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While guest co-hosting The View on Feb. 19, Savannah Chrisley defended President Donald Trump when the other women on the panel called him "racist"
Whoopi Goldberg and Sunny Hostin emphasized Trump's recent efforts to remove slavery exhibits in Philadelphia and a video posted on his Truth Social page that depicted the Obamas as primates
Chrisley, whose parents received presidential pardons for their fraud convictions in May, claimed Trump has helped many members of the Black community
Savannah Chrisley's defense of PresidentDonald Trumpsparked a debate withTheViewpanel during the Thursday, Feb. 19 episode.
As the reality star, 28, nears the end of her week as guest co-host on the daytime talk show whileAlyssa Farah Griffin is out on maternity leave,the group discussedthe president's recent actions surrounding DEI initiatives, including a judge's order torestore the slavery exhibit that the federal government had removedfromThe President's Housein Independence National Historical Park.
"It is Black History Month, and you know who is being accused of sending mixed messages on the issue,"Whoopi Goldbergsaid before a clip, in which Trump "touted his relationship with the Black community," played.
In the video, Trump, 79, called the late civil rights activistRev. Jesse Jackson"a person I knew very well," further describing him as "a piece of work." He then praised rapperNicki Minajfor her vocal support of his administration, adding that "her skin's so beautiful" and "her nails" are long.
Chrisley, whose parentsTodd and Julie Chrisley were pardonedby Trump in May after being convicted of tax evasion and bank fraud the year prior, admitted that she understands the issue with Trump's "rants" but said, "What's so hard for me to witness is people stating that the president is a racist, because I've seen him firsthand."
"He is a racist,"Sunny Hostininterjected, as Chrisley continued, "He saved one of my best friends' lives. A Black woman who has been with him for 18 years."
Hostin, however, pushed back: "So he has a Black friend. He's a racist."
Goldberg also chimed in, explaining to Chrisley that the reason "many of us have a different take on it" is, in part, because of Trump's apparent struggle "to distinguish between Black people and his idea of what DEI is."
"When you target DEI programs with executive orders your first week in office, arguing that the policies undermine national unity," she said of the March 2025 executive order "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," in which Trump specifically targeted Independence National Historical Park.
National Park Service workers were seen removing 34 panels and video displays about slavery from the park in January, including some titled "Life Under Slavery" and "The Dirty Business of Slavery." On Feb. 16, a judge reversed this order, writing that the removal of the displays was unlawful, "arbitrary and capricious," and caused "irreparable harm" by erasing historical truth and undermining public trust.
Goldberg, 70, continued to highlight examples of racism stemming from Trump's administration. "When you share racist posts about the Obamas. When you pursue the death penalty for the exonerated five, after you knew they had been exonerated," she said. "These are the reasons that his behavior is so hard."
The video that Goldberg referenced was posted to Trump's Truth Social account earlier this month, which centered around election conspiracy theories — alleging that voting machines in battleground states had been tampered with as the 2020 presidential votes were tallied — andconcluded with a racist depictionof former PresidentBarack Obamaand his wife,Michelle Obama, as primates.
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It was quickly criticized by lawmakers for advancing a longstanding racist trope used by slave traders and segregationists to dehumanize Black people and justify their mistreatment. At the time, White House press secretaryKaroline Leavittdefended Trump in a statement claiming it was "from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters fromThe Lion King."
"Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public," the statement read.
The White House later deleted Trump's post and shared a new statement to PEOPLE, saying, "A White House staffer erroneously made the post. It has been taken down."
On Feb. 7, however, Trump told reporters he "didn't make a mistake" by posting the content to his profile, and stated thathe would not apologizefor it.
"I mean, I look at a lot of thousands of things. I looked at the beginning of it. It was fine," he said. "I guess it was a take off onThe Lion Kingand certainly it was a very strong post in terms of voter fraud."
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty; Mark Wilson/Getty
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Hostin, doubling down on her claims, cited Trump and his administration's handling of the video to Chrisley.
"Let's call a thing a thing. Donald Trump is a racist. There's no question in my mind," Hostin said. "The most recent thing that he did by posting on Truth Social the Obamas depicted as apes inThe Lion King, [when] there are no apes inThe Lion King, that was a racist act. He tried to blame a staffer."
When Chrisley insisted, "It was in fact a staffer who posted it," Hostin askedTheViewcrew to play a clip of Leavitt telling reporters on Wednesday, Feb. 18, "When you see it on Truth Social, you know it's directly from President Trump."
Chrisley continued to defend Trump, stating, "For the first time in history, HBCUs got permanent funding under the Trump administration."
Hostin replied, "That funding was started, Savannah, sweetheart, before Donald Trump got into office."
Ultimately, Chrisley said that she agreed "wholeheartedly that the White House failed when it came to the posting of that video because it is the White House's responsibility to protect minority groups that lost friendships and relationships over just standing for President Trump."
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