During a Friday episode of The View, hosts reacted to former president Donald Trump’s Thursday indictment by a Manhattan grand jury.
Host Joy Behar referred to Trump as the “twice-impeached, one-term, once-indicted” former president, noting Trump was reportedly facing 30 counts of criminal charges following Thursday’s indictment.
“How do we feel about this unprecedented moment in American history?” Behar asked fellow co-hosts Sara Haines, Ana Navarro, and Sunny Hostin.
“I called it,” Hostin said before looking to the audience with a pleased smile. “I said that he would be held criminally responsible because no one is above the law. He would be at the very least charged.”
The View Reacts To Trump Indictment
JOY BEHAR: "How do we feel about this unprecedented moment in American history?"
HOSTIN: "It's a celebration of the law and how it applies to all of us." pic.twitter.com/Dyoxi8rGBJ
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 31, 2023
“He not only has that New York case, he has that Georgia case, he has the Department of Justice cases,” Hostin continued. “You can’t commit so many crimes and think that you’re above the law even if you are the president.”
“It’s a celebration of the law and how it applies to all of us.”
On Thursday evening, a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict the former president regarding an alleged settlement made with adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the former president’s 2016 campaign, according to five people with knowledge of the matter per the New York Times.
According to the claim, Trump and Daniels allegedly had a sexual encounter in 2006 leading to the 2016 settlement, which caused the prosecution of Michael Cohen who reportedly paid the adult actress $130,0000. Cohen was subsequently sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to charges regarding the payment in 2018.
Trump responded to the indictment vote shortly after, referring to it as “political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history.”
“From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower … the Radical Left Democrats … have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement,” the former president wrote Thursday evening. “The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to ‘Get Trump,’ but now they’ve done the unthinkable – indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference.”
“Never before in our Nation’s history has this been done,” Trump continued. “Weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States and by far the leading Republican candidate for President has never happened before.”
“I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden,” Trump concluded. “The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it.”
A spokesperson for New York district attorney Alvin Bragg released a statement Thursday confirming Trump’s indictment
“This evening we contacted Mr. Trump’s attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.’s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal,” said a spokesperson for Bragg. “Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected.”
Trump is reportedly expected to surrender to the Manhattan district attorney’s office early next week, according to the former president’s attorney Joe Tacopina. The former president’s attorneys are also in talks with prosecutors and expecting Trump to be arraigned next week, per NBC News.
