North Texas Daily

Donald Trump Jr. and his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle appeared on  “The View,” and the interview was a perfect reflection of our current political climate as the interview quickly devolved in chaos. 

While Trump Jr. was there to discuss his new book, the conversation started off by questioning Trump Jr. on his choice to tweet out the name of the whistleblower. The interview got heated quickly as everyone at the table tried to insert their own opinions by talking over one another.

“The View” is all about having people with multiple, different viewpoints sitting down and having a discussion. I think it was great of the show to have Trump Jr. on even though some of the show’s hosts don’t agree with his views because that is the point of the show.

Although the gesture was nice, the execution was poor. There’s no room for intelligent discussion if nobody is actually listening to the different points of view. Both the hosts and the guests were at fault for this.

As a society, we need to learn to listen and respect the opinions of others, even if we don’t always agree. The constant speaking over each other exemplified in this interview showcased exactly how it feels to speak your truth in this political climate.

After the hosts brought up some of the president’s more controversial moments, like referring to Mexicans as rapists, Trump Jr. brought up some of the hosts’ controversial moments to make a point that everybody has done something that they regret. In particular, he accused Joy Behar of having worn blackface and brought up Whoopi Goldberg’s statement that Roman Polanski’s rape accusation wasn’t “rape rape.”

In my opinion, it seems like he came prepared with those statements so he could bring them up the second he felt attacked. He wanted to discredit them which defeats the whole purpose of this show. He took the opportunity to target the hosts as a way to make himself look better.

It was obvious that he was sitting on this information and was waiting for the perfect opportunity to unload it. Goldberg also noticed this and called him out on it.

“Now that you’ve broken this piece of ice,” Goldberg said in the interview. “Because I guess this is the fight you wanted.” 

The interview started trending and led to people uncovering these videos of the ladies’ past, including a picture of Goldberg laughing at her then-boyfriend, Ted Danson, wearing blackface.

Both sides were in the wrong here because neither side exemplified restraint or understanding, but I think Trump Jr. had mal intentions by bringing up these past controversies. In today’s culture, we need to learn restraint when it comes to writing people off. 

While nothing can undo someone’s past, we, as a society, have to take into account a person’s current character. The stunt Trump Jr. pulled at this interview isn’t uncommon today. Anytime someone tries to voice their opinion nowadays, someone who disagrees with what they stand for will bring up their past as a way to “cancel” and discredit them. 

We have to move past using this as a tactic to silence people. Everybody has a right to be heard, and that’s the simple truth of the matter.

Featured Illustration: Jeselle Farias