Whoopi Goldberg‘s joke about cats didn’t quite go over how she was hoping on this morning’s episode of The View. The longtime moderator was forced to issue a clarification minutes after her one-liner made it seem like she was saying J.D. Vance and Elon Musk wanted to harm President elect Donald Trump so they could lead the country in his place.
“I need to clean something up. My cat lays in wait for me on my stairs all the time. And that’s what I was referring [to],” Goldberg began after the show returned from its first commercial break of the day. “I was thinking of that. I wasn’t trying to indicate that they were actually standing there with their legs out, hoping he would trip.”
Sunny Hostin added, “No, nobody wants anything done to the president,” as Goldberg insisted, “It was light-hearted and it’s the holidays, come on! My goodness.”
Hostin continued to back her co-host as she explained, “You did not mean that anybody should hurt the president. Of course not.”
Goldberg, somewhat indignant, exclaimed, “No! The thing about this show, there is no way not to step in poo. There’s no way to do it, there’s no way not to do it. So for all of you who are waiting and saying, ‘Oh my God, listen to what she said!’ I got a cat who does it to me every day, and that’s what sparked it.”
Her off-color remark came at the top of the show as the co-hosts discussed the bipartisan bill to avoid a government shutdown, which was scrapped by House Republicans led by Musk and Trump, who both objected to the measure.
During the discussion, Goldberg remarked that Vance, Trump’s vice president elect, had been less visible in recent weeks. She told the panel, “I don’t know what J.D. is doing. I don’t remember the last time we even talked about J.D.”
Joy Behar quipped, “He’s planning the presidency when they get rid of Trump,” to the amusement of Goldberg, who asked, “So you think it’s Musk Vance?”
When Behar suggested the leadership pairing could be “possible,” Goldberg turned to the camera and jokingly issued a warning to Trump: “Hey, You Know Who: Stay away from the stairways. ‘Cause people put their leg out to trip you going down the stairs. Watch out!”
The View airs weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.