


Sen. Bob Menendez was the talk of the Hot Topics table on this morning’s episode of The View as the co-hosts shared their reactions to the New Jersey politician’s latest scandal.
Menendez is refusing to resign after he was federally indicted on corruption charges; he is being accused of accepting “luxury goods and large sums of money in bribes in exchange for committing corrupt acts, including providing sensitive information to the government of Egypt,” per NPR.
Alyssa Farah Griffin called for the senator to resign, proclaiming that he has “disgraced the office he holds,” while Sunny Hostin said she was “reluctant” to call for his resignation, but still raised her eyebrows at his alleged crimes.
“Dude, gold bars in your Senate jacket with your name on it?” she asked, referring to the gold bars Menendez is accused of receiving as bribery; he also allegedly stuffed wads of cash in his Senate jacket. “Everyone has that cousin that will hold those gold bars for you.”
Slamming Menendez’s “in-your-face” and “disgraceful” actions, Hostin fumed, “Why do you think you can get away with it?”
Whoopi Goldberg — who, as a New Jersey resident, is a constituent of Menendez’s, as pointed out by Ana Navarro — was appalled by the gall of the senator.
“The thing that pisses me off more than anything is … this is the stupidest stuff I’ve ever seen,” she said. “Bob, come on. You got all this stuff hanging out— why didn’t you just put it in the window?!”
She continued, “It’s so obvious. It is beyond ridiculous. And we’re gonna keep saying ‘allegedly’ because I want them to take you to trial and I want them to prove it,” referring to Menendez’s indictment.

Goldberg later added, “The fact that this is as seemingly bold as this is, is a big old middle finger to folks,” but she was soon interrupted by Hostin, who wanted more details on the gold bars mentioned in Menendez’s case.
“Did he have a safe with the gold bars in it?” she asked, before admitting, “I can’t get over the gold bars in his pocket.”
Goldberg retorted, “Listen, I got gold bars at my house,” which delighted Hostin, who quipped, “Oh, Whoopi! We gon’ visit.”
Navarro, ever the realist, shot back, “She’s also got a big old alarm system, so don’t even think about it.”
The View airs weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.