With their The View co-host Joy Behar still refusing to apologize for calling Jesus a “narcissist” earlier in the week, moderator Whoopi Goldberg and co-host Sunny Hostin had their own ignorant takes about Christianity and The Bible on Thursday’s show. While Goldberg was demanding that people on the right read “The Bible-Bible,” particularly those in the Trump administration, Hostin attacked War Secretary Pete Hegseth for his Christian-themed tattoos, suggesting he was a “white supremacist.”
Continuing to react to members of the Trump administration making religiously toned comments, social media posts, and remarks about the Pope, Goldberg seemed to think making the Sister Act movies made her a theologian (not that she even knew what that word meant).
Seemingly addressing Hegseth’s prayers for our troops taking part in the war with Iran or possibly Vice President Vance’s comments about the Pope, Goldberg started shouting out New Testament Bible verses about peace:
But Jesus said, 'blessed are the peacemakers' or you could look at John 14 where he said 'peace I leave with you, my peace I give you,' or Luke 6 when Jesus said, 'love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you and if someone slaps you on one cheek, turn the other.'
“I'm going to tell you, my cheeks are getting tired,” she whined. She seemingly suggested that the fact she was reading Bible passages off a card someone gave her meant she could “school” them on scripture. She then proclaimed they needed to read “The Bible-Bible”:
You people are slapping and you're slapping and talking such nonsense to people who could actually school you, would could actually school you in the very thing you don't know much about.
You have a half a quote. See, you got to get into the Bible-Bible because there's a lot in there that maybe you misread or didn't understand. Maybe you didn't know what the 'blessed are the peacemakers' meant.
Despite Joy Behar's refusal to apologize for calling Jesus a "narcissist" for saying he was the Messiah, earlier in the week, Whoopi wants to lecture the faithful on the right about the Bible and war. She says you need to learn about "The Bible-Bible":
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) April 16, 2026
GOLDBERG: But Jesus said,… pic.twitter.com/YmrDUIsqm4
The woman who thought Roman Polanski didn’t commit “rape-rape” thought she could school on “The Bible-Bible?” Maybe she stores hers next to where Biden stored the “classified-classified” documents in his garage.
Moments later, Whoopi would bitterly go to a commercial break.
Earlier in their conversation, Hostin - a self-described “devout Catholic” - lashed out at Hegseth for his prayers for America’s troops. “What is concerning to me is that Pete Hegseth, as our secretary of defense has frequently used this sort of Christian scripture and rhetoric to justify and frame the ongoing war in Iran,” she decried.
Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin would offer some push back by noting: “Secretaries of defense, the Pentagon, the president have always prayed for the safety of U.S. troops. That is normal good thing that all of them -- I think all American was join in praying.” She did whine about prayers for “the downfall of my enemies and rising up of Americans.”
Sunny Hostin suggests Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is a "white supremacist" and attacks his Christian-themed tattoos:
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) April 16, 2026
HOSTIN: What is concerning to me is that Pete Hegseth, as our secretary of defense has frequently used this sort of Christian scripture and rhetoric to justify… pic.twitter.com/y9dz7Z7Lz9
Hostin would go on to suggest Hegseth was a “white supremacist” because of his tattoos:
And one tattoo in particular is the Jerusalem Cross, which led to his removal because it has ties to white supremacy and extremism. He also has a tattoo deus volt which means 'God wills it' and it's a battle cry from the first crusade and that has been flagged by the military as a white supremacist symbol. (..) He said they're just religious symbols but, you know, I think it really is troublesome that the secretary of defense has that posture.
What posture? Because of disgusting group tried to co-op a religious symbol for their own twisted purpose? Sunny, would you demand Hindus and Buddhists give up the swastika because of the Nazis?
Hostin’s past positions on tattoos included condemnation for the Democratic Senate candidate from Maine, Graham Platner, for the Nazi SS tattoo on his chest; and scoffing at the fact that illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia has MS-13 gang tattoos on his hand.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
ABC’s The View
April 16, 2026
11:08:28 a.m. Eastern(…)
SUNNY HOSTIN: What is concerning to me is that Pete Hegseth, as our secretary of defense has frequently used this sort of Christian scripture and rhetoric to justify and frame the ongoing war in Iran.
And what Pope Leo said is that, you know, war -- the killing of innocent people and war is against - against God. It's just against -- it's a sin. Thou shall not kill.
And if you look at Pete Hegseth, he was actually dismissed from the National Guard because he has so many tattoos. And one tattoo in particular is the Jerusalem Cross, which led to his removal because it has ties to white supremacy and extremism.
He also has a tattoo deus volt which means 'God wills it' and it's a battle cry from the first crusade and that has been flagged by the military as a white supremacist symbol.
Of course, he's denied all of that but the fact -
SARA HAINES: Can't they just look at his body?
HOSTIN: Yeah. But no, he's denied the meaning of those tattoos.
HAINES: Oh, okay.
HOSTIN: He said they're just religious symbols but, you know, I think it really is troublesome that the secretary of defense has that posture.
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: Can I say one quick thing?
[Crosstalk]
GOLDBERG: Go ahead.
Alyssa: Secretaries of defense, the Pentagon, the president have always prayed for the safety of U.S. troops. That is normal good thing that all of them -- I think all American was join in praying. It's very different to pray like the downfall of my enemies and the rising up of Americans.
(...)
11:10:20 a.m. Eastern
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: But Jesus said, 'blessed are the peacemakers' or you could look at John 14 where he said 'peace I leave with you, my peace I give you,' or Luke 6 when Jesus said, 'love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you and if someone slaps you on one cheek, turn the other.'
I'm going to tell you, my cheeks are getting tired. You people are slapping and you're slapping and talking such nonsense to people who could actually school you, would could actually school you in the very thing you don't know much about.
You have a half a quote. See, you got to get into the Bible-Bible because there's a lot in there that maybe you misread or didn't understand. Maybe you didn't know what the 'blessed are the peacemakers' meant.
But that's what the pope's job is. That's his job to help us recognize what his beliefs are. And as an American, he is the first American pope, he has every right. Like the man with the glasses say, that -- he has every right.
Remember that, remember for what free speech is and that we all have it. It's not just for you, it's for us all. We'll be right back.
