The hosts of ABC’s “The View” responded on Wednesday to President Joe Biden’s comment — referring to former President Donald Trump’s supporters as “garbage” — by suggesting that the real problem was the Trump supporters who dared to object to the comparison.
Whoopi Goldberg kicked off the conversation, arguing at first that the reaction to Biden’s remarks — made during a CNN appearance that aired in direct competition with Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign “closing argument” speech — amounted to an overblown “pearl clutch” from the political right.
WATCH:
BIDEN’S ‘GARBAGE’ COMMENT SPARKS GOP BACKLASH: As Pres. Biden attempts to walk back a comment he made, #TheView co-hosts question how it will impact the Harris-Walz ticket. pic.twitter.com/6X3VMi4weZ
— The View (@TheView) October 30, 2024
“President Biden got a lot of blowback over these particular comments about you-know-who,” Goldberg began. “The president — current president — said something and then everybody lost their minds.”
Goldberg played the clip of Biden then, clearly referring to Trump’s supporters as “garbage,” and then pivoted to explain that, since Biden was quick to “clarify” what he’d actually meant, the reaction from those who’d been labeled “garbage” by the sitting President of the United States was excessive.
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Biden explained that he’d been referring to the rhetoric rather than the people, Goldberg said, “but that didn’t stop our MAGA friends from seizing upon it. PEARL CLUTCH!”
Goldberg then suggested that Trump supporters — who were literally quoting Biden’s exact words — were the ones attempting to “spin” his comments.
Cohost Joy Behar weighed in a bit later, complaining that Republicans — after months of saying that Biden was cognitively impaired — suddenly wanted to take him at his word.
Alyssa Farah Griffin, a self-described Republican who has spent most of her time on “The View” attacking Trump, said that regardless of interpretation, the optics were bad — and Biden’s comment had “stepped on” Harris’ major speech, the one that was designed to tie a bow on her presidential campaign.
She then quickly backtracked to complain of an unfair double standard, saying that Trump’s supporters said nothing when Trump insulted people but then got offended when Biden insulted them.
“Deplorables did matter. That comment from Hillary Clinton did matter,” Griffin explained.
“It turned out she was right,” Goldberg interrupted, prompting a few laughs.
