The cohosts of The View kicked off Monday’s (July 14) newest live edition of the show by talking about the backlash Donald Trump and his administration are receiving over their report on the files and so-called “list” associated with convicted child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Whoopi Goldberg, in particular, had a very bold take on the entire matter.
To summarize the lead-up, the MAGA faithful have been reeling about the Trump team’s handling of the case — which has reportedly resulted in infighting between senior administration officials, including the attorney general and FBI director — and several high-profile Trump supporters aired their frustrations over the weekend at a conservative gathering.
The “Hot Topics” segment started with the cohosts reviewing footage of people like Fox News’ Laura Ingraham expressing her discontent over the administration’s latest update about the case, with the Justice Department announcing there is no “list” of Epstein clients to release, despite several members of the cabinet teasing that there was.
The first to speak on the matter was Ana Navarro, who said she needed “popcorn” while watching Trump supporters revolting against him. “Watching them fight amongst themselves is the most entertaining thing I’ve seen all year,” she joked. She also accused Trump of trying to distract the public from the Epstein backlash by announcing investigations against former federal officials, including James Comey, and threatening to revoke Rosie O’Donnell‘s citizenship, despite her being a natural-born citizen. “This is not North Korea. This is not a monarchy. Donald Trump and no president has the authority or jurisdiction to unilaterally take anybody’s citizenship away,” Navarro insisted.
Then, Alyssa Farah Griffin noted that if Trump wants to satisfy his base, which is calling for a full release of information related to Epstein’s clients, he could simply instruct the DOJ to do so. “What I think is interesting is Pam Bondi did not release that memo last week, basically saying, ‘There’s nothing to see here, there’s no client list’… without the White House’s knowledge,” she said. “The president of the United States, if he wanted to do what his base is asking for and release any remaining evidence that there is about Jeffrey Epstein, he would have the authority to say, ‘No, no, Pam, release at all.’… Pam Bondi is doing what Donald Trump wanted her to do.”
“I think the public just feels genuinely lied to. We know Epstein was a really bad dude, we know he committed crimes, but the facts that they’re giving us, after years of saying there is a there there and there’s more information, is just not good enough, and it’s not going to go away,” Griffin continued.
Sara Haines echoed the latter sentiment and said she supports any calls for further transparency on the Epstein files. “There was this thing called the Franklin scandal in the Midwest years ago, and it involved police chiefs and government people, and it was linked with one of the kidnappings I grew up watching,” she remembered. She then went on to compare the Epstein crimes with that case and added, “I don’t believe there’s a secret client list. I think that black book is as close as you’re going to get, but you can see it. And I would say, if you want to see who’s speaking truth to power, look up Nick Bryant’s work on all of this. His whole life has been dedicated to child welfare. And these rings exist, and powerful people are involved more so than politicians. Possibly it’s money. It’s tons of money involved in these rings, which is why I absolutely support anyone that still continues to push on this. I’m not looking for the Trump administration for any information on this, I want the actual facts of the case, and I will support anything that involves digging deeper.”
Sunny Hostin then jumped in to add, “A lot of people in the administration have indicated that there is a list. Now, all of a sudden… Trump says, ‘What’s going on… with my boys and, in some cases, gals, we have a perfect administration to talk of the world and selfish people are trying to hurt it all over. A guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein.’ So now he’s calling his supporters selfish. He’s trying to make this go away. Yet, in 2002, he told New York Magazine, ‘I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. He’s a terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.’” Hostin then went on to note, “Trump’s name is on the logs, the passenger logs, of Epstein aircraft, at least seven times. That’s already been made public. I mean, of course, Trump is denying any and all allegations, but all of that information is out there. Why not just put it to rest?”
Then Goldberg took back the proverbial mic and said, “No, I don’t believe there’s a list. I don’t believe there’s a list. I do think that lots of people have been on that plane. Lots of people have been on Jeffrey Epstein’s plane. There is no — from what I read, there is no indication that they were ever on and at the island… It doesn’t say these people flew into the island. It just says they were on the plane. So what we are seeing, you know, they’re saying, ‘Well, now, it’s Hillary and Obama.’ Now they put the list out. They should just say, ‘Listen, this is what this is… and there’s no there left.’”
The View, Weekdays, 11 a.m. ET, ABC
If you or someone you know is the victim of child abuse, contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453). If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.
If you or someone you know is the victim of human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888 or text INFO to 233733. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.
If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault, contact the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network‘s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.