With President Biden back from his trip to Saudi Arabia to beg for oil (instead of increasing domestic production like his predecessor), the cast of ABC’s The View (except Sunny Hostin) manned the ramparts to defend him from those on the left who decried his fist bump greeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). As part of this defense, co-host Whoopi Goldberg suggested the overturning of Roe v. Wade meant the U.S. oppressed women just like Saudi Arabia.
After giving a recap of the controversy at the top of the show, Goldberg lamented Biden’s trip and how unfortunate it was that the U.S. needed to interact with the Saudis.
“We say we're not going to talk to these people, we're not going to do it, and then suddenly, you're having to figure out how you converse with them because you've got to deal with them,” she said.
She then defended Biden by taking the swipe at America, suggesting we oppress women. She even admitted the statement was written by “someone” else and was “handed” to her to “read”:
But I wanted to read something someone handed me. Which was, unfortunately, sometimes you have to make decisions you – that was me. I did just say that. Uh. He didn't have to go to Saudi Arabia however to find a country that's violating human rights or a country that’s opposing women because plenty of states that we live in are doing the same thing. Remove protected rights from women, disallowing them control over their bodies.
There was no disclosure of who wrote the statement or who handed it to her.
“So, I just want to say, you know, I think part of the big problem that we have is our own hands are dirty quite often,” she added.
Joy Behar was back on the show for the first time in weeks (after having battled a non-COVID-related illness) and immediately leaped into whataboutism by suggesting Biden’s trip wasn’t as bad as former President Trump was. “Trump was pals with Putin and Kim Jong,” she said, suggesting he “had them in the Lincoln Bedroom.”
“I do defend Biden quite a bit,” she admitted before claiming West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe “Manchin and some of these Republicans” were somehow forcing businesses to use oil and gas instead of other forms of energy, thus were responsible for the fist bump. She wished they “would allow the industries to cut back on fossil fuels and get alternative fuels going, [Biden] wouldn't have to, you know, fist bump this guy.”
After frantically noting that Biden “did confront” bin Salman about Washington Post columnist Khashoggi's murder, Behar seemingly began an attempt to criticize 9/11 families for slamming Biden’s visit before quickly waving herself off:
There's one more thing I wanted to say because I do understand that some 9/11 families might be annoyed with that because the conventional wisdom is that those terrorists came from Saudi Arabia. So, there is a personal feeling about it.
“Again, I don't know if Biden had the choice, frankly,” she concluded.
Faux Republican Ana Navarro was on hand to stick to her GOP-bashing shtick. She quickly huffed about the visit saying “I hated it when Obama went to see Castro” but ultimately defended Biden by noting “there is a difficult balance that has to be stricken.”
“There's a lot of Republicans -- there's a lot of Trump apologists who had no issue when Trump went to Saudi Arabia and danced with swords and posed holding the orb with the Saudis. Had no issue with that,” she screeched.
She also took issue with Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey golf club hosting a Saudi-funded tournament. And despite the property being over an hour from New York City and in another state, she said it was being held “in the shadows of the 9/11 Memorial.”
An abuse of a metaphor, to say the least.
“9/11 families are asking Trump not to allow his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey to be the venue for that, and that is not about U.S. interests. That's about Mula,” she chided. “Are you saying that these Republicans suddenly should cop to the hypocrisy? That's a big ask,” Behar quipped.
For Hostin’s part, she actually went after Biden: “I don't think that Biden gets a pass just because he's a Democrat.”
Those ridiculous comparison was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Olay and Progressive. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s The View
July 18, 2022
11:04:07 a.m. EasternWHOOPI GOLDBERG: So let's get this going, okay? Because this weekend President Biden took a trip to Saudi Arabia, in part, to negotiate for cheaper oil, but the very moment -- first moment he met with Saudi crown prince is making all the headlines pause they greeted each other with a fist bump, which many felt was inappropriate since the prince is accused of approving the murder of a Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khashoggi among other human rights violations.
And it's so amazing to me because we -- we do this often. We say we're not going to talk to these people, we're not going to do it and then suddenly, you're having to figure out how you converse with them because you've got to deal with them.
But I wanted to read something someone handed me. Which was, unfortunately, sometimes you have to make decisions you – that was me I did just say that. Uh. He didn't have to go to Saudi Arabia however to find a country that's violating human rights or a country that’s opposing women because plenty of states that we live in are doing the same thing. Remove protected rights from women, disallowing them control over their bodies.
So, I just want to say, you know, I think part of the big problem that we have is our own hands are dirty quite often.
JOY BEHAR: And let's not forget that Trump was pals with Putin and Kim Jong. He practically had them in the Lincoln Bedroom. I mean, he was interested in being with those guys. So, this is somebody, I think – I mean, I do defend Biden quite a bit, I know. But it's like, if Manchin and some of these Republicans would allow the industries to cut back on fossil fuels and get alternative fuels going, he wouldn't have to, you know, fist bump this guy.
Who by the way, he did say to him, “I think you're responsible for Khashoggi's death.” And the guy goes, “no.” And he says, “I think you have” – I mean, he did confront him.
GOLDBERG: Mm-hmm.
BEHAR: There's one more thing I wanted to say because I do understand that some 9/11 families might be annoyed with that because the conventional wisdom is that those terrorists came from Saudi Arabia. So, there is a personal feeling about it.
GOLDBERG: Mm-hmm.
BEHAR: Again, I don't know if Biden had the choice, frankly.
ANA NAVARRO: Listen. You just talked about the 9/11 families so let me bring something up that I think is incredibly relevant. Look. I hate this image. I hate – and whenever the United States president goes to any country, it is legitimatizing, normalizing, aggrandizing that other president. I hated it when Obama went to see Castro. I hated it when it's, you know, Maduro, Ortega, MBS because we represent human rights around the world.
But there is a difficult balance that has to be stricken, and when oil is as high as it is, the unfortunate, the inconvenient reality is that Saudi Arabia is a huge producer of oil, and we consume a lot of that oil, and so we don't want the guy to go over there, but at the same time, we want more production of oil from Saudi Arabia. That's what he went over there to do.
That being said, you just talked about the 9/11 families. There's a lot of Republicans -- there's a lot of Trump apologists who had no issue when Trump went to Saudi Arabia and danced with swords and posed holding the orb with the Saudis. Had no issue with that.
BEHAR: Right.
NAVARRO: Do they have an issue with the fact that Donald Trump is about to host, at Bedminster Club here in New Jersey in the shadows of the 9/11 Memorial, a golf tournament that is being backed and paid for by the Saudi government to refresh their image, to reinvent themselves?
9/11 families are asking Trump not to allow his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey to be the venue for that, and that is not about U.S. interests. That's about mula.
BEHAR: Are you saying that these Republicans suddenly should cop to the hypocrisy? That's a big ask.
(…)
