Whoopi Goldberg Breaks Her One Big Trump Rule After Guilty Verdict
The host made a rare Friday appearance on “The View” so she could weigh in on the former president’s conviction.

ABC
On Friday’s episode of The View, Whoopi Goldberg broke her longstanding rule about never saying Donald Trump’s name, as the hosts enthusiastically discussed the former president’s historic conviction on 34 felony counts.
“I’m going to say something you’ve never, ever heard me say before: Donald John Trump is a convicted felon,” Goldberg said at the top of the episode.
In 2018, Goldberg told CNN that she refused to refer to Trump by name in public, especially in conjunction with the word president. She acknowledged at the time that “he’s there” in the Oval Office, but said she “can’t” call him President Trump. “I know people don’t like that I don’t do it,” she explained. “I can live with that.”
"I'm going to say something you've never ever heard me say before: Donald John Trump is a convicted felon."#WhoopiGoldberg opening Friday's live episode of #TheView. pic.twitter.com/wyzJQKM47O
— The View (@TheView) May 31, 2024
This week, however, Goldberg changed her mind—not only about saying Trump’s name, but also about appearing on The View in general. The host usually has Fridays off from the ABC daytime talk show, but chose to make an exception because she wanted to offer her perspective on “a very unique moment in history.”
ADVERTISEMENT
“I want the judge to give him six months,” Goldberg said as the hosts discussed the possibility of Trump going to jail. She added that young Trump fans “love him because he has no consequences,” but a prison sentence might change that perception. “I feel like if we are going to treat this man, who used to be president, like everybody else, you need to do a little bit of time.”
Get the best of The Beast delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Not doing so opens the country up to dangerous consequences, she argued. “If we don’t have any consequences here, we are screwed,” she said. “We give [Trump’s supporters] permission to do what he said he would do, which is shoot people on 5th Avenue and have no consequences.”
WILL TRUMP SERVE TIME IN PRISON? After a New York jury found the former president guilty on all counts in his hush money trial, #TheView co-hosts question if he will serve time. https://t.co/cVclFZQmjA pic.twitter.com/ZjE5RgLrBl
— The View (@TheView) May 31, 2024
Goldberg and her cohosts also took aim at Trump’s claims that his conviction was the work of the Biden administration.
“He was in that courtroom because of what he did, and those jurors were chosen by both sides,” Goldberg said. “This was not a Biden thing. If he had just paid the money, he would’ve been fine,” but instead, “he was cheap, so that’s what you get.”
At the episode’s end, Goldberg closed out the show with a reminder. “We only have about 34 seconds left—so to recap: guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty,” she continued, repeating the word exactly 34 times.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.

