ABC’s “The View” got heated Tuesday as the co-hosts split over President Joe Biden’s profane outburst directed at Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy.
Whoopi Goldberg downplayed the scenario as she introduced the clip, saying that Biden had a long history of “calling things out like he sees them.”
She then played video of Doocy asking Biden whether he felt inflation was going to be a liability for him and for the Democratic Party going into the fast-approaching midterm elections.
“It’s a great asset, more inflation,” Biden responded sarcastically before adding, “What a stupid son of a b****.”
Goldberg followed that with another clip of Doocy noting that Biden had called later to clear the air.
“So he seems to write it off as another day at the office. Is this politics as usual? Can sometimes people just give it to you the way you should get it back or shouldn’t get it back?” Goldberg asked.
“I hope it’s not politics as usual though. The former president set the bar low, right? One of the reasons why Joe Biden was elected, even though he has a history of being a loose cannon, is he was thought to restore civility to the office,” guest host Lisa Ling was first to respond. “It’s not like he just dismissed it as a dumb question. He name called. I just think, as a mom to young kids, these are the people who should be setting examples for our kids. And it’s like, more examples of men behaving badly and mothers having to clean it up because it’s giving license to kids.”
“I completely agree with you. It’s sort of beneath the dignity of the presidency,” Sunny Hostin agreed, but she said it was important to note that Biden had reached out to Doocy afterward. “That’s something that we would have never heard the former, you know, twice impeached, disgraced president of this country do.”
“It’s sort of beneath the dignity of the presidency.” — #TheView‘s @sunny on President @JoeBiden calling Fox News’ Peter Doocy “a stupid son of a b*tch” pic.twitter.com/OBKNN6Mfwh
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) January 25, 2022
“It’s true, but I think he should apologize to everyone,” Ling continued as the hosts began to talk over each other and Joy Behar suggested that Fox News might fire Doocy for accepting Biden’s apology.
“Don’t you think he should apologize to –” Ling tried again.
“No, I don’t think he should apologize to the American people,” Goldberg shot back.
“Did Trump apologize for calling Jim Acosta a ‘rude, terrible person’?” Behar asked.
“Doesn’t mean you should double down,” Sara Haines added.
“I think he should acknowledge that he was a poor example,” Ling continued.
“He should acknowledge he’s human. Because that happens sometimes when people ask you endless stupid questions from one particular place and sometimes you just lose it for a second,” Goldberg continued to defend Biden. “The difference is he said, ‘Okay, let me call him and apologize’ because that happens. I think that, for me, is the representation of what a human being, as president, should be.”
“It points out the difference between Biden and Trump because Trump – let us not forget — said the press is ‘the enemy of the people.’ Even Chris Wallace acknowledged that in 2019. He said, ‘I believe that President Trump is engaged in the most direct, sustained assault on freedom of the press in our history.’ So, okay … ‘stupid SOB he says.’ It’s nothing to what Trump did,” Behar added.
“I agree with you, but you can’t keep comparing him to Trump,” Ling protested.
“Yes you can!” Behar shot back.
“I think you’re right about that, we can’t keep comparing him —” Hostin replied.
“There are stupid questions, but he was asking about inflation, which is a real issue, and the midterm elections, which are right around the corner —” Ling pressed.
“It was a sarcastic question though, right Lisa?” Hostin said. “Will that be a liability? Of course it’s a liability.”
“He’s smart enough to know – that’s what he wanted. He got what he wanted. He asked a question that wasn’t worthy of him asking it,” Goldberg argued, suggesting that getting an outburst from Biden had been Doocy’s intent.
“True, but also the president’s smart enough to know he’s standing in front of a lot of people with a microphone –” Ling objected.
“Sometimes, yes. That’s why he didn’t do it in front of everybody.
“I see what your point is, Lisa. I hadn’t thought about it that way. I think I changed so much that the bar was lowered. I focused so much on the fact that he apologized that I kind of had forgotten this wasn’t politics as usual. There was a time that we elevated the rhetoric —” Haines added.
“It’s a mistake to think the bar has changed. When you look and see a room full of elected officials denying the fact that somebody is the president, the bar has not changed,” Goldberg argued, adding, “It is low. I don’t think we have gotten any better. He has gotten better – I’m talking about Biden. This is not the first time he said something off the hook and had to call and apologize.”
“Let’s get off Biden and understand we have to remember what the alternatives are in this country,” Behar said. “If you don’t remember what went on in the previous administration we will get it back.”
“We have to hold him accountable for his behavior,” Hostin pushed back.
“He’s not Charles Manson, okay?” Behar quipped.
“Don’t you want your president to hold himself to a higher standard?” Ling asked.
“Only if we hold ourselves constantly always to a higher standard. Me, I slip all the time,” Goldberg laughed.
“That’s why we would never run for president,” Ling agreed.