Former White House official Alyssa Farah Griffin argued on Wednesday that President Donald Trump absolutely “has a plan” for the ongoing government shutdown and how to best use it to his advantage, saying that Democrats were unlikely to enjoy the eventual outcome.
The ABC midday talk show opened with a discussion between Griffin and the other co-hosts about the shutdown that Senate Democrats triggered on Tuesday — and who was more likely to be blamed if the parties were unable to quickly reach an agreement and get things reopened.
WATCH:
WHICH PARTY WILL BE BLAMED FOR SHUTDOWN? ‘The View’ co-hosts weigh in after the American government shut down at midnight Tuesday following a last-ditch funding vote failing in the Senate. pic.twitter.com/PjRuL2Kb4J
— The View (@TheView) October 1, 2025
Griffin cited polling that suggested Democrats were likely to feel the brunt of the public’s anger, saying, “There’s polling out there that says, well, 4% will blame Republicans and 23% are going to blame Dems. Another 34% of Americans blame both sides.”
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“Even on the Obamacare subsidies, you could pass it as a stand-alone bill,” she added, referencing one of the key sticking-point issues. “It does not need to be tied to shutting down the government. What I constantly hear is Donald Trump has too much power. The White House, the executive branch, has too much power. By shutting down the federal government, Congress, you’ve given up spending power.”
Griffin went on to insist that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) would surely have “figured it out.”
“Well, yeah, she did figure it out,” co-host Whoopi Goldberg agreed, and then complained that the real problem was that Republicans weren’t bending to the whims of holdout Democrats.
“We just need a better person to compromise with. We need somebody who is willing to compromise,” Goldberg continued. “[Trump said] that he’ll go to work on Democrats during the shutdown. It’s like, why are you going to work on us? We’re trying to work with you. He wouldn’t meet with them.”
“But that’s my warning to Democrats. Donald Trump wants the shutdown. You guys shouldn’t have given what he wanted because it means he’s got a plan and I don’t think you’re going to like the outcome,” Griffin concluded.