The cohosts of The View took turns criticizing Pam Bondi for her contentious Capitol Hill hearing at the top of Wednesday’s (October 8) show. But at the end of the segment, moderator Whoopi Goldberg revealed the issue that really sticks in her craw amid the current government shutdown: the fact that Donald Trump is still proceeding with a ballroom addition to the White House.
The ballroom, which is estimated by the administration to cost around $200 million, is reportedly being funded by donors like Google, Lockheed Martin, R.J. Reynolds, Booz Allen Hamilton, Palantir, and NexEra Energy. However, Goldberg said she finds it in poor taste all the same.
“My big kvetch in the world is, there’s a ballroom being built. Yeah, I’m very mad about it,” she explained.
When cohost Alyssa Farah Griffin — who’d later announce her pregnancy live on-air in the second segment — noted, “Well, it is corporate sponsored,” Goldberg expressed her doubts in her own unique way.
“That’s what they say, but listen, and I’m a natural blonde,” Goldberg said.
Earlier in the “Hot Topic” discussion, the cohosts reviewed footage from Bondi’s hearing in which she dodged answering questions about the Jeffrey Epstein files and other scandals in the administration, and Goldberg responded to ask, “How much did we pay for that? How much did this cost, and what’s the point of doing this?”
Sara Haines chided Bondi for being unprepared for the substance of the hearing, saying, “She didn’t even prepare remarks … She had a file against every person sitting on the committee.” She went on to point to the Epstein files issue in particular, saying, “There’s still problematic stuff in this file… There is a reason they’re refusing to show them.”
Then, Sunny Hostin pointed out that Bondi’s job is to serve the American people as attorney general, but she felt she was ultimately just speaking to “an audience of one,” which was Trump.
Joy Behar, meanwhile, predicted that Bondi’s answers were possibly meant to “avoid perjury.”
And Griffin herself noted, “I mean, honestly, I’ve just seen more dignity in Housewives reunions.”
The View, weekdays, 11a/10c, ABC