The View cohosts had a lot to say about Donald Trump‘s recent suggestion that he might approve a lawsuit award from the Department of Justice for $230 million over investigations into him and then use the money for his controversial White House ballroom addition. While they all agreed it was an inappropriate exercise of executive power for self-enrichment, some compared his tactic to that of a mob boss, and Joy Behar came up with a new nickname for him as a result of the conversation.
“Let’s call him the “Capo De Tutti Grifter,” she suggested during the conversation, invoking a popular nickname for mafia bosses.
Whoopi Goldberg, too, coined the move a “cash grab” and wondered if the American people would stand for it because, “Your taxes are probably going to be paying for that.”
Behar then pointed out that while Trump has famously claimed to not accept his presidential paychecks, he and his family have reportedly made $3.4 billion since he first took office in 2017. “So, oh, he’s so generous to give his paltry 400 Gs away. What charity is it? The Foundation for the Destruction of America?” she said.
Sara Haines then pointed out that when Trump did donate his first paycheck in office, it was given to the White House Historical Association, which is funding the renovations he’s been making. “So he donated to his own renovation.” She also slammed the “optics” of Trump overseeing a DOJ remuneration to himself.
“He is, according to Forbes, a billionaire. The national debt of this country is $37.9 trillion. The government is shut down. Federal workers aren’t getting paid. They’re lining up at food banks… and he’s grabbing money from the very government he says he’s going to put first, while finding money to give to Argentina,” Haines said.
Sunny Hostin then chimed in to say, “This is giving mob boss. That’s what this is. He’s extorting and looting the federal government.” She then pointed to a story that he reportedly told the president of Indonesia to consult with his son, Eric Trump, “probably about a business deal,” as further evidence of her claim. “How about that $400 million from Qatar, his private plane? How about the fact that if he gets this $230 million, it is going to be used to renovate a White House, which, by the way, he never intends to leave. So that’s what this is. This is about a mob boss extorting the government for his own personal gratitude and enrichment.”
Even Alyssa Farah Griffin, who tends to defend Trump against her fellow panelists on occasion, said of the matter, “It’s not giving ‘America First.’ And I’m honestly just frustrated at this point. I find the whole thing exhausting. I get why people hate politicians. They hate Washington.” She then called Trump’s move “out of touch.”
Goldberg then reiterated how much she despises the renovations, saying, “You see what he’s doing to his own people, the people who voted for him… Does he care about them? I don’t know if he cares about them, but I tell you what I don’t care about: I don’t care about that damn ballroom.”
The View, weekdays, 11a/10c, ABC
