the time.
“That’s what I meant,” she continued.
‘I thought about it. I wasn’t trying to imply that they were actually standing there with their legs out hoping he would trip.’
After a brief beat, co-host Sunny Hostin jumped in to further clarify her co-host’s comments.
“No one wants the president to do anything,” she said, as the five-woman panel appeared eager to move past the comments.
Goldberg then bafflingly proclaimed: ‘It was lighthearted and it’s the holidays, come on! My God.’
‘Who is responsible? Because I’ve been saying it for a while. I’ve said it – I think Elon Musk thinks he’s president. I do, Goldberg said. “Hey, you know who (Trump) – stay off the stairs”
‘Cause, you know, people stick their leg out to trip you down the stairs. Watch out, Goldberg said, leading to some frantic damage control from the panelists
After a short beat, co-host Sunny Hostin jumped in to further clarify his co-host’s comments
A more serious Hostin added: “You didn’t mean for anyone to hurt the president.”
“No,” Goldberg said before setting out to explain her controversial comments – by bringing up her cat for the second time.
“The thing about this show, there’s no way not to step in poop,” the 17-year View veteran said. ‘There is no way to do that. There is no way not to. I have a cat that does that to me every day – and that’s what triggered it.’
As it happened, lawmakers on the House floor were reportedly left fuming over Musk exerting his burgeoning influence, after the crisis over the bipartisan spending bill was escalated the day before by Trump himself.
Trump issued his own barbs about the deal, calling it “a betrayal of our country.”
Musk, meanwhile, falsely claimed the deal Trump said favored Democrats included new aid to 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 avert has intensified, leading to Goldberg’s comments.
It also drew some comments from Sen. Bernie Sanders, with the Vermont politician sarcastically referring to Musk as president.
Late last month, Goldberg, 69, insinuated that Musk was Trump’s “real” vice president, arguing to fellow panelists that his new position within the looming administration and decision-making power effectively makes him the de facto second-in-command.
Those comments surfaced during a discussion about the flood of liberals leaving Musk’s X, and resurfaced this week during talks about a bipartisan deal to avoid a partial government shutdown — with Vance the apparent victim
House Speaker Mike Johnson authored the spending bill that remains in limbo — and Trump’s lack of support could indicate conservatives are cutting ties as the congressman faces re-election in a few weeks.
“Democrats and Republicans 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 the Republicans kiss the ring? Billionaires must not be allowed to run our government.’
House Speaker Mike Johnson, meanwhile, authored the bill — and Trump’s lack of support could signal conservatives cutting ties as the congressman faces re-election in a few weeks.
He and other House Republicans are now scrambling to revise the 1,547-page plan to extend state funding through March before Friday’s deadline after pushback over provisions in the measure.
The bill includes additional disaster spending for communities affected by Hurricane Helene but also includes pay raises for members of Congress and other unrelated spending priorities.
