Whoopi Goldberg arrives for the Saturday Night Live 50: The Anniversary Special at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, U.S., February 16, 2025. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs
(New York, New York) – Actress and The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg sparked discussion this week during a segment on The View when she reacted to a guest’s defense of former President Donald Trump and rebutted criticism of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.
During the show’s “Hot Topics” segment, guest host Savannah Chrisley defended Trump against accusations of racism, recounting personal anecdotes and asserting that Trump had helped a Black friend. Goldberg and her co-hosts strongly disagreed, citing his past remarks and actions and arguing that critics frequently conflate Black Americans with broader debates over DEI initiatives.
Goldberg did not directly say that Black Americans “didn’t benefit from DEI.” However, she did make a point that some critics confuse individual people with what “DEI” represents in political discourse.
“There seems to be no ability in his mind to distinguish between Black people and what DEI is,” Goldberg said, arguing that opponents of DEI sometimes use the term as a catchall criticism without understanding its purpose or beneficiaries.
Goldberg and other co-hosts rejected the notion that DEI programs are inherently harmful, instead framing the debate around who gets to sit at the table and how opportunities have expanded over time through civil rights struggles. They emphasized that criticism of DEI often overlaps with broader political battles over race, history, and access to education and employment.
Critics on social media have interpreted parts of the clip as Goldberg suggesting that Black Americans did not benefit from DEI, but reporting around the segment shows Goldberg’s focus was on how the term “DEI” is used rhetorically by some commentators, rather than making an empirical claim about who benefits from it.
Journalists covering the exchange noted that Goldberg’s commentary was part of a wider confrontation with what co-hosts see as attempts to dismiss systemic inequities in favor of personal anecdotes or political talking points.
