ABC’s Jon Karl Pops The View’s Conspiracy Theory Trump Not Leaving Office

For days, the liberal ladies of ABC News’s The View had been claiming that President Trump was not going to leave office at the end of his second term and would steal elections to stay in power; unfounded conspiracy theories that could incite another assassination attempt against him. While on Tuesday’s show to hawk his new anti-Trump book, ABC chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl actually reined in their far-left insanity by pointing out that Trump had told close friends he would leave when the term was over. Karl also argued that saying so in public would make him a lame duck.

As Karl was recounting the first assassination attempt against Trump (and calling it “Trump’s personal finest moment” and commending Trump’s defiance and resilience), moderator Whoopi Goldberg interrupted the touting to suggest that Trump was “not paying attention to “what's going on with the real people.”

As Karl agreed with Goldberg’s assertion that the government shutdown and thus the pain was on Trump and Republicans, Goldberg nudged things into the conspiratorial by asking what Trump’s “endgame” was with the White House renovation.

Obviously knowing where she was trying to take the conversation, Karl defused the crazy by noting Trump was focused on building a legacy that would outlast him as president:

GOLDBERG: But -- so we're paying atten -- we're seeing that he's doing -- redoing the White House. So is this all -- what is this - what is the endgame here?

KARL: The endgame for Donald Trump, he is thinking now more than he ever did -- I don't think he thought much of it in the first term, about his place in history, and his legacy, and he sees it in different terms than what you're defining.

[Karl points at Goldberg. Goldberg looks taken aback]

He sees it in terms of like how the White House has transformed and how he is lauded around the world as a great peace maker.

 

 

Clearly unsatisfied with his answer, pretend independent Sara Haines dropped all allusions and directly wanted to know if Trump planned to stay in office beyond the end of his second term.

“Something in that last question alludes to what she's saying, which is Steve Bannon floated the idea that there is a plan for Trump to stay and be president beyond 2028. Is he just trolling people or is that what some of these like renovations and things are? Is he preparing to stay in the future?” she demanded to know.

Having to spell it out as though he was speaking to fifth graders, Karl spoke plainly: “I don't think that Donald Trump is serious about running for a third term.” He explained that “the intention here” was to “freak out his opponents.”

 

 

Karl went on to discuss how admitting he wasn’t running would hamper his ability to get his agenda and policy priorities enacted as attention would shift toward presidential hopefuls:

But here is the thing, Sara, is how does he leave the stage? How does that happen? Because the minute he makes it clear he's not going to try to run again, then all of the attention goes -- he is a lame duck president and all of the attention goes to Marco Rubio, J.D. Vance, whoever else may be running. Is he ready to cede the stage in that way?

I mean, I'm sure he would like to do The Apprentice thing and see who -- but at some point does he really pass that baton and he is no longer the center of attention? I don't know how he does that. But I don't think he -- I do think -- I know he's told people, ‘look, I'm leaving at the end of this,’ friends.

“Well, that's our president. That's our president, y'all,” Goldberg chided. “And so everything that's happening in Europe and everything that's happening outside of here seems to be what he's all about and he wants to make the U.S. The Apprentice. I don't know I want to play that game. I actually need somebody to take care of these folks.”

Goldberg was possibly upset that the conspiracy theory they’ve been running with for days on end was just fact-checked as false. It will be interesting to monitor if The View continued to peddle their lies even after getting fact-checked by a colleague.

The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:

ABC’s The View
October 28, 2025
11:19:56 a.m. Eastern

(…)

WHOOPI GOLDBERG: But -- so we're paying atten -- we're seeing that he's doing -- redoing the White House. So is this all -- what is this -at is the endgame here?

JONATHAN KARL: The endgame for Donald Trump, he is thinking now more than he ever did -- I don't think he thought much of it in the first term, about his place in history, and his legacy, and he sees it in different terms than what you're defining.

[Karl points at Goldberg. Goldberg looks taken aback]

He sees it in terms of like how the White House has transformed and how he is lauded around the world as a great peace maker.

SARA HAINES: Something in that last question alludes to what she's saying, which is Steve Bannon floated the idea that there is a plan for Trump to stay and be president beyond 2028. Is he just trolling people or is that what some of these like renovations and things are? Is he preparing to stay in the future?

KARL: Look, I don't think that Donald Trump is serious about running for a third term, but this talk can get out of control. It starts as a way to, you know, freak out his opponents. He loves showing off the 2028 hats, Trump 2028 hats to anybody that comes to the White House. He knows that it freaks out his opponents. I think it's -- that's the intention here.

But here is the thing, Sara, is how does he leave the stage? How does that happen? Because the minute he makes it clear he's not going to try to run again, then all of the attention goes -- he is a lame duck president and all of the attention goes to Marco Rubio, J.D. Vance, whoever else may be running. Is he ready to cede the stage in that way?

I mean, I'm sure he would like to do The Apprentice thing and see who -- but at some point does he really pass that baton and he is no longer the center of attention? I don't know how he does that. But I don't think he -- I do think -- I know he's told people, ‘look, I'm leaving at the end of this,’ friends.

GOLDBERG: Well, that's our president. That's our president, y'all. And so everything that's happening in Europe and everything that's happening outside of here seems to be what he's all about and he wants to make the U.S. The Apprentice. I don't know I want to play that game. I actually need somebody to take care of these folks.

I'm sorry. I just -- I'm sure all of it's exciting, I'm sure it will be a beautiful ballroom, but what the hell?! You know, kids are like -- and all the people he's put around -- it's been interesting, John. It's been very interesting.

(…)