“The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg didn’t hold back when discussing Republican reactions to Democratic protests during President Donald Trump’s recent address to Congress, calling out what she sees as hypocrisy from the GOP.

“All of this snowflake behavior of the Republicans, you can dish it out, but you can’t take it,” Goldberg declared on Wednesday’s episode of “The View.” 

The heated discussion centered around Democratic lawmakers’ protests during Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress, which has been described as the longest presidential address of its kind. Democrats employed various protest tactics, including holding up signs, wearing pink clothing, and in one notable case, a representative waving his cane and shouting at the president.

Goldberg’s conservative co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former Trump administration communications staffer, criticized the Democrats for their actions during the speech, suggesting they were ineffective and potentially counterproductive.

Griffin remarked that waving a cane might not be the image Democrats want to project right now. She also questioned the strategy behind holding up signs, which have become the target of online mockery, wondering who is advising them.

The most dramatic moment of protest came from Democratic Representative Al Green of Texas, who repeatedly interrupted Trump’s speech by standing up, waving his cane, and shouting “No mandate!” Green was protesting Trump’s proposed cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security, according to later statements. After ignoring two warnings from the Speaker of the House, Green was escorted out of the chamber by the Sergeant at Arms, to cheers from Republican lawmakers.

As Republicans chanted “USA” to drown out Green’s protests, other Democratic lawmakers engaged in less disruptive forms of protest, with some skipping the event entirely, others wearing pink clothing in protest, and several shouting that Trump was a “liar” during portions of his speech.

The protests have drawn mixed reactions, even among Trump critics. During his monologue on “The Late Show” Tuesday, host Stephen Colbert quipped about Democrats holding “little paddles” and dressing in “fuchsia,” which he said is “the kind of bold protest that says, ‘This is a test print and your magenta cartridge is working.'” Colbert then held up a paddle of his own that read, “Try doing something.”

Goldberg defended the Democratic protests by drawing a comparison to past Republican behavior during presidential addresses. “Here’s what didn’t happen,” Goldberg interjected during the discussion. “Last time someone did that, she was engaged by the president,” she said, referring to Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who shouted at President Joe Biden during his 2023 State of the Union address and received a response from Biden in the moment.

“I’m just saying,” Goldberg continued, “she was not tossed from the chamber.”

Fellow “View” co-host Sunny Hostin revealed she declined to watch Trump’s speech entirely as her own form of protest. She also expressed disappointment that more Democrats didn’t take a stronger stand in solidarity with Representative Green.

Hostin expressed that when Representative Al Green voiced his opposition by declaring that there was no mandate to eliminate Medicaid and was subsequently removed, she anticipated his fellow Democrats would show unity by walking out alongside him. She felt they should have demonstrated solidarity with Green. “They should have stood with him in solidarity.”

Hostin argued that Democrats need to show a “sense of urgency” and not play by the rules with a party that has “thrown away the rulebook,” suggesting that more unified and dramatic protest actions might be warranted.

The aftermath of Green’s protest extended beyond his removal from the chamber. The House of Representatives later voted 244-198 to censure Green for his actions, with 10 Democrats joining Republicans in the vote. Following the censure, Green was required to stand in the center of the House chamber while the censure was read to him, during which other Democratic representatives joined him in singing “We Shall Overcome,” a song associated with the civil rights movement.

While a censure does not carry any actionable consequences, it serves as a formal acknowledgment of misconduct. Green became the 28th member of the House to be censured in history.

The White House responded to the Democratic protests by accusing Democrats of being the “party of insanity and hate,” though the statement did not acknowledge similar past actions by Republicans during addresses by Democratic presidents.

Some political observers have criticized the protests as displaying a lack of discipline and clear strategy among Democrats in opposing Trump’s plans, with one commentator describing the demonstrations as a “sad cavalcade of self owns and unhinged petulance” that only served to make Trump appear more presidential by comparison.

Despite the criticisms, Griffin did have praise for Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin’s official response to Trump’s address, which she described as “masterful,” suggesting that Democrats might find more effective ways to oppose Trump’s agenda than disruptions during his speeches.

The incident has highlighted the increasingly partisan atmosphere in Congress, where formal addresses by presidents have become opportunities for opposition party members to express their dissent in increasingly visible ways, a trend that has accelerated in recent years with notable disruptions during both Democratic and Republican presidential addresses.