It’s rare that one of the liberal ladies of ABC’s The View would voice a sensible political position, especially during a crisis that involved the mass loss of life. But on Tuesday’s episode, moderator Whoopi Goldberg bucked the rest of the liberal media’s narrative and openly refused to blame President Trump for the freak flash flood that devastated part of Kerr County, Texas, surprising herself. Contrast that with co-host Sunny Hostin who sought to make the tragedy political.
At the top of the segment, Goldberg played a clip of Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz and agreed with him that it was wrong to politicize the flooding. But she did want there to be a conversation about it could have been prevented (Click “expand”):
GOLDBERG: And questions are growing about what we could have done to prevent this tragedy, and here's what Senator Ted Cruz had to say about it.
[Cuts to video]
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): I think there have been some eager to point at the National Weather Service and say, cuts there led to a lack of warning. I think that's contradicted by the facts. [Transition] For either side to attack their political opponents, I think that -- I think that's cynical and not the right approach, particularly at a time when we're dealing with a crisis and we're dealing with grief.
[Cuts back to live]
GOLDBERG: This is true but these safety concerns came up before this tragedy happened, and have been coming up for years. People in power have had the opportunity to make changes to the grid, to all of these things that we are seeing.
Goldberg’s refusal to blame Trump came near the end of the segment, and she even surprised herself. “So, it's important, I think, for everyone to understand that – and I'm shocked that this is coming out of my mouth – I’m not pointing a finger at the man in the White House,” she declared.
She did seem to blame the state of Texas broadly. “I'm saying, there's a state that is in trouble and has been and it doesn't seem like anything is changing and maybe we need to get on top of that,” she said; a criticism for a state’s action she didn’t share for California’s refusal to invest heavily in wildfire management activities.
Her comment came as a forceful end to a contentious argument between the rest of the cast member regarding when and who to blame.
Of course, it was Hostin who sought to make it political first. She lashed out a Kerr County for not installing flood sirens, and decried – without evidence – that they spent the money on border security (despite being roughly eight hours from the border). “So, these sirens could have saved lives. It was rejected as too expensive and money instead was funneled to border security,” she huffed.
Hostin even manically gloated that “the president of Mexico sent Mexican firefighters and people to go and help these Americans! People why wanted to keep out!”
But the firefighters came over legally as part of relief efforts and not trying to stay.
Co-host Joy Behar actually went to bat for making the flooding political because Trump. “Yeah, but Trump does it all the time. He immediately starts the blame game,” she insisted without evidence of Trump politicizing the flood.
Co-hosts Sara Haines and Alyssa Farah Griffin were in agreement that now wasn’t the time to cast blame or imply that the flooding could have been avoided because it was a freak act of nature. Hostin responded by trying to equate the flood to a school shooting and complaining about how people don’t want those politicized:
HOSTIN: I don't think it's about pointing fingers, I think it’s about assessing how this could have been avoided, why it was -- why it happened. You know, when we have the school shootings, everyone sends thoughts and prayers but they never want to talk about it.
FARAH GRIFFIN: But there is difference.
HOSTIN: And then we forget about it because another school shooting happens and another one happens!
FARAH GRIFFIN: There's a difference. School shooting it's fair to say this could be avoided because there is an X factor of a person with a gun and the will to do it. With a natural disaster I disagree that it’s like, ‘this could have been avoided.’ Nature does not discriminate.
“The sirens,” Hostin and Behar literally parroted each other.
What was absent from the conversation was the fact that the flash flood watch and warning was issued hours in advance, but the summer camps weren’t evacuated.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
ABC’s The View
July 8, 2025
11:18:01 a.m. EasternWHOOPI GOLDBERG: Welcome back. Search and rescue efforts are still happening over deadly floods in Texas, and we want to start by thanking all of the first responders who have been putting their lives on the line to find and help survivors.
[Applause]
And there are volunteers out there who are doing the same thing, folks are just -- Americans are stepping up for Americans, because, you know, the flood doesn't care who you voted for. Floods don't care. They come take your house, they take your family. This is what we've seen.
And questions are growing about what we could have done to prevent this tragedy, and here's what Senator Ted Cruz had to say about it.
[Cuts to video]
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): I think there have been some eager to point at the National Weather Service and say, cuts there led to a lack of warning. I think that's contradicted by the facts. [Transition] For either side to attack their political opponents, I think that -- I think that's cynical and not the right approach, particularly at a time when we're dealing with a crisis and we're dealing with grief.
[Cuts back to live]
GOLDBERG: This is true but these safety concerns came up before this tragedy happened, and have been coming up for years. People in power have had the opportunity to make changes to the grid, to all of these things that we are seeing. And I'm just wondering, when is the right time to ask this question then?
SUNNY HOSTIN: I think now is the right time to ask the question. And I understand that people are grieving. I myself sent my children away to sleepaway camp in Maine and in New Hampshire and the thought that my kids would not be coming back is something that is for me unfathomable and I feel such empathy for these family. But this could have been either mitigated or avoided altogether.
In 2017, my understanding is that Kerr County, the county where it happened, contemplated installing a flood warning system. That would have been sirens, not emails that the kids wouldn't get; because kids in camp don't have their phones with them. They take them away. So, these sirens could have saved lives. It was rejected as too expensive and money instead was funneled to border security. Border security.
And I want to also say this, you say Americans are stepping up. Well, the president of Mexico sent Mexican firefighters -
JOY BEHAR: That’s right.
HOSTIN: - and people to go and help these Americans! People why wanted to keep out!
[Applause]
And I'll also say this last thing, a single siren can cost as high as $50,000 but the small unincorporated town of Comfort had something that Kerr County didn't have! They put the money to the sirens and not one person died! Not one person died!
SARA HAINES: So, I agree with all your assessment and your facts but I respectfully disagree that this is the time right now. And I say that mainly because if my child had left for camp and didn't come home, to know what happened to them this raw and recent, I don't think I'd want to know it could have been avoided, yet.
What I need to do is have the bodies found, there are at least 105 people still missing, maybe more that we don't know about. While they're still retrieving them, I think everyone needs to stay on the mentality is everyone is getting in there and learning; because I do think there is a time for that conversation and the sirens are probably the answer, because I grew up in the Midwest where we had tornado sirens our whole lives.
So, I know that that is going to be coming up, but right now I can't help but imagine that if my child was on right now and I heard someone say that it have been avoided, I don't know how'd I'd take my next step really.
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: And I’ve got to say, I think that – the first and foremost the focus right now should be on first responders and victims and ways to help them. I'm sure we have stuff on our website that tells you how you can. But there's also a distinction between politicizing a tragedy and pointing fingers and saying here are the lessons learned.
Now, first is the first response. There are still bodies being pulled from the water. There’s people still looking for their family. The next is what could we learn from this? I agree with your assessment but respectfully disagree that it could have avoided a loss of life altogether.
HOSTIN: It avoided a loss of life in that one county that was up river.
FARAH GRIFFIN: Yes, because this was specifically a once in a hundred-year storm. They’d something close in 1987 but not to this degree and the sirens could have gone a long way.
But I want to highlight this. I think in the worst moments of tragedy because hurricanes don't choose if you're a blue or red state, who you voted for. The best in humanity steps up. And this Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskin helped pull 165 people from it.
[Applause]
It was his first ever mission. And I just, like, I think of that and I actually know people who attended this camp. It's so heartbreaking.
I think after action reports are really important but politicizing and pointing fingers is not the answer.
BEHAR: Yeah, but Trump does it all the time. He immediately starts the blame game. Some maybe this Leavitt should talk to her boss.
HOSTIN: I don't think it's about pointing fingers, I think it’s about assessing how this could have been avoided, why it was -- why it happened. You know, when we have the school shootings, everyone sends thoughts and prayers but they never want to talk about it.
FARAH GRIFFIN: But there is difference.
HOSTIN: And then we forget about it because another school shooting happens and another one happens!
FARAH GRIFFIN: There's a difference. School shooting it's fair to say this could be avoided because there is an X factor of a person with a gun and the will to do it. With a natural disaster I disagree that it’s like, ‘this could have been avoided.’ Nature does not discriminate.
BEHAR: But she's talking about the sirens!
HOSTIN: The sirens!
BEHAR: The sirens!
FARAH GRIFFIN: I know but to say that would have resulted in no loss -- I don't think there's anything –
[Crosstalk]
BEHAR: Well, they would have at least knowing it was coming!
GOLDBERG: Here's where I'm going to end this. What I'm going to say is the conversation is really about we know that you've been aware because we've had loss of life.
HOSTIN: Yeah.
Goldberg: There.
HOSTIN: In this particular area.
GOLDBERG: In this particular area. We have talked about the fact that you need to improve your grid. We have talked about all of this. So, it's important, I think, for everyone to understand that – and I'm shocked that this is coming out of my mouth – I’m not pointing a finger at the man in the White House. I'm saying, there's a state that is in trouble and has been and it doesn't seem like anything is changing and maybe we need to get on top of that. That's my thought.
[Applause]
We'll be right back.