An outraged Whoopi Goldberg ripped up a note from producers on ABC’s The View after making a joke about Donald Trump using an autopen.
Goldberg, a moderator, and her co-hosts were discussing a 60 Minutes interview, during which Trump said he did not know who Changpeng Zhao was.
Trump had pardoned Zhao, the multi-billionaire founder of crypto exchange company Binance, just days prior to the interview.
Highlights
- Whoopi Goldberg joked that Trump used an autopen to sign pardons, sparking controversy on ABC's The View.
- Goldberg ripped up a producers' note correcting her live, insisting her autopen comment was a joke misunderstood.
- Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, Binance founder, days before claiming not to know who he was in a 60 Minutes interview.
Whoopi Goldberg made a joke about Donald Trump using an autopen
Image credits: Francois Durand/Getty Images
“The Trump family has made about $1.8 billion, profited off of this government and he said that Joe Biden didn’t know who he was pardoning using an autopen,” Sunny Hostin said.
She then questioned, “How come you don’t know who this guy is?” as Goldberg responded, “Because he used an autopen.”
An autopen is a device that replicates a person’s signature and can be used to sign documents in bulk.
The co-hosts moved on to discuss other happenings in the Trump administration when Hostin passed a written note to Goldberg.
“What the hell? What?” Goldberg said as she opened the note, as she read it out loud: “We don’t know if Trump used an autopen to pardon.”
She then shouted, “It was a joke!” and ripped the note to pieces.
“I’m sorry. The hardest thing about this job now is no one understands nuance,” Goldberg added.
“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 is ridiculous.”
It was reported earlier this year that ABC executives had urged The View hosts to tone down their criticism of Trump, who successfully sued the company.
ABC agreed to pay Trump $15 million last year after host George Stephanopoulos incorrectly said he had been found “liable for rape” when he was found liable for sexual abuse.
Image credits: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Paramount also settled a lawsuit with Trump earlier this year over how CBS News had edited a segment with former Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential election.
The president claimed that CBS’ 60 Minutes news program had deceptively edited the segment to “tip the scales in favor of the Democratic Party.”
CBS said the claim was “completely without merit,” and that it had edited the interview due to time constraints.
However, in July, Paramount settled the lawsuit for $16 million, which will go towards Trump’s future presidential library.
The settlement did not include an apology or statement of regret.
Trump has continuously targeted TV show hosts, specifically those on late night TV, and in September suggested networks who criticize him should have their licenses revoked.
“They give me only bad publicity [and] press. I mean, they’re getting a license. I would think maybe their license should be taken away,” Trump said.