“The View” co-host Sunny Hostin apologized Wednesday for calling former President Donald Trump an illegitimate president while co-host Whoopi Goldberg disagreed.
The panel was discussing a Tuesday exchange between White House press sec. Karine Jean-Pierre and Fox News’ Peter Doocy during which Doocy questioned Jean-Pierre about earlier tweets claiming Trump and Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp stole the 2016 election.
“If denying an election is extreme now, why wasn’t it then?” Doocy challenged.
Jean-Pierre called it a “ridiculous” comparison.
Goldberg defended the press secretary Wednesday as simply exercising her right to free speech. (RELATED: ‘We Apologize’: ‘The View’ Takes Back Attacks On Conservative Group)
“She was not an elected official, she was doing her part as an American citizen to say how she felt about an election. Whether you like it or not, everybody talks about, everybody has the right to freedom of speech, so that’s the difference.”
Hostin then chimed in to say that she regrets calling Trump illegitimate.
“I will say that when Trump became president, I think people were so very shocked, even considering the electoral college and that sort of thing. The assumption was, at least mine, and I’ll speak for myself that Russia must have been involved because we knew that from the Mueller report that Russia had some involvement, and Russia could have benefitted from a Trump presidency, which it did by the way.”
“I remember calling him an illegitimate president, and I was wrong. I should not have said that. He was not an illegitimate president.”
“That’s how you felt,” Goldberg said.
“He remains a twice impeached, disgraced, one-term president,” Hostin said. “All of that is true.”
Goldberg wasn’t as understanding of questioning elections when Trump and others did not want to accept the results of the 2020 election.
“Suck it up like we sucked it up,” Goldberg said in 2020. “And if you’re not sure that you’re comfortable with Joe Biden, do what we did. Find things and then take it to the law.”
“You’re bringing into question all these Americans who voted legally, came out, and stood, and voted. How dare you question it?” Goldberg said.