Whoopi Goldberg wasn’t amused when co-host Sunny Hostin slipped her a legal note during the Monday, Nov. 3 episode of The View.
During a discussion about President Donald Trump and the ongoing government shutdown, Goldberg, 69, made a joke about Trump “using an autopen,” the device that replicates signatures. While it’s uncertain whether Trump, 79, has used one during his second term, he has frequently accused former President Joe Biden of doing so for official documents.
After Goldberg’s quip, Hostin, 57 — a former attorney known for weighing in on legal topics — passed her a blue index card. Fellow panelist Alyssa Farah Griffin laughed, saying, “I love when Sunny passes notes!”
“What the hell? What?” Goldberg responded as Hostin clarified, “We don’t know if Trump used an autopen.”
“It was a joke!” Goldberg replied, ripping up the note and calling it “ridiculous.”
The EGOT winner then addressed the audience: “The hardest thing about this job now is no one understands nuance. You know, when you hear a joke, when somebody is fooling around, when they’re not saying something specific. Especially on this show. I’m very specific when I’m pointing stuff out. When I’m making jokes, you know when I’m making jokes.”
This wasn’t Goldberg’s first tense on-air moment involving Trump. Last May, Trump mocked her on Truth Social, reposting a meme claiming she’d leave America if he were re-elected. He captioned it, “Canada doesn’t want you Whoopi, NOBODY DOES!!!”
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“Look — I’m not going anywhere,” Goldberg shot back, earning cheers from the audience. “And it’s not for the reason, you little snowflake — it’s not for the reason you think. He said nobody wanted me. Honey… it wouldn’t matter if no one here wanted me. But I know where I’m going to be because I got a contract. So I’m going to be where I’m wanted for the next couple of years.”
Trump has repeatedly referenced Biden’s alleged use of an autopen, questioning the legitimacy of his signed pardons and bills. He even omitted Biden’s portrait from the new “Presidential Walk of Fame” outside the West Wing. Instead, between two portraits of himself, hangs an image of an autopen signing Biden’s name.
