It was supposed to be another predictable Trump-bashing hour on The View — until guest co-host Savannah Chrisley refused to play along.
The sparks flew Thursday when the panel turned its attention to President Donald Trump and his Black History Month celebration at the White House. What followed was less “view” and more verbal brawl.
Chrisley calmly tried to inject a dose of personal experience into the conversation, telling the table she had seen Trump’s character up close.
“I think, you know, when it comes to the event that happened yesterday, what’s so hard for me to witness is people stating that the president is a racist, because I’ve seen him firsthand. He saved one of my best friends’ lives, a Black woman who has been with him for —,” Chrisley began.
Before she could even finish, co-host Sunny Hostin cut her off bluntly: “He is a racist.”
Chrisley attempted to continue, repeating that Trump had saved her Black friend’s life. Hostin snapped back with sarcasm: “So, he has a Black friend. He’s a racist.”
The temperature in the studio kept rising.
Co-host Whoopi Goldberg jumped in, insisting the panel had “a different take.”
“Here’s the problem, Savannah, and why we have a different take on it,” Goldberg said. “Many of us have a different take on it, because when you target DEI programs with executive office, from your — with executive orders your first week in office, arguing that the policies undermine national unity.”
Goldberg continued piling on: “You know, when you shared racist posts about the Obamas, when you pursued the death penalty for the exonerated five after you knew they had been exonerated. These are the reasons that his behavior is so hard.”
Hostin doubled down, leaving no room for nuance.
“Let’s call a thing, a thing. Donald Trump is a racist. There is no question in my mind. It’s time to say the truth and tell it like it is, and the most recent thing that he did by posting on Truth Social, the Obamas depicted as apes in ‘The Lion King,’ where there are no apes in ‘The Lion King.’ It was a racist — he tried to blame a staffer,” Hostin said. “A staffer did not do it.”
Chrisley pushed back, insisting a staffer was responsible. The show then aired footage of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stating, “When you see it on Truth Social you know it’s directly from President Trump.”
Still, Chrisley stood her ground. “He’s not,” she said after Hostin once again declared, “President Trump is a racist.”
After a heated back-and-forth, Chrisley made clear she wasn’t blindly defending every move.
“I agree wholeheartedly that the White House failed when it came to the posting of that video, because it is the White House’s responsibility to protect the minority groups that lost friendships and relationships over just standing for President Trump,” she said.
In other words: defend the man, acknowledge the misstep — a nuance rarely entertained at the table.
Goldberg eventually tried to cool things down, reminding viewers that disagreement is part of the show’s formula. Chrisley has been filling in this week for Alyssa Farah Griffin, who is on maternity leave.
But the fireworks didn’t stop when the cameras did.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle issued a blistering response.
“Sunny Hostin is an extremely unlikeable, talentless hack with a poorly rated TV show who clearly suffers from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome,” Ingle said.
He didn’t stop there.
“No President has done more for black Americans than President Trump has,” the spokesman added. “During his five years in office, President Trump signed criminal justice reform, prison reform, opportunity zones, long-term funding of historically black colleges, school choice funding, Trump Accounts, and the largest middle-class tax cuts in history.”
And the White House made clear it believes the voters have already weighed in.
“President Trump was proud to receive historic support from the Black community in 2024, and he is working around the clock to deliver for them and make our country greater than ever before,” the statement added.
