Whoopi Refuses to Watch SOTU, 'I Don't Want to Just Take it Anymore'

Nicholas Fondacaro
February 24th, 2026 4:33 PM

Text to Speech

00:00 00:00
Font Size

Maybe ABC News should consider finding someone to replace moderator Whoopi Goldberg on The View. We know they won’t get rid of her the unhinged nonsense she spews, but maybe they’d act on her refusing to do the bare minimum required for the gig: keeping up-to-date on the current events they talk about. On Tuesday’s show, Goldberg announced that she wouldn’t be watching President Trump’s State of the Union later that night and only watch the news about it.

Knowing full well they were going to discuss the address on Wednesday’s show, Goldberg led into their preview discussion by boasted that she wasn’t going to watch. She instead was going to watch a cartoon show:

What are you all expecting to hear tonight? I'll tell you what I'm expecting. I'll be watching Bob's Burgers tonight and I will catch the highlights of this. Because I just -- I can't -- you know, we -- because we have to absorb so much of it, I just -- I have to keep my evenings for myself. So I'll watch Bob's Burgers.

“Yeah, but you know I have to say, with this snowstorm, I need a good laugh so I'm going to watch it,” co-host Joy Behar responded.

 

 

Later in the segment, Goldberg tried to reframe her refusal as some kind of moral stand and suggested that watching Trump’s address somehow meant she was supporting it; and would only watch what liberal news media wanted to report about it:

GOLDBERG: For me, because of the work that we do every day where we have to, like, know everything that he's been saying, I'm keeping my night for myself. And so, I will find out what he said on the news tonight because I don't want to just take it anymore. I don't like just sitting there and taking it.

BEHAR: I want to see for myself.

GOLDBERG: And when you're by yourself at home you are taking it. You are taking it. You’re accept of it.

 

 

Her argument was a little ridiculous because us here at NewsBusters were in a similar position. Just because we watched and reported on The View, didn’t mean we individually were fans of the show, it just meant we covered it for work.

While Behar said she was going to watch the address, she was adamant that Congressional Democrats should boycott because, according to her, Trump was an “illegitimate president”:

SUNNY HOSTIN: And I do think, though that Democrats should show up to the State of the Union. This is the president of the United States reporting to Congress as he is supposed to do. It's been happening since the times of George Washington.

BEHAR: I don't agree with you Sunny.

(…)

BEHAR: I disagree because I don't think that he is a legitimate president. In my lifetime, and that includes Nixon and Reagan both conservative Republicans that I did not vote for, neither one of them would behave the way this man behaves.

 

 

 

In an effort to get ahead of accusations of election denialism, co-host Sunny Hostin and guest co-host Amanda Carpenter jumped in to have Behar clarify why she felt Trump was an “illegitimate president” (Click “expand”):

HOSTIN: When you say he's not a legitimate president, you don't mean that --

CARPENTER: You mean he was duly elected.

BEHAR: I'm not talking about that.

HOSTIN: Yeah, he was duly elected but you believe he -

BEHAR: He was elected.

HOSTIN: He lacks the decorum.

BEHAR: He lacks any kind of sense about what he's supposed to do.

Behar also didn’t seem to remember that the party out of power got to deliver a rebuttal following the end of the State of the Union. “So, what are the Democrats [going to do], just sit there and let him spew his lies?!” she decried.

Hostin had to reminder that, “The Democrats do have an opportunity to rebut what he says. Right? So you have someone at the end of the State of the Union who will rebut.”

Maybe The View should be shopping for two replacements.

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

ABC’s The View
February 24, 2026
11:04:28 a.m. Eastern

(…)

WHOOPI GOLDBERG: What are you all expecting to hear tonight? I'll tell you what I'm expecting. I'll be watching Bob's Burgers tonight and I will catch the highlights of this. Because I just -- I can't -- you know, we -- because we have to absorb so much of it, I just -- I have to keep my evenings for myself.

SUNNY HOSTIN: Yeah.

GOLDBERG: So I'll watch Bob's Burgers.

JOY BEHAR: Yeah, but you know I have to say, with this snowstorm, I need a good laugh so I'm going to watch it.

AMANDA CARPENTER: I'm going to be watching it because I'm really curious to see how he handles spinning the brutal ICE tactics that he has been using in places like Maine and Minnesota. I'm curious to see what the Democrats will do. Because I don't feel they've matched the energy of the activists there. I need them to match that energy of the people who are in the streets.

My organization -

BEHAR: You expect who to, the Democrats?

CARPENTER: Yeah, the Democrats.

BEHAR: I thought you were a conservative.

CARPENTER: No. Well, I am.

(…)

11:07:00 a.m. Eastern

HOSTIN: And I do think, though that Democrats should show up to the State of the Union. This is the president of the United States reporting to Congress as he is supposed to do. It's been happening since the times of George Washington.

BEHAR: I don't agree with you Sunny.

HOSTIN: And I think a lot of people don't agree. Just because this president doesn't have decorum doesn't mean that members of Congress shouldn't do their duty which is to show up and listen. I don't think they should behave inappropriately. I don't think that they should have signs.

[Crosstalk]

BEHAR: But last time they acted like idiots. The last time with horns and --

HOSTIN: I don't think they should do that. This time they should have decorum.

SARA HAINES: So, I agree with you, Sunny.

BEHAR: Can I say why?

HAINES: Yeah, definitely.

BEHAR: I disagree because I don't think that he is a legitimate president. In my lifetime, and that includes Nixon and Reagan both conservative Republicans that I did not vote for, neither one of them would behave the way this man behaves.

HOSTIN: When you say he's not a legitimate president, you don't mean that --

CARPENTER: You mean he was duly elected.

BEHAR: I'm not talking about that.

HOSTIN: Yeah, he was duly elected but you believe he -

BEHAR: He was elected.

HOSTIN: He lacks the decorum.

BEHAR: He lacks any kind of sense about what he's supposed to do.

CARPENTER: Well, respect could be a two-way street and he doesn't give the audience that respect.

BEHAR: No. So, the only way that they get to make a point is not showing up. You know, one time I -- Whoopi and I walked off the show because, you know, what's his name, the Hakeem --

HOSTIN: Hakeem Jeffries.

[Crostalk]

BEHAR: He said you don't walk off your own territory. Yes, sometimes you have to. To make your point. To show that you do not consider that person worthy of your presence.

SARA HAINES: Yeah, but I push back on that point, though, is then you become the story. So, I echo hakeem Jeffries in this, you show up and the contrast, let him say what he's going to say. Donald Trump has no shortage of just weaving and dodging and lying. And when you talk about ICE and all the things, he's going to lean hard into how it was all violent criminals -- and people, voters have to look and decide for themselves whether he’s

BEHAR: So, what are the Democrats, just sit there and let him spew his lies?!

HAINES: I'm saying they've been accused in the past, they had little hand signs they haven't coordinated and it ends up being something where the conservatives then say, well, that was silly, let Donald Trump be the story. He will blow himself up on this with what he says.

HOSTIN: The Democrats do have an opportunity to rebut what he says. Right? So you have someone at the end of the State of the Union who will rebut. I think that's the appropriate process. I think we need to bring decorum back to politics but I also agree with you in that we -- I expect to hear misinformation about the economy.

BEHAR: Biden, Biden, Biden, Biden, Biden, Biden, Biden, Biden, Biden.

HOSTIN: I expect to hear misinformation about voter fraud which we know extensively does not exist. I expect to hear misinformation and demonization of immigrants.

BEHAR: All the wars he settled.

HOSTIN: All the wars. We’re going to hear that misinformation. Democrats have the opportunity to rebut. But decorum, decorum, decorum. There is a time now that we can try to bring. There needs to be an adult in the room.

(…)

11:10:58 a.m. Eastern

GOLDBERG: For me, because of the work that we do every day where we have to, like, know everything that he's been saying, I'm keeping my night for myself. And so, I will find out what he said on the news tonight because I don't want to just take it anymore. I don't like just sitting there and taking it.

BEHAR: I want to see for myself.

GOLDBERG: And when you're by yourself at home you are taking it. You are taking it. You’re accept of it.

HOSTIN: I’m going to take it. I'm going to watch it as well.

BEHAR: Come on, he’s going to be hilarious to watch. He makes up everything.

CARPENTER: I am going to watch it because it's interesting to your point, he's gotten everything he wanted his first term. He had control of Congress. He had the court.

HOSTIN: Everything.

CARPENTER: He had the whole executive branch. So, when you look at his poll numbers that's because of your policies. That's because of the way you acted. You can't blame anyone else. So I am going to be watching closely to see how he navigates that.

GOLDBERG: And listen to his syndromes because he is a man who has many syndromes. He has Biden derangement syndrome.

BEHAR: Oh, my god.

GOLDBERG: He has Obama derangement syndrome.

HOSTIN: That he definitely has.

(…)

11:12:05 a.m. Eastern

BEHAR: Why can't they have a fact checker? Why not?

HAINES: One, the deluge of information would be too hard --

GOLDBERG: There's not enough time. But, yeah, you couldn't -- even if you had someone who was fact checking him you couldn't get it done.

(…)

Donor Privacy Policy