In an example of not only putting the cart before the horse but putting it a couple of blocks down the road, ABC host Whoopi Goldberg spent part of Thursday’s edition of The View calling for a constitutional amendment that would bar former President Trump from being president again if he was sent to prison and still won the 2024 election. That was apparently one of the “strange thoughts” she admitted to having lately.
Amid their conversation about Trump’s documents indictment and how it could play out in the elections and beyond, Goldberg shared that she’s been growing increasingly scared of Trump becoming president again and he’d be leading the country from a prison cell. “What … was really started to freak me out is the idea that we're not even discussing changing the Constitution to make it say you cannot be in jail and be the president,” he lamented.
Goldberg’s fears relied on two major assumptions: Trump was going to be found guilty/serve a stint in prison and win the 2024 election, neither of which was guaranteed to come true. But that didn’t stop her.
“I'm a big fan of amendments,” she continued. “Because I feel like unless we start to plug these holes, this is going to keep biting us in the behind. And it really is going to take people saying, ‘Hey, listen, if I can't vote when I come out of jail, why can you be president?’”
“An amendment would be nice,” racist co-host Sunny Hostin agreed. She went on to opine about the Constitution being a living document (click "expand"):
HOSTIN: That's a wonderful point. Amendments are very American. You know, I mean, it's -- some people argue the Constitution is not a breathing and living thing, that it's sort of stagnant. I, of course, feel differently. I feel it's a living and breathing thing. Because we didn't have cell phones before. We don't know there would be AR-15s.
GOLDBERG: It has to grow with the country.
According to Goldberg, this was one of the “strange thoughts” she’s been having lately. Such as a higher power punishing us with Trump so we can iron out America’s problems:
I know this is really weird, but I've been having strange thoughts. What I think has happened for us as a nation is over the past ten years weird stuff has been happening in the country to show us where the problems are. I think the fact that we have this situation now with you-know-who is there to tell us, “Hey, y'all have a problem and these kinds of things are going to start coming up because these kinds of people, people who are not reading the Constitution, don't know the law, don't know how this country runs are now starting to get in.”
High-er power indeed.
But co-host Joy Behar wasn’t a fan of a constitutional amendment because she was convinced it wouldn’t do anything and blamed Republicans for Goldberg’s idea failing. “Well, because as long as you have these feckless Republicans in the law and order party ready to give this criminal a free pass and a get out of jail free pass, you’re never going to – even an amendment is not going to change those people,” she shrieked.
“Whoopi, we give power to George Santos, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, all these horrible people – liars, anti-American traitors that they are and they stop the progress of what you’re talking about,” Behar added.
But Goldberg was adamant. “But the amendment will change how we deal with people who come up like this. That's what I want,” she demanded.
Whoopi Goldberg’s dream of a constitutional amendment was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Red Lobster and Ensure. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s The View
June 15, 2023
11:07:44 a.m. Eastern(…)
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: None of this makes any difference to me. What really is making me – was really started to freak me out is the idea that we're not even discussing changing the Constitution to make it say you cannot be in jail and be the president.
SUNNY HOSTIN: Well, that part -- An amendment would be nice.
GOLDBERG: My fear – I'm a big fan of amendments. Because I feel like unless we start to plug these holes, this is going to keep biting us in the behind. And it really is going to take people saying, “hey, listen, if I can't vote when I come out of jail, why can you be president?”
HOSTIN: That's a wonderful point. Amendments are very American. You know, I mean, it's -- some people argue the Constitution is not a breathing and living thing, that it's sort of stagnant. I, of course, feel differently. I feel it's a living and breathing thing. Because we didn't have cell phones before. We don't know there would be AR-15s.
GOLDBERG: It has to grow with the country. What has happened -- I know this is really weird, but I've been having strange thoughts. What I think has happened for us as a nation is over the past ten years weird stuff has been happening in the country to show us where the problems are. I think the fact that we have this situation now with you-know-who is there to tell us, “hey, y'all have a problem and these kinds of things are going to start coming up because these kinds of people, people who are not reading the Constitution, don't know the law, don't know how this country runs are now starting to get in.”
Because I just -- there's somethings that we'll fight over because we have two different opinions. But there's some stuff that, as an American, you just can't do. You can't do it.
HOSTIN: And it's been done in other countries. That's the thing. It’s like, we're a very young country. I mean, anybody that's watched – seen Hamilton knows that they say we're a dumb, young country. I don't think we're a dumb country. I think we're a very young country when you compare us to Europe, let’s say. Some of these things have happened in these other countries. And so, why don't we learn from that?
GOLDBERG: But that's the whole point.
JOY BEHAR: Well, because as long as you have these feckless Republicans in the law and order party ready to give this criminal a free pass and a get out of jail free pass, you’re never going to – even an amendment is not going to change those people.
GOLDBERG: But the amendment will change how we deal with people who come up like this. That's what I want. I want – In many respects there are things that are coming up that we never had to deal with before, so we're kind of walking around going, “Oh my goodness what are we going to do? What are we going to do?”
HOSTIN: And we’re not looking at past as prologue.
BEHAR: Whoopi, we give power to George Santos, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, all these horrible people – liars, anti-American traitors that they are and they stop the progress of what you’re talking about.
GOLDBERG: Well, I think there's enough of us to start screaming and saying, “Hey, there are problems. We don't like everybody that gets elected, but there are lines. You can’t cross this line.”
(…)
