Chrisley, a Trump supporter, has faced criticism for her time at the Hot Topics table.

*The View *stars shut down Savannah Chrisley on air again during tense debate over Donald Trump and racism

Chrisley, a Trump supporter, has faced criticism for her time at the Hot Topics table.

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February 19, 2026 1:16 p.m. ET

Sunny Hostin clashes with Savannah Chrisley on 'The View'. Credit:

For the second day in a row, the stars of *The View* have collectively clashed with guest cohost, reality TV star, and Donald Trump supporter Savannah Chrisley.

The moment came Thursday during a tense debate over Donald Trump's handling of DEI initiatives amid Black History Month after moderator Whoopi Goldberg said the president "is being accused of sending mixed messages on the issue" after a judge ordered his administration to replace the slavery exhibit he had removed from a historic Philadelphia site ahead of Trump praising rapper and MAGA supporter Nicki Minaj.

After the show played a clip of Trump speaking at an event earlier this week — in which he said he loves Minaj because she's "beautiful" and expressed adoration for her long nails — Chrisley, filling in for conservative cohost Alyssa Farah Griffin during her maternity leave, said it was "hard" for her to see people accuse Trump of being racist. Her assertion comes after Trump granted a pardon for her parents, Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were convicted of bank fraud and tax evasion in 2022 and sentenced to 19 years in prison.

"I've seen him firsthand," the *Chrisley Knows Best* star said, pointing out that Trump has had platonic relationships with Black people in the past.

'The View' stars clash with Savannah Chrisley over Donald Trump and claims that he is racist.

"He is a racist," permanent cohost Sunny Hostin emphatically alleged on the show. "So he has a Black friend. He's a racist."

Goldberg jumped in to advise Chrisley on the matter. "Here's the problem, Savannah," she said, before elaborating on Trump targeting "DEI programs with executive orders" during his second-term presidency. She also pointed to him sharing "racist posts about the Obamas," referring to Trump's Truth Social account recently amplifying a video that depicted Barack and Michelle Obama as apes.

Later, Hostin alleged again that Trump is a racist.

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"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 in *The Lion King, *[when] there are no apes in *The Lion King*, that was a racist act. He tried to blame a staffer."

Chrisley defended Trump, telling Hostin, "It was in fact a staffer who posted it."

Hostin then called for the *View* crew to play a clip of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt telling reporters Wednesday, "When you see it on Truth Social, you know it's directly from President Trump."

Hostin again alleged that "President Trump is a racist," to which Chrisley pushed back, telling Hostin, "He is not."

Whoopi Goldberg and Savannah Chrisley on 'The View'.

Chrisley added, "For the first time in history, HBCUs got permanent funding under the Trump administration," to which Hostin countered, "That funding was started, Savannah, sweetheart, before Donald Trump got into office."

The reality TV star eventually admitted 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."

Goldberg then stepped in to end the tense segment on a lighthearted note. "This is the good thing about this show: Everybody has an opinion," she said. "We say, 'I don't agree, I don't think this is cool,' and we can have these conversations. Then we go away and talk about our bra size!"

When reached for comment about the *View* debate, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told **: "Sunny Hostin is an extremely unlikeable, talentless hack with a poorly rated TV show who clearly suffers from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. No President has done more for Black Americans than President Trump has. During his five years in office, President Trump signed criminal justice reform, prison reform, opportunity zones, long-term funding of historically Black colleges, school choice funding, Trump Accounts, and the largest middle-class tax cuts in history. President Trump was proud to receive historic support from the Black community in 2024, and he is working around the clock to deliver for them and make our country greater than ever before."

Earlier this week, the panel collectively pushed back against Chrisley's false claim about New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez after Goldberg called out Trump for consistently fumbling his words and said she "can't take it from the guy who says he's the leader of the free world."

President Donald Trump during a Mexican Border Defense medal presentation in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 15, 2025.

Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty

Chrisley dug in, telling the cohosts, "I understand that wholeheartedly. AOC, though, is also the Democrats' pick for the next election."

The group quickly responded to her assessment, with Goldberg and Sara Haines shaking their heads, and the EGOT-winning *Ghost* actress stressing, "No, no, no!"

Ocasio-Cortez has maintained that she's not entering the 2028 race for U.S. president, including in a recent *New York Times* interview.

Responding to the *Lion King* video incident, Leavitt told PEOPLE that it "is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from *The Lion King.*"

"Please stop the fake outrage," she added, "and report on something today that actually matters to the American public."

EW subsequently learned that the clip was erroneously posted by a White House staffer and that it was taken down hours later.

*The View *airs weekdays on ABC.

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