Whoopi Goldberg on The View – ABC

As the federal government shutdown continues, The View cohosts continued to talk about who’s really responsible for the stalemate waging on in Congress on Tuesday’s (October 14) show.

Whoopi Goldberg in particular had a message for House Speaker Mike Johnson after reviewing footage of him accusing House Democrats of being the architects of the shutdown.

Plus, she delivered a scathing rebuke of Donald Trump to boot.

“Mike, the Democrats’ sticking point is keeping healthcare safe for millions of Americans.

So who exactly is holding who hostage here?” she said to start the panel conversation.

Later, after giving cohosts Sara Haines, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, and Alyssa Farah Griffin their turns to speak, she reclaimed the microphone to respond to a Wall Street Journal report that Trump officials are joking about “ruling Congress with an iron fist.”

“Part of what’s happening is this slow rollout of total control.

Yeah, that’s what this is. And to me, when he’s talking to other countries and telling them what to do, when he’s talking to everybody but us, I have a little bit of a problem with that.

I just feel like, I’m glad you did all of that. I’m glad these hostages are [home]. I’m glad.

I’m glad you want to now flip back and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to take care of Ukraine.’

Okay,” she said of Trump’s international feats in making a Middle East peace deal and announcing new weapons options for supporting Ukraine in its defense against Russia.

“But you need to need to get your behind in gear here…

If you are the president of the United States, act like the president of the United States.

I appreciate all of the stuff you’re doing, but I feel like he wants to be king of the world.”

Haines also countered Johnson’s comments about the Democrats having partisan demands, saying, “The important thing to note is 80% of all ACA premium tax credits went to enrollees in Trump-won states.

That’s 80%… But also, 78% of adults say Congress should extend these tax credits, and that’s across the board: 92% Democrats, 82% independents, 59% Republicans, 57% of those 59 align with MAGA. So if it’s partisan, it’s partisan to the right, and it is about the people here.

But I also think we’re paying Congress to make a deal. It’s not about running to your corners.

Anyone that’s ever had to get along with someone [knows it] means you concede something,” she said.

Behar, meanwhile, thought Johnson was actually responsible for the continued shutdown and for nefarious reasons.

She pointed to the Arizona electee who has yet to be sworn in, even though two House Republicans were sworn in during a recess, and the accusations Johnson has fielded that it’s due to her promise to vote for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

“They don’t want her to be confirmed,” Behar said.

Then, when Hostin asked, “So you think this is all about the Epstein files?”

“A lot of it, yeah… That could be the thing that takes the whole thing down,” Behar said.

Meanwhile, Griffin said that the shutdown only makes Trump seem “all-powerful” since his administration has been finding workarounds to continue their interests, despite the shutdown: “The White House has found ways to maneuver around Congress during this shutdown.

You’ve seen Donald Trump in Israel, in Egypt, back in America, you’ve seen the White House extend WIC benefits by using tariff revenue because those were stopped due to the shutdown.

Trump’s now directed the Pentagon to pay troops because Congress is not passing this bill that will pay our troops, and he’s also directing the Office of Management and Budget to look at ways to pay law enforcement.

The only step I see left is for the White House to be like, ‘And by executive order, we’re going to extend these Obamacare subsidies.’

So I would caution Congress, if you guys don’t step up and reclaim your power, you cede that all to the White House.”