Why does Whoopi Goldberg call Donald Trump ‘you-know-who’? ‘The View’ host’s reason dates back to 2018
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: ‘The View’ has often discussed politics, and in turn, Donald Trump. Whoopi Goldberg, who is the moderator of the talk show, is delegated the job of reading the topics and opening the floor for discussion. However, whenever former President Trump is mentioned on ‘The View’, Goldberg never says his name.
Instead of reading out Donald Trump's name from the cue cards, Goldberg has been saying ‘You-know-who’ in her most recent segments of ‘The View’ Season 26, which have been laser focussed on the 2024 GOP race. In a session with David Axelrod years ago, Goldberg had already answered the golden question.
‘The man in charge’
In a 2018 interview with CNN, Goldberg had told Axelrod her reason behind not taking the former President’s name, a habit which she sticks by even today. ‘The Axe Files with David Axelrod’, a podcast by CNN included a conversation between the host, David, and Goldberg where they particularly spoke about the #MeToo movement and the women’s march, both of which had caused an uproar all across the world, especially in the United States as some A-list celebrities had been accused as part of the movement. Goldberg said, “We still have so much to do right now. I mean we still have 16 women who are accusing the man in charge.” Goldberg said this with reference to Trump, who was the POTUS back then.
Whoopi Goldberg explains why she doesn't say Donald Trump's name
Axelrod stopped Goldberg for a moment and asked, “You talking about the President?” When Goldberg answered with a quick “yeah,” Axelrod asked her the golden question. “You never say his name, why?” he asked. Goldberg’s response was a simple “I can’t.” Axelrod further pressed on this topic, “But it's only one syllable.” Goldberg acknowledged that after which Axelrod resorted to guessing the reason, “Do you think that it somehow honors him? To use his name?” Goldberg remained silent for a moment, “In conjunction with that word…yeah.”
Axelrod then asked the second part of his question, “But you recognize that he is the President?” Goldberg stumbled a little over her words, “You know…I…He’s there.” She chuckled and continued, “Listen, this is the first time where I can’t wrap my mind around this.” She admitted she was aware that people don’t like this habit of hers, and she was fine with that, and “can live with that.” This interview with Axelrod was in 2018, and now, fast forward to 2023, Goldberg still never says Trump’s name. In the most recent segment on ‘The View’ about Trump, following his infamous indictment, Goldberg looked down at the cue card and read, “You-know-who is expected to be arraigned today in DC, charged with conspiracies to overthrow the 2020 elections.”
