Whoopi Goldberg And Sunny Hostin Divided On ‘The View’ Over Pro-Palestine Protestors At Biden’s Church Speech: “You Can’t Do That”

The View waded into contentious waters on this morning’s episode as Whoopi Goldberg and Sunny Hostin got heated during a discussion about the Israel-Hamas conflict and the Biden administration.

Goldberg kicked it all off by condemning the protestors who interrupted President Joe Biden‘s Monday (Jan. 9) speech at South Carolina’s Mother Emanuel AME Church, where nine people were murdered in 2015 by a white supremacist.

Protestors called out demanding a ceasefire in the conflict as Biden was delivering campaign remarks, per Politico.

Reflecting on the moment during today’s show, Goldberg said, “Doing that at that church? I’m sorry, was wrong. I’m sorry. People were murdered in that church, and y’all going — and I get the the protest, I understand it. But you need to read the room. That was the wrong room to go protesting in.”

Sara Haines chimed in, “It scared people in that church,” as Goldberg continued, “You can’t do that.”

When it came time for Hostin to speak, she offered a different take on the protestors.

“While I agree that perhaps that was not the right moment, I think it is something that President Biden and his administration must address,” she said. “Because if you look at—”

Before she could carry on, Goldberg interjected, “Listen, they are addressing it. I’m just saying, in that church, at that time—” as Hostin reassured her, “No, I agree with that.”

Still, Goldberg continued, telling Hostin, “I get making it impossible for us to travel, you know, in the tunnels, I get all of that, ’cause I couldn’t get home yesterday.”

She was likely referring to a separate pro-Palestine protest that also took place Monday, during which demonstrators calling for a ceasefire blocked entrances to the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges, as well as at the Holland Tunnel, per Reuters.

Hostin once again agreed with Goldberg, telling her, “exactly,” but argued that Biden is possibly driving away a key voting block with his handling of the ongoing war.

“But one of the things is, there’s this stark divide among young voters on the Israel-Hamas war,” she said. “And the voting block who really supported Biden in 2020 over climate change says that the war in Gaza is an environmental justice issue, and they’re gonna abandon Biden over it.”

Joy Behar immediately jumped in to retort, “I don’t believe that,” as Goldberg echoed, “I don’t believe it either.”

Yet Hostin continued, “The other thing is, voters broadly disapprove — 57 percent — of the way Biden is handling this bloody, bloody war,” before warning that young voters “may not show up” for Biden in 2024 because of it.

Goldberg still wouldn’t see eye-to-eye with her co-host, though.

“That voting block has lots of issues that they want addressed,” she said, adding, “Beware the media telling us what we’re doing … there are lots of things that we all wish the candidates would talk about.”

The View airs weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.