‘The View’ Audience Gasps After Tense Clash Featuring Ousted Trump Appointee Alina Habba

Habba joined the ladies of The View on Wednesday (April 29) for a tense discussion spanning Trump’s most divisive policies in health care, defense and immigration.

Habba’s two-part interview with the hosts kicked off with a discussion about the indictment brought against former FBI director James Comey, who posted a controversial photo on social media that showed seashells arranged to read, “86 47.”

Sunny Hostin asked Habba if she believed Comey’s social media post “rises to a level of a criminal threat against the life of a president,” which Habba confirmed. She stated that she believed Comey wrote “86” to mean “to kill the president, to get rid of the president,” sparking laughter from the audience.

“The dictionary disagrees with you on that,” Hostin responded.

But Habba doubled down on her statement against Comey, claiming another man was also indicted for posting something similar on X about her. “This is an FBI director. We have responsibilities,” she said, before turning to the hosts to remind them, “You guys have responsibilities not to call the president certain things, or say things that can incite violence.” She noted that being present for the shooting that took place at the White House Correspondents Dinner this past weekend gave her a “completely new perspective on how important our voices are and how we use them.”

Habba added, “Nobody has condemned Jimmy Kimmel for his comments. Those were despicable!”

She later threw shade at one of Trump’s political enemies, New York Attorney General Letitia James. “But you have to remember something, the Department of Justice brings real cases. We are not Jack Smith, we’re not Letitia James, we bring real cases against people,” Habba said, prompting gasps from the audience.

Hostin sparred with Habba several times during the segment. So much so, Whoopi Goldberg had to turn the conversation over to Alyssa Farah Griffin who then asked Habba if she felt Trump is delivering on lowering the cost of living like she promised.

Photo: ABC

Habba claimed Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill benefitted “normal Americans” by lowering the cost of eggs and prescription medications, she also noted the rising cost of oil because of the war in Iran was “short-term pain for longterm gain.” But Whoopi Goldberg was not buying it.

“For who?” Goldberg demanded, to which Habba responded, “Look at it.”

Goldberg did not back down as she told Habba, “I am looking at it, and a lot of people lost their healthcare.” She denied that she was “talking about Obamacare” like Habba insisted, telling the attorney, “No, babe, I’m talking about your Big Beautiful Bill.”

And the drama did not end there. The hosts ended the first segment on a rather awkward note after Joy Behar pointed out Habba’s name has been “floated” to replace Pam Bondi as attorney general.

Habba claimed she has “never had a conversation with the president or anybody in the administration to become the attorney general,” but noted, “I serve at the pleasure of the president. I think it’s the greatest honor to serve your country in any capacity.”

After appointing her as his personal counselor in December 2024, Trump appointed Habba to become the United States attorney for New Jersey. However, she was later forced to resign when a court found the Trump administration violated the law by appointing her to the position, per CNN.

Hostin wasted no time in her response to Habba. “Do you think you’re qualified to be Attorney General of the United States?” she asked. But Goldberg swiftly cut off Habba’s rebuttal in order to send the show to commercial.

Goldberg often played referee between Habba and her co-hosts as they grilled the attorney. There was still plenty of ground to cover even after they spent a second segment pressing Habba about Trump’s anti-immigration policy and more. But the ladies were all smiles when Goldberg cut the conversation short, reminding them they have to move on to their next interview with former late night host Craig Ferguson.

“You’ll have to come back,” Goldberg told Habba.

The Viewairs on weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.