Whoopi Goldberg defends Biden, scolds co-host for calling him a liar: 'He can do whatever he wants'
'I would stop calling it a lie,' Goldberg told Griffin
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The View" co-host Whoopi Goldberg scolded co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin on Monday for saying President Biden lied about plans to pardon his son Hunter Biden.
"I take issue with lying about it. I wanted to ask [Biden] here when he came on ‘The View,’ but the thought was he said so many times he wasn’t going to pardon him. That, to me, is lying to the public. I felt bad for Karine Jean-Pierre; she had to say he wasn’t going to pardon him. That’s why they don’t trust Washington or politicians and I know a lot of us like Joe Biden, but I find it disappointing and bad for our institutions," Griffin said during the discussion.
"I respect it as a parent. I understand why he would do it, but I wanted to understand why lie about it for so long?" Goldberg interjected, "I would stop calling it a lie."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Biden announced on Sunday that he would be pardoning his son in a statement, despite saying several times that he would not pardon Hunter.
Whoopi Goldberg pushed back on the idea that President Biden lied about pardoning his son. (Screenshot/ABC)
Griffin responded, "Why repeatedly saying you’re not not going to, and you do? The half of the country that doesn’t support Biden and doesn’t get to have phone calls and they’re looking at a system that only benefits the people who are in power. What precedent does that set?"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Goldberg then pointed to President-elect Donald Trump's victory and said, "we’ve elected somebody who was in a similar situation who didn’t have a drug problem, who knew what he was doing. Who clearly stood and said, ‘I can do this’ and he did it."
Goldberg argued that the president likely had no intention of pardoning Hunter but changed his mind after Trump won.
"I think he said, ‘Well, why am I busting my behind to stay straight and do this when nobody is? When no one else is?’" she said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Griffin said she wished the president would have been honest with the public.
"Look. He’s the president, the sitting president, and he can do whatever he wants to until his time is up," Goldberg added.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hunter Biden arrives at federal court with his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, June 5, 2024, in Wilmington, Delaware. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
"Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter," Biden shared in a statement on Sunday. "From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted."
The president said that Hunter was "treated differently" by prosecutors.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The co-hosts of "The View" repeatedly called on Biden to pardon his son, citing Trump's victory.
Co-host Sunny Hostin said Hunter was only indicted because his last name is Biden.