Some of the co-hosts of the ABC News chat show “The View” literally mocked first lady Melania Trump on Wednesday — for issuing a public statement calling for the firing of deputy national security adviser Mira Ricardel.
And they accused the first lady of being “jealous” of all the White House “drama” and wanting in on it, too.
Co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar, in particular, criticized Mrs. Trump for the statement her communications director, Stephanie Grisham, released on Tuesday.
“It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that [Ricardel] no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House,” Grisham had said.
Melania Trump reportedly clashed with Ricardel during her recent trip to Africa “over seating on the plane and requests to use National Security Council resources,” sources told The Wall Street Journal.
The outlet also reported that the first lady’s staff “suspect Ms. Ricardel is behind some negative stories about Mrs. Trump and her staff.”
Goldberg noted, “I guess people are saying, ‘Is she overstepping her bounds by making it public? Is this just more smoke and mirrors? What’s happening?’”
Behar called out Mrs. Trump for using the word “honor” to describe working in the White House, saying, “I like when she says she no longer ‘deserves the honor.’ Tell that to [former Trump lawyer] Michael Cohen, and [former White House press secretary] Sean Spicer.”
“See how honored they were to work in this White House. Half of them are being indicted, for God’s sake. If they’re not quitting or getting fired, they’re going to jail. Some honor,” Behar added snidely.
Co-host Sunny Hostin noted that “there isn’t a history of a first lady putting out a public statement, an official statement saying something like that” — although she acknowledged that other first ladies have worked behind the scenes to push for various personnel changes.
“And I don’t know if it’s because her husband sort of conducts his business that way, out in the open, or maybe it’s just the age that we’re in?” Hostin wondered.
That’s when Behar chimed in again, sneering, “Maybe she’s jealous of all the drama and she wants to be in the middle of it, too.”
Co-host Meghan McCain partially defended Melania Trump, saying, “I’m a straight shooter. If I’ve got a problem with you, you’re going to know to your face. I don’t leak stuff. I don’t do things behind the scenes. So on some level I respect her for it because she’s like, ‘I don’t want this woman in the White House anymore.’”
But McCain added that Melania Trump should learn to “surround yourself with people who aren’t going to be yes men telling you what you want to hear every day.”
Related: Melania Trump Is Receiving Major Pushback for Her Brett Kavanaugh Tweet
Behar then brought up the controversial “I Really Don’t Care Do U?” jacket, which the first lady wore during the height of the controversy surrounding the separation of illegal immigrant children and their families at the border.
When she was reminded that Melania Trump insisted she chose the jacket for herself, Behar quipped, “She should fire herself.”
Behar said of Ricardel, “It doesn’t matter if she’s like Albert Einstein. Melania doesn’t like her … It’s like ‘The Apprentice.’ You’re fired, you’re fired, you’re fired.”
Goldberg concluded that the whole controversy must be just “more smoke and mirrors” used to distract Americans from more important issues and controversies.
“There’s a lot of stuff — I think this is more stuff to throw up against the wall and everybody goes, ‘Ooh, squirrel!’” Goldberg said.
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